This is NOT my idea. I got it from this site. However, it works so well I thought I'd bring it back around to share with anyone interested. Those are large peanut butter jars in the pic repurposed for crankbait storage. just rubber band the hooks together and they roll right out individually. The empty jars weigh 2 oz. each and hold a lot of baits depending on size of course. The price is free, they pack great, nearly water tight and you can easily see the bait you want just roll the jar and open the lid. My conversion is 2 jars easily replaced 1-plano 3700 or 2-3600 boxes and saved 1-1.5# of plastic. Plus your being environmentally responsible.

Nifty idea,,,,,,

I always cringe however whenever I see hard baits with premium finishes and ultra sharp hooks piled on top of each other. It doesn't take long before micro scratches start to take the sheen off the lures.

Some years ago this was pointed out to me by someone in the In-Fisherman crew. The article noted how most critters in the water have a "protective coating". A little sheen of sorts in the way of slime. Your nice new lures replicate that rather well......but pile them together and it doesn't take long before they get dull especially bouncing around in a tackle box or on a portage trail.

Does it matter? Many will scoff and that's fine but I believe the observation has a ring of truth to it. I generally keep my baits seperated but if I do place them together they recieve hook bonnets to help keep those hooks at bay. Just something for you to chew on and ruminate over.

Sounds good MT but i've got a super shad rap that's loaded with scratches and tooth punctures. that lure seems to get better the more beat up it gets. last year casting for pike mid day i even picked up a nice walleye with it. maybe the scratches read "kick me" in fish.

quote mastertangler: "Some years ago this was pointed out to me by someone in the In-Fisherman crew. The article noted how most critters in the water have a "protective coating". A little sheen of sorts in the way of slime. Your nice new lures replicate that rather well......but pile them together and it doesn't take long before they get dull especially bouncing around in a tackle box or on a portage trail.

"

What about the frosted finishes that Rapala is coming out with now? These seem to go against the sheen idea, no?

quote mastertangler: "Nifty idea,,,,,,


I always cringe however whenever I see hard baits with premium finishes and ultra sharp hooks piled on top of each other. It doesn't take long before micro scratches start to take the sheen off the lures.


Some years ago this was pointed out to me by someone in the In-Fisherman crew. The article noted how most critters in the water have a "protective coating". A little sheen of sorts in the way of slime. Your nice new lures replicate that rather well......but pile them together and it doesn't take long before they get dull especially bouncing around in a tackle box or on a portage trail.


Does it matter? Many will scoff and that's fine but I believe the observation has a ring of truth to it. I generally keep my baits seperated but if I do place them together they recieve hook bonnets to help keep those hooks at bay. Just something for you to chew on and ruminate over.


"

......and here I thought it was a nice temporary, compact, light, free tackle storage for backcountry fishing trips. I knew it was too good to be true and there had to be something wrong with it. I immediately dumped all lures out, bubble wrapped them individually, packed them in my extra large boat bag and hired the services of two Sherpa from Atikokan to assist portaging our fishing tackle in pristine condition so we can bounce 'em off the rocks. Thanks.

Did I say the wrong thing.....again! Rats! Story of my life ;-)

What's the famous Ben Franklin quote, "you can have your opinion or you can have your friends, but you can't have both" .........( i always thought the whole friends concept was vastly overrated anyway)

Two sides to every coin and here is a case in point.

For several Years each August we used to ply the big waters of Lake Minnittaki up near Sioux Lookout. We had found a " spike" of sorts just off a big island in 50ft of water. The spike was notable for the 10 ft it came up off the bottom. We would try and troll over it but one day we decided to try and park directly on top of it and drop down some baits.

My buddy had on a yellow Northland buck tail (the one with the touch of Mylar and trailer treble hook). Just before dropping down he grabbed a dead and scuffed creek chub lying on the bottom of the boat and stuck it on the back of the jig.The result was a whopper of a walleye (between 8 and 9 > the largest of any of our previous trips). That bait was anything but "pretty".......so who knows?

I will still try and keep my baits looking new however. But that's a personal decision that each person must make on their own. Does it make a difference? I dunno for sure!

quote mastertangler: "Did I say the wrong thing.....again! Rats! Story of my life ;-)......I will still try and keep my baits looking new however. But that's a personal decision that each person must make on their own. Does it make a difference? I dunno for sure!
"

I dunno if it makes a diff either MT. There might be something to it. Other types of small details make a difference. I have a friend that has hook bonnets on every lure and we've been friends for years. I'm not convinced enough to bonnet up.

When tying nymphs for trout, we'll intentionally scuff them up. Many fly fisherman have figured out that a scuffed up fly out fishes the new ones that don't have bits of fur coming off the body. I heard that it looks like more legs coming off, I don't know, but it does seem that the scuffs on flies always help. If I put my crank baits into a peanut butter jar, I'll throw in a couple handfuls of sand, that might help get that sheen off that keeps the fish away from my lure, well, I don't know if it's the sheen, but something keeps them off!

Kobykat.........that's pretty funny. (The whole sand thing).......I have read about flys getting more effective as they get beat up........but we are comparing apples and oranges as insects don't require a slime coating as do amphibians or fish.

When lures don't produce I think it may be they aren't able to strut their stuff. For example, want to see an original rapala really come alive? Drop down to 4lb line and witness the magic of balsa wood.

Lots of guys have line diameters which overwhelm the lures action. Or they have attachment points which won't allow for free swinging. Or they are overly concerned about pike and feel compelled to use a nice shiny steel leader.

Or maybe your not using them with precision? My first day on my Hunters Island solo I trolled the old balsa husky rapala.......didn't catch very much that day. Then I decided to troll with a bit more attention to getting my lure down near the bottom and put on the old larger fat rap (unfortunately discontinued) and did much better that day.

I am not a patient fisherman. One thing fishing offshore party boats has taught me......if I'm not catching them I'm doing something wrong and it is common for me to go through several presentations in a very short period of time until I feel good about it.

Blah, Blah, Blah, Sorry I posted and putting you all through this. No Really.

Next few years they will probably come out with the new "pre-distressed" line anyway...like pre-washed blue jeans. :)

quote BnD: "Blah, Blah, Blah, Sorry I posted and putting you all through this. No Really."

No, BnD, I got mine all prepped this way a few weeks back, although I'm still using a flat box to hold them. Easier to pick them out. Seems like my favorites get all banged up and keep catchin' 'em anyway.

quote BnD: "Blah, Blah, Blah, Sorry I posted and putting you all through this. No Really."

Perhaps this all could have been avoided had you showed a photo of the banded treble hooks placed in a soap box rather than empty containers of peanut butter.

I'm with you, BnD; holy hot air.

So. after looking again, i noticed that BnD labeled some of the crank baits with depth ranges. good idea. blah blah