Ever have one of those days?

[allen1958]

Woke up late, but that was ok, still had plenty of time to get where I wanted, and have five hours on this little creek I like.
Loaded up the truck, three rods (just in case) a hand full of reels, ,waders, fishing vest, , extra flies and assortment of tackle, a cooler with drinks and lunch, .
One hour thirty five minutes later.....
Arive at destination take off old flyline put in trash to take home, put one new line. Tackle up..............
I didn't bring my boots............ Again!!!
Expletive, expletive..........EXPLETIVE!!!!
Ok, it's a small creek, I'll just keep to the bank and fish where I can between the trees and bushes. The water is crystal clear so try and get to some riffles and some pockets. Well wasn't having any luck at catching anything but the occasional tree, oh well. Anyway I was walking up the road and this guy and his daughter drive up and stop, he asked how I'm doing, I explain, he offers me a pair of his own boots, says I can mail them back to him. He was from Kentucky, we are in South Carolina. Really nice guy, just blew me away with his kindness. Well I couldn't take him up on his offer however well intentioned he was. He was trying to find his friends and not having any luck. Teaching his daughter to fly fish (beautiful girl).
I think his name was David, I hope he found his friends.
So I thought I would try some more walked down a bank and along a downd tree. No luck, so walked back along the tree to get back and fell! My right leg went up to my knee in mud, thought I was going to lose one of my new sneakers, luckily it came out with my foot.
So before you think I got upset, I didn't. My new free replacement cheap maxcatch flyline actually floated ( thank you Amazon.) the meeting with the guy and his daughter was heart warming.
Shout out to David, (I think) from Kentucky. ?
I will be writing on my cooler, REMEMBER YOUR BOOTS!

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[bigcoho]

Had one of those days 5 days straight last week. A first for me. But is wasnt fishing.

 

[rfb700]

I've forgotten just about every piece of fly gear I own at one time or another over the years. Last time I forgot my boots was on a Georgian Bay Trib off of Lake Huron. I just said screw it, left my jeans and Keen shoes on and went wet wading. I naturally fell a couple of times and was quite wet when I got back in my car so I stripped down for the ride home. T shirt and briefs was it. No shoes, no socks, no pants. Would have been interesting being pulled over by the cops.

 

[mcnerney]

Thanks for sharing, that was heart warming to hear that David would offer a total stranger a pair of wading boots!

I've been there before, left behind my landing net, boots, flies, etc. For this last fly fishing trip over to the Grey Reef near Casper, WY I had been working on a fly box, tying flies for that particular river and guess what, when I got there and was rigging up, sure enough I had left that fly box on my tying table. Argh!

 

[Rip Tide]

I've forgotten my reel.... 2 days in a row

I'm not sure how that's even possible

 

[JoJer]

I used to take new anglers/hunters out all the time. Arranged the trip so I could take two of everything, but not have to carry it. We just made sure the parents knew the kids have to have proper footwear-It's just too hard to keep extras in kid sizes.
I learned to make lists. Then, each new trip-new list made from the old lists. Then add specifics for the day food etc.
Then, especially for camping, a list of all the storage containers that go into the truck.
Since I joined the FFing Meet-up, I've seen members become very good at getting a days' gear into three containers. Usually, a rod caddy, a storage container, and a small cooler for lunch. Because we carpool, and they'd rather ride than drive. And they know that I ALWAYS drive...because I can't get all the **** I carry into 3 containers!!

 

[Bigfly]

For those just starting out...I don't recommend packing the morning of.......
Start days in advance.....
Make a pile.....
Then, pack it the night before.
One flip-top box will do...in addition to rod case and cooler.
Then....leave it packed.
In my world....The guys who pack the morning of the trip, get dropped from the fish team 6 call rotation.......
I once forgot my waders...(had my boots) so I wet waded in winter....
Haven't forgotten waders since.......
I still sometimes forget the last minute flies next to the vice though....

Jim

 

[dennyk]

allen1958, David is a fine example of a southern man's hospitality.

Just goes to show you that the good in this world far outweighs the bad.

Thanks for sharing!

Denny

 

[allen1958]

No kidding! I kind of wish I had done it now, just to be able to get in contact with him again, and find out how things went. Oh well.

