Creating a 'day box' to save time

[revolutiontime95]

So after reading the title, you may be wondering 'what the heck  is a day box'.  Well, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, this is not my tip.  I heard it from some pro fisherman on youtube.  I don't remember his name.  But if you're like me (and probably 99% of all other fisherman) you only use about 10% of your lures on a consistent basis.   
So creating a day box saves time.  Here's what a day box is. 
Your day box is a special tray that carries everything you believe will be most effective on the particular day you're going fishing.  For example:
My day box carries some french fries (4-inch centipede worms used for finesse fishing), Yum dingers, a switchblade jig, and a couple of the hooks and weights I plan on using for my centipedes.  So this tray has everything I feel that I need for tomorrow.  The reason I have all that stuff is because lately I've only been able to get the bass on my home lake with finesse tactics.  So I have mostly finesse stuff in there. 
So you wanna keep your day box limited to 4 -6 things that you feel will catch you bass on your particular day, that way you don't have to sort through several trays to find them.  I put a piece of that tan tape (forgot what it's called) on the front of my day box and wrote "day box" in sharpie that way I know which tray it is.  That will save you even more time.  Have fun creating your day box!   

[Bassinkorea]

Yep, this is a great idea 

Tournaments in Korea allow practise on the Saturday before the Sunday tournament, so I carry almost everything in my boat on Saturday and use as many different lures as possible on the Saturday. Then I put the productive lures in my DAY BOX for the Sunday tournament. This saves a lot of space and reduces some weight in the boat by leaving most of my tackle in my car.

[BenFishing]

I do this when checking out small bodies of water.  Just an assortment of what usually works in similar conditions, and a few oddities.

I can't do it on bigger bodies of water, cause then I always feel like I've left that "key" lure behind, and I end up heading home at the end of the day thinking "what if."

[Mike Cork]

I wrote a small article last September for my "Get the Net" blog about my day box and what I put in it.

http://www.ultimatebass.com/bass-fishing-articles/bassin-blogs/143-get-the-net/2086-bass-fishing-day-box.html

I can honestly say that having baits handy has turned fishing days into catching days. Many times while fishing we are thinking, "I should try a different color, or a crankbait, or dip the tale on this worm". But, because of the time it would take to track down items to make the change we hesitate.

Keeping a simple bottle of dye in my day box has caught a tremendous amount of fish. By simply dying the tail of a bait chartreuse, I've turned a non catching pattern in to a slug fest in a matter of seconds. Had that bottle of dye been buried up in a compartment I may not have taken the time to make the adjustment.

[revolutiontime95]

Remember, it's not about what you think your best lures are, or what worked yesterday, it's about what you think will work on the day you go out there

[BenFishing]

Remember, it's not about what you think your best lures are, or what worked yesterday, it's about what you think will work on the day you go out there

And always pack a basic lure, like a rooster tail or beatle spin.  On those days where I'm getting skunked, one of those two lures always saves the day.

[TheLastRodBender]

I bought a KVD Guide Series bag last year, and it came with "deck bags," as they put it.  IF i'm i'm not mistaken, this is the same basic principle?   I always pack my tackle bag up with stuff, and the plastics i plan on using the most of go in my deck bag.  On plane it goes under my legs, and when were fishing it's sitting on the passenger seat so i can grab it quickly


is this the same basic thing you're talking about?

[revolutiontime95]

And always pack a basic lure, like a rooster tail or beatle spin.  On those days where I'm getting skunked, one of those two lures always saves the day.

Yes, I do agree that although the point of a day box is to use what you believe will be effective TODAY, it is good to have a 'confidence lure', that one special lure that you really love and are good at using.  For me, it's soft plastics, no matter if it's yum dingers, ribbontail worms, french fry worms, soft plastic crawfish, flukes, tubes, etc, I just do really well with soft plastics for some reason..so i have a lot of confidence in them.  So even if I think spinnerbaits and buzzbaits are gonna get me the bass, I'll pack some flukes too, or if I think zara spooks and jitterbugs are gonna get me the bass, I'll throw some topwater plastic frogs in there, too.  It is definitely good to have ONE OR TWO lures you just have tons of confidence in, regardless of their suspected effectiveness (or lack of) on a particular day. 
BUT REMEMBER, A DAY BOX SHOULD NOT BE TOTALLY FILLED!  It should just have A FEW THINGS!  preferably 5 or 6....otherwise, having a huge day box defeats the purpose of having one at all....which is to save time.  It should only have the 'best' lures for the day.  A couple you think will work, and a couple that you just have a ton of confidence in. 
I caught 3 bass today, two eighteen inchers and a 19 incher.  They were all caught with lures from my day box. 

[BenFishing]

Yes, I do agree that although the point of a day box is to use what you believe will be effective TODAY, it is good to have a 'confidence lure', that one special lure that you really love and are good at using.  For me, it's soft plastics, no matter if it's yum dingers, ribbontail worms, french fry worms, soft plastic crawfish, flukes, tubes, etc, I just do really well with soft plastics for some reason..so i have a lot of confidence in them.  So even if I think spinnerbaits and buzzbaits are gonna get me the bass, I'll pack some flukes too, or if I think zara spooks and jitterbugs are gonna get me the bass, I'll throw some topwater plastic frogs in there, too.  It is definitely good to have ONE OR TWO lures you just have tons of confidence in, regardless of their suspected effectiveness (or lack of) on a particular day. 
BUT REMEMBER, A DAY BOX SHOULD NOT BE TOTALLY FILLED!  It should just have A FEW THINGS!  preferably 5 or 6....otherwise, having a huge day box defeats the purpose of having one at all....which is to save time.  It should only have the 'best' lures for the day.  A couple you think will work, and a couple that you just have a ton of confidence in. 
I caught 3 bass today, two eighteen inchers and a 19 incher.  They were all caught with lures from my day box.

Agreed, although I would not call rooster tails and beetle spins my confidence lures.  They are more of the "I give up and just wanna catch any fish, even a half-pounder" lures.  My confidence lures are Lucky Craft jerk baits and a wacky rig with either green pumpkin or cotton candy worms.

[Json]

I've always done this mostly because I'm fond of walking around the areas I fish.

[BenFishing]

I've always done this mostly because I'm fond of walking around the areas I fish.

You might need to snag one of the backpack tackle boxes.  I've got one of the Cabela's models from around 5 or 6 years ago.  That thing has been a life saver for me.  Packs more than enough, so I can bring a wide selection of lures.  Has a  mesh pocket with a strap to store an extra rod, preferably a breakdown rod, so you're not snagging every branch.  Has two main, big storage pockets.  3 other pockets that zip shut, of various sizes, another mesh pocket.  A sheath for pliers.  Connecting points for other bags to clip onto.  I fit four 11x7 cases in the main big pocket.  Four 5x9 cases, plus a couple dual sides, terminal tackle cases in the other pocket. The shoulder straps and waist strap help balance the load pretty nice.   I haven't looked at any newer models, but I'm sure they've improved a bit.
It's been great for when I hit those new spots, from the shore, and I'm trying everything to see what the fish like.