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flytire

Forming Good Habits

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

 

Remove all fly-fishing manufactures decals from your vehicle. You’re asking for trouble. Some thieves are not as dumb as you think and know exactly what to go after.

Carry that 4-piece rod in its rod tube when bushwhacking and your chance of losing or breaking a piece is greatly diminished.

Have a set of dry clothes. You won’t be sorry.

Use a waterproof camera, not your expensive DSLR. You can bring both but only use the waterproof one near water. Today’s newer point & shoots take excellent photos

Don’t forget to pack your waders, boots rods, reels etc. It’s disheartening to drive xxx miles and when you get to your destination they are NOT in the car.

Break down your outfit and put it INSIDE the car BEFORE changing out of your boots and waders or driving away to go home. You will be glad you did and so will we.

DO NOT put your rod & reel outfit on top of the car or lean it up against the nearest tree. You are asking for trouble. You will forget where you put it. When you realize it’s not where it should be and you return to the place where you put, it will be gone!

Pack out what you pack in

I'm diabetic and always carry something sweet just in case. Always carry a bottle of water and a snack on you. You never know when you might just want to keep finding out what’s around the next bend. The water and snack will make the hike back to car much easier.

Respect someone else's ideas. We are all different people. Your way is not the only way.

Use a wading staff and a wading belt. Either one or both may save your life.

Always wear a Personal Floating Device (PFD) or some kind of inflatable device when on the water. OK, so you think you'll look silly or you are a big macho man who doesn't need one but it beats lying in a casket the rest of your life!

Your family will be glad you did.

Put your cigar/cigarette butts in a zip lock baggie in your vest pocket instead of throwing them in the water. Same thing for your mono/leaders etc.

Carry a small garbage bag and do a little stream clean up. It won’t hurt you to pick up some discarded waste. Some of it just may be your own.

Have respect for other people. Yes, they may be fishing your sacred spot but so what! Sometimes fishing a new spot reaps great rewards.

Practice good etiquette. If you don't like someone doing something to you, then don't do something to them.

If you are landing them one after another and someone asks you what fly you're using, offer 1-2 flies to them so they can have the same experience. Will it really kill you if you were nice to someone?

Help out a struggling newcomer to the sport of fly fishing. I'm sure somebody helped you out in your endeavor into fly fishing.

If you wear a neck lanyard, make sure it has a breakaway feature. Choking is not fun.

Keep an emergency kit in your vehicle. What you have in it is up to you.

Take a kid fishing.

Keep the adult beverages for the end of the day when its relaxation time.

A good knife just might get you out of a bad situation (I don't mean with people). Also don’t forget a small pair of scissors.

If there is a lot walking to be done before you reach the water, pack your waders and where your hiking boots for the hike. Better to put the wear on the soles of your hiking boots then your waders’ soles. Your hiking boots will give you maximum comfort and support also.

Avoid wild roses bushes and other thorn bushes. It might seem like the long way around and easier to just wiggle through the bushes but the long way is better than damaging your waders, especial on fishing trips or in the winter.

Clean your fly line. It truly does make a difference.

Place all your mono and fluorocarbon tags and other waste piece in a pocket to dispose of properly. Even the smallest tag.

Have stream etiquette, everyone is out to have the best time, and experiences they can, not just you.

Always look around you and observe your surroundings before you cast.

Add a whistle or micro air horn to your vest or pack pocket for signaling emergencies

Carry some bear spray if youre going to be in bear country

Carry some bug spray with you

Check yourself for ticks especially when youre in wooded areas

Leave those bird feathers on the ground. Theyre most likely illegal anyways

Mash down hook barbs. Youll be glad you did to prevent an emergecy room visit to have it removed from wherever it stuck on you

Beware of the poisons - Ivy, Oak and Sumac

 

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Good post, I agree, but would add

6 minutes ago, flytire said:

Have a set of dry clothes. You won’t be sorry.

and double up on the underwear and socks!

10 minutes ago, flytire said:

Break down your outfit and put it INSIDE the car BEFORE changing out of your boots and waders or driving away to go home. You will be glad you did and so will we.

I don't do this, but I probably should.  Instead I have a ritual, before and after getting suited up - the rod is always the last thing I put together before leaving the car, and the last thing I break apart when I get back to the car.  Always.  And the rod does go on top of the car when I return to it.  It the safest place (other than in its tube, which is probably why I should follow your advice), especially as I am usually fishing with my dog. If its vertical, he's either knocking it over or pissing on it. 

And it never gets laid on the ground - I see people do this streamside and I want to yell at them.  Really fries my  nose when I see a rod, any rod, laying on the ground.   

 

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All great tips... then there's guys like me that operate out of skiffs (day in and day out)... We have our own set of "rules" or habits - most of which were learned along with a band-aid or two...  Not even sure I'd know where to start in describing them..... More than half don't relate to the fishing gear at all - but to all the things needed to keep a trailered boat up and running when you're actually on the road with it - 20,000 miles a year, year in and year out... 

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5 hours ago, niveker said:

And the rod does go on top of the car when I return to it.  It the safest place (other than in its tube

Unless, you forget it's up there and drive off.  Been there, done that.  Now the rod's the last thing I put together when I'm getting ready and the first thing that gets put away when I get back to the car.

