What do you do?

 

I originally sorted by style but quickly realized there are few times when I want every craw style bait from finesse to magnum.  Most often I'm choosing my soft plastics for the day by size and so now I have them sorted by overall length but that has its drawbacks too.  Namely, the middle of the range gets too crowded.  It also means that as I aquire new soft plastics I have to make room for them in the middle of a case. 

 

Next, I think I'll add mesh bags inside the bigger container to sub sort by style.  What works for you?  Ziplocs inside Ziplocs?  Take them out of the OG Packaging?

Original bags, or replacement bags from here - boxed in Plano 3607-10 or 3707-10 by type. Sometimes more than one per box - like Chigger Craws and Pitt Boss in one - all 4 sizes of Zoom Brush Hog in another - etc.

I used to have a 3700 with all the things that I could normally want on a trip anywhere like a set of rage bugs, some paddle tails, a few flukes, a few senkos, a section of spunk shads, and an ‘assorted’ section.  That box came on every trip and I refilled it after trips for the things I ran out of (mostly trailers).  Then on top I had a couple speed bags that I would throw in depending on the time of year and what I thought might be happening (big worms, other senkos, other packs of what was in the 3700, colors I didn’t have already, etc).

 

When I moved into the boat, I kept the 3700 intact and kept the speedbags but added a bag.  Because the boat is bigger of course.  Shortly after, I got rid of the speedbags for the hard plastic plano worm folders that @gim suggested 6 months back ($13 at Walmart and they fit a crap ton if that’s important). The speedbags were getting wet in the boat and the plastic boxes are waterproof.  I reorganized again based on shape.

 

I’ve had intermediate steps also.  What I’ve learned is- most of what we carry isn’t important most of the time.  There are a handful of shapes in a handful of colors that are important for where/how you fish.  Keep those handy. The rest are all for the edge cases when a green pumpkin something bug doesn’t work but the fish really want a white sparkle trick worm swum over their head.  Those edge case lures are the ones that you don’t need a ton of and they can be a little burried in the boat.  But when you need them you need them.  Once you figure out the things that are important to you, organization becomes easy.  If I were starting again and know my lakes the way I know them, I could get by with 6 shapes across 2 or 3 colors in each and be good. (15 packs would be fine).  I’d have a few more here or there for variety, but that would be plenty.

 

For the most part, I leave everything in the original packaging now.  The 3700 example above was pulling 2-4 of a given color/shape and putting them all together.  Now, I leave them all original and just go with it.  

7 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Now, I leave them all original

 

However one chooses to do it, I think this is the solution.  Just leave them in their original packaging.

My front dry storage is a sea of ziploc bags with the plastics sorted into like type baits by bag.

I have a storage space on the floor, right in front of me on my kayak where I keep 5 bags of soft plastics in their original package. One pack of Zoom Ole Monsters, one pack of Mag Trick Worms, and One bag of 7 inch Senko's, and One bag of Skinny Dippers.  

 

Behind me I have a soft tackle bag with a dozen or so packs of soft plastics.  Most of them are the same ones I have in the storage place on my kayak, only in different colors.  Again all in original packaging.

 

Back in my car I will have a duffle bag with everything I might need for a weekend trip, including enough soft plastics to stock a Bass Pro Shops.

 

What I don't bring with me stays at home in a couple of dresser drawers.  I'm hoping to someday buy a warehouse to store my excess tackle in.

 

Used soft plastics go into a Ziplock bag.  When I get time I repair them with Mendit.  They all go in the same bag, and eventually turn into some shade of purple.

 

I have way to many soft plastic baits considering I don't even prefer to fish soft plastics, but around here, the Bait Monkey wins. 

I have tried an assortment of ways; original pkg., tackle bags, totes, and plastic boxes.  I have settled on the 3600 size boxes.  I sort them by type;  TRDs, Zinkers, tubes, craws, brush hogs, swim baits, etc.  Some take more than one box.

 

I've got about 15 different gallon bags sorted by like types of baits that are in the original packages in my boat. In my kayak, there's 4 bags that are much more condensed. I don't mix TPE style baits with normal baits to try and avoid melting issues. 

I like soft zippered bags and in some cases zip lock freezer bags.  I sort by bait type, such as tubes, hula grubs, stick baits, trailers, craws, etc.  It works for me.

