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Angler's Sanctuary

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Angler's Sanctuary

Dave Masterson talks about his 'Angler's Sanctuary'.
An Anglers Sanctuary

Anglers tend to collect equipment and gear over the years more so than other sports if you ask me. I have yet to see someone that’s lets say is into football, does he have a 5000 football count in his garage?….Or box upon box of Football cards that he has never looked at or used, buying only because they " Looked Good"?

Lets face it, Fishing, Hunting, and Camping are sports that require a lot of gear. Enter in the TTTTM Syndrome, or more commonly know as the "Tim The Tool Man Taylor Syndrome".

We can't part with some of this stuff it seems like and we always want MORE TACKLE! Old bags of a funky colored lizard that you have had for 7 years, spinnerbaits that looked so good at one time you bought 10 in the same color, scared, you might run out and the manufacture would go out of business.

Anglers are a peculiar bunch really. We stock up like pack rats and get nervous when we see a bag of ten inch blue fleck power worms or top dogs on sale…. "What the heck", we say to ourselves, and buy a back-up pack just for grins, knowing very well that we have 4-5 bags at the house.

You reorganize, and clean, stow old maps and notes of hot spots in hidden drawers, stopping to consider if the skirts you just found could be trimmed and salvaged. Inevitably, you stow them for a rainy day believing that you will trim them up and paint the heads a special color one day.

Some of us will have our own " area" dedicated to our passion. It might be as small as a locker with some well thought out shelving systems and rod storage or as big as a 5 star boat dealership, tackle store and everything in-between.

As a professional guide with national sponsors and owner of a company that sells different tackle lines I tend to have a bunch of stuff. My boat storage is in a three-car garage at my home in East Texas. When I built this place 5 years ago, I knew I wanted to be able to park my rig inside, with a drain in the floor, and with enough space to work on it as well as around it.

The depth of the garage is 32 foot, which gives me plenty of room. I used an 18-foot door on one side and a 12-foot door on the boat side. 3 Double bulb 8 ' fluorescents give me plenty of lighting in this area and 2 ceiling fans positioned over my boat help keep everything nice and dry.

When I poured the slab for the house, I had a drop in the elevation in the area where the boat was to sit. Pulling in from rain storms and being able to park this puppy inside, open her up and have it drain, as well as dry out faster, was a smart move.

My rod storage is on the ceiling and was a snap to make. I used 1X4 X8' pine and cut some 5 inch spacers. Made two railings and screwed it all together with one inch dry wall screws. Then anchored it to my furring strips that run under the sheetrock on my ceiling in my garage.

All my storage is basic 3/4 inch ac plywood and peg board un painted. The pegboard comes in handy for lots of things and I would be lost with out it. I ran 110 outlets on both walls aplenty for chargers, radio, extension cords etc. I also beefed up my breaker for this area.

Plano series 3700s fit under my cabinets and make for e-z identification of the baits stowed inside. I have a floating table that I keep between my boat and the truck. This serves as my get ready table when I gear up outside my boat, and when I gear up for saltwater, I use this as a prep table. Any standard banquet table is fine and is easy to come by.

My fishing area is my Sanctuary. I surround myself with photos of times gone by and mounts from years back when I just knew that would be the biggest bass of my lifetime, and I am happy to report that that is not the case. This is a place to work, and a place to reflect.

It is a place for us to put everything we have amassed over the years and value so much. That broken crankbait that caught so many bass at Fork that year still hangs on the peg board next to a line of other retired lures.

The old Lowrance X15 that’s been broke forever still sits on the top shelf, waiting like a fallen solider ready to be recalled to duty at any time. The old wrinkled photos of fish caught in times long past look back at me, and beckon to remember those grand times….this is all part, of what I call……the Anglers Sanctuary.

Dave Masterson