Fishing from boats.  I usually fish with my friends, none of them fly fish.  Boats range from 12 to 16 feet.   I'm up in the bow.  I usually have two fly rods and a spinning rod with me.  Spinning rod is one piece(5' 10") is rigged and sits on the deck next to the gunwale.  The fly rod I'm not using is rigged but broken down next to the spinning rod.  Fly bag, boxes organized into top water at one end, and subsurface at the other.  Small tackle box.  Both sit next to me where I can reach them from my seat.   

When I go up to Ontario, the arrangements are different, since I drive the boat.  Years ago before I took up fly fishing, I built a rocket launcher out of a wooden milk box.  Four rod holders in front, and an adjustable one on the side, where I can put a rod if we're trolling so I don't have to hold the rod.  I added  two rod holders on the opposite side to hold my fly rods.  The interior of the box is large enough to hold marker buoys, maps,  tackle box with lures and my fly bag, and various odds and ends,  bug spray, sun tan spray, gloves

Two most important things, for me,  when fishing from a boat are organization and situational awareness.  Organization, so you know where things are, and to keep the deck uncluttered.   Situational awareness to prevent accidents, getting hooked by the other guy,  casting to the same spot, and so on.

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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."

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Got one of those to put my rod in after rigging it up if I have forgotten anything prior to locking everything up.  I'll add, though it's an age old debate, but when you're walking with a rigged rod carry it tip behind you. That way when you fall you wont' break your rod. I find it's easier to thread through the willows with the tip behind me. In addition to a water bottle and snack I have one of those survival straws in my vest. I don't carry a water bottle but do have a hydration bladder in my vest.  Got one of those magnetic jobs to put my rod in after rigging it up if I have forgotten anything prior to locking the other rig.  Rig up the rod last, break it down first. Great ideas all. And the verbal checklist; rods, reels, wader bags, vest, lunch, snack, face? If I have all that I'm ready to rock and roll.

magnetic gun/rod holder

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Make a check list.  Modify it the first couple of trips after you start it, making sure it's got ALL the items and procedures you want to do every time you do a trip.  When you're sure it's complete, type it up.  Make it neat and save it to file or print off several "master" copies.  Follow the check list each time you pack, going and returning.  I traveled for work from 1999 to 2020, and always used a checklist to pack for each trip.  The only times I ever forgot something, were the times I didn't use the list.

Think of it this way.  Is your trip any less important to you than a flight is to a pilot?  Pilots go through a checklist before and after each flight, their entire careers.   Like flytire's comment above about floatation devices.  Better to do "silly" or "embarrassing" things than to have a terrible trip.

 Forget pride, ego or embarrassment ... do it right, be safe, be prepared, be happy.

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I am guilty of every bad habit mentioned. My one and only good habit is to enjoy fishing for what it is. Fishing is way more fun knowing the world doesn’t change one iota no matter how many fish I catch or don’t catch. 

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Don't drive around with your rod assembled in your car. Dis-assemble it. If you do keep it assembled, look at the window you are rolling up to make sure the rod tip is not sticking out there.

Don't use your rod tip to retrieve a fly from a tree branch.

Pack your not too smelly lunch in ziplock plastic if you are in bear territory. You don't want to attract one with your peanut butter and jelly sandwich you've been wearing on your back all day.

Put your used, wet flies in a different, breathable container until they're dry, especially if you use older hooks.

Don't take your only car key with you while you fish. Have a backup plan. You might think you zipped it up in your pocket, only to realize at nightfall that something went wrong and it must have fallen into the river somewhere.

Make sure that the lugnuts on your upgraded / chrome plated tires fit the tire iron that comes with the car. Check this before getting a flat where AAA can't reach you.

Don't just assume that because an experienced local takes you fishing while you are visiting that it in fact is in season to fish there.

Don't eat fish that hasn't been kept cold.

Don't take your 4 wheel drive off the paved road over the snow to get closer to the river. You might have to wait until spring to retrieve it. (Fortunately I learned this one by watching others make the mistake; all the others I learned all by my lonesome.)

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49 minutes ago, chugbug27 said:

Don't use your rod tip to retrieve a fly from a tree branch.

Again, do you people not care about my livelihood? Stop giving "misinformation" 😑

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8 hours ago, chugbug27 said:

You might think you zipped it up in your pocket, only to realize at nightfall that something went wrong and it must have fallen into the river somewhere.

That's one of my biggest fears. 

When I'm on a trip with others, and I'm the one doing the driving to the river, I do one of two things, bring an extra set and give it to my partner, or stash the keys somewhere on or around the car in case one of us has trouble making it back. 

When my kids were younger and we would do full day or overnight hikes, I always told them where on my person I put the car keys so they wouldn't have to search my unconscious (or worse) body for them.  

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I learned about taking an extra set of clothes the hard way, and more than once.  Fortunately, only once did I take a dive in December.  30 years later there is always a complete change in the car.  The emergency kit and clothes are in the back of the SUV with the spare.

I also learned the hard way about taking my 6 piece rod through the brush.  When I got to the river the tip was missing, and I know I crawled through some willows on the way in.  Never found the tip. but I did have a spare rod in the car.  Sorry Steve, but I build my own rods.

I usually pack my Point and Shoot camera in a sealed waterproof container.  I tested it in the pool to make sure that it floats and is really water tight before I started using it.

When fishing from a kayak or canoe, always strap your rods at both ends, or in a fixed holder.  So far I have only lost 3 rods all spinning rods.  I had one rod and reel carried off into deep water while wading.  It was carried under a tangle of logs and sticks, no way to get in there to find it.  

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