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How much gear to take


DavidWliilamson

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I normally go fishing on my push-bike so I have to take every thing that I need in a small rucksack, the point is why do so many people cart about so much equipment. I know that if your going to a match that you will take a lot as your trying to get as big a bag as possible but for the weekend fisherman like my self I don't see the need, or am i missing something

 

 

 

david <_< <_< <_<

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Hehehe!

 

Yes you are not giving enough of all your hard earned cash to help owners and investors in the tackle industry get richer, or develop new and expensive and exciting products. Remember the old saying tackle dealers catch more anglers than anglers catch fish.

 

When I fist started fishing the older men who were kind enough to teach me to fish never had a lot of tackle nor the choices of tackle we have now, and so they just took a minimum amount of gear. But and it is a big but they never traveled as for to fish as we do now and they were experts in river/water craft and knew their local waters very well.

 

I for one certainly take more tackle now than I did in my youth as:

 

A: I like a comfortable chair to sit on, now I am in my sixties.

 

B: I need a trolley due to being disabled just to get from the car to the river/water bank with even the barest minimum of tackle.

 

So I for one am guilty of taking more gear than I actually need e.g. a chair and something to carry my gear with other than that I still take the safe actual amount of tackle as I have always taken

 

As for other anglers and this is only my speculation:

 

1. Perhaps a lot of anglers today lack river/water craft skills so need to take lots of gear to try every combination they can think of to not blank.

 

2. A lot of the gear taken to the river/water bank are really fashion accessories and may be taken for style reasons.

 

3. Some anglers might need to take lots of gear to boost their own confidence.

 

4. Some anglers may desperately need to take lots of gear to in the hope that they will show other anglers that they are a top experienced anglers with lots of gear.

 

5. Some anglers may buy and take lots of gear because they don't have a clue what they are doing.

 

6. Some anglers just don't have the sense to research the river/water they are going to and therefore need lots of gear to be able to cope with any eventuality.

 

7. Some anglers may be trying to loose weight and take lots of gear to increase the exercise they are getting.

 

8. Some anglers might take lots of gear to imply to their wives/girlfriends/partners that they need to spend lots of money on gear because that is what is needed to fish with, so have to take lots of gear with them every time they go.

 

9. Some anglers may take a lot of gear fishing so that they can clean and polish it while waiting for their bite alarms to go off.

 

10. Some anglers might believe that they need lots of gear to catch the fish they are after.

Edited by watatoad

From a spark a fire will flare up

English by birth, Cockney by the Grace of God

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Most of the excess gear a lot of anglers carry is purely for comfort. Even for sesssion fishing the actual tackle needed fits in a rucksack. But on the carp barrrow are my bivvy, sleeping bags, bed chair, food , stove, kettle pans, cool bag plus far to much spare bait.

everytime i catch a fish i'm lucky when i blank i'm a hopeless angler.

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Exactly, on longer sessions my actual fishing tackle is minimal. All the bulk and weight consists of camping stuff, essentially. Nothing to do with looking good or not knowing what I'm doing (although that is often true too :rolleyes: ), just that I need it all so I don't die!

 

I really resent taking piles of stuff and often spend ages really trying hard to cut it all down, but what I take now is still too much so more needs to go somehow...

 

The heaviest things are cooking stuff, bait (especially dense bait like crumb and pellets), food and water. Hard to cut down on those unfortunately.

 

It's one of the reasons I love the winter chubbing so much, it's so much nicer to take virtually nothing and feel free.

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music

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It's one of the reasons I love the winter chubbing so much, it's so much nicer to take virtually nothing and feel free.

 

Very true, and that can be applied to trotting in general as well. It is still very hard to get it down to the bear minimum though, there’s always something which tips it over the edge.

 

During milder months I can just about get away with a bait smock holding a pint and half maggots, a tackle belt around my waist holding all the small stuff and scales/camera (ever hopeful me) stuffed in jacket pockets. All I carry is the rod and the landing net.

 

It’s a great way to fish but it doesn’t take much for it to change. If it’s colder and I want to eat properly I have to take either cooking gear or decent sarnies and that means a bag. If I take a selection of baits they all have to go somewhere and again that means a bag so I might as well chuck in a spare reel while I’m at it…so it goes on.

