How many times have you hooked a fish and get them boat side and look for your gaff or net only to realize it is not where you thought it was and as you a kicking around the boat with the rod in one hand you lose the fish. Or you are casting to a school of Spanish mackerel and the window to catch them is very short, you hook one only to break your line and it takes you an eternity to get the right lure and get rigged up again. By the time you are ready to fish again the fish have moved and you cannot seem to locate them. Even worse, someone cuts themselves or gets hurt and you cannot get your hands on your first-aid kit quickly.
Keeping a neat boat helps you be more efficient and safe. Some of the most successful fishermen I know have a defined place for everything on their boat. Where they place things on the boat is a planned out in a system that makes sense for the design of the boat and the type of fishing for the day.
Some obvious things you want to have a place for are first aid kits, nets and gaffs. These items normally take up space and you want to have them in a place where they are easily accessible, but also where they are not a safety hazard. I know more than one person that have ended up on the wrong end of a gaff, just because it was placed in the wrong area and more often than not they were walking by and it got them in the leg. While these larger items are obvious the smaller items like different lures, hooks, leaders, pliers, etc should also have their place.
More than once I have been casting to a quick moving species like Spanish Mackerel and suddenly realized they would never strike my lure because they are feeding on something smaller or larger. Knowing where to find a lure to match what they are feeding on is critical. Safety items are also important. Several years ago my brother Tim was trying to unhook and release a king mackerel boat side. While he was working to get the fish unhooked it went crazy and slung the rear set of hooks into the meat of his thumb. My dad