I dumped my Orvis Guide sling out and here's what I found:
Hemostats x 1
Nippers x 1
Ty-Rite Jr x 1 (damn those 24+ San Juan nymphs)
Tippet spools x 6 (various sizes)
Bottle of Frog's Fanny x 1
Bottle of Loon Goo x 1
Leaders x 5 (various sizes)
Pack of strike indicators (yarn) x 2
Big box o' streamers x 1
Big box o' dries x 1
Medium box o' nymphs x 1
Small box o' San Juan stuff x 1
Tube of DEET x 1
Tube of SPF x 1
Thermometer x 1
Poncho x 1
Container of shot x 2
Small first aid kit x 1
Medium sized multi-tool (Gerber) x 1
SPOT Satellite Messenger x 1
Bottle of fluid (usually iced tea) x 1
Couple of hand warmers (in winter) x 2
Net x 1
Man, that seems like a lot when I write it down like that
.
Now, that's in the pack that I throw on for a full day of fishing. What's essential? Well, when we stopped so my wife could do some shopping in Estes Park I took:
Nippers
Hemostats
Box of dries
Fly rod (already rigged and hanging in the rod rack)
I caught three or four nice little browns and missed several others while the wife shopped for 30 minute. I guess those are the essentials
.
[edit]Oh, oh, totally forgot: polarized sunglasses. I just love my polarized glasses but I'm not sure they are *essential*. [/edit]