Someones in the kitchen with Perchbaits...

[Scott McKee]

Prior to the start of every musky season I like to organize the lures that will make the final grade and get to go for a long boat ride on opening day.  If you have as many lures I do, this can be a bit of a problem.  One trick I've learned over the years is to use my kitchen cupboards and drawers to aid in the process.  I open them all up and hang the lures.  I can hang just about every musky lure I own and see them all at once.  Once they’re hanging, I organize them by lure type.  One shelf might have Believers, another Depthraiders, with just about one half of the kitchen storage dedicated to Perchbaits.  I then relegate lures to the second division. These are the very unhappy lures. The lures with red noses that don't get to play any musky games.  I then sharpen the hooks of every lure that’s headed to the boat.  I then pack all the winners in Plano 3730 boxes, which go into a gutted Lakewood box.  The Lakewood holds eight 3730 boxes.  Larger lures hang in vinyl gutters that fit neatly into the remaining space of the Lakewood.  Really large lures and two 3730 boxes of my second and third tiered Perchbaits get packed in my alternate box, which is a milk crate with more gutters, and large PVC tubes.  I refer to this as my "Lake Box", because I tend to troll large on the big pond.  Tubes, shads and hair (bucktails and spinnerbaits) go in three more 3730 boxes that fit conveniently in one of Frank's orange Plano satchels.  This gives me about twenty big boys, and thirteen 3730 boxes packed full of other toys to choose from.  The lures not making the grade get stored in a collection of really old Plano boxes and get stored in my office where their cries for freedom annoy me while I'm writing the newsletter.  Some of these lures do get to come out and play under certain conditions and circumstances, just like Rudolph did, so don’t feel too bad for them.  Did I mention I also label the boxes and create a football coach's play sheet with every lure listed?  I also color code lures on my lure sheet depending on how many muskies they’ve caught.  I’ll post my lure sheet when it’s finished. Which should keep you entertained for about three minutes.  Don't you wish you had as much free time as I do?  I bet you’d find better use for it than I do, that’s for sure.