Here’s more stuff that makes life easier for me.
Transducer Shield & Saver ($40 – price went up)
The bow transducer, which is attached to my Minn Kota electric trolling motor, takes a lot of beating and abuse when I fish for bass in skinny or shallow water. I often strike rocks, wood or the bottom, and the transducer may end up tilted over, scarred, or even worse….broken.
The Transducer Shield & Saver is an aluminum cup-like device that protects the transducer from such abuse. The entire transducer, supported by foam inserts, wedges into the cup. The bottom face, with its pulsating sounder, remains exposed but flush with the bottom of the shield. This gizmo is attached to the electric trolling motor with a black hose clamp. This “Cup” serves “To Protect and to Save.”
Storage for Soft Plastics - Simplified
Rigid tackle boxes take up a lot of space in a boat’s storage compartment, so I looked for a way to efficiently use my boat’s limited storage space. I found this tip from a Bassmasters video a while ago that showed the basser using “Mesh Laundry Bags for Delicates” that he stuffed with an assortment of soft plastic lures.
The lures were still in their original sealed bags for easy recognition. The idea was so simple that I tried it and still use it today. As expected, the laundry bags and their contents are soft and pliable so they easily plop into and conform to whatever available space there is in my boat’s storage compartments. I marked each laundry bag by types of soft plastics it contained. This idea is not only simple, it’s cheap!
Lure Cache
I needed still more storage space in my boat to stash a few favorite lures. The floor of the center rod locker provides a perfect place for them.
I cut down a couple of cardboard boxes and placed my cache of Missiles, Zooms, Strike Kings, and MOABs in them.
There in the bottom, tucked away under the cover of an array of rods, the cache of lures lies in wait for future deployment.
“Day Box” for Hook, Line & Sinker
The “Day Box” simply contains the essential terminal tackle that I need when fishing for bass in a day. It helps to maintain a tidy deck free of scattered tackle boxes and bags.
I found a box with a grab handle in which I put a small number of assorted hooks, weights, leaders, snaps, etc. that I can easily access from the console shelf. There is no need to open various compartments, tackle boxes and bags to the elements in search of the items, especially when it’s rainy or windy.
What I need is right there in one bite…hook, line and sinker.