Finding a good terminal tackle storage solution can be a bit of a chore. There are a lot of little nuts and bolts that go into different techniques and setups, all of which you may want to have on hand on any given day. By the time you pile a pack or two of each odd and end into a box, you often find yourself lugging around what equates to a 10-pound cement block.
What if thinking small was the solution? I’ve used several different boxes for all of my terminal tackle over the years, and have really liked the Cal Coast Battle Box I landed on most recently. I’ve been using that box for a little over a year now to store all of my terminal tackle.
More recently, I’ve put together a smaller box to hold a sampling of everything I might need on any given day. That is what we’re going to look at today, the SPRO Terminal Tackle Box.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
There are three different sizes in the SPRO Terminal Tackle Box: small, medium and large. Prices vary by size from $19.49 to $24.49. I took the large one and put together a little of everything I might need during a day on the water. We’re talking bobber stoppers, assorted weights, screwlocks, Carolina rig components, a few of my favorite hooks and even a couple Tokyo rigs, wobbleheads, shakyheads and Ned rigs.
This has served me exceptionally well this spring, and when I’ve gone fishing with my dad in particular. Dad and I fish a lot of pot tournaments this time of year. Though he has enough tackle to sink a Jon boat in his Ranger, I prefer to have what I like on hand and easy to access. For this reason, I’ve always lugged my big terminal tackle box around.
With this product up for testing, I decided to see how many of the things I use on a regular basis could be stored in the large box (measuring only 8 inches x 4.6 inches x 2 inches).
With the option to have up to 36 individual compartments, I found myself running out of smaller items to store in them. I decided to pull out a couple of the removal dividers to make way for storing a few hooks across multiple compartments. I was shocked to find that this little box would hold a 4/0 EWG hook and a 5/0 worm hook. On initial impressions, that was not my expectation just looking at it.
This has been the perfect box for me to have all I need on hand when fishing with my dad out on his boat for the day, as well as when hopping in and out of my own boat. I stay in the city now and, though no one has messed with anything, I don’t really like leaving the temptation of a bunch of tackle in the boat at night. I’ve found this box to be a lot less burdensome to take in and out of my own boat each time as well.
This would also be a perfect box for when I go in the kayak, since it’s compact and waterproof. I do a good bit of fishing from the bank nowadays too; I even do some creek wading from time to time. This box is ideal for all of these situations because of its compact nature.
DESIGN ELEMENTS
I’ve been impressed with the intentionality and creativity that went into the design of this box. It’s not simply a smaller tackle box that’s built the same as a standard 3700 tray. No, this is a whole new design altogether. There are four separate, crystal-clear doors that can be opened independent of one another, giving you the ability to reach in and pluck out specific items without risking everything dumping out.
The doors (and the latches that open them) are spring loaded, another nice touch that helps the box function with a crispness to it. The cavities along the bottom of the box are deeper than those mirrored along the top, giving you the ability to store larger items like hooks and jigheads in the lower half.
There’s a waterproof seal around the whole box that pairs with a heavy duty latch along the front to keep moisture out. This is imperative with terminal tackle storage as rust can ruin almost all of this stuff, costing you a lot of money in the process. I like the little non-skid green accents on the box as well, which make the box easy to grip when reaching for it and keeps it from sliding around in the compartment of your boat or the floor of your kayak.
MORE THAN PLEASED
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like these little boxes. They came to the house months ago in a shipment of products for me to test. It wasn’t until just recently that I put them in the rotation. To be honest, I kind of thought they were slightly unnecessary at the time. I thought there was no way they could hold all of my terminal tackle. I didn’t really see the benefit at the time of not having it all in one place.
What I’ve found though is that this box can hold some of all of my tackle, allowing me to have a little of everything on hand. This has made transferring tackle from my boat to my dad’s boat to the house to the truck a lot more pleasant. I still love the Battle Box, and it holds the majority of my terminal tackle. However, it serves more as the filling station at the moment for restocking my newfound friend, the SPRO Terminal Tackle Box.
There will likely never be a situation where you’ll need more than 3 or 4 of any piece of terminal tackle in a day’s fishing. This box is certainly capable of storing a few of most anything you’d need, shy of larger hooks and jigheads over 5/0. The ingenuity and intentionality in its design paired with its versatility and functionality all come together to make this an easy product to recommend.
