Tournament
Bass
Tackle,
Top
to
Bottom
by Travis Peterson
As another season nears here in the Midwest, many
bass anglers are busy re-stocking tackle boxes and getting
organized. In the case of bass tackle, the number of productive
lures can be confusing and a little overwhelming. It helps to keep
it organized. I have tried several different systems for organizing
my tackle and have come to the same conclusion as many bass
fanatics. It involves a number of Plano storage boxes and Falcon
worm bags. Lures are categorized and stored in labeled boxes and
bags. These are placed in the storage compartments of the Ranger. As
a tournament angler, I like to have everything I might need
on-board, particularly during pre-fishing, but also for game-day
when adjustments in presentation may be necessary.
Six Plano ProLatch 3700 series utility boxes are used for storing
baits in the following categories.
Topwater Baits: I carry poppers, walkers, and prop baits.
Poppers include Skitter-Pops and Pop-R’s. Walkers that make the
grade are Skitter-Walks and Zara Spooks. Skitter-Props, Crazy Shads,
and Devil’s Horses make up the prop bait arsenal.
Shallow Crankbaits: Baits in this box run 1-4’ deep. They
include Mann’s Baby 1-Minus and 1-Minus lures, Storm Subwarts,
Rapala DT03 Fats, and Rapala DT04’s. I also store my lipless cranks
in this box as they run in this zone on a steady retrieve. They
include Rattlin’ Raps, Rattle Traps, and Super Spots. While all are
similar, they each have a slightly different action and sound. I
carry ½ ounce models of these lures and a handful or ¾ ounce
versions.
Medium Crankbaits: These baits run 6-12’ deep. Fat Raps,
Glass Fat Raps, Wiggle Warts, DT06’s, Glass Shad Raps, DT07 Flats,
and DT10’s cover the bases.
Deep Crankbaits: These baits run deeper than 12’. I used to
stock several different brands of deep cranks. Many pull quite hard
and I consequently did not use them. I’ve found that Rapala DT
Series baits pull easier than other lures in this category and have
reserved this box strictly for DT16’s and DT14’s. Note that DT14’s
are only available through Bass Pro Shops.
Swimbaits: This box was added to the arsenal several years
ago and initially contained Northland’s Mimic Minnow in a few sizes.
It has since expanded to include Northland’s Slurpies Swim Shad and
Swim Shiner in 3/8 and ½ ounce sizes.
Flippin’ Jigs: Northland Jungle Jigs in four sizes and
Northland’s new Jungle Bugs in two sizes are organized here. Extra
skirts for each jig-type as well as Buck-Shot Rattles are also found
in this box.
I use smaller Plano ProLatch 3600 series boxes for a couple of lure
categories. In addition, because jig-heads and terminal tackle take
up less space than the baits mentioned above, I use 3600 boxes for
that tackle as well.
Spoons and Frogs: The “slop box” houses Northland JawBreaker
Spoons and SPRO Bronzeye Frogs.
Hard Jerkbaits: I have narrowed this box down to X-Raps and
Husky Jerks.
Finesse Jigs: This box includes jigs that can be paired with
soft plastics. All of these jigs are manufactured by
Northland Fishing Tackle.
Lip-Stick Worm Jigs, Jungle Shakey Jigs, Jungle Jig-Locs, Weed
Weasels, Butt-Head Jigs, Mimic Minnow Jigs, and Inner-Tube Jigs in a
variety of sizes and colors are found in this box.
Terminal Tackle: Hooks and weights are organized here.
Gamakatsu worm hooks in 3/0, 4/0, and 5/0 sizes get a lot of play. I
like Gamakatsu’s Skip-Gap Hooks for dock-fishing. Weighted Lip-Stick
Hooks are used with soft jerkbaits while weedless Lip-Stick Wacky
Worm Hooks, both weighted and unweighted are used with soft
stickbaits. A few drop-shot hooks round out the hook inventory. For
bullet weights, I have gone strictly to Northland Sling-Shot Worm
Weights. In addition, I carry some light tube-weights and a few ¾
and 1 ounce egg-style weights for Carolina rigging. Finally, I keep
a supply of swivels and beads in this box.
I prefer hanging type boxes for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Two
Plano ProLatch 3503 storage boxes are used for this hardware.
Spinnerbaits: Northland Pro-Series ReedRunner Spinnerbaits in
single and tandem models are my preference. Several baitfish
patterns are included. Trailer hooks along with a few extra blades
and skirts are stored in bags in this box as well.
Buzzers/Chatterbaits: A few Northland Pro-Series Buzzard
Buzzers in ¼ and 3/8 ounce sizes are stored here. In addition, I
store my chatter-type baits in this box. A few trailer hooks are
included too.
In my opinion, because many soft plastics are scented and salted,
they are best kept in the plastic bags they are sold in. I have my
plastics divided into eight Falcon FTO 1105 Worm Bags. Each of these
will hold 15-20 plastic bags of soft baits. Each storage bag is
labeled accordingly.
Worms/Lizards: Worms include Slurpies Ringworms and Shakey
Worms, Berkley Power Worms, and Gulp! Turtle-Back Worms. 6” Berkley
lizards and 8” Zoom lizards are also included in this bag.
Grubs/Spider Grubs: My grub selection includes 4” Slurpies
Swim’n Grubs and a variety of 4” and 5” spider grubs from various
manufacturers.
Hogs/Beavers: An arsenal of 4” and 6” Slurpies Jungle Hogs
are stored here along with an assortment of Slurpies Brush Beavers.
Flukes/Minnows/Leeches: Jerk shads and flukes in the Slurpies,
Berkley, and Zoom varieties hide here. Also, gotta have Gulp!
minnows and leeches for smallies. I prefer the bags over the new
jar-like containers.
Trailers: This bag stores plastic craws and chunks used as
jig trailers.
Also included are split-tail spinnerbait trailers.
Slugs/Toads: I like the old Berkley Power Slugs. They go in
this bag with a variety of soft plastic toads from a few different
companies. I keep them together because I use them in similar
terrain – shallow water with moderate to heavy vegetation.
Dip-Sticks: Northland has some of the best soft-stick bait
colors available in the new Dean Rojas line-up of Slurpies
Dip-Sticks.
Tubes: Slurpies Baitfish Tubes in the Jiggin’ and Flippin’
models share this bag.
Generally, I fish as a boater or in tournaments with a team format.
This organization system works for me. I know where to find
everything and I have the bases (or basses!) covered – top to
bottom.
Note to co-anglers: Non-boaters, co-anglers, or those joining a
buddy for a tournament will want to cut their tackle down
considerably. A soft-sided tackle bag with about four Plano boxes
and a couple worm bags works well. Ask your partner what type of
fishing (shallow, deep, etc.) he or she plans to do and then load
your tackle bag with your favorite baits that apply to that type of
fishing.
Photo: The author groups his tackle based on application.
Bronzeye Frogs and JawBreaker Spoons are stored in his “slop box”.
(Photo by Travis Peterson).
Travis Peterson
classicbass.com Field Staff
