We talk quite a bit about tackle and different lures that may or may not work on any given day but for this post I would like to talk about that piece of equipment that doesn’t get a lot of fanfare but to me is one of the essential tools for anglers that can make a fishing trip either more or less enjoyable depending on what one is carrying.Over the course of the years I have replaced this particular piece of gear four or five times and this past year was the last time I did. Once again I found that my tackle collection outgrew my tackle box. So once again, I looked around for a suitable replacement with a few things in mind. It had to accommodate my growing collection of lures as well as have enough room for the new style of clamshell packaging and of course the larger sizes of things like plastic worms and carry all the other items, scents, pliers, bug juice, sun screen and whatever else I might need on any given trip to maximize my time on, or next to the water.
After having looked at a couple of dozen different tackle boxes and bags I settled on the FTO Elite Kevin VanDam 4880 Bag. To begin with I’ll give you the dimensions: 27 x 15-1/2 x 15-3/4. This may not seem like a lot but when you see this bag in person you understand how large this bag is. It comes with 7 3700 series boxes and holds up to 10. Even saying this does not do the size of this bag justice. When I got it I was amazed how really LARGE this bag is.
I now have used it for about 6 months and have yet to even come close to finding its limits for holding stuff. When I first got it I transferred all of my existing tackle which I was able to arrange very easily with room to spare without having to put four or five lures in one compartment. I now have at the most two per compartment and no longer have the problem of having all the treble hooks getting entangled together causing every lure in a single compartment to get stuck together which then requires at least five minutes to separate the one lure your wanting to tie on.
Now I don’t know about anyone else but going through that little routine a dozen or so times a night was not my favorite part of any fishing trip. I cannot be more pleased that I no longer have to do this.
Considering the fact that I do a lot of fishing from the shore, the removable take along bags that are incorporated into this bag have been a real handy item to have. I find myself taking several lures with me in one of these bags so that I can walk the shore with a good assortment of baits and not have to go back to the truck every time I want to change lures or ruin a soft plastic. When you’re hoofing it around a lake of even moderate size, this little feature saves you a lot of time and allows you to find a pattern and a lure that is working that day.
This bag has BIG pockets that will accommodate any of the jumbo sized soft plastics that I have run across up to this point as well as other side pockets that can be used for any number of miscellaneous items that you might want to carry. The FTO Elite has a big, padded handle and shoulder strap that are both very comfortable and make carrying it around less of a chore than other bags that looked at.
To sum it up, this is one very LARGE bag while at the same time, packed with goodies that lend themselves to a very efficient tackle system. If you have found yourself wasting time looking for or having to sort out lures that are all stored far too close together, or you simply need more room to carry what you consider the proper assortment of baits for your next trip, you may want to keep this bag in mind. It took some getting used to but this is one of those purchases where I have no buyers regret.
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See ya on the water…