Catfish Tackle Box

I have received several questions about my catfish tackle box . I received a couple of emails through the ask a question page wanting to know what’s in my catfish tackle box and what kind of box I use. We got rained out on my guide trip yesterday morning so I spent some time respooling my reels, trying to get some order back into my boat, fixing some things and cleaning out my tackle box so I got an opportunity to work on a response to these questions. We have also added a video at the bottom with more detailed information on the tackle.

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to send them in through the ask a question page. I might not get to them quickly but I assure you I will get to them.

After reading this make sure you visit our suggested tackle page also.

<————- This box is what I use for my tackle box, it’s a Plano Dry Storage Box. Through my years as a guide I have tried a lot of different things including traditional tackle boxes and soft sided tackle boxes and I always come back to this. I have one of these that has all my tackle in it. I have another one that has white bass, hybrid and gar tackle in it that makes it’s way into my boat mid summer “just in case” but this box with my catfish stuff stays in the boat all year long. These boxes are virtually indestructible. The one I am using now is about 5 years old and has never missed a beat, best of all, they are totally waterproof so there are no worries about your tackle getting wet. I have yet to find any tackle box that beats one of these

Plano Dry Storage Boxes.

I have probably fished twice in the last five years out of someone else’s boat so I have the luxury of storing everything in my boat, so this system might not work for everyone, but it works very well for me.

Now on to the fishing tackle and what I carry in my tackle box. I buy in bulk meaning if I go to Bass Pro or Cabela’s to get swivels, I often buy everything they have on their display because I don’t have time to be running back and forth or running out of things every other day, and during certain times of the year like trophy catfishing in the winter I can burn through a TON of tackle in a couple of days.

This is what I carry in my box:

No Roll Sinkers - 1 ounce no roll sinkers, 1.5 ounce no roll sinkers and 2 ounce no roll sinkers for a number of different catfishing rigs like the slip sinker rig.

Egg Sinkers - Ranging in size from 1/8 ounce all the way up to 2 ounces. I carry a lot of 1/8 ounce and 1/4 ounce sinkers, some 1 ounce, 1.5 ounce egg sinkers and 2 ounce egg sinkers, used for slip sinker rigs and drift fishing rigs, three way rigs and making my homemade drift fishing sinkers.

Premium Reusable Split Shot Weights - an assortment of various split shot weights for rigging slip bobbers.

Peg Floats – Peg Floats in 1 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch and 2.5 inch

Lindy Thill Pro Series Slip Bobber Floats – Unweighted - Like the usually several big handfuls of cheap slip bobbers for slip bobber rigs. I have some secret weapons here also that I will be writing a future article on.

Bobber Stops – For rigging slip bobbers.

Slinky Weights – I have some of these in my box now because I mysteriously found them in my boat. I usually use homemade drift fishing weights instead of slinky weights.

Treble Hooks - #4 Treble Hooks, #6 Treble Hooks and #8 Treble Hooks for fishing with punch bait.

Big Circle Hooks – Lot’s of big circle hooks for trophy catfishing like the 7/0 Daiichi Bleeding Bait In-line Circle Chunk Light with Stop Gap Saltwater Hooks and the 10/0
Mustad Demon Circle In-Line Hooks – Model 39951BLN, for big blue cats.

Small Circle Hooks – Small circle hooks for box fish like the  size 7/0 Mustad Demon Circle In-Line Hooks – Model 39951BLN.

Kahle Hooks – Kahle Hooks in size 3/0 and 4/0 Eagle Claw Kahle Hooks

Barrel Swivel – Lots and lot’s of barrel swivels .

Braided Line ScissorsMultiple pairs of small scissors for cutting fishing line, I lose scissors and pliers left and right.

Mason Big Cat Line – For fishing with punch bait

Monofilament Leader Line – 40 Lb monofilament leader line – Offshore Angler Tight Line – 1/4 lb. Spools

My working tackle box that I keep out in my boat to work out of is a small Plano Adjustable StowAway Utility Boxes.

Treble Hooks

Kahle Hooks

Circle Hooks

Split Shot Weights

Barrel Swivels

Bobber Stops

That’s pretty much it for what I carry in my catfish fishing tackle box. Of course I have pliers, fish grips, and other items in my boat. Make sure you check tackle page for more suggestions on catfish tackle, rods, reels etc.

SOUND OFF: What do you carry in your tackle box and what kind of box do you use? Tell us in the comments section below.