 

I’ve found travelling ultra light does have its disadvantages. There are times when I’ve wanted to change method/tactics but haven’t had the kit to do it because I didn’t want to carry a bag. On balance the pros outweigh the cons imo.

It's never a 'six', let's put it back

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I agree with Terry & Anderoo the bulk of the stuff on session fishing is for comfort and essentials. I've been trying to organise my gear for a long session this weekend Friday afternoon to Monday morning. I have packed all my rig bits, weights, feeders etc in to a very small bag.

 

But I just can not see how to cut down on the other stuff such as bivy, chair, bed chair, sleeping bag, stove, pots, spare clothes, food, water and bait.

 

The actual fishing gear I will be taking is one rod holdall and one small bag with reels and rig items. The rest is all camping gear or bait.

 

At least barrowing it all to my swim will be good exercise :D

Stephen

 

Species Caught 2014

Zander, Pike, Bream, Roach, Tench, Perch, Rudd, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Eel, Grayling, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout

Species Caught 2013

Pike, Zander, Bream, Roach, Eel, Tench, Rudd, Perch, Common Carp, Koi Carp, Brown Goldfish, Grayling, Brown Trout, Chub, Roosterfish, Dorado, Black Grouper, Barracuda, Mangrove Snapper, Mutton Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Tarpon, Red Snapper

Species Caught 2012
Zander, Pike, Perch, Chub, Ruff, Gudgeon, Dace, Minnow, Wels Catfish, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Roach, Bream, Eel, Rudd, Tench, Arapaima, Mekong Catfish, Sawai Catfish, Marbled Tiger Catfish, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Thai Redtail Catfish, Batrachian Walking Catfish, Siamese Carp, Rohu, Julliens Golden Prize Carp, Giant Gourami, Java Barb, Red Tailed Tin Foil Barb, Nile Tilapia, Black Pacu, Red Bellied Pacu, Alligator Gar
Species Caught 2011
Zander, Tench, Bream, Chub, Barbel, Roach, Rudd, Grayling, Brown Trout, Salmon Parr, Minnow, Pike, Eel, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Koi Carp, Crucian Carp, F1 Carp, Blue Orfe, Ide, Goldfish, Brown Goldfish, Comet Goldfish, Golden Tench, Golden Rudd, Perch, Gudgeon, Ruff, Bleak, Dace, Sergeant Major, French Grunt, Yellow Tail Snapper, Tom Tate Grunt, Clown Wrasse, Slippery Dick Wrasse, Doctor Fish, Graysby, Dusky Squirrel Fish, Longspine Squirrel Fish, Stripped Croaker, Leather Jack, Emerald Parrot Fish, Red Tail Parrot Fish, White Grunt, Bone Fish
Species Caught 2010
Zander, Pike, Perch, Eel, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Crucian Carp, Siamese Carp, Asian Redtail Catfish, Sawai Catfish, Rohu, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Pacu, Long Tom, Moon Wrasse, Sergeant Major, Green Damsel, Tomtate Grunt, Sea Chub, Yellowtail Surgeon, Black Damsel, Blue Dot Grouper, Checkered Sea Perch, Java Rabbitfish, One Spot Snapper, Snubnose Rudderfish
Species Caught 2009
Barramundi, Spotted Sorubim Catfish, Wallago Leeri Catfish, Wallago Attu Catfish, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Mrigul, Siamese Carp, Java Barb, Tarpon, Wahoo, Barracuda, Skipjack Tuna, Bonito, Yellow Eye Rockfish, Red Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Black Fin Snapper, Dog Snapper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Marble Grouper, Black Fin Tuna, Spanish Mackerel, Mutton Snapper, Redhind Grouper, Saddle Grouper, Schoolmaster, Coral Trout, Bar Jack, Pike, Zander, Perch, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Common Carp, Golden Tench, Wels Catfish
Species Caught 2008
Dorado, Wahoo, Barracuda, Bonito, Black Fin Tuna, Long Tom, Sergeant Major, Red Snapper, Black Damsel, Queen Trigga Fish, Red Grouper, Redhind Grouper, Rainbow Wrasse, Grey Trigger Fish, Ehrenbergs Snapper, Malabar Grouper, Lunar Fusiler, Two Tone Wrasse, Starry Dragonet, Convict Surgeonfish, Moonbeam Dwarf Angelfish,Bridled Monocle Bream, Redlined Triggerfish, Cero Mackeral, Rainbow Runner
Species Caught 2007
Arapaima, Alligator Gar, Mekong Catfish, Spotted Sorubim Catfish, Pacu, Siamese Carp, Barracuda, Black Fin Tuna, Queen Trigger Fish, Red Snapper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Honeycomb Grouper, Red Grouper, Schoolmaster, Cubera Snapper, Black Grouper, Albacore, Ballyhoo, Coney, Yellowfin Goatfish, Lattice Spinecheek

