Swimbaits can carry some outrageous price tags and it can be easy to spend hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on a swimbait collection. At these kinds of prices, you can’t afford for them to get damaged or broken. It’s extremely important to store your swimbaits in a way that will keep them protected and catching fish for a long time.
So, you might be wondering, what are the best ways to store swimbaits? The best way to store big swimbaits is with a bait wrap or deep utility box. Bait wraps are a great swimbait storage solution that are constructed from durable cloth and include clear plastic pockets, keeping your swimbaits securely protected. Deep plastic utility boxes are another effective and popular swimbait storage solution.
However, there are a lot of other swimbait storage options that are both popular and effective ways to keep your swimbait investments organized, safe, protected and swimming straight. In this post we will discuss the best ways to store big, small, hard & soft swimbaits and everything in-between.
Let’s get started.
Best Ways to Store Big Swimbaits
It’s no secret big swimbaits catch big fish, but they can also be very expensive. It’s not uncommon for both soft and hard swimbaits to cost hundreds of dollars. If not stored properly they can easily break, chip or cause damage to other things like your truck seats or the boat.
When it comes to storing and protecting big swimbaits there are several different ways you can approach it. The best storage solution may depend on the size, type and how many baits your need to store.
Here are the best ways to store and protect your big swimbaits.
Bait Wraps
One of the best ways to organize and protect big swimbaits is with bait wraps. Bait wraps are constructed with durable cloth and clear plastic pockets and they work perfect for storing both big hard and soft swimbaits.
They come in a variety of sizes and provide anglers with a convenient and safe way to keep your big swimbait lasting. My favorite bait wrap is the Eye Surrender Large 8 Pocket Wrap.
However, there are a lot of different companies that make quality bait wraps and they come in different shapes and sizes so you can easily pick one that will best fit your swimbait needs.
Individual Bait Wraps/Gloves
If you are just looking to store a single swimbait or glide bait, then an induvial bait wrap or bait glove are great options. These are designed to secure your rigged bait to your rod. Making these ideal when you are transporting your rods and are perfect for protecting your swimbaits and preventing a mess.
My favorite is the Rod Glove Bait Glove.
Deep Utility Box
Another popular and effective way to store big swimbaits is with a deep utility box. The best swimbait box that I have found in this category is the Plano WaterProof StowAway 3741 Deep. This is a waterproof box that has plenty of room for some larger style swimbaits.
If you are using big utility boxes without any dividers you can use Hook caps as well to prevent them from tangling and bunching up.
Using Hook Caps
A great way to prevent your treble hook swimbaits from tangling and catching on things is by using hook caps. Hook caps are a protective plastic cover that you can place over your treble hooks that will prevent your swimbait hooks from snagging and getting caught on things.
Hooks caps obviously don’t protect the entire swimbait, but they are a great option if you have on tied on to a rod and want to prevent catching or for when you are storing them in bait wraps or utility boxes. They also come in a variety of sizes to match whatever size hook you may have on your baits.
My favorite hooks caps are the Owner Hook Caps.
Hanging Tackle Boxes
Another effective way to organize and protect big swimbaits is with a swim bait hanging tackle box. These are tackle boxes that have rods in them where you can hang your baits with clips and come with different compartments. These are great options for both soft and hard swimbaits.
Check out the Swim Bait Hanging Tackle Box by Lake Wood Products to learn more about these style of tackle boxes.
Peg Boards
If you are looking for a place to store your big swimbaits at home in your garage peg boards are a great solution. They will keep your baits organized and swimming straight. Here is a video by Tactical Bassin where they go over how they organize their swimbaits with peg boards.
Best Ways to Store Small Swimbaits
Small swimbaits like the Rage Swimmer, Keitechs and other small hard baits are phenomenal ways to catch a bunch of fish. The only problem is they can be a challenge to keep and store at times. There is nothing worse than opening up your tackle box only to find the tails of your swimbaits are damage and will no longer swim right.
To help you prevent this mistake here are some of the best ways you can store both small soft plastic and hard swimbaits.
Storing Keitech Style Swimbaits
Storing small plastic swimbaits like the Keitech or Rage Swimmer can be a challenge. They can easily damage, tear or bend if you are not careful. One of the best ways that I have found to store these styles of swimbaits is with the with the Flambeau 4510 Double Deep Box.
It’s a deep utility box that has 3 dividers and can easily fit most of your small plastic swimbaits. I like to keep all my swimbaits in their original packaging and organize them in between the different dividers. For the bigger sizes, I’ll just use some scissors and cut the plastic housing down a little until they can easily fit.
In cases where I need to pack light and only need a few paddle tail baits, I’ll just put them in a standard utility tray and that seems to work well.
However, because they are out of their original packaging, they are more prone to damages, but if you are careful you shouldn’t have any issues.
Storing Small Hard Swimbaits
Storing small hard swimbaits can be a lot easier when compared to the soft plastics. I’ve found the best way to store these swimbaits is just in regular crankbait style boxes. They keep them organized, protected and make the baits super easy to access. My favorite box for storing these is the Plano Elite 3707 Large Crankbait Organizer.
Other Bait Storage Resources
Final Thoughts
Fishing with swimbaits is a fun and effective way to catch big fish. However, they do cost more than your average bait, because of this its important to keep them organized, safe and protected.
Using the right storage solutions will keep your swimbait investments lasting a long time and allowing you to continue catching big fish. I hope you have found this swimbait storage post to be helpful and that you use one of these storage solutions to store your swimbaits.
