Writing an article about hunting and fishing during this time of the year has always been tough for me. As the end of the hunting season comes around and for the most part the fishing season as well, there isn’t a lot going on right now. However, there are still things you can be doing.

Organizing my hunting and fishing gear after a long season of use is something I could spend an entire weekend doing. Once the seasons are over, I only have to look in to my garage to see that I am not the most compulsive person in the world.

I have fishing gear that is no longer organized into specific areas or boxes depending on the type of fishing I am planning on doing. During the warm months, I find the organization to be a must to conserve every bit of room in the boat for when when the whole family is out with me.

In my early years, the most organization I had was a salt and a fresh-water fishing tackle box. That was it. I can still see the huge green and tan Plano salt water tackle box I had with all 60 pounds of gear in it. I would take the box with me whether I was fishing for bottom fish or salmon and it was a major obstacle at times.

Now I have separate boxes for salmon, ling cod, bottom fish, lake and river fishing. I even have one tiny box for green ling just to satisfy my fish taco cravings.

I have found clear plastic organizers to be the easiest method of keeping everything straight.

What you need to do is write down a list of everything you need for a specific type of fishing and go from there.

Even if you have just one tackle box, it can be separated. I have several separated boxes in my salmon tackle box for spoons, hoochies, bait, weights, flashers and darts.

The possibilities are endless and I am sure like me, most of you have mixed stuff lying around because it was never put back where it was supposed to be.

This past weekend, I even had to clear off the shelf in the garage just so I could store it all.

Your boating gear can be organized. I have all my vinyl and cushions sorted on the shelf and my electronics are in a big tote.

I also like to take my emergency gear, which is in its own tote in my boat, and set it out on the shelf. This way when I go to get the boat ready for next year, I can check the expiration date on everything.

Hunting gear can be just as bad. I tend to keep that a bit simpler.

Larg e plastic totes are perfect for your hunting gear, you can set one up for birds and the other up for big game.

I also recommend that once you put your ammunition away you write the date on it. This will help you identify what needs to be used first next year.

Of course you can get as creative as you want. I have friends that have separate boxes for scents, meat processing gear, clothes, ammo, knives, electronic gear and so on.

Speaking of electronics, if some of the gear you have has rechargeable battery packs be sure to charge them and then take the batteries out. They will last a lot longer.

Happy sorting to one and all.