# Only ONE box ...



## Chasntuna (Mar 21, 2016)

I have a serious problem with taking way too much tackle on the boat. I'm down at Fripp Island (SC) this week and after three days, I've caught some fish but find myself way overthinking, re-tying, running from spot to spot and frankly I need an intervention for "TOO MUCH SHIT on the boat", you'll probably agree that 5 rods and 7 Plano 3700 boxes AND a soft bag with 38 colors of flukes is too much on a Gheenoe lt25. 

I'm scaling it down the rest of this trip and would love to hear what you guys would fill ONE 3700 box with to target the usual suspectos( trout and reds). Based on the feedback to this post, I'll post a picture of my final ONE box I take out with YOUR recommendations and follow it up with a detailed report. I'm Chasntuna and I'm a tackle whore!


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

I’m glad I’m not the only one!!!


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## jlindsley (Nov 24, 2015)

Zara Spook or similar top water
DOA Shrimp
Paddletails/flukes varying white to a dark

Terminal
Weedless and non Weedless style jigs
Circle and J hook
Various weights eggs/split shot
20 and 40 lb fluoro

All of the above can fit in a ziploc bag and get everywhere of the water column in addition to covering live bait fishing.


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

Add a couple Aqua Dream spoons or spinnerbaits to the list above and you'll have it covered. Your Gheenoe will float lighter.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

I finally gutted my skiff compartments and now draft about an inch less! I had so many boxes of plugs, plastics and shit I never use that I couldn’t drag a fire extinguisher or life jacket out if my life depended on it! I really only use a few lures and flies...it’s hard coming to the realization that you are a tackle ho!


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

Years ago I fished with a prominent guide out of Flamingo. In the rear port side locker of his Hells Bay Professional, he had a couple packages of Owner Twist Lock hooks and 2 bags each of Salt Water Assassin soft plastics--white paddle tails and pink jerk shads. That's it. We caught reds, snook and juvenile tarpon all day long.

When I fish as a guest on a another person's skiff, I usually only take one box as you suggest. Here's what I take along:

3-4 Twist Locks Hooks (1/8 oz. #3, #4)
3-4 Mustad Grip Pin Hooks (for the Z-Man baits)
3-4 1/8 oz. jig heads
3-4 1/4 oz. jig heads
2 MirroLure Catch 2000 baits (different colors)
2 MirroLure C-17's (one white, one black)
2 Top Water lures (typically a Spook in bone color and maybe a MirroLure Top Pup in chartreuse)
Couple bags of soft plastic baits (not in the box)
Bottle of ProCure
Fishing Pliers and a Boomerang Cutter

Of course, like you I probably have way too much gear onboard my skiff!


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

It really is simple if you boil it down to soup to nuts. Confidence!

The next time you run out of a color of softies and buy some more, put those in the new box. Continue until full.

You will run out of the ones you have confidence in waaay before the others and that is what you should fish with. It is no different than cleaning the garage...I haven't used this is 7 years - out you go.

Heck, you can probably fill the box with your favorites now and give the rest away to some other unsuspecting fisher dude who owns a Gheenoe.


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

Heard a story about Steve Huff from someone who saw this first hand. He was at the dock in the Everglades and Huff was there. Another guy walked up to Huff, introduced himself and asked to see his fly box for recommendations on what to use. Huff opened the box and there were two flies - the same fly, one light, one dark. Is it true or a myth? I tend to believe who told me, and it wouldn't surprise me for Huff to do that.

I find myself only using a fraction of the flies I take on a trip. On a great day, I'll never change a fly. On a bad day, maybe change a half dozen times. But yes, packing light is a challenge.

Mangum had a good tip recently I started using - he carries lead wire and if he needs the fly to get down more, he'll cut and wrap some around the shank. Prevents from having to tie and also carry more flies with weight.

I also started using worm bags for flies instead of boxes for travel - I can carry 10x the flies in the same space since I can wrap the bag.


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## BrownDog (Jun 22, 2019)

You need 2 packs of paddle tails, one in a light color of your choice, the other in a dark natural color (think dirt colored, green pumpkin, rootbeer)

1/8 oz jig heads
1/4 oz jig heads

With a paddle tail (preferably elaztech since it floats) I can straight crank it, hop it on the bottom, slow drag it on the bottom depending on the situation.


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## Goose (Jul 15, 2019)

This is easy.

2 super spook Jr Topwaters
2 mirrolure mr17
1/4 Texas eye jig heads (as many as you can fit in one of the slots in the 3700)
Zman Diesel Minnowz (Redbone, opening night, and slam shady)
Zman shrimpz (whatever color you want)
Zman Trout tricks (whatever color you want)

done.


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

This week in the Lowcountry? I pretty much agree with what's been said, but I'll repeat it for fun.

1-2 Topwater plugs (I like Spook Jr)
Trout eye or Texas Eye jig heads
Z-man trout tricks (love the shrimp po boy color)
Z-man Paddlerz (I think they are only available scented, but they seem to have really good action even with a slower retrieve)
Basically any artificial shrimp if you want to drift it under a popping cork, but I don't find myself using those often

Also I would probably cut the number of rods you're brining in half -- can't think of the last time I used more than 2-3 spinning rods if I was just inshore fishing.


