Information Page.

"Tackle storage.".

We moved house fairly recently and an offshoot of the move is that I was allocated a fair sized cupboard (what would have been called a 'box room' in times past) for my fishing tackle. I have to share the space with the vaccuum cleaner and the projector but it's much more than I ever had before.

There are two things that I should explain about myself before I continue. Firstly I am not a real man (don't get the wrong idea - I have four sons). What I mean is that I'm not (unlike most other men, including my late father and my sons) interested in gadgets. I've never had any real interest in bikes, motor bikes,cars, computers, mobile phones, etc. etc. and this gadgetophobia extends to fishing tackle. I am really a minimalist and try to stick to stuff that 'does the job'. Secondly, I'm no great exponent of DIY. I suppose that this is related to the first point as, in forty odd years of married life, I've never accumulated any tools. I have a hammer and a few nails, a couple of screw drivers and even an antique Black & Decker drill with a blunt bit but that's about it.

Anyway, to come to the point, I decided to try and set up my cupboard so that the tackle would be accessible and (perish the thought) tidy. The bits and pieces were easy, I bought a set of four big plastic drawers/boxes and put the gear in them. Reels, line and wire in one, floats and lures in another and so on (I have to say that it already needs a tidy). I put up some bog standard coat hooks on one wall to hold my waders, waterproofs etc. (only two screws needed for that) and then I agonised about what to do with my rods. At this point I should say that my rods never go back in their bags once they come out of them. In fact they are only disjointed so that I can get them through the door. The reels stay on, the line stays threaded and the latest lure/rig or what have you stays on the end with the hook tucked into a handy rod ring (I know I shouldn't do that but it's habit). In the past the rods were slung into an old cardboard box and leaned against the wall. This worked fairly well but resulted in the odd annoying tangle.

I really wanted something better. In the past I'd tried clips but they usually had sharp edges and I was always worried that they would nick the line. I'd thought about the sort of gadgets that tackle shops use to display their rods but had no idea how to get hold of such a thing, in addition it needed to be 'wall mounted' in a smallish space. I'd asked my pals and they came up with several suggestions but before I had followed any of them up it occurred to me that I could use coat hooks like the ones I was already hanging my waders on. They were smooth and curved so the line would be safe and the rods would not slip out. All I had to do was screw them to the wall sideways on. I'll put a couple of pictures in to show what I mean. Of course I didn't get them quite level or put them on just straight but the system works like a charm. No more tangles and I can just lift a rod in or out in a second. Magic!

If you have any comments or questions about fish, methods, tactics or 'what have you.'get in touch with me by sending an E-MAIL to - docladle@hotmail.com

INFORMATION SPOT

Rod rack.

Coat hook

'

Tackle drawers.

'