All good stuff, and some pointers I can learn from to be sure. The spare rod/reel debate does remind me of another bit of bad fortune early in my fly fishing life and one for which I still haven’t arrived at an ideal solution. I took an extended weekend trip with my young son, four or five days I think, with the central activity to be fly fishing. I had only been at it for a little while, he was totally new, and both of us were strangers to the water we were headed for. I enlisted the services of a guide the first day to teach us as much as he dared. We had literally just gotten on the water and I went to strip line off the reel when I encountered a major problem. My nearly new but inexpensive reel was locked up tight. No matter what we did, the spool wouldn’t turn. That was the only rod and reel I owned at the time and consequently the only one I had with me. Thankfully the guide had a rod and reel that he let me use and, even more graciously, he allowed me to use it the remainder of the trip and drop it back off to him at the end of the trip. From then on, I’ve always tried to have both a spare rod and reel in case of any calamity. The dilemma becomes the one already identified. Much of my fishing involves walking in to my ultimate fishing spot and staying in one general area. In those cases, I leave my spare set on the bank with lunch and whatever else I brought, no problems. More challenging is the type of fishing were I walk in one place and wade down to another take out. I haven’t come up with a good solution in that case, though I guess I could have a big tube sticking out the back of my vest and a spare reel in a pocket if I wanted to go that route. I’ve left extra gear in the car/truck many a time, but I share the concerns many have expressed about that practice. I keep it concealed and purposely avoid the decals and other telltale signs mentioned already, but all it takes is one person deciding to break the glass and see what they find. Somehow I dodged a bullet just this past year when one of the two vehicles we had parked next to each other was broken into, yet for some reason the one with mine and a couple other guys’ stuff was left alone. Like I say, I’m still looking for the ideal balance on this one…
Note to self: Find a way to attach net to float tube or pontoon.
I found out the hard way that my new collapsable net from Cabela’s didn’t float.
Given the number of lost and broken rod and reel reports I see and hear each year, I’m amazed no one posted the following:
Form the following habits. When arriving at the stream, get fully dressed first…don’t rig your rod, and lean it against something, and then get dressed.
When leaving the stream, disassemble the rod and reel first, and put them in their respective cases before you do anything else. Never leave your rod on the car roof, leaning against the car, or anywhere else.
If you follow those simple rules, you’ll completely eliminate lost rods, and cut way down on breaasge.
HAHAHHAAHAHAHAHA
I was trying to come with a good way to say that with just a bit more bite in it…
You did a much better job then I would have!!!
Rod and Reel always stay cased until I am geared up and then it is the first thing put away…
Army Training!!!
Somewhere I have a auto reel made to keep a key chain on someone’s belt, Keytainer is one brand name. It worked good for keeping my net on net on my tube until I took it off and now can’t find it. If you could find one with a stainless spring it would be great.
I don’t have an answer for a real brimmed hat, but one of the few times you can look intelligent with you cap on backward is driving a boat, also when welding, catching baseball, that’s about it.
i’d need an impact tool to remove the rusted screws on my license plate
I have a loop of elastic shock cord tied to the eye hook in the handle of my net. I just loop it over one of the frame pieces. I have the loop big enough that it can stretch out a little more than my arm’s reach but because it’s elastic, it doesn’t get in the way when not stretched out.
Seems to work for me.
Jeff
Riding a custom made Harley you designed and built yourself…
For some reason the way the air flows thru my boat even if the hat is turned backwards it can and does lift off.
This!!!
So simple yet 100% effective. Fortunately I learned this lesson the easy way from my fishing buddies mishaps.
A couple of my other life’s lessons:
[ul]
[li]NO post fishing adult beverages, snacks or other distractions until EVERYTHING of mine is safely stowed away.[/li][/ul]
[ul]
[li]A quick policing of the area after getting suited up for fishing or after packing things away is ALWYAS done, utilizing a flashlight when necessary. BTW - make sure you do the same thing when checking out of a hotel room. ;)[/li][/ul]
[ul]
[li]If an item in a pocket or pouch has any value to you as an accessory or any value what-so-ever, figure out a way to tether it to yourself.[/li][/ul]
[ul]
[li]Stream cleats/studs & fly lines do NOT mix! When wading with studded wading shoes; be dilligent about keeping loose line OFF the ground or make sure you know how to do field repairs on damaged or severed fly lines. :([/li][/ul]
[ul]
[li]Because unfortunately thieves are everywhere, I do the same thing I do with personal items in my home; I avoid discussing my goodies as much as possible with people I don’t know well. I keep my trunk closed as much as possible while getting ready to fish; try and park in an area that is as visible as possible, stow everything out of sight while fishing and keep my car free of bumper stickers that advertise high priced fishing gear or other “notice me, I’m a fly fisherman” adverts. It may sound like paranoia but I’ve never had an incident and intend to do whatever I can to keep it that way.[/li][/ul]Knock on wood!
