Sharpie to Go – The best money saving tools when I am out on the water is the 4 different color sharpies I have. I keep several of these on board in order to customize spinner bait blades and crank baits to the current fishing conditions. In addition I also use them to paint the bullet nose worm sinkers which I use when pitching to thicker vegetation.
John. - Indiana

Strip the House – When it is the night of the big tournament and the last thing on your mind is the re-spool, use this tip. Clamp your rod and reel to your work bench, insert an 8 – 10 inch wood dowel rod into your electric drill, attach the tag end of your old line to the dowel and let er rip. To give some perspective, I have been able to strip and spool 14 reels in 30 minutes using this method
Jerry – Missouri

Brace for Success - When fishing wacky style, I recommend adding 6mm or ¼ inch orthodontic rubber bands. These rubber bands will keep your soft plastic stick baits from coming off. The best part is they come in packs of 100 and cost next to nothing. If you know someone who wears braces, they will probably give you all you need!
Kevin – Maryland

Bead Bag – I use beads on most of my worm rig, and usually end up loosing most of them due to hang-ups under water. After continuously running out of beads, I went to the fishing department, of my local discount store and found they were out of stock. After talking what they looked like with my wife, she suggested looking in the sewing section. Once in the section I found a bag containing 10 times as many as I would have received in the fishing section, got a better selection, and the best part it cost a lot less.
Dana – Georgia

Be Together – In order to keep all the small fishing parts like hooks, sinkers, and pliers, together when I am on my boat I got some Velcro. The best set up is to combine industrial strength Velcro tape with the adhesive backing with ceramic magnets. Press one sticky side of the tape against the inside of a boar storage compartment lid, the other side of the magnet. Now stick the two Velcro pieces together and you now have a compact, yet powerful magnetic holder which also keeps your gear organized.
Dave – Texas

Land Line – If you are like most of us you must have an old, unused cell phone. Charge it up and keep it in your boat or tow vehicle toolbox. Although you are not able to make personal calls, the 911 feature still works and definitely can come in handy in an emergency.
Scott – Kentucky

Muffler Maddness – I have always wanted a front casting seat for my fishing boat, but since I am over six and a half feet tall, I was unable to find a pedestal tall enough. However after talking this over with a buddy of mine who works at a muffler shop, he cut me a stainless tailpipe 36 inches long and expanded one end to fit the casting seat I bought at a discount store.
Jack – New York

Utility Repair – I have had too many hinges break on my plastic tackle box so I have come up with a quick method which will save you the time and money of getting a new one. To do a quick fix, put the lid and tray sections together and drill 1/8 inch holes just above and below each broken hinge point. Open the lid slightly and insert a self locking nylon tie wrap through the lower hole, out the back side of the tray, but over the broken hinge and back through the upper hold to the inside. Open the lid and insert the loose end of the tie wrap through the lock end, snub up the loop and trip off the excess.
Sam – Georgia

Shine it up – If you are like me you know how hard it is to keep those chrome wheels on your trailer clean and not rusting have chrome wheels on your boat trailer. If your wheels are not too far gone, here is a great cure for this problem. First clean the wheels thoroughly, removing the entire surface rust which fine steel wool. Wipe them dry with a rag soaked in mineral spirits and let dry. Then give them a good coating of clear enamel spray paint. This should help those chromes shine for the rest of the year.
Rick – Illinois

Tackle Secret – After watching Bass Saturday on ESPN, I saw many pros recommend downsizing your presentation when the bass are biting slowly. I now use some of the components which are already in my tackle box to make small but deadly bass baits. I removed a jig head and a grub body from a spinner jig and attache3d the wire arm / spinner combination to the line-tie of the crank bait. The addition of the wire frame gave the little crank bait sufficient weight for casting and the spinner the proper vibration without upsetting the action of the plug in the water.
Bruce – Washington

The Beauty is in the Eye – I modify my spinner baits by putting eyes on them. My local craft store sells clear plastic eyes intended for toys which have a small bead for the pupil, which doubles as a rattle. These come in different colors and cost only a buck for a bag of 50. I usually cut a small dished out spot on each side of the spinner bait’s head and use Super Glue to attach the eyes. You can also use them on soft plastics and rubber frogs.
William – Maryland

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