Downsizing - Junk We Don't Need!

[Bamboozle]

With apologies to Freewheeling Franklin, "Alcohol will get you times of no fish better than fish will get you through times of no alcohol..."

With a few exceptions I always have a cooler with beer at the car. One, maybe two before I start and one, maybe two when I'm done. Because I never take water with me when fishing, it's always a comfort to know those two cold beers are waiting for me... 😉

On a few occasions when fishing with friends on 12+ hour excursions we've met up for lunch at a predetermined spot and will set up a small camping table & chairs with a checked tablecloth and a centerpiece. We'll eat lunch and enjoy a bottle of wine complete with plastic stemmed wine glasses.

It is actually a lot of fun and worth the reactions you get when someone pulls up and sees you in waders sitting at a small camping table at parking spot, sipping wine like a couple of fruitcakes... We even have a name for these dainty lunches which is wrong, offensive and inappropriate...

But if you use your imagination, you can probably figure it out... 😎

Speaking of flasks, when I downsized my kit, I also downsized from my old Orvis 8 oz. flask to a small 3 oz pewter job that is filled with 100 proof bourbon or rye. I cant tell you how many times a tiny sip from that flask has whetted my whistle enough persevere through the remainder of a day's fishing in anticipation of those beers in my cooler. 🙂

 

[TimMurphy]

It's called ballast...

Dear Bamboozle,

That reminds me of the old joke where Sean and Shamus were out fishing in the sea off County Cork. They bump into a lantern and dig out of the sea.

Sean opens it, and a Genie pops out and says, "I'll grant ye lads one wish'"

Sean says, "I wish the sea were filled with Guiness."

The Genie goes, "Your wish is my command," and the sea is filled with Guiness.

Shamus says, "For fooks sake Seany, now we have to pee in the boat"

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

[Bamboozle]

Dear Bamboozle,

That reminds me of the old joke where Sean and Shamus were out fishing in the sea off County Cork. They bump into a lantern and dig out of the sea.

Sean opens it, and a Genie pops out and says, "I'll grant ye lads one wish'"

Sean says, "I wish the sea were filled with Guiness."

The Genie goes, "Your wish is my command," and the sea is filled with Guiness.

Shamus says, "For fooks sake Seany, now we have to pee in the boat"

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

As a huge fan of Guinness, I get Shamus' angst... 🙂

When I fish from a boat, I carry one of these which snaps great on the gunwales of the boat:

I've gone as far as decorating my "bottle" with eyes, nose and a mouth...

We call it/her...

Urethra Franklin.... 😉

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

View attachment 1641240567

you can always go the other way 🙂

Looks a lot like the guys coming out of our homeless shelters.

 

[Brown71]

I've raged against what I'll call fads for a while. YOu need this or that... it makes somebody money. And then the trends make other, older things, like good, functional fly fishing vests so rare. My 20 year old LL Bean vest has small, internal pockets along the bottom that allow for separate tippet spools. I don't know that I've seen anything like this the last few years. They have these small pockets, some are spandex elastic whatever. It went from large capacity to "dare you to put much in here". Back pack space for T. P. , a snack bar, and not have to add a big back pack, which, BTW , has become a trend (fad). You need a chest pack or some such thing that doesn't have enough room for your 'eventuals & accidentals' boxes, and gets in the way.

Best post on here.

I Freeking hate fads. I wear a 20 year old vest also, carry exactly what i need and no more, and never carry a net. Has served me very well.

These new generation anglers look like they are more interested in a fashion show then catching fish. I like to catch fish 😄

 

[jifigz]

Best post on here.

I Freeking hate fads. I wear a 20 year old vest also, carry exactly what i need and no more, and never carry a net. Has served me very well.

These new generation anglers look like they are more interested in a fashion show then catching fish. I like to catch fish 😄

I am pretty surprised you don't carry a net since you target big fish most of the time, which I would presume are the exact type of fish where a net would be most useful, especially since we aim to land them quickly while they are still spunky.

 

[Swattie87]

Though not as heavy as a few on here, I’m a heavier packer than most probably. I think this has to do with the kind of fishing I do most…Small stream, long hikes, etc. Getting back to the vehicle in the middle of day usually isn’t an option. A good one anyway. So I carry everything for the day on me.

And yes, I like an even lukewarm beer with my streamside lunches…I’m not at work! I put the beer in the bottom of my pack in one of those Yeti metal coozies, with an ice pack on top of it. On a hot day it won’t stay ice cold. But it will be cold enough to still hit the spot.

I think there’s a somewhat similar theme of the guys doing this type of fishing and tending to be on the heavier end of the packing spectrum. Makes sense, to me anyway.

The key to carrying any amount of weight, say over 6 or 8 lbs or so, including the vest or pack itself, is the suspension system of your pack/vest. Generally vests are the worst. Your shoulders are the suspension system. The ones that cinch tight to you help a little, but only a little. Slings are in the middle. Can be a good choice if you have one bum shoulder, as they essentially carry the weight through the middle of your back, but favor one side a little. The other shoulder sees essentially no work with slings. And backpacks, with proper waist belts, are the best. I don’t feel 10 lbs in my packs. Probably takes about 15 until I start to notice it, and over 20 until it’s any form of uncomfortable. One of them has some modest pockets on the front straps to keep the stuff you need to get to frequently in…phone, tippet, shot, one fly box, floatant, etc. The other I pair a small chest pack with.

If you go light, vests are a great option, but you really gotta watch your weight with them, or you’re gonna have sore shoulders.

 

[JeffK]

All depends. Going local for an evening where I know what's going on a box of flies, some floatant and a spool of tippet will do. For example, all I need for an evening in sulphur time is a small sulphur box with a few dries and emergers and a few nymphs to fish dry-dropper if that is needed and a spool of 5x tippet.