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## Chasntuna (Mar 21, 2016)

Ok, spent this afternoon whittling down to ONE box. 
I went from this 










To this (thanks to all of your input, encouragement and unwavering support in this challenging time in my life)











Also have 4 bags of flukes now, pearl, pink, green gold glitter and avocado with red tail. When I get back, I'll organize a little bigger box and put the plastics back in bags. These are all zman so I don't need to worry about them 'melting. I still can't get down to just a few colors, but hey- first step is admition to my problem, right? 

If you see anything that you'd swap from the first picture to the second, speak up. Looking forward to a full day on the water tomorrow, I'll report when I get back home Saturday.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Chasntuna said:


> Ok, spent this afternoon whittling down to ONE box.
> I went from this
> View attachment 176072
> 
> ...


If I were you I would keep those Zmans in a baggie.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

BrownDog said:


> You need 2 packs of paddle tails, one in a light color of your choice, the other in a dark natural color (think dirt colored, green pumpkin, rootbeer)
> 
> 1/8 oz jig heads
> 1/4 oz jig heads
> ...


IMO, only thing missing might be some weedless terminal tackle like Owner Twist Lock Hooks. I use this when skipping baits under the mangroves and around a lot of snags, down timber, etc.


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## Chasntuna (Mar 21, 2016)

DBStoots said:


> IMO, only thing missing might be some weedless terminal tackle like Owner Twist Lock Hooks. I use this when skipping baits under the mangroves and around a lot of snags, down timber, etc.


I've got a bunch of twist locks in there, the only way to go. Weighted and none.


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## BrownDog (Jun 22, 2019)

DBStoots said:


> IMO, only thing missing might be some weedless terminal tackle like Owner Twist Lock Hooks. I use this when skipping baits under the mangroves and around a lot of snags, down timber, etc.


Eye Strike makes a good weedless jig head as another option.


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## Chasntuna (Mar 21, 2016)

OK, in short, pretty good week. Caught several short flounder on various paddle tails, common denominator was chartreuse tails. Also Picked up a few slot reds on the same throughout the week, didn't really matter the tide, but they were around smaller oyster clumps in the creeks, no real rhyme or reason. Bait was THICK! Shrimp, glass minnow, mud minnows and mullet were everywhere so I'm grateful to catch what I did. Wednesday evening at high tide, I caught the only trout of the trip, about 18" on a popa mullet black back orange belly. The highlight though was today, dead low tide fishing a creek around a few blow downs and caught this on a white Zman Diesel Minnow on a green eyed Texas Eye. I think it was about 28 but didn't measure it. I'm 6-3 for ref.










I had my 15 year old daughter with me so after releasing this slug, we finished the trip with a bunch of Sheepshead on fiddler crabs, no keepers though. Headed in around 6 tonight to pick up my oldest daughter (she's a naturalist on the island) to hit the evening high tide bite but the storms came up and we called it a trip.

As for the ONE box, I LOVE it. It surely got me to commit today so I had one rod with the white DM, one topwater rod with the PM and one rod with a EZ shrimp which I didn't throw. SO much easier! Thanks to all who gave me the courage to cut the shit out and minimalize!


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## BrownDog (Jun 22, 2019)

Nice Job!

Confidence is key to artificial/fly selection. Also not changing so much and making more casts/more time with bait in the water always catches more fish.

Don't sleep on that black/purple paddle tail....


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## Michael T (May 18, 2020)

Check that box. If you store the Zman baits with other brands like DOA, the Elaztech material will melt and you will have one hell of a mess. 

Keep our box as is, take the Zman stuff out and put it in a quart sized ziplock so you can mix the colors together but definitely keep those plastics separate from all others.


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## Tmrailtrain (May 15, 2021)

Love the posts and all the responses. I am going to have to take this advice just recently purchasing a gheenoe for the first time. Going from 18’ Shallow Water I seemed to always max out the weight capacity on rods and lures. Only ever used 2-3 rods anyways. 😁 Simplicity=K.I.S.S.


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## Backlasher (May 20, 2016)

I too have continued to shrink my tackle kit. I am currently using a small bag that holds four Plano boxes (plugs, fly tackle, soft plastics, and terminal tackle) with a side pockets but even that rarely gets used. 

I carry four rods - my SC Avid 7'6" medium/light with a 3000 Sustain, my wife's Waterloo with a 2500 Stradic, a spare Avid and Stradic, and a baitcaster for topwater. I also carry a fly rod in one of the side rod tubes.

What I have discovered is that 99% of our fishing is using gulp shrimp and jerk baits rigged weedless with 1/16 oz or 1/8 oz 1/0 weighted flutter hooks. I keep the gulps in a container on the shelf in the console and only pull out the tackle bag if I need to replace a hook or leader. Could probably get away with just a small pouch of rigged leaders with hooks for most trips.

I do keep our licenses in the tackle bag (get stopped for a safety inspection and license check every three years or so) however I see now that TPWD has an app that you can download your fishing license so my phone will take care of that.

I used to have a Pathfinder 22 that I installed one of those Plano box holders in the front of the console but still had almost every hatch full of crap I rarely used...

Minimalist is a great approach!


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## tailchaser16 (Sep 23, 2008)

You only need three. 
A jig (buck tail or with a plastic swim bait or Gulp) weight depends on depth. Or the weighted twist lock hooks if you prefer.
A sub surface jerk bait, soft like a fluke or hard like a Catch 2000 and lastly a top water lure.


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