Tackle storage has always been the most difficult part of kayak fishing from the start. We become very limited with what we can take with us on a kayak because of how small the craft is and how we can access storage while on the water. Which in turn makes you think about how you are fishing that day and very meticulous about what you can bring. Enter storage crates, a box that we strap to the tank well of a kayak to store all our tackle and gear. There have been many manufacturers over the years introduced what they think to be the best storage solution for kayak fishermen, so here are what we think are the top crates of 2023.

YakAttack BlackPak Pro

YakAttack introduced the BlackPak Pro in the fall of 2023, marketing it as the be-all-end-all for tackle storage on the water. And they didn’t fall short. YakAttack first released the original BlackPak many years ago, but the still seemed to fall short of what we needed. The original had a lid, or what they called a lid and a singular size which still limited the amount of tackle you could pack with you on the water. The new BlackPak Pro seemed to fix all of the issues of the original, giving it a hinged lid, decent carry handles, and the GridLoc 2D mounting system which gives you much more customization than the original. The new BlackPak Pro comes in three different sizes which include a small (13” x 13”), a medium (13” x 16”), and a large (16” x 16”), and all three crates are 13” tall. Each crate comes with extra TetherTube rod holders, the small includes 3, the medium includes 4, and the large includes 6. With this, you gain more rod storage or storage for a net and gaff.

From our experience, the new BlackPak Pro seems to check most boxes for what guys are looking for in tackle storage. So, check it out and let us know what you think.

Hobie H-Crate

Hobie released the H-Crate a few years ago now, and this crate has been widely used by many different fishermen throughout the industry. The H-Crate comes in two sizes, a standard size (17.45” x 14.14”) and a Junior size (15.11” W x 15.11” L x 13” H) which gives you a couple of options for what you think you need to take with you on the water. Each H-Crate comes with 4 built-in rod holders with tethers in the corners, H-Rail mounting around the top on all four sides, and a grid mounting system on each side for adding more accessories. The H-Rail around the top of the crate is in our opinion the best feature of the H-Crate, it gives you so many options for mounting more accessories like the H-Rail Tackle Bin, H-Rail mounted Ram Balls, and so much more. If you are deep into the Hobie Ecosystem with H-Rail accessories this is the crate for you. The one downside of the H-Crate is no lid. Now they do sell a zippered cover that you can attach with push pins to the top of the crate, but to be honest, the zipper fails and the push pins pull out over time with use. Along with limiting access to the inside of the crate, the zippered cover just made the crate more unusable in our opinion.

So let us know what crate you use or if you have another brand that you recommend we take a look at!