How to set up a boat so nothing goes overboard
A boat is a small space that moves, tips and gets wet. Anything not fastened down eventually slides under a seat, gets stepped on or goes over the side. I can’t tell you how many nets and fly boxes I’ve seen broken because they were stepped on. A little setup before the season saves a lot of lost and broken gear.
1. Give every tool a fixed home
Pliers, nippers and forceps get used dozens of times a day. If they live on a seat or the floor, they'll slide when the boat turns. These are by far the things that get lost the most. Whether because a pair of pliers get wrapped in the next and thrown in the water or your nippers just disappear into the black hole of the corners of the boat. Small hand tools can be lost quick. We recommend mounting a magnetic tool holder where the angler's hand naturally goes: the side of the casting brace, a cooler lid, the rower's frame, etc.
The Tool Stick Mini ($29.99) has a non-slip silicone face and strong magnets for exactly this.
2. Put a fly station at each seat
Front and back anglers both change flies constantly. A fly patch at each position means no passing fly boxes back and forth. Flies dry in the air instead of going back into a closed box wet. And an angler can lay out the flies they think they’ll use before the day even gets started!
The Mag Grab Delta ($79.99) mounts to the boat with an anti-rust steel plate and pops off when you want to take it home. The Mag Grab Boat Bar ($139.99) attaches permanently and holds hooks, flies, lures and tools.
3. Keep the net in reach, not underfoot
The net is the one tool you need fastest and the one most often in the way. Mount it where the angler can grab it without looking. Personally, I like to mount it along the right side of the rowers seat on a drift boat or raft, keeping in mind it often needs to be grabbed quickly and with one hand!
The Net Rack ($49.99) puts a magnetic base plate on the boat and a mount on the net, so it parks in the same spot every time.
4. Secure rods between drifts
Use the boat's rod holders or tubes for spare rods. Never lay rigged rods across the floor, where they get stepped on. You paid a lot of money for those things! Treat ‘em right!
5. Use dry storage for everything else
Phones, keys, layers and lunch go in a dry box or dry bag clipped to the frame of a raft or inside compartments on a boat not loose on the floor.
