Fishing Trip Checklist

Your rod and reel have been sitting in the corner this winter.

Before you head off for the first fishing trip of the season, you might want to pull out your tackle and gear for a good inspection.You should also make sure that when you leave the house, you're prepared for more than just catching fish.

Here's a checklist of things to take besides your rod, reel, flies, waders and vest:

• Put together the most complete first-aid kit you can. Add a smaller version for your vest or fanny pack. I would tell you that you need to take a first-aid class so you know how to use the kit, but you probably won't do it. At least bring along the first-aid handbook so you can read about how to tape your sprained ankle.
• Look in your tackle box or fly vest and check off the basics. Put in an extra spool of tippet because you have no idea how much tippet is left on the spools in your vest pocket. Do you have enough splitshot? You'll need the hook-sharpener because your hooks have gotten dull over the winter. Check for frays on your mono lines and tippets.
• Pack some insect repellant. The mosquitoes probably will be worse than you think and the no-seeums can see you.
• Did you leave your polarized sunglasses on the dashboard? Double check before you hike in two miles. Polarized glasses cut the glare, and if you're hiking, protect your eyes from branches.
• Wear a cap this time out. Better yet, wear a hat so the brim protects your ears from sunburning.
• Pack sunblock, sunscreen or suntan lotion, even if it's cloudy overhead. You can buy the waterproof kind but the best idea is to keep applying it throughout the day.
• Bring along a small camera. You've probably got an old Instamatic stuck in a drawer somewhere, or for about $10 you can buy a throwaway waterproof camera to stuff in your shirt pocket. You never know when you might catch the big one and without a snapshot, who's gonna believe you?
• If you aren't an accomplished outdoorsman or outdoorswoman and plan to hike deep into the outdoors to a distant lake or stream, make sure you bring either a good topo map and compass and/or someone who is accomplished. Pack a small survival kit. Toss in matches, handiwipes and a Swiss Army knife, just in case you run into a McGuyver situation out there.
• Rain gear anyone? You're going fishing, so the odds that it will rain just increased significantly. And a cheap rain parka folds up as small as a bandana and fits nicely in your vest or tackle box.
• Another critter that should cause concern is microscopic — Giardia Lamblia, a waterborne parasite found in most untreated water sources in the country. Don't drink untreated water, even spring water, even if you are in the deep backcountry, even if the water is cold and crystal clear. Beaver fever is nothing you want to catch so carry water in your fanny pack or a top-rate filter cup.

Article © Mark D. Willliams, 2000.