what must you have with you

[Steeldrifter 0]

Not counting terminal gear rod/line/flies what is the one thing that you MUST have with you on the stream?

 

for me i have to have my fit-over polarized sunglasses with me,i have flipped out many times before a trip when i couldnt find them and since then i have bought a second pair and keep in my vest "just in case".

 

What cant you do without?

 

SD

[Guest]

Sunblock and beer

[Guest]

A pack mule so I can take all my with me. Seriously, I've got to learn to pair things down. I'm always afraid I won't have something with me so I take everything I can. I used to wear a back pack just so I could take more. I'm learning.

 

A better answer to your question would probably be my thermos after stopping at Tim Horton's for thier English Toffee Cappuccino. It's about the only thing with caffeine my bum colon will let me drink.

[Gregor 0]

Little soap to wash your hands when you catch a shit...

[Guest]

I would have to say a net. On more than one occasion the shoreline just didn't lend itself to proper beaching.

 

I have one of the bigger Brodins and eventhough it doesn't look very large the bucket is deep enough for a decent steelie.

[Riverman 0]

For me it's my hemostats. It makes removing the hook so much faster and cleaner. I have had mine for 32 years now and have been known to have a panic attack if I misplace them. They saw alot of bug action in my younger days keeping my fingers from getting burned too!! A good pair of glasses would be next on my list. Riverman

[mozes 0]

Cigarets . I came back to my car many times because I forgot them.

[mcfly 0]

I have a pair of flip up polarized sunglasses. If I forget them I'm miserable all day long.

[kschu 0]

QUOTE (Riverman @ May 8 2004, 07:46 AM)

For me it's my hemostats. It makes removing the hook so much faster and cleaner. I have had mine for 32 years now and have been known to have a panic attack if I misplace them.

Is "hemostats" a fancy word for what I call forceps. Those wonderful little locking jaws that have saved the lives of more bluegill than (fill in the blank). Those little fish sure do get anxious and even if you try to set the hook right away, they find ways to get a large prince nymph through their tiny little lips. If it were not for the forceps, I'd be cutting off flies and tossing bluegill back all the time. With the forceps, I can get the hook out with little if any "damage" to the fish.

 

I lost my favorite pair, 4" long, black, with curved tips, late last year. I have picked up a new pair that are 6" long, shiny silver (easier to find if I drop them) and straight tips (cuz that was all they had in stock). I don't like them as well. I miss the curved tip. And the finger holes are smaller and sometime's it is a chore to get them off my oversized fingers once I have the hook out. I bought a zinger too, so hopefully I will be able to make this pair last a whole season.

 

The other "have to have" is a small hand towel. I keep it in the back pocket of the vest. It is escential for getting the slime off one's hands after you catch that 20th Bluegill that is stealing your fly before the Smallie can get at it. I had a Bluegill take a large Clouser minnow last week. The Clouser was nearly as big as the 'Gill but that did not stop the hungry little thief.

 

Ken S.

[artimus 0]

Garbage bags. I try to grab some of the fodder that is left behind from those less considerate. Its even helped me gain access to waters that are closed to others.

Art

[kschu 0]

QUOTE (artimus @ May 8 2004, 06:27 PM)

Garbage bags. I try to grab some of the fodder that is left behind from those less considerate. Its even helped me gain access to waters that are closed to others. Art

 

Good call Art. I try to carry out more than I bring in. I don't carry a bag. I just use the back pocket on the vest. I have one smaller pocket on the vest that I regularly fill with monofiliment that I either pick up from the shoreline (when fishing ponds) or snag into (when wading rivers/streams).

 

I could not believe the number and size of hooks on the extreamly heavy weight line I pulled out while wading in the DuPage River last night. The river averages maybe 10 yards wide. I've never seen fish big enough for the hooks they were using. Makes you wonder how the mess got left behind. It had to be heavy enough line to move a sunken tree trunk. But then I found the huge weight that this person had on the end of the line. It was stuck in some rocks. From the shore one would not have been able to drag it out. I had little trouble pulling it by wading right over to it. The fool must have had to cut the line since I doubt he/she could have pulled hard enough to break it off.

 

Some of the ponds I fish do not have garbage cans in the area. Does anyone else get concerned about picking up empty beer bottles or cans and tossing them in the back of your car? In Illinois, they can write you a ticket for having open beer containers (even empty) anywhere in the vehicle. I've just been hopeing that should an officer ask me about it, I could show him/her the rest of the garbage I've collected and explain my way out of trouble.

 

Ken S.

[Steeldrifter 0]

Good to hear you guys talk about picking up others trash,i do the same thing and its nice to know others are also.

 

The slobs that leave trash on the river are the main reason some landowners shut down access to their land so if we can help give "fisherman" a better image by pickin up others trash then thats what we have to do.

 

great job

 

 

[mcfly 0]

I've cut yards of line out of trees while wading and I do pick up what I can. I notice others doing it as well but then I also see just as many littering.

[Bamboo 0]

 

Sunglasses and bug spray. The black flies will eat you alive without it.

 

Bamboo

[Bear Coat 0]

I have been fortunate when it comes to finding trash along my stretch of the River. It has alway looked clean when I get there and when I leave. But we do have a group of men/women coming through periodically cleaning and trimming the brush and log jams. The are with Trout Unlimited and are called The Mad Men.

 

I always do carry my Hemostats and of lately, been carrying a Stream Thermometer. I carry two packs of peanut butter crackers in the case that my Blood Sugar level drops too much and a canteen of my sugarfree softdrink. A First Aid Kit, TP and in my Truck I carry an extra pair of dry socks along with a Rain Poncho. I never try to get too far from my Truck when I am alone.