Welcome to the fishing tackle cemetery, a place where old gear dies. The photo shows a shelf in my basement with various coils, long out of service, that I can’t bring myself to throw away. And throwing is the problem. I can not do it. So things pile up beyond all reason.

It’s getting pretty silly from what I think about it, but this silliness still won’t take me in the trash. Someday I might want or need something from this shelf. Or I might decide to refurbish one of those old reels. A little cleaning, a little grease, maybe a few spare parts and any of them would be fishable again. We never know.

I still have my first fly rod and reel, both dating from 1950, and probably all the gear acquired since then. Every now and then I donate stuff, to the Boy Scouts, maybe, or some local charity auction.

Much of it is sentimental attachment. I caught a big striper 30 years ago with a particular reel, or my first big brown trout from Montana with a special but long outdated rod. An old Hardy fly reel that I no longer use took away both my first Atlantic salmon and my first big rainbow trout. No, I can’t part with it. It actually deserves a plaque and a place on the wall, but I probably won’t go back to that either.

There are also plenty of old lures. They are not old in the sense of being collectibles of some value. They are mostly unwanted. Many need new hooks, maybe a touch up paint job or a general cleaning. Many would fish well again if I took care of them. So maybe I will and maybe not. But just in case, better not to throw them away.

So it is obvious that I am a tackle accumulator of the worst kind. I have no answer for that other than finding some more boxes or maybe building a few more shelves. All of this leaves me with a question, which I’m curious about: what are you doing with your old fishing stuff?