An all day trip to some place 1.5 hr drive or more away usually means a vest with all sorts of stuff to deal with anything that may occur. Fishing all day means I may want to nymph, fish dries, dry-dropper, or throw streamers. Calls for more stuff. i.e. a trip to the Beaverkill will include stuff to do all of the above.

Hiking in some distance, like into the Neversink gorge, I pack everything into a day pack including waders and boots and hike in in hiking boots. Then I change streamside. For hikes I always bring plenty of water. At my age I need to stay hydrated because I've had some bad experiences. My buddy in CO brings one of those water filters to save the weight of water and it works well. Haven't done that out East.

 

[DomR]

I find it strange so many guys don't like to use a net. While not the smallest item it sure makes things about 100x easier when its time to land a fish, release it, handle it properly, etc. I would never give up my net. Either in the boat or wading

And if you fish a good amount of multi-fly rigs you know that a netted trout is more controlled. And more control = less errant hooks in your hand!

 

[DomR]

I noticed a lot of you carry a flask or beer with you. I drink more beer than I probably should but I have never mixed fly fishing and drinking. To be fair I do fish hard when I’m out so I feel like drinking would just slow me down.

Likewise. I like beer and will drink during innumerable activities, except when I'm out fly fishing! Just never have mixed the two. I don't even keep a cooler in the car to have one when I gear up or gear down. I don't even usually have one when I get home as I often fish in the morning.

Now if I had a boat and was floating around a lake all day......🙂

 

[dudemanspecial]

Beer only after I'm done fishing for the day. I pee enough as it is with all the coffee I drink.

 

[jifigz]

Beer only after I'm done fishing for the day. I pee enough as it is with all the coffee I drink.

I can feel your pain on this one. I drink so much coffee in the morning that I might as well just put a catheter in for the first several hours of the day. I'm am obviously kidding, and I hope I never have to have that experience.

But I pee SO MUCH!!!

 

[dudemanspecial]

I can feel your pain on this one. I drink so much coffee in the morning that I might as well just put a catheter in for the first several hours of the day. I'm am obviously kidding, and I hope I never have to have that experience.

But I pee SO MUCH!!!

I keep thinking that I should cut back, but I have already cut down my beer consumption to pretty much only Friday nights after hockey. Cut out tobacco years ago. I eat pretty healthy. The coffee stays and I deal with the peeing. Definitely worse habits.

 

[bringthepain]

I drink 44oz of coffee per morning, how bad is that?

 

[Striperbobby]

Less is best for me. Box of flies, 3 tippet spools, pack of split shot, couple indicators and a bottle of water. Stopped taking extra gear once I realized I only use a couple flies and tippet on most trips. I do load up my milk crate with everything but the kitchen sink and take an extra rod in a case and 3 different reels with floating, int med, and fast sinking when kayak fishing the salt.

 

[wildtrout2]

When it began to interfere with one of favorite hobbies since childhood and rob me of those memories, it started to become a problem. Just one of the many ways.....

THAT is when I finally saw the light, and decided "Bill" was the only true friend I actually had at that time. That was 23 years ago, and to this day, he's still my best friend. Very happy you got it, before it got you.

 

[Brown71]

I am pretty surprised you don't carry a net since you target big fish most of the time, which I would presume are the exact type of fish where a net would be most useful, especially since we aim to land them quickly while they are still spunky.

I have lost a few due to no net for sure, but some of the water I fish they are just a hindrance. I look for a place to bank em and go from there. I try to get them shallow quick and it puts things in your favor.

 

[StreamBottom]

On a few occasions when fishing with friends on 12+ hour excursions we've met up for lunch at a predetermined spot and will set up a small camping table & chairs with a checked tablecloth and a centerpiece. We'll eat lunch and enjoy a bottle of wine complete with plastic stemmed wine glasses.

It is actually a lot of fun and worth the reactions you get when someone pulls up and sees you in waders sitting at a small camping table at parking spot, sipping wine like a couple of fruitcakes... We even have a name for these dainty lunches which is wrong, offensive and inappropriate...

Bam,
I grew up fishing with my Dad and his fishing buddies doing the same with quite extravagant shore lunches. They were a definite highlight of the day.

As far as downsizing, Ive gone to using the FP Elkhorn lumber pack.
And a beer or two, is a definite with a sip poured to fish gods while sitting on a rock watching the water flow by.

 

[jifigz]

Bam,
I grew up fishing with my Dad and his fishing buddies doing the same with quite extravagant shore lunches. They were a definite highlight of the day.

As far as downsizing, Ive gone to using the FP Elkhorn lumber pack.
And a beer or two, is a definite with a sip poured to fish gods while sitting on a rock watching the water flow by.

Nugget Nectar is good stuff. It used to be in high demand, and I used to be a huge beer nerd. I brewed a lot and often, and I had kegs around all of the time. I also drank and explored tons of craft brews, and I would buy up Nugget Nectar when it was available and traded it for all sorts of stuff you couldn't get around. I was pretty active on BeerAdvocate, and people would mail me some mighty fine stuff for Nugget Nectar.

 

[StreamBottom]

Nugget Nectar is good stuff. It used to be in high demand, and I used to be a huge beer nerd. I brewed a lot and often, and I had kegs around all of the time. I also drank and explored tons of craft brews, and I would buy up Nugget Nectar when it was available and traded it for all sorts of stuff you couldn't get around. I was pretty active on BeerAdvocate, and people would mail me some mighty fine stuff for Nugget Nectar.

I love that stuff!!
I buy it up like TP before a snowstorm. 😂

And it’s release is timed perfectly with the little black stone flys 🍻