[Jared D]

Thank you mgibbs. This is exactly what I was looking for (and would be for freshwater uses... not sure I would need it in Salt since I am usually in the skiff).
I am making notes and will be ordering a few of the items you mentioned. I really like the magnet set up for the net. It was a pain to use the way I had it.

I saw a vest with the leader holders that were connected across the vest top and thought that may be a better setup.

 

[Jared D]

I have a sling pack for beach snook. It works great for that, but freshwater trout I find I need a lot more stuff. I have a Fanny pack for a walk in redfish flood tide spot (when I don’t feel like messing w the skiff).
My vest can barely squeeze three of my five fly boxes (they are just a tad too long) so I had to do some mix and matching.
Twice i was on the water only to realize the flies I needed never were brought but instead sitting on my desk back at the AirBnB.
literally pockets everywhere and I still would be without what I needed.

 

[Jared D]

One thing that has helped me, is I’ve pretty much stopped using fly boxes and gone to the plastic pucks that many shops give you when you buy flies. You can fit a ton of flies in each, say one for dries, one for nymphs and one for smaller streamers

I agree- but I bring the three fly boxes that I CAN fit in my vest ...... PLUS a bunch of pucks full of flies.
I like the boxes because it helps me see the flies (dries in particular) based on type, size, color, etc. The pucks get the extras- since I normally buy (or tie up) a "hot" pattern in 3 sizes (and usually two colors) and about 3-5 each size/ color... so I can easily have 15-20 of the same fly just because I have been burned by not.


For example- last year I was in a spot and they were crushing elk hair caddis with a reddish-brown abdomen. We caught a mess of trout but they were chewing through the flies pretty hot and heavy (I am guessing I probably destroyed/ lost 6) until I ran out. They were eating small ones (size 16 and 18) so the ones I had left (size 12) were too big and thus completely ignored. I even had some additional small ones with a fawn-colored abdomen that were not good enough for the trout in this spot on this day.

Then you got to figure in all the patterns Xs way too many of each color/ size.... That has forced me to "over prepare" and now I carry WAY too many flies... yet apparently not enough for the royal trout that are so picky!


With Snook I carry three patterns (lightbulb, clouser, and my version of a deciever) and usually one spare of each.
For reds I carry three patterns (crab, clouser, and gurgler) in 2 colors of each - both with a spare.

 

[Jared D]

.. then I sometimes just wear my shirt with a small box and a spool of tippet, forceps and floatant or sink

I want this to be me.

I am pretty confident in my redfish/ snook/ speckled sea trout fishing- so I can easily do a limited number of things with me foray (although, I usually don't).
With freshwater trout- I cant figure out the bugs- so no confidence... and thus I prepare for every conceivable situation.

 

[Jared D]

Not sure how much tippet some of you go through but I see no need for it to be out - and if I start with a good leader,90% of the time I’m finishing off with 4x or 5x fluoro

I have been using a lot of 6x, 7x, and 8x - some because the fish require it and some because it is the only line thin enough to get into the eye of some of the ridiculously small flies.

The lighter leader material does not fare well to any abrasions, so I replace it often.

I will be fishing the east coast for the rest of this year so will likely be using 3-5X now- and hopefully need a lot less.

 

[Jared D]

Jared - have you thought about using a hip pack or a chest harness?
I have both and prefer to use those over a vest because they are less cumbersome and less likely to loose things. Also because most of your equipment is stored inside there is less likelihood for your fly line to get caught up on anything on your vest. I spent 6 years guiding and switched from a vest to a hip/fanny pack pretty quickly. Simms/Fishpond make great options for these.

I tried using fanny pack for trout but with all the stuff, I found it inefficient. I then went to a sling back pack but found it too easy to lose stuff within the various pockets and after a day of fishing, my right shoulder would be irritated by the weight and all the sliding the bag forward and back.

I decided vest simply because I can set it up and IF I stay consistent, I can always know exactly where to go for everything. It also spreads any weight out evenly.

But if it doesn't work out the way I want, I will try a chest harness.

 

[Jared D]

I agree. For many years Gary Merriman, the former owner of the Fish Hawk in Atlanta, said he would only carry a dozen flies or so, some tippet, floatant, and nippers in his shirt pocket. Didn’t stop him from catching lots of trout and not looking like he took half of his store along for the trip. I have fished this way for many, many years and it’s very liberating. But, as others have stated, to each his own.

Prior to that I took a Fish Pond chest pack like the one shown in the photo and rigged it to slide onto my wading belt. I could push it around to the back to be out of the way and that worked pretty well too.

View attachment 275013

I agree with this but trout and their bugs are still pretty foreign to me. I am learning and will get there, but right now, I struggle to know when to put on a hares ear vs copper John vs prince nymph.
Many times I finally get a size 20 spinner on only for them to key in on something else and I am forced to find new patterns to mimic.

Right now, I trout fish in Maine, the lower SE App mountains, and the west. I am in too many places to really learn one.

It is all about confidence.
Yesterday I fished a NE FL flood tide (I was actually on the bow as my buddy poled me)… I had my pliers, one rod, and two fly patterns, each with a spare.

For trout, it all comes right now.