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I agree with Terry & Anderoo the bulk of the stuff on session fishing is for comfort and essentials. I've been trying to organise my gear for a long session this weekend Friday afternoon to Monday morning. I have packed all my rig bits, weights, feeders etc in to a very small bag.

 

But I just can not see how to cut down on the other stuff such as bivy, chair, bed chair, sleeping bag, stove, pots, spare clothes, food, water and bait.

 

The actual fishing gear I will be taking is one rod holdall and one small bag with reels and rig items. The rest is all camping gear or bait.

 

At least barrowing it all to my swim will be good exercise :D

 

 

I'm down to one barrow load and a rucksack . Its all the pellet i carry that bulks mine up i worked out i used 4 kilo of pellet and 3 of groundbait on my last session. plus ground up boilies, corn and luncheon meat.. I forgot the worms lol

everytime i catch a fish i'm lucky when i blank i'm a hopeless angler.

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Buy an impractical car and take up fly fishing!

 

luggage.jpg

 

Actually, my winter chub tackle isn't much more than that, but unlike my fly gear the rod and landing net don't break down to less than three feet long, I need a bigger bag for bait and I usually take a folding chair and a rod rest too.

 

I think you can usually get away with minimal kit if you are fishing somewhere you know well enough to know in advance exactly how you will be fishing it, if your session is short and if it isn't the end of the world if you get it wrong. If I'm driving 100 miles to fish a river that might be in good enough condition to fly fish or might need trotting or even legering, I'll put everything bar the kitchen sink in the (other!) car and take out what I need when I get there. If I'm going down to the pond just outside the village, I can strap one float rod and net to the crossbar of my bike and carry all my kit and a folding chair in a rucksack.

 

Lots of anglers used to have only one rod and reel, and only ever learnt one style of fishing (usually simple float fishing) and would be unable to understand why someone would possibly need to own more tackle, let alone carry it. I'm sure there are still plenty of youngsters and old timers in that camp, and good luck to them. I do remember as a kid that when my mates and I started experimenting with legering, using swing tips, some of the old boys thought it amounted to cheating (and possibly witchcraft :lol: )

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I'm down to one barrow load and a rucksack . Its all the pellet i carry that bulks mine up i worked out i used 4 kilo of pellet and 3 of groundbait on my last session. plus ground up boilies, corn and luncheon meat.. I forgot the worms lol

 

From your posting on the Bream topic, it looks like the lack of worms did not effect your catch's Well done mate.

 

I'm planning to try to keep to one barrow and just bring enough food, water and bait for one night down to the swim. Then the next day when I need to answer the call of nature, I can collect enough bait and food supplies from the car for the rest of the trip. So my fishing session plans are now based around trips to the loo :D

Stephen

 

Species Caught 2014

Zander, Pike, Bream, Roach, Tench, Perch, Rudd, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Eel, Grayling, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout

Species Caught 2013

Pike, Zander, Bream, Roach, Eel, Tench, Rudd, Perch, Common Carp, Koi Carp, Brown Goldfish, Grayling, Brown Trout, Chub, Roosterfish, Dorado, Black Grouper, Barracuda, Mangrove Snapper, Mutton Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Tarpon, Red Snapper

