Tackle inventory and open water prep

[tunrevir]

I was just going through part of my open water prep ritual which I do this time of year and happened to think of all you FM'rs. Last year we had a few posts where tackle was stolen from boats, cars, ect. Now is a good time to find a spot to spread out all of your tackle and take a detailed inventory. Take the time to write down the type of baits and number of each type of bait. I like to sort them by color pattern, size, and manufacturer. This list can be your go to list if anything is stolen, also, the thing I really like is that it turns into a "grocery list" of items that I might need to have one or two more of. One last thing is that if you can lay everything out in an area that you can also take a photo to compliment your list for insurance purposes. This helps me to pass the time before I really start hitting the open water. The other useful purpose of this exercise is when inspecting the baits as they may need new hooks or hooks sharpened, old line cut off ect. Just one more way to relieve that cabin fever!

Tunrevir~

[gunflint]

I think I would be afraid to take an inventory, especialy if my wife walked in the room. She'd think I was starting a tackle shop or just robbed Cabela's.

It's probably a real good idea though. I just can't imagine someone taking my fishing stuff. I fish almost every day during the open water season and every night I bring in all my gear including my depth finder. I would be devistated if I lost all my gear.

[tunrevir]

My wife asked me if I was going to open a tackle shop. "how could you possibly use all of those lures?" My reply was, "the same way you use all of those pairs of shoes."

[IFallsRon]

How much gear a man has is one of the mysteries that a man can hold out on his wife.

[waskawood]

I think I saw this on fishing Minnesota once. "I just hope that when I die, my wife doesn't sell my toys for what I told her that I paid for them"!!!

[traveler]

The very thought of trying to inventory all my tackle sends shivers up my spine...I'd have to rent the DECC or something, and take a couple weeks vacation. I'm pretty sure I've had things stolen and haven't even missed em'. Scary...

[harvey lee]

Thats what I did at the request of my insurance agent.I took a tally of all my gear,then took photos of all of it.Pictures dont lie.You will be suprised at just how much gearyou have bought and the dollars you have spent.

[Northlander]

I also did this after a big garage fire took all my gear a while back. Now I have pics and digital pics saved in my computer. Plus Im going to video tape everything. A good idea is to get pics of your graphs and every add on you have on your boat. That way if something happens to that you have all the pics of things you may have forgot about.

[tunrevir]

I didn't even think about the boat add-ons for pics! Good idea!

Tunrevir~

[Bushwacker]

That is a great idea, I am an insurance agent and most people have absolutely no idea of how much they have invested in fishing tackle/gear. I just had a good buddy that had his fish house broken into and all of his "little" tackle boxes were stolen. We figured out he had at least $200 in jigs in each "little" box. It doesn't take long at $2-$5 a piece. It would be a lot easier to know ahead of time than trying to figure it out after the fact. Another great idea is storing your pics someplace other than your home. If you have a fire and your pics of all your burned gear is also burned, it doesn't do a whole lot of good. I know I am more than happy to store people's pics in their client folders at my office.

[Northlander]

Very true. We have copies in our Safe deposit Boxes.

Ya one box of winter spoons could be $500. I couldnt believe how much stuff I had at the time. Now I have 50 times what I had then. Crazy!

[tunrevir]

Northlander, I sent an e-mail to ya this morning using the address on your post. Just wondering if you got it? Here is one that might not ever happen again...but did happen. I was fishing the river and doing some wading back in college and loaded up my gear to head home. I had some bait in a brown paper sack and just threw in my box of jigs&cranks right in the bag as I was leaving. Long story short, car got awfully dirty, went to a drive in car wash to get it cleaned...the kind where they vacum the carpet ect, before it goes through. They also empty your car of wrappers, and trash, ect. Well, I lost that little river box and never even knew it untill a few days later when I went to fish and had no lures except the one on the end of my rod. Bummer! Around a 100 bucks gone before my eyes and I didn't even know it. I hope that they took it and caught many a fish because it still kills me to think that someone could actually have thrown it out by mistake.

Tunrevir~

[Captain B.R.K]

I think taking pictures of what you have is a very good safety precaution in case something ever happens. I look at box of jigs and believe me, I just don't think much about the value of em' but if I were to lose them, figuring there is a good $100 of tackle in the box. THAT is just a jig box!

My buddy had all his archery equipment stolen and had he taken pictures of everything, working with the insurance agent would have been a lot easier IMO.

[Northlander]

Tun if it was concerning a frame you have mail.

[tunrevir]

Northlander didn't get the mail. [email protected]

Tunrevir~ The open water itch is getting tougher to fight!