I’m fairly new to fishing and have been using Plano 3500 boxes to carry my tackle. I like that I can throw one or two in a bag or on the floor of any kayak and get out to a spot without much fuss but still have what I need with me.
When not in use I’d been keeping the trays along with the consumables to restock them in an old shoe box. This worked fine but after a few years the box was beginning to deteriorate and I wanted to replace it with something more durable and more organized.
Because the 3500 trays are my primary organizers I wasn’t looking for a standard tackle box with divided trays. I have several toolboxes with lift-out trays and liked that concept for fishing gear storage. I thought it would be great if I could stand three 3500 trays on their sides on the bottom of the box and have some space left over for bulkier items like spools of line and bobbers.
It turns out that a very large tool box would be needed in order to get the depth required to accommodate the 3500 size trays. I wanted to keep my storage footprint fairly compact. This is where Harbor Freight’s “Tactical Ammo/Utility Box” comes in, as it is set up like an extra tall toolbox.
Starting at the top – the top of the lid has a quick access compartment that is about 1-3/8″ deep. This is just the right size to keep a first line of consumables handy and I have some sleeves of hooks, swivels, jig heads, and more stashed here.
The main lid opens to the side and has a gasket seal around the lid to keep water out. The lid’s latch can be opened and closed with one hand and seems robust enough to last. The lift-out tray is about 2-1/4″ deep but is recessed about 1/2″ allowing items about 2-3/4″ in height to fit. This makes a nice second line of access.
The bulk of the storage space lies beneath the lift-out tray. The depth of the box comfortably accommodates the ~5″ height of the 3500 boxes on their sides, though a 3600 box is too tall to fit in the box with the upper tray. As I’d envisioned there is enough floor space to fit some bulkier items along side the three 3500 trays.
Thus far I’ve been very pleased with this box for my purposes. The 3500 trays are readily accessible for my fishing outings. Having all of my fishing gear in one easily transportable box is great for trips and keeps everything at hand when restocking the 3500 trays. The box’s size is exactly what I was looking for, having about the same footprint as the shoe box I was previously using.
The price is low – $12.99 at the time of this writing. Even with the cost of the three Plano 3500 trays the total comes in less than many tackle boxes of similar capacity, and offers more flexibility in use.
At this time I’ve only seen the Harbor Freight box in black. Bass Pro currently sells a very similar box in orange as the “Bass Pro Shops Utility Dry Storage Box With Tray”.