By Mike Buss, Virginia Coastal Fly Anglers
This month let’s talk about stuff, I mean the tools, gadgets, and paraphernalia that all of us have collected over time to make fishing easier. Many of us started out our fishing journey with a rod and reel, some hooks, a few sinkers, maybe a bobber, and a can of worms dug from our backyard, but we quickly moved on from that simple beginning.
Now, conventional tackle fishermen and women can’t go fishing without a couple of rod and reel outfits along with a full tackle box filled with all the latest hot lures and tackle, and, of course, all of this stuff is loaded on a sleek bass boat that zips past that shore-bound angler throwing a simple worm and bobber rig who will probably out fish the guy in the bass boat!
Fly fishermen and women are no different. We start out thinking we need everything to enable us to be successful and every trip to our local fly shop results in the purchase of some tackle item. This accumulation of tackle results in a further purchase of a sling bag to hold it all if we are a wade fisherman. If we fish from a boat we can take even more gear, as there is more room to store it.
After a few years of accumulating more and more tackle, we finally realize that we seem to use just a few items all the time and all the rest of this stuff just takes up space. The result is, we take fewer items each time we go fishing. And I can speak from personal experience that this is hard to do. Every time we leave something home, in the back of our mind we can see a need for that item once we get on the water. After a few times going out and finding that we really didn’t need the item left behind, this gets easier.
So let’s focus on those items that we use over and over while out fly fishing. Obviously, we need a rod and reel along with fly line and backing, so we will move on from that. Nippers and long-nose pliers are essential items as is a hook sharpener. The pliers are usually carried in a case on your belt while the nippers and hook sharpener is fastened on a lanyard that is carried around your neck. We should also carry a few leaders and a spool of leader material. I carry mine in a small folder that fits easily in a pocket. When I started fly fishing, I carried literally hundreds of flies, but now I have cut that down to just a couple of fly boxes that also fit into my shirt or jacket pockets. If I am going on a long trip, I usually take more flies, but leave the majority of them in the motel room and refill my boxes at the end of the day.
If you would have told me when I started fly fishing that I would end up with just these essential items, I don’t think I would have believed you. But the essentials are all you need to really be successful. Just like the conventional guy on the shore with the can of worms.
Keep it simple and you will be more successful. Tight lines