Don’t forget your light. No matter how big the fish are that are rising, you can’t thread a #22 midge in the dark.
Don’t forget your bug juice during black fly season. No amount of toughness makes them feel better.
Don’t forget your reel. BUT…IF you do forget your reel…a 9’ leader tied to the tip-top, some tippet, and splitshot used to tightline nymph…will catch alot of fish too:^)
I’m hoping you got a brain bucket over you cap when driving the two wheeler. And I have had caps sucked off my head in bass boats, but I don’t have much up there to increase the friction.
I usually fish with my Father-in-law and a friend. I always drive and came up with a way that any of us can access my suv whenever needed. I had three sets of keys made that will only open the door (they cannot start the vehicle) and each of us gets one. I hide the actual electronic key in the vehicle and we all know where it is. if one of us needs to drive somewhere, no problem. This also prevents the electronic key from getting lost of wet.
As far as busted equipment - I have several TFOs and have busted one, but it was easy to get the portion replaced (since I live in Dallas, i just dropped in on them on my way to work). They don’t even ask what happened - just gave me the replacement part.
JR
A couple of fly boxes JAM-PACKED with flies apparently feel out of my fanny pack. I didn’t discover this until the next day. I went back and searched the area, but it was a public area, and the boxes were never found.
Now I try to put my address label and maybe my phone number on the inside of the lid of all my fly boxes. At least then somebody has a legitimate CHANCE of returning them to me if I lose them again.
Years ago, I fished a beach in Rhode Island early one morning and then decided take a break and hit MickyD’s for some lunch.
It wasn’t much more than a mile or so out to RT. 1, still I was real surprised to see my rod had made it all that way, riding on the roof of the van, when we pulled into the parking lot.
Now, the first thing that I do when I walk up to the car is put my rod in full sight on the windshield (not the roof ;))… even before I start digging for keys
Never forgot again
Extra dry clothes in the car
Normand, whether it works or not, I feel better writing my name, adress and phone number on all of my fly boxes, that way they know where to come to rob me of the rest of them…
After several mishaps ending in broken rods, make sure the first thing you stow when returning to the car is your flyrod, no exceptions
Make sure the flies you tied the night before for your big trip are boxed and put in with your equipment - too many times they were still on the magnet on my tying desk 
Give the car key to he/she who can’t handle the entire day fishing
Don’t let the Kid go off on a fishing trip with your set of fins needed for your afternoon outing in the pontoon
Always make more lunch than needed because the friend your Kid invited didn’t bring a thing for lunch or drink, let alone any flies :evil:
If you want your dark glasses and your camera to be there when you’re on the water, put them around your neck before you leave home…or at least before you leave the vehicle after arrival 
Check the charge on your camers battery
No, the wind knot in your tippet won’t matter much…unless you really did want to land that pig!
Well, that’s just a start…
Kelly.
Someone’s comment about fly line reminded me of another, more obscure, “lesson” recently learned. I took a friend to the river not long ago for one of his first outings. After helping him out a little and then separating for awhile, we reconvened later and he shared with me how he’d accidentally cut his fly line when he went to trim his tippet with his combination scissors/forceps. We got a good chuckle out of it and I really didn’t think much about it originally. Since then however, I’ve noticed how many times I find my line laying on or over my scissors/forceps also. Like my buddy, I have mine pinned to a zinger on my vest. I’m right handed, so I long ago figured out that the right side of my vest (closest to my right hand) was the most convenient place to have the scissors. What I didn’t notice until recently was that I also have a tendency to put the rod and reel under my right armpit as I clip a fly off and add another. That seems to position any excess line disturbingly well to fall across the open scissors, and while it still seems hard to imagine not seeing your line laying in the crotch of the scissors before you close them, I moved them over to the left side of my vest just to lessen the risk. As my friend discovered, there’s little that’ll put more of a crimp in your casting, stripping, fighting a fish, etc. than a knot 15 or so feet down from the end of the line!
Only in those states where wearing one is mandatory. Don’t like 'em. Don’t like being told I have to wear one.