I have a wall of Plano Stowaways. And most are filled to the brim with tackle. I often find myself fishing on someone else’s lake in someone else’s boat. I got tired of trying to lug piles of Planos to every lake I fished.
The problem that faces anglers when they are going to a fishery they don’t often fish is they aren’t exactly sure what to bring and they are afraid if they don’t bring enough options, they will be stuck wishing they had this lure or that bait.
The truth is most of the time there isn’t a “magic” bait as much as there is a “magic” spot or a “magic” pattern. I’ve convinced myself that if I get in area that holds fish, I’ve learned enough tricks with my confidence baits to get bit.
Yes there are rare occassions where I find myself wishing I had this or that. But chances are if I’m fishing another fishery, I’m fishing with someone who knows that fishery and has a few so-called “magic” baits.
So I pack one single Plano waterproof Stowaway and one Plano FTO Elite Speedbag.
Recently I went fishing in Illinois. It’s prespawn on the fishery with water temperatures just below 60 degrees. To me that means crankbaits, jerkbaits, jigs and maybe some soft plastics. So I packed some shallow crankbaits in color options for clear and muddy water and with different actions.
I also packed football jigs and casting jigs as well as shaky heads, jerkbaits and few of my favorite lipless crankbaits in various colors. Along with some soft plastic crawfish, finesse worms, jig trailers and a few other plastics tricks the bases are covered for most any situation.
This keeps my tackle to a minimum but more importantly it helps me focus on finding fish and not changing baits and second guessing my choices. The less tackle and options you have to choose from the more confidence it seems you have with each bait.
How many of you already do this? If you don’t, try it and let us know how it works for you.
