Prepare a Fishing Bug Out Bag
My boat serves as a 20’ rolling tackle box, but I can’t take it everywhere. There are times when I’ll ride in friends’ boats and need to have a separate tackle bag. Perhaps you visit Grandma in Florida every winter and need a certain set of gear and don’t want to leave it there, or repurchase each time you visit. Or maybe you’re like us, and you’re a repeat customer at Anglers Inn’s properties in Mexico. Even if you leave a bunch of gear down there, there are always new additions to the stash or replacements for lures that got lost.
This is where it makes sense to have a “bug out bag” ready to go – a tackle bag dedicated to a specific purpose or destination and nothing else. For example, if you’re regularly a boater but occasionally ride in someone else’s boat, your bag should have a utility box full of generally applicable terminal tackle, along with basic tools like pliers and something to cut line. That way you won’t be sorting through expensive tungsten weights the night before the trip and trying to remember to put them back into place when you get home.
My “Mexico Bag” is one of the first things I see when I enter the garage. I have a list on my computer of the tackle that I listed as depleted before I left the lodge. As sales come up throughout the intervening months, I get what I need, and it goes straight into the bag. It’s always there, ready to go. Shortly before the trip I may remove items from packaging to consolidate and save space, but they don’t go int the boat. There may be items, like certain glide baits or discontinued topwaters, that I need in both places. Those do go in the boat or on the pegboard, but I make an explicit note to add them back in.
Remember, tackle bags and utility trays are relatively inexpensive, and most of us have many more of the latter than we’ll ever need. You don’t even need to use a true tackle bag – it can be a small duffle or something similar. Just put it to the side so it’s ready to go. At most, you’ll have to reconfigure some storage or add a few items, but you’re far less likely to arrive at your fishing location without everything you need.
