Soft Plastics Organization

J.W. · March 31, 2025, 10:22:33 AM

I swear, trying to organize soft plastics is like herding cats!

I started out with gallon size Zip Loc bags, but they are not long for this world. They get holes, or blow out of the boat.

Switched to putting them in Plano 3700s, but that ends up being way too many boxes. Also hard boxes don't compress and end up taking up more space, and space is limited in my boat.

Later switched to those plastic cash envelopes that will fit inside small journal-sized soft-cover three ring binders. They were ok, but you had to take the baits out of the original packaging, which meant some baits wouldn't hold their shape well if they needed to be in a clamshell. I was tired of kinked up fluke tails, plus some colors would bleed through the vinyl cash envelopes and onto other baits. It did make for some interesting colors on occasion, though

Switched to the big Plano Stowall 3700 tackle bags, leaving baits in their original packages and putting them into the Plano bags. They are basically a heavy-duty vinyl freezer bag, but they're hard to get sealed sometimes. Couple that with the fact that I am storing my soft plastics in our extra live well where sometimes water accidentally ends up, and long story short, I lost a bunch of soft plastics that turned mushy from being wet for too long.

As of right now, I have a bunch of cheap clear plastic soft packing cubes that I bought off Amazon. They worked well when they were new, but they didn't hold up well. Most of them have torn to some extent and/or have zippers that have come off, so they are no longer very water resistant.

I bought a Buzbe Quik Qube to try out, and so far I feel like that's the juice, but holy smokes are they expensive. I need about 10-11 more, and they're like $40 a pop.

Anyone got any great water-resistant storage ideas that would stow away well in the boat and not cost me an arm and a leg?

loomisguy · March 31, 2025, 12:28:03 PM

I went to the LIV bags. They are the best I've found. Just leave the plastics in the original bags and put them all in the LIV. Really durable and the zipper works great.

J.W. · March 31, 2025, 01:09:27 PM

Quote from: loomisguy on March 31, 2025, 12:28:03 PMI went to the LIV bags. They are the best I've found. Just leave the plastics in the original bags and put them all in the LIV. Really durable and the zipper works great.

I saw those. I may go ahead and order a few to try out.

loomisguy · April 01, 2025, 05:09:40 AM

I believe they are on sale on the website. 6 for 50 bucks.

fishingram24 · April 02, 2025, 07:14:22 PM

I have been using 7 qt. Sterilite containers with locking lids and keeping plastics in the original bags. Great for storage but can sometimes be a pain to grab just what I want quickly. Putting multiple bags in gal. zip locks by type helps. I think the biggest help would to to stop carrying so many bags of plastic since I usually reach for the same 5 or 6 baits.

topdsm0138 · April 12, 2025, 07:11:30 PM

I started using the Flambeau Wormtainers. It's basically a plastic box with dividers. It's to keep your plastics in their bags, and filed like a filing cabinet would be. Plus it's got a handle so I just grab the case I want and put it in the boat.

J.W. · April 12, 2025, 10:00:06 PM

Quote from: topdsm0138 on April 12, 2025, 07:11:30 PMI started using the Flambeau Wormtainers. It's basically a plastic box with dividers. It's to keep your plastics in their bags, and filed like a filing cabinet would be. Plus it's got a handle so I just grab the case I want and put it in the boat.

My uncle uses those, and I like them, but I need something soft and flexible to make them easier to get in and out of the livewell opening.

coldfront · April 13, 2025, 06:33:46 AM

have gone to keeping my gear in the room over the garage. some folks refer to a 'Finished Room Over the Garage' as 'the FROG'.

it's the Fishing Room Over the Garage for me.

it's like my mini tackle shop. I keep limited amounts of the right stuff in the boat and rotate with the seasons. same for rods.

keeps clutter to a minimum. don't have to worry about colors bleeding...

throught the years, I've figured out the best colors for certain times, applications and the local fish.

for the folks who think all you needis 'black and white'... yeah, they work. but i will tell you that at times the specific metal flake color makes a significant difference. and when those fish are keying in on certain stages of certain prey, adding/including 'that' color just gets bit a lot more...

your mileage may vary.

Pat Dilling · April 13, 2025, 09:02:47 AM

I keep plastics in their original containers and store them by type in the Plano KVD worm bags. I use the smaller size mostly, but did get some of the larger ones at first. I have a plastic shoe bax that I use a "Day Box" and rotate stuff through that for quick access during the days fishing.

topdsm0138 · April 13, 2025, 10:23:10 AM

Quote from: Pat Dilling on April 13, 2025, 09:02:47 AMI keep plastics in their original containers and store them by type in the Plano KVD worm bags. I use the smaller size mostly, but did get some of the larger ones at first. I have a plastic shoe bax that I use a "Day Box" and rotate stuff through that for quick access during the days fishing.

I tried one of those, but after a year, it started "delaminating" due to the S FL heat.

Tiny boat, but a big deck.

Oldfart9999 · April 17, 2025, 04:40:37 PM

I went to gallon bags carry baits by category, then I learned to carry just one bag of each bait and left the rest at home, makes it easier to move around in the boat and to take them in and out of the boat.
Rodney