You probably have gone fishing and then realized you’ve forgotten some piece of equipment — a reel, rod, waders, a fly box, or even just split shot or floatant. Making sure you have the equipment you need is imperative to having a successful and enjoyable outing. You can’t have a great day on the water (or even get skunked) if you can’t fish at all because you forgot to bring something that’s sitting on a table back home.
As a guide, I certainly can’t let that happen — to serve my guests, I need to be organized. I have many little tricks that may help you avoid that sinking feeling when you realize you’ve left your reel at home or forgotten to pack the killer flies you tied to match the hatch you’ve just driven six hours to fish. Like a pilot before attempting to take off in a plane, I use checklists to make sure everything is ready for departure. And I’m borderline obsessive-compulsive about organizing my gear at home.
Vest or Sling Pack and Master Bag
Your vest or sling pack should contain the basic gear you need on the water. I carry a sling pack with the staples: leaders, tippet material, and so on. In my weight dispenser, I also keep swivels, beads, and hooks along with the split shot so I’ll have what I may need for rerigging on the water. But I also pack a master bag that is always fully stocked. It contains more leaders, weights, swivels, tippet material, MOW tips, Versileaders, indicators, bobber stoppers, beads, hooks, heavy butt material, and so on — anything I might require. If I need items other than the staples for the day’s fishing, such as MOW tips, or if I need to replenish the staples, I take what I need out of my master bag. When I am done fishing for that day, I put everything other than the staples back into the master bag. I use a checklist to ensure that the master bag is always fully stocked.
Fly Boxes
I don’t keep my fly boxes in either the sling pack or the master bag. I keep them in a cabinet, labeled for each fishery, and I take only the fly box I need for the place I’ll be fishing. I also don’t carry all the flies I’ve tied for every place. In that fly box there are only six or eight flies of each pattern and size that I am likely to need, based on what have been consistently top producers. If they don’t produce, they’re out of the fly box.
I also keep what I call an inventory box. For each pattern that I take fishing, I have a compartment box in the cabinet with three to four dozen flies (remember, I’m a guide) of each pattern and size, waiting for their turn to get wet. As needed, I reload the fly boxes from that stock. When I start getting low on a pattern in the inventory box, I place that pattern on my list to tie.
If you buy flies, take your fly box to the store to get the patterns you need to fill the blanks. If you are ordering flies online, have your fly box sitting next to you while you order. Don’t try to do it from memory. You will forget patterns that you need.
Fishery Checklist
Your vest or sling pack, master bag, and fly boxes are just part of what will be essential when you arrive at your angling destination. I maintain a master checklist for what I will need to pack for each different fishery — rods, reels, lines, whatever. These lists differ, because the fisheries do so, too.
For example, on the checklist for Putah Creek, I have waders and boots that I use only at Putah, which is infested with New Zealand mud snails. I don’t want to help spread them. Also on that list are screw-in cleats for my wading boots, a wading staff, and the Putah Creek fly box. My list for the upper Sacramento includes hand-held pruning shears that I use to clear blackberry bushes that can ruin waders. For lakes, I have a different checklist that includes my pontoon boat or float tube, booties, fins, personal flotation device, and more. My equipment is all laid out in cabinets or hanging on a peg board for easy access. When I use a piece of equipment, I always place it back, cleaned and ready to go for the next trip. If your equipment needs maintenance or replacement — do it. I had a guest rip his wading boots while I was guiding him this winter on the Yuba. He said he knew they had a problem even before he came on this trip, but he wore them anyway. It could have turned into a very serious safety issue. We fished only two hours and the day was over. Even the best-maintained equipment sometimes breaks while on the water — stuff happens — but keeping what you have in good order and replacing what needs replacing is just good sense.
Inventory List
In addition to checklists for each fishery, I keep a complete checklist or inventory sheet for everything I have for guiding and fishing. I know how many 7-1/2-foot 5X leaders I have on hand at any time. Most fly fishers probably don’t need to do this, because they aren’t fly fishing for their livelihood, but it does help to keep track of what you need. It also saves you from overbuying.
And don’t think that overbuying can’t possibly be a problem for fly fishers, who notoriously think that you can’t have too much gear. I had a guest come to me to help organize his equipment. I organized his flies — it took me all day just to separate the dry flies, nymphs, and streamers. He also had 123 9-foot 5X monofilament leaders ranging up to 20 years old with price tags from shops that had long since closed. A majority of these were rotten, and I threw them away. That was close to $300 down the drain. I keep track of mine because I don’t want to waste money or use old leaders that will fail while I am fishing. Keeping track of what you have will let you know what you need to stock up on and ensure that you always have what you need when on the water. It’s useful, too, to enter on both the list and the packaging the date when you purchase leaders and tippet material. Small diameter tippet like 6X degrades quickly. You need to rotate it out within a year.
Travel Checklist
I also have a huge checklist for big trips — Christmas Island, Belize, Alaska, and so on. Many fly travel companies have their own lists, and these are great tesources that you can customize to reflect your particular needs and wants.
Be Prepared
Compile checklists, organize your gear, and you never again will leave behind the reel you need or run out of tippet material right in the middle of a hatch. Take care of your equipment, too, and it will take care of you. It’s not being obsessive about your fishing gear — it’s just being smart.
