A collection of fishing lures represents a significant investment of both money and time. Each lure is a specialized tool, and its premature failure due to rust, damage, or degradation is a costly but mostly preventable problem. A truly effective strategy is a complete system that begins before you make your first cast and concludes with a high-quality storage solution.

This guide explores best practices to ensure your tackle remains in peak condition and lifetime.

On-the-Water

The best way to preserve your tackle is to limit its exposure to degrading environments.

Minimize Exposure

Your entire collection does not need to go on every trip. Unneeded exposure to sun, salt spray, and humidity degrades tackle unnecessarily. If you have a clear plastic tackle box that lacks waterproofing, this degradation can occur even in lures that never leave the box. The most efficient anglers maintain the majority of their collection in a stable environment and pull out only what is needed for the day. This minimizes unnecessary wear to your lures and, at the same time, simplifies your post-trip cleanup.

Lure Retention

The first rule of making a lure last is not losing it. This is not just to save you money, though that is certainly another benefit of being careful. Lost soft plastics can stay on the bottom and end up in fish’s stomachs, injuring them.

• Securing Soft Plastics: A standard hook may not be enough to make sure your lure stays put. You can increase the life of each bait by using a separate retention method. For wacky rigs, use an O-ring or small zip tie. For Texas rigs and swimbaits, choose hooks with built-in twist-lock springs or bait keepers. For jig trailers, a drop of super glue on the hook shank helps create a more durable, lasting bond.
• The Habit of Inspection: Routinely check your lure after every catch or after fishing through cover. If the plastic is torn or stretched, its holding power is compromised. Replace it before it fails.

Decontamination

Corrosion from moisture and saltwater is a relentless enemy of your gear.

Step 1: Isolate Used and Wet Tackle

Don’t return a wet or salty lure directly to your primary tackle box. This introduces contaminants into your storage solution that can slowly corrode your entire collection. Throughout your fishing trip, place all used tackle in a designated day box, cup holder, or some other container that’s separate from your tackle box.

Step 2: Clean Thoroughly

A quick freshwater rinse is a good idea: simple and effective.

Step 3: Dry

This is a critical step. Lay all cleansed tackle on a dry towel in a well-ventilated area or one with a dehumidifier until it is completely dry. In this case, a waterproof box is a double-edged sword when not used correctly: it keeps water out, but it also traps any moisture in. Storing even a slightly damp lure in a sealed box without desiccants creates a higher-humidity environment that essentially guarantees rust. When in doubt, leave your tackle boxes open overnight in a low-humidity environment to ensure they are bone-dry before you close up that protective tackle case.

Advanced Protection

Once tackle is clean and dry, employ proactive measures to combat the ambient humidity and chemical reactions that occur during storage.

Preventing Rust in Storage

The first step is to remove any hooks or lures that show signs of rust and try to clean them. The next is to actively manage the humidity inside the box. Place a moisture-absorbing desiccant inside your tackle trays. Silica gel packets (saved from other purchases or bought in bulk) are ideal. In a pinch, a layer of uncooked rice in the bottom of a tray compartment will also help to pull moisture from the air, but you may not want to trust your whole collection to it.

Applying Chemical Barriers: VCIs and Coatings

For the highest level of protection, add a chemical barrier.

• Vapor Corrosion Inhibitors (VCIs): VCI strips release a vapor that forms a microscopic, rust-preventing layer on metal surfaces within the enclosed space.
• Barrier Coatings: After drying, wipe down hooks, tools, and metal components with a clean rag lightly treated with a corrosion-inhibiting oil or wax. This leaves your tackle protected with a physical barrier against moisture and oxygen.

A High-Quality Storage System

Over the years, your tackle can suffer if it is stored in a standard, non-sealed container. They are vulnerable to humid air and can undermine your other efforts to keep tackle dry and rust-free.

Creating a Controlled Environment

A high-quality storage system is designed not just for organization, but for absolute environmental isolation. This is the engineering principle behind every SKB iSeries Tackle Box.

• Built to military standards, our iSeries cases feature a complete gasket seal, making the majority of them fully waterproof and dust-tight (IP67 Rated). This creates a stable micro-environment where desiccants and VCIs can work at maximum efficiency, as they are no longer fighting a constant influx of external humidity.
• The rugged, injection-molded shell is impervious to the chemical reactions from soft plasticizers and provides crushproof, UV-resistant protection for your investment.
• For daily excursions, pack a compact SKB Small Tackle Box or the SKB Tak-Pak Tackle Backpack. This system minimizes risk and maximizes protection at every stage. At home, use an iSeries case to keep your entire collection from corrosion and sunlight.

By preventing the loss of your bait while fishing, cleaning them afterwards, keeping baits away from the sun and heat, protecting your tackle from rust, and storing your collection in a waterproof case (with desiccants), you safeguard the performance of your tackle and your future success on the water.

Explore the full line of SKB tackle solutions today.