* Lure Box Breakdown !
Lure box breakdown.
What one angler takes when lure fishing from a boat?
Anglers typically carry too much gear. Even when experience guides you it will be normal to pack the kitchen sink and then some. We all have memories of that fishing trip where we were caught out and was short of the proper gear. Shore anglers are limited to what they can carry or trolley up the beach. Boat anglers are constrained by space on the boat and angling comfort.
I have split my gear. I consider lure fishing to be a different discipline than bait fishing. I keep my lure and bait gear in separate boxes. I will often fish a different boat when lure fishing. I tend to bait fish out of my Warrior only. My fishing tends to take on different sessions too. On a solely lure fishing trip the session tends to be very targeted chasing after specific species at specific marks. I could end up on a friends boat for a bass session. I could end up hitting the reefs in the Rubber Duck. I could launch Skua for a trip to the wrecks, there are lots of choices. I need to have a separate lure box for this style of fishing. I tried at the outset to use a bag but the whole thing got too ungainly and therefore I located a suitable box for my endeavours. I had a Surecatch box first and it served me well until it was cracked by somebody sitting on it unknowns to me. I was about to outgrow the Surecatch box in any case. I studied the offerings from Flambeau and from Plano. These pair are about the best at box design. I liked the Pro Series from Flambeau and I settled on a T5P box. Apart from being a very clever design the internal boxes are all available on their own from Flambeau stockists so the possibilities for mix and matching are endless.
So, as I say my lure box is a self-contained unit that move from craft to craft depending what and where I am fishing. I will also carry what I call my “electronics bag” this bag contains a handheld VHF, cameras, suncream, radio speaker, digital scales, camera stick, headband camera holder, JVC video camera and a handheld GPS. My lure box contains the following:
Top section of box:
Once you open the T5P you can see there is lots of organised space. There is a small section on the r/h side. This section can be used with a supplied line holder for spooling out line. A handy item if you need it. I use the little cubby to carry: Glue & activator, Pliers, Braid scissors. I happen to have an 150m spool of 8 strand braid there for emergencies and a Surecatch ceramic knife sharpener. I’ll usually stick a knife in here too. All of these tools are necessary. I certainly would feel incomplete without my super glue!
To the left there is a decent sized section to carry bags of lures. In here I have:
Bag Illex nitro Jerk Slim 160
Bag Illex Slim Shad 180
Bag sakura L16 Shad
Bag YUM Dingers
Bag YUM Lilsuzee
Bag Nitro Shad 150
Bag Nitro Jerk Lightening Finesse
Bag Hart Absolut Worms
Bag Sakura Koneel 150
Bag Berkley Ripple shad
Bag Berkely Ripple minnow
The colours are mainly natural but with a fair few whites and pinks as well. These lures are carried in case I need to make up another lure after losing a lure that is catching on a given session. As each season comes round there is a chance that I will replace some lures and remove others, it really is a matter of personal choice.
Just behind the bags of lures comes a shallow plastic box. In this box I store a few metal jigs. Most of these are in the 90g to 150g. I give them a good run out mainly on the offshore reefs. All jigs are rigged with homemade assist hooks. I have various patterns from traditional speed jigs to the wider slow jig patterns that have lovely fluttering movement.
Behind that box are two bigger sectioned boxes. It is no harm in mentioning that Flambeau boxes have moveable partitions. These partitions are enfused with “rusteeze” which is meant to discourage the formation of rust within your boxes. Anyway, these boxes are filled with dressed jig heads. First box is filled with heads in the 40-60g range. I would use these more for cod fishing and pollack bashing on the reefs. All these lures are ready to fish. Any damaged lures are taken out and the body replaced.
The second box in this position I use for a mixture of spare hooks for articulated heads and heavier jig heads. These heads are 80-150g heads that I would only be using in deeper water or strong drift conditions where I need the heavier weight to remain in contact with the bottom. Again all these lures are ready to fish.
The front door of the box covers up two medium boxes and a smaller box on either side. The top medium box holds my selection of dressed jigheads in the 18-30g range. These are my most used bass catchers. I use them both jigging and casting. I have lures rigged both articulated and standard jig head with fixed hooks. I change patterns depending on my location and style of fishing.
The lower medium box contains a selection of bare jigheads or various sizes. Most are unpainted but with eyes added. I do power coat some heads but I am not “hung up” on coloured heads. One thing is coloured heads do not store well unless wrapped. The powder coat tends to come off and coat the box section.
L/h side box is a great little box and holds my 25g Black Minnows. These are all dressed, glued and ready to fish. There’s not more you can say about that!
The R/h side box is different from the box supplied with the T5P. It is filled with various 10-12g jigheads and lures. Again all are rigged to fish.
There is a segregated cover on the top of the box. I tend to use this area for clips and swivels and my other knife sharpener. I would use the space for temporary storage during a session too.
You can see from this gathering of tackle that I have most eventualities taken care of. If I was going to spend a day offshore and wrecking I would replace some of the boxes of lighter gear with gear more suitable for the deeps. The boxes contained in the T5P are freely available.