I sort by size but in their original packaging.

Have a fairly large tackle bag and all the outside zippered pockets consist of soft plastics.

Left side is Senko's, mag worms and craw imitations, mainly brushhogs and creature.

Large center pocket is all finesse, Neds, Flickshake, Robo worms, small craws and everything I'd use for drop-shot.

Right side is all soft jerkbaits and swimbaits.

 

For those of you that sort by type, don't you find the variety of sizes makes that unwieldy?  For instance, I have craws from 1" micro finesse to 4" flipping craws.  The situations I use them in are so different I found myself constantly either overwhelmed by baits I couldn't use in the moment, or missing something that I'd left behind.  

1 hour ago, MontanaBasser said:

For those of you that sort by type, don't you find the variety of sizes makes that unwieldy?  For instance, I have craws from 1" micro finesse to 4" flipping craws.  The situations I use them in are so different I found myself constantly either overwhelmed by baits I couldn't use in the moment, or missing something that I'd left behind.  

Make a micro bag for under 3” 🤷

A friend of mine uses 2” round shower curtain rings to hold soft plastic bags by the leg hole by type. IE, Senkos bags on a ring. Simply pull out a ring of Senkos and flip through the bags to find the length and/color you want.  Good method to quickly find what you need. 1 ring holds 10 bags and a soft tackle bag holds well over 10 rings of soft plastic bags.

Tom

 

I leave them in original packages and use Plano speed bags, the smaller one.

10”-12” go all the way across, straight tailed on the left, any worm with a tail, curly, paddle, etc, on the right.

have another one for creature and tubes.

I just ordered a couple of these for soft plastics.  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060JNORG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

 

TW has them for $20 (?) while they are $13 on Amazon.  I looked at the fancy LIV see-through, soft bags but for more than the double the price of the Flambeau, I didn't think it was worth it.  I plan to have one box for drop shot baits and other finesse presentation and the other box will be for pitching baits.  I'm hoping I can lay them flat in a compartment and lay 3700s on the top.  I don't like placing all of my boxes on their sides in slots.  

@Junk Fisherman those are the boxes I was referring to above that Gim put me onto. For $13 and waterproof they are really good. I wish they were just an inch less wide to fit in my wells better but I can manage. 

I have tried every conceivable way to carry my plastics. Original packaging placed in gallon ziplocks, original packaging in plastic shoe box style. I keep going back to Plano type 3700 boxes. With 3700 boxes I can see all colors at once and if I need to replenish. I actually have some 30+ year old worms in Plano box that are in great shape.

Original bags, in one of these, or the tall ones, or the small ones. 

Only thing I'd change is some dividers in the larger ones like this. 

Usually a bag will hold a couple of types, like craw and chunk, or brush hog and lizard. A few have their own bag like hover stroll or straight tail worm. 

If you aren't in a boat, a couple of the small ones will do. 

 

Original bags by type in 1 gallon freezer bags. I do put all the Ned size stuff in its own bag. 

 

Allen 

On 12/19/2025 at 11:26 AM, Jig Man said:

I have tried an assortment of ways; original pkg., tackle bags, totes, and plastic boxes.  I have settled on the 3600 size boxes.  I sort them by type;  TRDs, Zinkers, tubes, craws, brush hogs, swim baits, etc.  Some take more than one box.

 

This is essentially how I am storing soft plastics now. Main thing is it forces me to be selective on the amount of colors and type of plastics that I carry.  Realistically I can get by with 3-4 colors depending what type and style of soft plastics that i’m using. 

 

Tubes and boot tails are the only soft plastics That I have multiple boxes of sorted by size. I have  T-rig craw box and than a flipping/punching creature box. 

 

When I was Using the Tackle bags to store soft plastics. The bait monkey was forcing me to buy as many soft baits as I could to cram into the tackle bags. Which, was a lot.  I’ve realized after doing this for a while, a majority of the different colors I was buying were never getting used.  Eventually I would just end up throwing them away. 

I know what you mean.  I have 4 tackle bags in my garage rod closet.  I go through them every so often and move a few to the boat.

This conversation has been illuminating.  Thanks Everyone.  I think I'm going to make a separate bag for all my small and mini stuff and then go back to sorting by type.