Peter Charles wrote:


So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.


I think that's just a mental thing and not a function of carrying alot
or just a small amount of stuff.



I've gone from one extreme to another, a number of times over the years.


If I'm fishing my home river and I'm doing a short outing, I usually
will take a small flybox, reading glasses, a spool of tippet and a pair
of nippers and stick em in a shirt pocket. Sometimes if I'm going out
for a hour or two in the evening, I just go with my rod with the fly
tied on that I'm going to fish. If I lose the fly, I'm done. But
sometimes I'll throw on my vest.

For small waters I that I'm going to hike into, I've started wearing a
small fanny pack that holds a couple fly boxes, tippet, nippers, reading
glasses, my camera, floatant, dessicant, weight as well as a rainjacket,
some food, TP and a water filter bottle. I'm pleased with how it's
worked. It's comfortable and pretty convenient.

Then there's my vest. I don't like a vest to feel like a backpack and I
try and keep down the weight. If you want, you can packed an incredible
assortment of stuff that you MIGHT need into a vest. I've settled on a
middle of the road approach for quite a few years where I carry a big
enough assortment of gear to cover just about any trout situation and
still have a vest that's comfortable to wear over a long day.

Willi