the five features to look for in a vest:
Two large outer pockets suitable for holding a box of lures or flies: The pockets should open and fasten from the top. If your vest has pockets that open on the side, you’ll forget to zip up one day and eventually you will lose a box of expensive flies or lures.
Four inner pockets: These are smaller, and it’s okay if they only have Velcro and no zippers. You may put a box of split shot in one pocket, tippet or leader material in another, and bug repellent in another.
Four small outer pockets: One should have a zipper for an extra car key. The rest are for a small box to carry flies, floatant, and this and that.
A metal ring: You can tie your clippers onto this. They do make retractable pin-on gadgets that are designed as clipper holders, but I’ve had bad luck with those gadgets breaking. Save old fly line for these kinds of jobs instead. Tie your clippers on with them. Fly line is also a free alternative to Croakers for holding your sunglasses when you want to keep them handy.
Outside back pouch: Put your rain jacket in here, or maybe your lunch, water bottle, extra reel, and so on.
Now that you have a vest, here are ten things you should always carry in it:
Sunscreen: Use it for all daytime fishing.
Insect repellent: For obvious reasons.
Clippers: For cutting leader and trimming knots, clippers are preferable to teeth because clippers don’t need to go to the dentist.
Thermometer: Many tackle shops sell inexpensive thermometers designed to withstand being tossed about in vests and tackle boxes. With a thermometer, you can tell what species of fish may be most actively feeding.
A plastic garbage bag: You may not keep fish as a rule, but every so often you will want to, and who needs a vest full of fish slime? You don’t need a lawn-size Hefty bag; a wastebasket liner is more like it.
Forceps: They help remove hooks more easily. This is good for the catch-and-release angler who wants to get the fish back in the water in a hurry. And it’s always good for dealing with fish with sharp teeth.
Rain jacket: It doesn’t take up much room and it makes a big difference, especially when it rains!
Spare car key: Everybody loses the car key sometimes. It’s a bummer if this happens when it’s dark and cold by the side of a trout stream 20 miles from home. If you have a key with electronics, keep it in an airtight plastic bag.
Flashlight/headlamp: LED flashlights can be both small and amazingly bright. Headlamps can also be small and bright, and they allow you to keep two hands free for knot tying, removing hooks, and so forth. And at the end of the day, on the way to the car, you can see where you are going.
First aid kit: It’s easy to find a compact first aid kit. Buy one and keep it in your vest at all times. If you’re allergic to bee stings or other insects’ bites, make sure you have something to treat severe allergic reactions.
Carrying Just What You Need to Fish
Okay, maybe it seems like I'm loading you down with gear here. Admittedly, to be totally prepared for everything that can happen while fishing, you’d have to carry a truckload of stuff. You can’t, and you shouldn’t have to. Do this: Have what you need available, and bring the gear that a particular trip calls for, as well as you can predict. With experience, this process of choosing what to bring gets easier.
Bringing stuff also gets easier if you have the right tools to carry it. A good fishing vest is one such tool (check out the previous section). A tackle carrier is another vital tool. Of course, an angler who shows up at the lake with his vest, foul-weather bag, and tackle carrier but no rod and reel looks like a ding-dong.
Start with your rod and reel
Everything you need to know about choosing a good rod and reel is covered in Chapter 7. You can choose a setup that best matches the kind of fishing you do. Most beginners start with a medium-length rod, between five and six feet long, and either a spinning or spincast reel. That’s a light outfit, with a relatively short rod, that transports well and carries easily.
As your fishing evolves to match your tastes, your rod and reel will likely change. With any rod and reel, remember that you need to carry it to wherever you’re fishing. The rod’s most important job, of course, is to perform well on the water. But before it gets to the water, it has to survive inside of your car’s trunk. Or a boat compartment. Or the mile-long trail down to the stream. Most rods “break down,” meaning that they can be separated into sections. This makes packing easier. Some rods are one-piece, so think about your travel issues before you purchase a rod. Although you won’t need them for basic fishing, rod carriers are available. Often made from tough plastic, rod carriers protect your gear while in transport. (Some require that you remove the reel from the rod first, which can be done fairly easily. Others are designed to hold the rod with the reel attached.)
Pick a tackle carrier and load up
In the old days, tackle boxes were metal and looked like miniature tool boxes. Today’s anglers can choose from tackle carriers that are as varied as the selection of suitcases in a luggage store. Tackle carriers house your lures, flies, hooks and other terminal tackle, and maybe a spare spool of line. Most have varying compartments to keep gear organized, and the plastic is often designed to keep soft plastic lures from melting. As there are different kinds of fishing, there are different kinds of bags. (Some are built to hold many spinnerbaits, for example. Others, the giant plugs of the muskie fisherman.) You have a lot to choose from when it comes to the latest tackle carriers.
Anglers can still buy the traditional tackle box, although plastic has replaced metal. These are a good choice because they are waterproof when sealed, available in many different sizes and styles, and tough as nails. Some feature drawers with compartments to hold things like lures and hooks; others have removable utility boxes that can be filled with your stuff. Others offer trays that fold out when you open the box. A good tackle store will have a range of boxes available, and there are even more options online. Shop around and handle a few before you buy. They come in hundreds of different sizes and styles. Some are difficult to carry for long distances; others work better on the floor of a boat.
Soft-sided tackle bags are increasingly popular now. These come in different sizes, as well, and can be filled with plastic utility boxes that you can mix and match for different trips. You might have one box of largemouth bass plugs; another box might hold all your walleye jigs. Some of these bags have handles that double as shoulder straps, allowing you to wear the bag as a backpack. Bags come in colors ranging from green to pink, and can have nifty zippered compartments, d-rings, and built-in sunglass holders.
A word on size: You need a tackle box or bag big enough to hold your gear, but the bigger the carrier is, the clunkier and heavier it gets. My advice is to buy a bag or box that feels right for your current needs, then sell it or give it to a friend when and if you outgrow
