What are the must haves in your boat on a given multispecies fishing trip? Think bass, panfish, walleye. I have a ridiculously small tackle supply and I want to cover my bases here in terms of the essentials. My buddy forgot his box last weekend and kinda had a good chuckle at how little I had on board!
One of every possible jig color and size, sometimes two of each really good color, All sorts of plastics, hundreds of spinners and cranks…I’m kidding 😂 Buying tackle is an addiction, but I really only use the same 5 lures
Adam, if you need something, I would suggest buying it now before the tackle shortage starts again. It was really bad last season.
Adam, if you need something, I would suggest buying it now before the tackle shortage starts again. It was really bad last season.
It has already started according to the lack of inventory on Rapala’s website…
6,832 different types of Rapala’s/crankbaits, and only 20-32 get regular use. A million types of jigs (variety of weights/shapes/colors/styles). A few different spools of line. A variety of slip bobber setups. All types of hooks, sinkers, weights, bottom bouncers, plastics and lindy’s. Some spinners, frogs, and other bass tackle if you get that desperate (most of mine still has never a line 
). That should be enough to dip your toes in the water! 
Jigging raps, jigging raps and more jigging raps.
a good set of pliers and a knife. way too many times ive found myself without a knife and have had to get pretty creative cutting braid. on the rare occasion i do catch a fish its nice to have a good set of pliers to help with removing the hook
It has already started according to the lack of inventory on Rapala’s website…
That doesn’t surprise me.
That’s a pretty big can of worms you’re asking about, but you can keep it pretty simple depending on technique.
For panfish, a dozen “mini-mites”, a pack of split shot, clip on floats, slip bobbers and a pack of stops.
Bass, just pack some spinner baits. You can go crazy with all sorts of tackle, but if I ever get bored enough to fish for bass it seems they always hit a spinner.
For walleye, a slip bobber, split shot and baited hook catch a ton of fish. Another easy way is those clip on bottom bouncers with a swivel and a 3-6′ leader with a slow death hook and a crawler. Again, you can go crazy with unlimited options, but those two above will always produce, and often produce a mixed bag if there’s other fish around.
If you’re into trolling for walleyes, some number 5 and 7 flicker shads will produce 95% of the time (either long lined in shallow water or on leadcore in 15+’)
Better to have 5 lures you know how to use than 100 ones you’ll never use. Most people including me don’t stick to this but as long as you’re catching fish you don’t have a problem.
Don’t start with this obsession. Buy what you need, when you need it.
I have 1000 crank baits. That’s not an exaggeration. I use about a dozen of them. When I die my daughter will find 988 crankbaits that never touched water.
Buy what you need. If you need more than 4 Plano boxes you probably have too much stuff. One for bass and pike. One with terminal tackle and jigs. One for crankbaits. One for the rest of what you need.
Lots of great info has been shared already. I have too much tackle and always tell myself I need to be prepared for different tactics of every species imaginable when ultimately that’s a lie.
Once you’ve found how you like to fish, focus on a variety of offerings that fit that style. For example, I don’t slip bobber fish for walleyes on the river. There’s 0 point in me packing them into a tackle box or even purchasing them. If I happen to want them on a random trip, I’ll walk into the local bait shop at the destination and grab them. I also don’t bass fish intentionally very often. I’m not buying frogs, spooks, bass plastics, etc. In the event I want them someplace, I’ll buy the few I use for that entire season.
I have 1000 crank baits. That’s not an exaggeration. I use about a dozen of them. When I die my daughter will find 988 crankbaits that never touched water.
2 of every color and size and style of crank bait ever made. 20 of every size and color jig. 3-5 packs of every size and style hook. About 30 pounds of lead and tungsten weights. 600 bags of plastic. 1500 yard spools of 6lb 20lb and 100lb suffix braid 300yd spools of 4lb 8lb 17lb and 30lb fluorocarbon. 26 top water frogs and around 100 various bass jigs. That should be a good start. Just remember to put a rider on your boat policy that covers lost or stolen gear! ASK ME HOW I KNOW!
What are the must haves in your boat on a given multispecies fishing trip
Bottle opener
I apparently haven’t figured out the crankbait thing. I have 4 or 5, and only managed to catch a few stray smallies and pike with them. Never caught a walleye
I catch a lot of walleyes on cranks but at this point it’s more of an addiction than anything. I’m sure if I liked bobbers as much as cranks I’d have thousands of those as well. There’s just so many pretty colors.
I have learned many things from this site but this is one of the most important ones.
This is ALL i have ( + two little spinner bait boxes – one for Willows and one for Colorados that hold 6 spinners each and one small Plano box for crappie jig heads and plastics)(( made these cubbies in my 2019 Impact – something to do over the winter))
The two shoebox size ones with plastics go in the truck with me when off the water and the rest stays on the boat. I fish panfish, walleyes and bass. If I hadn’t listened to some of you guys I’d be one with the 1,000 crankbaits. THanks everyone!! 
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IMO decide what you want to fish for. Research fishing those species. Buy what you’ve now understood how to use effectively to catch those species. Let you interest in those species drive the buying of tackle necessary to catch those species.
I have anywhere from 8 to 22 plano boxes in the boat at all times depending on what and how i’m fishing. Over 30 LBS of lead at all times.
Whether you have a thin or thick tackle box, it is can consume your paycheck buying lures. 
Teach a kid to fish…and they won’t have money to buy drugs
Teach a kid to fish…and they won’t have money to buy drugs
To quote my 4.5 year old son at scheels Sunday. “Dad we have a lot of crank baits but we should get some more”
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:</div>
Teach a kid to fish…and they won’t have money to buy drugsTo quote my 4.5 year old son at scheels Sunday. “Dad we have a lot of crank baits but we should get some more”
LOVE IT!!!!
I’m with Umy neat clean a few boxes and plastics ready to go!
I have so much tackle I can’t ever decide what needs to come or stay. So im definitely not the guy to ask.
But crank baits are always key same with jigs of all sizes and colors plus trailers
I have so much tackle I can’t ever decide what needs to come or stay. So im definitely not the guy to ask.
But crank baits are always key same with jigs of all sizes and colors plus trailers
One of my favorite things about fishing trips is the prep. I have a tacklebox that holds 10 Plano boxes. I usually overfill it but it’s fun deciding what to bring along.
This is in addition to the half dozen that are always in the boat…..
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