Hey noob
I think you mostly shore fish for now right. But having a big tackle box or bag is alot to carry around and if you get one too big it only encourages you to buy more.........lol.
I still have my Old Pal Plano hard box with the 3 lift up trays, it was my first and looked pretty empty so I got alot of lures to make it look fuller........lol. When I went fishing with it, it was awkward in the boat as it needed a flat surface to open up, hence takes alot of space. It has a handle to carry, no free hand to steady myself on uneven ground or hold my rods or other gear. My latches never broke but I have seen others with broken latches making them non-carry-able (if that is even a word) the handle is attached to the lid.
Now I use the Plano bag that has 4 boxes inside, kinda small but has a shoulder strap which I love. It is filled and is more round then square........lol. But It does not take as much space, I unzip the top and there are each box that I need. Stuff like pliars or forceps are easy to store in the side pouch. Lots of room for the little things. It does not have to be on even ground to open, still helps to prevent tipping over. Zippers are still good.
I like the bags mostly b/c it leaves me a free hand to carry net or rods. It limits the amount of stuff I can carry with me so I have to think about space. The boxes are replace-able if they get broken. Everything looks more organized then the hard box where loose stuff gets tossed in the bottom or a big drawer. CT had mine on sale for $14 don't know what the reg price was, I wanted the next size up but was out of stock. Worked out better for me, less stuff to carry around. Most of the time I only use 20% of the stuff, max is when fishing is really tough then maybe I'll go thru 60% of the lures to find what the fish want. The other 40% is for other rare occasions......lol. I would go for another bag again if I wanted more space, but now I just have a "big game" Plano box I carry in my back pack. There is no space anywhere in most boxes or bags for the tubs of Gulp Alive that I know of. They are so inconviently packaged.
MichaelAngelo showed me the tackle binder that he uses. It's really cool and looks organized. You might want to look at one of those too from BP. It all depends on what you're throwing and where you are fishing from. Walking with something big and bulky, not for me thanks. I've learned to travel light and effective.
Hope this helps. Happy B'day buddy.
