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flytire

Forming Good Habits

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17 hours ago, skeet3t said:

Great list. Only some of us guys will forget where we put the list!😳

My father was a flight engineer in the South Pacific. They had a check list. Helicopter pilots has a check list that was kept up-to-date by the crew chief.

I put my rod on top of my Escort station wagon. Took off and heard a clatter! I turned around and slowly looked along the road.  Nothing! When I started to get back in the car, the rod jut wedged under the luggage rack.

PFD: The state of Tennessee is having a big push for wearing PFDs. Their boats say, "PFDs float. You don't."

I was a commercial pilot a lifetime ago (last flight was in 1993) and the value of a check list has never left me.  I use a check list for almost every one of life endeavors as well as fishing.  Simply following a list instead of having to focus on what I need to bring or in what order a series of complex task need to be performed saves valuable time and brain space for solving problems.

 

On 10/25/2021 at 7:04 AM, flytire said:

Not everybody on this forum will agree but here goes. any other ideas are greatly appreciated

 

 

 

Great points all! 

Let me add NEVER walk a trail without a fly tied on, leader through the guides and fly in the hook keeper.  Many very expensive rod tips have been pulled off by branches when not secured by a leader and hook as you walk a trail with the rod facing behind you.  A secured hook with the leader through the guides will prevent you from spending the day hunting for the 4th piece of your rod.  

Another simple thing I do is remove my key fob from my key ring and place it in the zip lock water proof pouch in my waders.  Remember a the fob is as important as your phone.  If you fall in and the fob gets wet you may not be able to get your vehicle started and depending on where you are in the world that can be a really big problem.

I always carry a micro first aid kit in my pack.   The one I have is made by Coleman and is about the size of a small cell phone.  It weighs nothing but has the basics and it has prevented a couple of long hikes back to my Jeep after surprise encounters with glass and barbed wire. 

651741742_firstaid.PNG.92bc6f5d34239aec5f317a132e7d5eca.PNG

 

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I break down a fly rod if in heavy cover. Odd but I had the opposite happen. The release button on the spool was tripped and a spring fell out. No drag or clicker. Spent $5 for a 10 cent spring.

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12 hours ago, skeet3t said:

I break down a fly rod if in heavy cover. Odd but I had the opposite happen. The release button on the spool was tripped and a spring fell out. No drag or clicker. Spent $5 for a 10 cent spring.

There's never an ACE hardware around when you need one.

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All good points, I would add for us older fishermen add a whistle to your vest or pack. In the past I spent most of a long night looking for a older friend overdue from his walk back to camp, when we found him he said that we walked by him a couple of times he herd us calling for him but he didn't hear him over the running water and he was tired and laying on the cold rocks with a broken leg from a fall. May not be as important today with cell phones unless you are out of tower range or break or drown the thing in a fall.

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A whistle lasts longer than lungs. Three blasts are a sign of an emergency; three of anything: fires, snow disturbed in three separate areas, three shots from a firearm, etc. Three shots doesn't work if you are a bowhunter.😉

As a hunter education instructor, the whistle is mandatory for the backpack no matter where you hunt/fish/hike. A signal mirror is good if aircraft are involved in search & rescue.

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As a rod builder I will tell you guys another one that I get a lot that isn't on the list...

Never install a ceiling fan in your rod room. You honestly would not believe it but I have had a good deal of repairs due to guys that don't follow that rule lol

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11 hours ago, DFoster said:

There's never an ACE hardware around when you need one.

We have one in town but it was a very small spring. Ace wasn't the place that day, not where I was fishing.

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"When fishing from a kayak or canoe, always strap your rods at both ends, or in a fixed holder."

A short piece of cord makes a good tether. There is also a thingy that you stick to the rod. Water activates a glue, it opens and a small float comes up. Then you haul in the rod.

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I think this is a post we should all review at the beginning of each fishing season - all good advise that we sometimes forget about.

I always have a small first aid kit in whatever pack I am carrying for the day. It doesn't have to extensive - just a few things to deal with minor injuries. If you get injured beyond what your first aid kit can handle, you've got bigger problems and it's time to improvise.

I always have a whistle on my PFD when drifting but it certainly makes sense to have one attached somewhere on your person when out fishing. On that note, I do a lot of solo fishing in some remote areas and carry a SPOT to let my wife know I am OK, and in case of emergencies. I always keep it in my front wader pocket in a ziplock so it is always with me in case I go for a swim and have to dump my pack or my raft floats away without me!

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14 hours ago, Steeldrifter said:

As a rod builder I will tell you guys another one that I get a lot that isn't on the list...

Never install a ceiling fan in your rod room. You honestly would not believe it but I have had a good deal of repairs due to guys that don't follow that rule lol

ive heard about that a long time ago when the major the rod manufacurers began with their inlimited stupity warrantees

people sticking their assembled rods into spinning ceiling fans and/or purposely breaking the tip in car windows

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166526_01

along the lines of a whistle, a micro air horn is a bit louder and could prove effective in getting help

add one to your vest pocket or in your pack

waterproof materials to start a small fire

ONECOL.jpg

fire starting lighter/flashlight combo

Adventure Ready Brands SOL Fire Lite Fuel-Free Lighter (backcountry.com)

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49 minutes ago, flytire said:

unlimited stupidity warrantees

LOL - that's how I've always thought of them, also. 

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