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[msl819]

I've forgotten just about every piece of fly gear I own at one time or another over the years. Last time I forgot my boots was on a Georgian Bay Trib off of Lake Huron. I just said screw it, left my jeans and Keen shoes on and went wet wading. I naturally fell a couple of times and was quite wet when I got back in my car so I stripped down for the ride home. T shirt and briefs was it. No shoes, no socks, no pants. Would have been interesting being pulled over by the cops.

Those last two lines sound like the making of a country music song!

 

[Ard]

I face challenges all the time here due to not being able to find things I need. For instance, I just finished the oil change from He11. After making two 16 mile trips into town I determined there were no oil filters to fit my Honda 90 motor in the Valley. That was Sunday, so Monday I check with Alaska Mining & Diving in Anchorage to see that they had them (Honda Outboard dealer) Today I get in the truck and drive 57 miles to purchase an oil filter. This is a guy who really wants an oil filter. I get to the parts counter and the young man scans his computer and announces that they are "out" of the filter that fits my engine!

"Out! I just checked before I left the Valley!" The guy points to the other parts guy down the counter and says, "he just sold them".

"Sold them? How many did you have?" He tells me that about 20 minutes ago someone came in and bought a box with 24 Honda oil filters in it. The entire inventory, from the only Honda dealer in this part of Alaska............

So I drove back home but not before playing a long shot. I stopped at a NAPA store in Wasilla and a nice young lady there managed to cross reference the Honda filter to a NAPA Gold filter. Same size, same thread pitch, and I finished the oil change 36 hours after I began.

Fishing stuff, I've forgotten things but not too much any more, I've had plenty of practice at getting ready.

 

[allen1958]

I face challenges all the time here due to not being able to find things I need. For instance, I just finished the oil change from He11. After making two 16 mile trips into town I determined there were no oil filters to fit my Honda 90 motor in the Valley. That was Sunday, so Monday I check with Alaska Mining & Diving in Anchorage to see that they had them (Honda Outboard dealer) Today I get in the truck and drive 57 miles to purchase an oil filter. This is a guy who really wants an oil filter. I get to the parts counter and the young man scans his computer and announces that they are "out" of the filter that fits my engine!

"Out! I just checked before I left the Valley!" The guy points to the other parts guy down the counter and says, "he just sold them".

"Sold them? How many did you have?" He tells me that about 20 minutes ago someone came in and bought a box with 24 Honda oil filters in it. The entire inventory, from the only Honda dealer in this part of Alaska............

So I drove back home but not before playing a long shot. I stopped at a NAPA store in Wasilla and a nice young lady there managed to cross reference the Honda filter to a NAPA Gold filter. Same size, same thread pitch, and I finished the oil change 36 hours after I began.

Fishing stuff, I've forgotten things but not too much any more, I've had plenty of practice at getting ready.

Hey Ard, you are a guide too! I don't expect you to ever forget your working tools, lol.
Me on the other hand, I have been fishing for 52 years and get so excited at the prospect of actually being able to go, I get a sort of tunnel vision.
I totally respect your ability to have it all together!
Liked your story about the oil filter, a lot of stuff I take for granted, you might not. However you seem to have an extraordinary life that many of us envy! Thanks for posting on this thread.

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[Ard]

Hi Allen,

After a lot of years I have the fishing kit pretty well figured out but when I think back...... There was a day in the 80's when my fishen buddy and I were headed to a creek far from home. About half way there it began to rain, I still have that vintage 'Ideal' brand, (made in Pennsylvania) fishing jacket hanging in my closet We stopped at the Waterville General Store and I bought it there. It's actually a really nice jacket, water resistant but not like today's Gore Tex stuff. I wore it just that one day so it's still just like new.

I don't remember leaving anything at home for a long time and now I always have a jacket and back up gear, dry cloths and waders packed in a dry bag that I can toss in the boat. One thing that has helped greatly is that I use an old canvas and leather tote bag that I won at a Ruffed Grouse Society Banquet in the 80's for a tackle bag. Everything I need is in that bag, long as you have the bag it's all good buddy.

Incidentally I orered 4 oil filters yesterday so I'm good for the next 4 years.

 

[runningfish]

I once forgot to bring a pair of pliers and had to bite the tippet for the whole day.