No matter how stingy you try to be, getting into musky fishing is a much larger upfront investment than any other species I’ve fished for so far. Assuming you are just getting started, you need a rod, reel, heavy line, large net, bolt cutters and a few ultra expensive lures. Even when going for the budget options for everything, it will easily be a minimum of a couple hundred dollars.
What surprises beginner musky fishermen is that the lures are massive and need specialized containers. At first I got into musky fishing with only a few bucktails, crankbaits and topwaters. This all fit into a large tackle tray at first. Over time, I started acquiring more lures and some were just too big to fit in the tray. So I had to come up with some sort of solution.
Going the DIY Route
When looking for solutions, I realized that many of the options for storing musky lures were ultra expensive. Lakewood makes a ton of excellent boxes but even their entry level options cost quite a bit. I wasn’t sure how far I wanted to get into musky fishing so I’m currently holding off on getting one of their boxes.
Another issue is that some boxes don’t necessarily have the dimensions I need. Some of my lures are over 12″ long. A lot of boxes could not necessarily accommodate the sizes I needed.
After some consideration I decided to build my own. It’s not fancy but it will likely be sufficient until I decide to commit more to muskies.
What You Will Need
For this design, all you need is the following:
- Approximately 20 feet of vinyl downspouts
- One milkcrate
- (Optional) Plano Soft Crate
Aside from the last item, these are relatively cheap to acquire.
The following tools will be required:
- Saw
- Measuring device
- Pencil
Building the Box
Honestly this is one of the easiest DIY projects I’ve ever done. This is a pretty common design used by many musky anglers.
Determine the maximum length of lures that your box can accommodate. I wanted to be able to accommodate my big Headlocks so I went with 13″. Using a tape measure and a pencil, determine the cut that needs to be made on the downspout. Then saw that section and repeat until you have cut enough downspout pieces to fill the milk crate.
Now fill the milk crate with your downspout sections. For me I was able to fit 15 of my 2″x3″ downspout sections. They should jam together quite tightly. There was one empty corner of the crate that was too small for a downspout piece. I use that corner to store my pliers, jaw spreaders and bolt cutters.
Overall that took no time at all. Now you can fill the downspouts with lures. Some lures like crankbaits take up an entire section while several bucktails can fit in a section. I like to jam the hooks in between the downspout pieces. This prevents them from moving too much while the crate is in motion.
Optional Step: Making the Crate Fancy
This is my own spin on the design. I managed to find the Plano Soft Crate which turns a standard milk crate into a tackle bag. It’s designed primarily for kayak anglers but I saw that this would be good for my musky box.
One benefit of the accessory is that it provides a lid that can be tightened against the top of your box. This prevents lures from bouncing too much. It’s not super tight so don’t expect to be able to invert the box and not make a mess. Also it comes with a strap that allows you to carry the box with ease.
There are pouches that hang from the side that store tackle trays (included with the purchase of the Soft Crate). Musky fishing has a lot of specific terminal tackle like extra trebles, leaders and split rings. You can even store small lures in them. That way, when I bring this box with me, I know that I have all the terminal tackle I need.
Lastly, after musky fishing is done, the crate can then be used for other purposes. Personally I’m lazy and I leave my lures in there year round. However you could, for instance, remove the downspouts and lures and use the Soft Crate for ice fishing purposes.
Final Words
Overall, it’s a simple design that is relatively cheap and works well. If you want to get started in musky fishing but aren’t hardcore about it, I highly suggest building a DIY box. I can see myself using this box for years. Though eventually there may come a point where I need more lures. I could buy a commercial grade box but I could also build another milk crate box as well.
Let us know in the comments if you have your own DIY musky lure storage ideas!
