OHUB Review: Lakewood Billfold – Storage Solution for Baits
Eugene L. 08.21.23
Every other angler I know has at one point been guilty of using the plastic shopping bag “tacle bag” for a day of fishing at the lake or river. I’m guilty of it as well, you go buy some packs of soft plastics and instead of packing them away into a tacklebox or tackle bag you just take the ratty shopping bag with you. At least for me it was because it was an easy quick way to keep those loose packs of soft plastics especailly when I just had plastic 3700 trays with me instead of a proper tackle box or bag. I mean the shopping bag worked of course until ripped open and all the packs spilled out. Well Lakewood Products has put out just the thing for this. The Lakewood Billfold, a storage solution for the packs of soft plastic baits, is a ton nicer than the plastic shopping bags. So just like the Lakewood Mini Sidekick I have been using the Billfold as my soft plastic storage option for the past 6 months now.
The Lakewood Prodects uses mildew and UV-resistant mesh to make the Billfold. Inside the pouch are two mesh dividers made of the same material. On the right side of the pouch is a clear label pocket that is built into the side, for labeling contents or just putting your name on it. The top of the pouch has a zipper on each side of it. The zipper handles are leashed together with some nylon webbing to make the pouch easier to open. To close off the front there is a strip of velcro. There is a clip on the back of the Billfold for anglers to secure it to other tackle bags, or your fishing boat.
Lakewood Billfold Key Features
- Fill with your fishing plastics, worms, tools, gear, or other small items.
- Keep all your baits, no matter the packaging, perfectly organized. Will hold baits that come in clam shell packaging (like Keitech’s).
- Clear pocket on side for labeling.
- Dividers for organization.
- Mesh allows air circulation for faster drying.
- Perfect for saltwater rinsing of items as well.
- Has snap for attachment to kayak, boat, or another case.
- Mesh has a UV inhibitor and is mold and mildew resistant.
- Dimensions: 9” L x 9” W x 6” H
- MSRP – $39.99
I will be upfront with yall, I’m not the biggest soft plastics guy when it comes to bass fishing. I personally rather just fish other lures in a more active manner all day and catch fewer fish than fish a Ned rig or Texas rig slowly to pick up more finicky fish. But I know they work and sometimes are the only thing that works. So I’ll usually have at least a few packs of soft plastics just in case. I already told yall how I used plastic shopping bags till they tore. But I did have a way of organizing my plastics roughly at home with labeled gallon ziplock bags. This worked okay but the bags would get nasty quick especially if the weather kinda sucked.
So to fill up the Billfold I put about 20 assorted packs of soft plastics of varying brands and types in the pouch. Everything from senkos to swimbaits, there was ample space inside the Billfold. I used the two mesh dividers in the pouch to keep the packs of baits organized. Splitting them up into worms, craws and creatures, and flukes and swimbaits. Hard plastic clamshell packs of soft plastic paddle tails weren’t even an issue as well, plenty of height in the pouch to fit them in. The only thing that I couldn’t fit easily into the pouch were those jumbo 12″ + worms. I mean they technically fit into the pouch just you had to fold the packs, so not ideal.
I really liked the zipper and velcro layout of the Billfold. It gives you two ways of closing the pouch. When you’re on a hot bite with softer plastics, you are rerigging plastics a lot as the bass tear them up. So you can have the bag closed with just the velcro, so it keeps everything inside like empty packs but is still easy to access. But when you are making a long run or just done for the day you can fully zip it up making sure your baits are secure.
Overall I like Lakewood Billfold, it is a good and well-thought-out product that solves that shopping bag problem. It’s not too bulky so I can store it in the truck under the seats easily. Even in the Georgia weather and living in the oven that is my truck in the summer it’s been super solid. The rear clip has been useful for securing the pouch to the Mini Sidekick when we were doing high-speed runs on Lake Lanier. My only real concern about the Billfold is the price, coming in at $39.99 a pouch it might be a bit steep for a lot of recreational anglers. But it does come with a lifetime warranty like all Lakewood Products, so if it ever breaks I know I’m covered. So I guess the old phrase “Buy Once, Cry Once” applies here. What I know for sure Is I don’t see myself using a Walmart bag again anytime soon for storing soft plastics.
