Welp, I done gone down a rabbit hole again. Thought I would poll the crowd and see who can take it the furthest!
How little can you bring with you, and not feel like you’re “missing” anything?
I found out that if I cut the center out of a SA tippet spool, those little saucer line holders press in pretty well. So line, tippet, and flies in the size of just the tippet spool, nippers with my house key, and clamps tied on to my rod sock.
Nobody loses points for having a net, but I don’t have one so I don’t bring it. The Sunfish don’t seem to mind. Hopefully my Creek Rat will show up before trout season…
This is my most minimal kit as of now. Sits on the coat rack in my office. I work at a water treatment plant located in a nature park so all within about a minutes walk is a river with wild trout, a pond stocked with trout and a series of ponds with bass/bluegill/carp. My lunch break kit consists of the knock-off pocket ninja rod, the TUSA keeper spool that stores an 11’ #3 level line on one side and a few yards of 5X on the other. Ive got around 8 flies in the keepers little fly compartment and my clippers. Should probably add forceps or a hook removal tool. I know that this would also be enough at the majority of streams I travel to fish on a weekly basis but I generally carry more things on a “proper” outing. Mostly because I just enjoy experimenting with various rods/lines/kebari etc. It is a great exercise to see how little one needs for a fun/productive day on the water.
You have me beat on this one. I still have a problem of carrying way too much gear. I will
blame it on my fly fishing background. I have an old Patagonia sling pack that allows me to
carry a lot of junk but I really need to thin this down. Thanks for the reminder.
I actually took the nippers off my keys yesterday and did not miss them when I was fishing today. It seemed redundant to my pocket knife. I don’t know if I can dump any more ballast at this point, though
I’m glad you carry a pocket knife, so many people don’t. I have been caring some type of pocket knife with me since I was about 9 yrs. old. I could not image not having one to fix something.
It’s like a trusted old friend. I glad you joined this site and contribute to the community.
Take care and catch some big fish.
I like to bring lots of stuff sometimes too! I’m planning to hit a couple lakes tomorrow so I’m packing a bag. This is the out-all-day loadout…
I made this bag out of a pant leg, a rifle sling, and pop rivets. There’s electric plug prongs for extra strength at the sling points and tent pole shock cord for the second rod garage.
