Five Fishing Accessories You Can Buy at the Dollar Store

Fishing can be a very expensive hobby, and as gas prices remain high and threaten to get higher yet, it looks as though the simple joy of spending a morning on the water will forever be complicated by the price you pay to do so. Because fishing gear, boats, gas, licenses and most other things involved in the activity are so costly, it is more important than ever to grab a good deal when you find one. A great place to find a few useful fishing accessories is the Dollar Store. Here are five handy fishing items you can get for only a buck.

Scrub brushes- Keeping fishing gear clean does much to improve not just the longevity of your gear, but as many successful anglers will tell you, your odds of catching fish. Lures, bait containers, rods and reels and the boat itself often get attention from me and a scrub brush. However, using a brush from the bathroom or kitchen is not a particularly sanitary idea. The Dollar Store offers a wide variety of brushes, and I typically pick up three or four of them to start the fishing season so one is always close at hand to help with the cleaning.

Plastic containers- For people who use a lot of bait while fishing, finding that perfect-sized container can be a never-ending problem. Not to mention, just like the scrub brush, once used for a bait container, it is best not to re-use a plastic tub for another application. Since using Rubbermaid or Tupperware on the river is not cheap and not likely to go over well with other members of the household, I recommend buying them at the Dollar Store. The stores typically have a good selection of plastic containers, but if you find one that works particularly well, make sure to stock up, as the inventory is ever-changing.

Laundry bags- In another article I discuss using a laundry bag for storing your excess anchor rope. You can use a lot of one dollar bags before you would justify paying the big bucks for products made specifically for the application, and they do the job just about equivalently. As a bonus, they come in a variety of colors, and I have had good luck finding them in colors that match or compliment my boat.

Pliers- For some uses, it is definitely worth paying more for a pair of high quality pliers. However, for fishing I have always leaned towards quantity over quality. Having multiple pairs around makes it easier to find them quickly, and less frustrating if you lose them to the depths. For the purposes of removing hooks from fish and clipping line, the dollar variety will do the jobs about as well as a pair that cost many times that. I buy the needle-nose variety, and make sure to check to make sure the two edges of the side cutter surface contact each other along the whole edge. Also, make sure to apply WD-40 to the metal surfaces often, to keep them less rusty and free moving.

Pool noodles- You only have to untangle a couple messes of fishing leaders before you start looking for a better way to organize your gear. One such way- using pool toys, specifically "fun noodles" to wrap the leaders on. For a dollar you can buy a noodle about five feet long, and cut it into shorter lengths. Cutting slits around the circumference of the noodle will allow you to wrap the leader into those slits, and they will be held in place. If your leader already has hooks on it, simply begin wrapping the leader onto the foam, tag end first, and continue wrapping it onto itself until you can secure it by sinking the hooks into the foam. Like the laundry bags, fun noodles are available in a variety of colors, which is useful if you devise a system for deciphering length or strength of the leaders on each color noodle.