Species Caught 2012
Zander, Pike, Perch, Chub, Ruff, Gudgeon, Dace, Minnow, Wels Catfish, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Roach, Bream, Eel, Rudd, Tench, Arapaima, Mekong Catfish, Sawai Catfish, Marbled Tiger Catfish, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Thai Redtail Catfish, Batrachian Walking Catfish, Siamese Carp, Rohu, Julliens Golden Prize Carp, Giant Gourami, Java Barb, Red Tailed Tin Foil Barb, Nile Tilapia, Black Pacu, Red Bellied Pacu, Alligator Gar
Species Caught 2011
Zander, Tench, Bream, Chub, Barbel, Roach, Rudd, Grayling, Brown Trout, Salmon Parr, Minnow, Pike, Eel, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Koi Carp, Crucian Carp, F1 Carp, Blue Orfe, Ide, Goldfish, Brown Goldfish, Comet Goldfish, Golden Tench, Golden Rudd, Perch, Gudgeon, Ruff, Bleak, Dace, Sergeant Major, French Grunt, Yellow Tail Snapper, Tom Tate Grunt, Clown Wrasse, Slippery Dick Wrasse, Doctor Fish, Graysby, Dusky Squirrel Fish, Longspine Squirrel Fish, Stripped Croaker, Leather Jack, Emerald Parrot Fish, Red Tail Parrot Fish, White Grunt, Bone Fish
Species Caught 2010
Zander, Pike, Perch, Eel, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Crucian Carp, Siamese Carp, Asian Redtail Catfish, Sawai Catfish, Rohu, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Pacu, Long Tom, Moon Wrasse, Sergeant Major, Green Damsel, Tomtate Grunt, Sea Chub, Yellowtail Surgeon, Black Damsel, Blue Dot Grouper, Checkered Sea Perch, Java Rabbitfish, One Spot Snapper, Snubnose Rudderfish
Species Caught 2009
Barramundi, Spotted Sorubim Catfish, Wallago Leeri Catfish, Wallago Attu Catfish, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Mrigul, Siamese Carp, Java Barb, Tarpon, Wahoo, Barracuda, Skipjack Tuna, Bonito, Yellow Eye Rockfish, Red Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Black Fin Snapper, Dog Snapper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Marble Grouper, Black Fin Tuna, Spanish Mackerel, Mutton Snapper, Redhind Grouper, Saddle Grouper, Schoolmaster, Coral Trout, Bar Jack, Pike, Zander, Perch, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Common Carp, Golden Tench, Wels Catfish
Species Caught 2008
Dorado, Wahoo, Barracuda, Bonito, Black Fin Tuna, Long Tom, Sergeant Major, Red Snapper, Black Damsel, Queen Trigga Fish, Red Grouper, Redhind Grouper, Rainbow Wrasse, Grey Trigger Fish, Ehrenbergs Snapper, Malabar Grouper, Lunar Fusiler, Two Tone Wrasse, Starry Dragonet, Convict Surgeonfish, Moonbeam Dwarf Angelfish,Bridled Monocle Bream, Redlined Triggerfish, Cero Mackeral, Rainbow Runner
Species Caught 2007
Arapaima, Alligator Gar, Mekong Catfish, Spotted Sorubim Catfish, Pacu, Siamese Carp, Barracuda, Black Fin Tuna, Queen Trigger Fish, Red Snapper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Honeycomb Grouper, Red Grouper, Schoolmaster, Cubera Snapper, Black Grouper, Albacore, Ballyhoo, Coney, Yellowfin Goatfish, Lattice Spinecheek

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For river fishing it is minimal tackle all the way and the same generally applies to day or short sessions but when session fishing for several days I am having great difficulty in getting down to one barrow load although I think I may have cracked it now by adding a front bag to the carp porter. Like others the amount of actual fishing tackle is minimal with the bulk being taken up by the bivvy, bedchair, day chair, cooking equipment, sleeping bag, and food The awkward bits tend to be things like bait buckets and water and I am still trying to work out how carrying these can be improved. I much prefer to have rods set up before I go but that has become impractical and now they are all carried in one quiver on my back along with a small rucksack which unfortunately results in a much longer time needed to set up. Anything not immediately needed can be left in the car but if you are fishing a swim which could be about a mile walk away you dont want to have to make too many journeys especially an old bugger like me who does like his comfort these days :D I also prefer the comfort of my 2 man bivvy but this has had to go in favour of a much smaller and lighter brolly set up.

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