A big part of fishing is having a good quality tackle box to hold all of your fishing gear. So we put together a guide of the best tackle boxes for fishing that runs the gamut from small pocket boxes all the way up to configurable multi-tray boxes. And take a look here, if you are looking for a complete tackle backback.
OUR TOP PICKS
- Best configurable tacle box – Plano edge flex tackle box – Buy from Basspro
- Best satchel style tackle box – Flambeau satchel – Buy from Basspro
- Best protection – Bass mafia clearview bait coffin – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
- Best bait specifix box – Daiwa tactical long stickbait box – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
- Best jig box – Gamakatsu g-box 3200 – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
- Best deep tray box – buzbe colony 28 mod deep – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
- Best 3-tray box – lure lock 4-in-1 box – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
- Best beginners tackle box – Flambeau small double satchel – Buy from Amazon
- Best pocket box – gamakatsu g-box pocket utility case – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
- Best panfish box – gruv micro jig box – Buy from Tacklewarehouse
BEST TACKLE BOX TYPES
While the classic style tackle box with the expanding trays and drawers are fine and keep it pretty simple for beginning anglers, anglers today like modular systems that can work in a boat, in a backpack, in a kayak or just thrown in the back of a truck. So we advise different styles of modular tray and waterproof utility style hard tackle boxes that are easily stored in a backpack or compartment in a boat.
You can buy many simple trays and put different types of lures in each one. Or you can buy the bigger configurable ones and put all different types of tackle for the bodies of water you fish in one.
Many preconfigured tackle boxes will serve specific purposes, and we like those, but we also like tackle boxes you can configure on the fly yourself.
BEST TACKLE BOXES FOR KAYAK FISHING
The most important things for kayak fishing tackle boxes are as follows:
- being waterproof
- being easily accesible
- being stable in the kayak
While most folks opt for small waterproof satchels or a krate that holds multiple waterproof boxes, a good dry bag with a few small boxes also works as well. It all depends on the size and layout of your kayak and how much gear you want to carry on a certain body of water.
BEST TACKLE BOXES FOR BOATS
For us, the most useful tackle boxes in boats are the 3600 and 3700 utility boxes that you can stack on their sides to fill up a tackle compartment. When you have a boat, you tend to carry a lot more tackle organized by type of lure or even color or season. And if you’re like us, you keep the bulk of your tackle at home and load in just the boxes you need for that season or type of fish you are chasing. So you can’t go wrong with a bunch of Plano Stowaways or Flambeau Utility Boxes with Zerust.
BEST TACKLE BOXES FOR SOFT PLASTICS
You can certainly store soft plastics in hard boxes. We do keep a few boxes with soft plastics that we go through a lot in a trip or season of quickly. But keep in mind, plastics and materials like Elaztech can warp and compromise thinly made plastic tackle boxes. So often their packages are the best storage for them so they won’t dry out and warp boxes.
For that reason, we mostly keep our soft plastics in their original bags and then store those bags in soft cases like the Buzbe Quik Qubes, Plano Speedbags, Flambeau Heritage Bait Binders, or Bass Mafia Money Bags.
BEST TACKLE BOXES FOR SPECIFIC FISHING
So now that you are more familiar with the various uses for different tackle boxes, here is a list of individual picks for best tackle boxes that we like for a lot of different categories of fishing needs.