KVD’s Storage System: Four Plano EDGE Boxes He Can’t Do Without
MLF pro Kevin VanDam has been a top-level professional angler for decades, and for most of that time, he’s worked closely with Plano. Over the years, he’s seen tackle boxes and storage systems continue to evolve and get better and he believes the EDGE series is the best yet.
“I’ve been part of the Plano family for a long time and the EDGE series was a couple of years in the making,” VanDam says. “They got with the whole pro-staff and included bass guys, saltwater, walleye, and everything because they wanted to rethink tackle storage. They built them around the 3700 size of boxes because that’s the footprint most used for storage in boats and tackle bags.”
In the lineup are standard, thin, and deep boxes and several specialty boxes.
“Every angler has certain boxes that fit their favorite techniques or specialty,” VanDam says. “Every Plano pro that I’ve talked to has their favorites and systems to store their tackle, and that’s what’s so awesome. There’s something for everyone.”
That being said, VanDam does have some favorites and listed the EDGE Jig, Terminal, Spinnerbait, and Plastics boxes as ones that best fit his style.
EDGE™ Jig
This box does a great job storing your favorite casting, flipping and swim jigs, but VanDam especially likes it for bladed jigs like the Strike King Thunder Cricket.
“It’s hard to find a box to storage bladed jigs efficiently,” he admits. “Normally, you just put them in one section of a regular box, and you can quickly end up with a mess. In this EDGE Jig box, they store neatly in there and the collar holds them in place. I can flip my box upside down and backward and they stay put.”
VanDam’s bladed jig collection is vast, and he’s the first to admit that he overdid it early in the 2020 Bass Pro Tour season
“When we started the season at Lake Eufaula and Okeechobee, I knew the bladed jig would be a player,” he recalls. “I had 176 Thunder Crickets in the box, and that’s way overloaded. But, if you look at how much money worth of baits was in that one box, it makes the WATERWICK™ and RUSTRICTOR™ they use to protect them from getting rusted or messed up even more important.”
With a jammed-packed box, VanDam still has a solution to stay organized and efficient.
“I had two rows for 3/8-ounce and two for 1/2-ounce because that’s what I use the most, and I wrote the size with a permanent marker on the clear top,” he shares. “I used the other rows for the other sizes that I don’t use as often.”
EDGE™ Terminal
Another of VanDam’s favorites is the EDGE Terminal box, which helps him efficiently organize weights, swivels, hooks, etc.
“I like all of the small compartments for small hooks and swivels,” he says. “This box also has a great solution to store all of your tungsten weights, and keeps them from moving into other compartments. This is one of my favorite boxes, for sure.”
EDGE™ Spinnerbait
The third box VanDam points to is the EDGE Spinnerbait box. He’s well known for his prowess with a spinnerbait and was heavily involved with this particular box’s development.
“I like that the box is deep and will fit any size of spinnerbait I’m going to use,” he says. “Even with a trailer hook, spinnerbaits fit in this box great. I also like that there are no slots or anything and the baits stay there perfectly. The spacing is also adjustable, so you can set it to fit your needs.”
EDGE™ Plastics Box
There are many different ways to store bags of soft plastics, but VanDam has become a fan of the new Plastics Box in the EDGE series.
“That box is a sleeper,” he says. “Typically, I use the Plano KVD Speedbag Worm Files to be very efficient, but the EDGE Plastics Box makes a great day box. I know that if I’m in La Crosse, Wisconsin, I’m going to need some black-and-blue and green pumpkin Strike King Rodents, a few bags of Rage Craws, and some Caffeine Shads. I can have them all in one box and ready to go. Since the top is clear, it makes it easy to access and get to them quickly.”