DIY: Lure Box Upgrade

There’s a bunch of different lure storage solutions out there, fancy compartments, boxes and containers but the majority of us still use the trusty Plano stowaways.

Over the last few years Ive been messing around “pimping” my boxes, to offer better protection to my beloved collection. Lures don’t come cheap, so its in our best interest to protect them as best we can.

Here is a step by step guide on how to pimp your boxes too. The idea is to line the bottom of the trays with a super soft closed cell foam tape called EPDM414.There is many alternatives available for this, however i have found that the EPDM tape best suited to this application as its super soft and conforms to the curved bottom of the Plano boxes. The 36mm fits the width of the 3600 boxes perfectly, if you are using different brand or boxes, it would be best to check the width first as the tape is available in a wide range of widths and thicknesses. 1m of tape is enough to do 1x 3600 box if all of the dividers are used, if  only 8 dividers are used like in our example below, you will need a to allow a little additional tape, as you don’t have as many dividers to allow for.

The tape is available from Clark Rubber and it costs $8.50AUD a meter.

Advantages-

Prevents lures from moving around in the box

• Less damage from hook rash
• Less tangling
• Less rusting – if any water gets in the box it generally will go to the lowest point, which is around the edges of the tape, this allows your lures to sit above any water and prevents rusting that would normally occur if the lures were sitting on the bottom of the box in the water.

Concerns–

When i first did this i had concerns that the smell of the tape or the tape its self might have adverse reactions to the lures (melting, staining etc) however after over a year of use, i haven’t found any problems, and catch just as many fish as i was catching before the use of the tape.

I also thought that being black it would absorb the heat from the sun and cause the dreaded cracking and expanding of the lures. After many trips away, and leaving a couple of boxes in the sun for more than an ideal amount of time, i can say that i haven’t lost one lure from heat expansion.

What you will need:

• 30cm Ruler
• Sharp Knife
• Permanent Marker
• EPDM414 Super Soft Self Adhesive Tape (36mm x 6mm) Approx. 1-1.2m

Step 1

Work out how you want to layout your box. Get all your lures and put them in how you intend on storing them, placing the dividers in the appropriate sections of the box, the placement of the dividers will determine the size that you have to cut the tape.

Step 2

Once you have worked out exactly how you want your box laid out, remove all the lures and set aside. Grab the ruler and work out the sizes that you will need to cut the tape. You want to be placing the the tape on the flattest section of the box to allow for the best adhesion, on my boxes (Plano 3601) the bottom curves up on the ends, so i cut the tape a few mm short, so that it would not ride up the sides. Once you have the sizes worked out take a permanent marker and mark on the back (white side) of the tape where you need to cut it.

Step 3

Grab the tape and place it on a solid surface suitable for cutting, then place the ruler on top and press down firmly and cut with a sharp knife. Try to keep your cuts nice and smooth to avoid any ragged edges. It may take several strokes to cut through the tape.

Step 4

Once you have all your sections cut out, remove the backing paper and place in the box, i found that it was easiest to remove the dividers and then put them back in once the tape was in place, just remember to leave a few mm gap between each section to allow for the divider.

Step 5

Re-insert all your lures and your all done.