First trout fly fishing trip, what to take?

[snakemau]

Well, got my 5wt outfit, 1 box of flies on the way (tied by Hairwing5 30 and his kids, which I cannot wait to laid my eyes on it, will take pics!), old hip waders, a net, and a camping reservation for Davidson River in NC for May.....so now what else I need to bring? this is my first official trout fly fishing trip (I did one in MO about 10 yrs ago and I had no clue what I was doing, nor equipment), so now this one is for real!! So could I get a basic list of items that I must or should have? do I need a vest, lanyard or pack or something? floatant, extra tippet, extra line, weights, etc etc, just suggestions on what would be a must and what would be nice to have.

Thanks

 

[oldnewguy]

You just listed many of the "must haves".....don't forget bug repellent, sunglasses, small first aid kit, forceps, hat etc. I'll let others get specific on the other etc's.

Tight lines,

Joe

 

[mcnerney]

Here is a list of items I would have:
A spool of 4x and 5x Tippett, something stronger if you plan to use streamers, maybe 2x.
Nippers
Forcepts
Gel and powder floatant
A vest, chest pack, or I use a sling pack, great for carrying your fishing gear, bottled water and maybe a sandwich for lunch.
A pair of glasses if you eyesight is like mine for threading the Tippett on hooks.
Practice your knot tying before you go.
Rain jacket, can sub for a vest if it has some nice pockets
I have no experience with that river, but if it is high gradient, then consider a wading staff or ski pole
A good attitude, have fun and take some photos of your trip, remember it is about fishing, not catching so regardless of how the fishing goes, enjoy yourself.

Larry

 

[tsubeta04]

Look up local fly shops in the area....theyre a grat resource for local knowledge of what is working.

Enjoy the trip!

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

 

[yonder]

polarized sunglasses are a must, for seeing and eye protection on the backcast........stop by davidson river outfitters across from the local walmart at the intersection........great bunch of guys....they will help you out.

 

[Rip Tide]

old hip waders,

You might want to test those first, or you may end up buying more at the local fly shop than expected.

 

[yonder]

and if these old hip waders don't have felt soles....or metal studs......then you will probably do a fair amount of skating on all those slick rocks.....and the davidson has quite a few deep holes....be careful and watch the current.....

 

[rangerrich99]

This is what the guy who taught me to fly cast told me:

Rod, check.
Reel, check.
Leaders (good idea to bring at least 3, just in case you turn out to be something of an expert at tying windknots), check.
Tippet spools (two, please), check.
Flies, check.
Net, check.
Swiss army knife, check. (I still bring one, it's kind of my back up if I forget one tool or another)
Hat and sunglasses, check.
Something to drink (20 oz. bottle of water usually), check.
Something to eat (teriyaki beef jerky, anyone?), check.
Victory cigar, check.
Victory flask (single malt scotch is preferable, but American bourbon is definitely acceptable), check.

Everything else is optional.

Peace. Oh, and have fun.

 

[ejsell]

Bottled water and everything else listed above.

 

[GrtLksMarlin]

I take the reverse approach....Forget picking all of the stuff you might need, pick out the stuff you won't. Now that sounds like a lot yet it is not....bear with me.

I have two bags specifically for freshwater fly fishing.
1. A rod case which holds all of my FW reels, filled spools, old line, and all of my FW rods (only have 4 I would ever use, others things I graduated from).
2. A wader bag which holds my Ice Buster waders, my hip waders (soon to be replaced by lightweight waders and felt soled "flats booties"), my fishing net, rain gear, disposable rain gear, K-Bar, my fly fishing vest.
2a. My fly fishing vest contains every single tool (knives, nippers, knot tools, leader gauges, hemostats, etc.), compass, 1.75 & 3.5 reading glasses, fishing sun glasses, flashlights, fly dressing, line dressing, leader dressing, mud, splitshot, indicators, leader/tippet material on spools, fish gloves, leader wallet including sinking tips, reference booklets, pocket camera & USB cord, bugspray, 1 pill bottle with basic meds (asprin, sinus med. bandaids, etc.) and every single fly box filled with flies that I own (easily 1,000 flies), and 2 small empty fly boxes, etc. etc..

The rods, reels, line I won't be needing I remove from the rod case. The waders I won't use I remove from the wader bag. Any fly types (as i sort them a specific way) I won't use I remove those boxes. Anything else in the vest I will not be using I remove (ex. steel leader wire, bass flies, etc.) etc. etc..

The only thing I add are maps which I put in the wader bag.............When I return, I clean everything I used, replace what was damaged, lost or used up, and put back into both cases what I took out...returning the maps to their own shelves.

By doing it that way, I never "forgot something", and anything I determine as un-needed once there I can leave in the wader bag. More so, since i keep everything in it's own specific place in the vest, I instantly know where to reach each time for anything.....Yet I'm assured to have everything I'll need when i get there.......and, by replacing it all when back it makes me clean what I used.

B.E.F.

 

[andrew_rigsby]

I cannot be on the river without polarized sun glass, water, sun screen, forceps, gink, strike indicators, splitshots, and tippet (3x, 5x, 6x). I put all of this in my AMAZING sling pack that is made by magellan. It is 25 and will hold everything you need, honestly for the price I dont know how they arent sold out all of the time. The link is below, literally one of the best items I own AND Jerry's fly box will fit perfectly in it (trust me I know)

Academy - Magellan Outdoors™ Sling Pack