When I was a boy, I marveled at Granddaddy's old, brown, possum-belly tacklebox. It seemed enormous, with two sides that swung back to reveal six rows of gleaming lures, plus a cavernous compartment below for oil, stringer, plug knocker, filet knife,  leaders, sinkers, bobbers, and what-not. I couldn't imagine ever amassing that much tackle in a lifetime!

Well, times sure change. Today I don't have enough room in my boat lockers to hold all the gear I've accumulated over the decades. It fills up tackle bags tucked under the consoles, spills onto the workbench and several metal shelves. Once or twice a year, I make a box of stuff and donate it to the kids over at the children's home or to some young dad from church who wants to build some memories with his children. And the neighborhood boys help keep the me in check, sweeping through from time to time, harvesting booty from my scrap heaps. Still, I still have an embarrassing quantity of stuff that "I'm going to need that one of these days…."

One challenge this poses if finding stuff when I need it. With dozens of identical tackle organizers in boxes, bags, shelves and bins, it takes time to sort through them all to find the gear I need for the conditions I expect to find on each outing. Night fishing…. river fishing… springtime lake, pre-spawn…. I've got an idea of what I want for each.

In the past, I wrote on the boxes with felt-tip markers, but reorganizing was a pain. Plus some markers would fade or wipe off. I've hit on a better solution that you might consider.

First, check to see if your ink-jet printer uses alcohol-based ink or if you have a laser printer. If not, pick up a waterproof marker. Next purchase a few boxes of weatherproof label stock. The most convenient and economical source I've found for that is onlinelabels.com. Their labels are available in all shapes and sizes. Get the OL28 (0.75″ x 1″) to make labels that go in individual compartments, like to organize terminal tackle by size and shape. Larger labels like the OL1000 (1.5″ x 1″) are suitable for the outside of the box. Both have adhesive that sticks to polyethylene and don't dissolve when wet for extended periods.

Early spring is the season when many of us clean our reels, repair gear, clean the cobwebs and mice nests out of our boats and sort tackle. While you're at it, grab some labels and put in a few hours getting organized. Later this spring, when your buddy is  going crazy, tossing boxes aside looking for the right lures, and trying to get out the door to fish, you'll be glad you made a small investment to get organized ahead of time.