What do we need to bring?
The most frequent question I get asked by customers is, “What do we need to bring?”. So I thought I would write up a blog post on what you will want to bring not only on a fishing trip on my boat but also for a fishing trip anywhere you go! While my website and many other charter websites have the answers to this question somewhere, it’s never really that easy to find, and many people are not going to spend the time to scour over a website to find the answer when they can just text or call the guide directly. So if you read this blog post, you will at least be better prepared for your next fishing trip. Here we go!
1. Polarized sunglasses! I cannot tell you how valuable polarized sunglasses are to fishermen, especially if on your trip you are planning to sight fish. Polarized lenses vastly decrease glare and help your vision penetrate through the water where the fish are likely to be swimming. If you cannot see your target, how are you supposed to present a well-placed fly or soft plastic? Well, we call that blind casting, which can definitely work, but when dealing with spooky fish, if your cast lands too close to your target, then that fish is gone. I have a great example of this. When I first started guiding, I had a client on the boat, and we just got to a spot that had a school of about 200 redfish in it. My client has sunglasses on, but I just assumed that they were polarized, which I later found out were $5 gas station glasses (not polarized). I spot this school of 200 in about a 3 foot slough that runs through the creek. I ask him, “Do you see the school at 12 o'clock, 30 yards, heading in our direction?” Client response: "no." I ask again once the slid closer, “Do you see the school at 11'o'clock, 20 yards?” The client responds, “I don’t see a damn thing!”. Well, at that point, we were getting close to being in danger of the school getting too close to the boat and spooking, so I gave him the direction, the distance, and the direction they were swimming. He fires away, and the lure lands about 10 yards too far to the right and lands in the middle of the school. Needless to say, the school spooked and moved back up to the creek to hopefully make another pass without having to chase them down. Once you spook a school, they are going to be a little more weary of your presence, and the more times they get spooked, the harder they become to catch. The moral of the story is that being able to see the fish is one of the most important aspects of sight fishing, A guide can walk you through exactly where to cast, but when the angler can see the fish they are casting to, it is a much better scenario, with a higher percentage of caught fish. Nowadays, I keep at least one extra pair of polarized sunglasses in my boat.
The second part of this is lens color. Certain lens colors work better than others depending on the water clarity you are in and also the sun conditions. If you are fishing in clear Florida water, blue and green lenses work well. If you are fishing in brown or off-color water, brown or bronze lenses work very well. If it’s low-light or cloudy, yellow lenses work like a dream. Here in North Carolina, brown or amber is the color of choice for most guides and anglers going after redfish in shallow water on a fly and light spinning gear. The sunglasses I prefer the most are (SMITH, Guide’s Choice, Polarized Brown) and (SMITH, Redding, Low Light Ignitors).
2. Face mask or neck gaiter. There are a few reasons why I absolutely love these things. Probably the #1 reason that I love them is that it keeps my hat on! I like to keep my hat on at all times, and when I have my neck gaiter covering a part of the back of my hat, it never seems to blow off. Secondly, in the warmer months, when we have earlier starts, the gnats can be absolutely brutal, and they work as a great bug shield for those early morning hours when the pesky gnats want to fly into your face. Lastly, it does work as a great sun block for your ears, neck, and sides of your face if you wear it all day. This is by no means a necessary item, but it sure can make your life a little easier as far as comfort is concerned.
3. Sunscreen: this one is obvious but is a very valuable item to bring. If you are on a multiple-day fishing trip and you get burned to a crisp on day one (this happened to me before personally), it is pretty brutal the next day. Either wear a lot of sun screen or wear long sleeves and pants to keep from getting torched by the sun. Most guides will have it with them in case you forget it, but not always, and I am guilty of leaving it in my car many times when someone asks if I have any two hours into a trip.
4. Fishing License! At least in North Carolina, as guides, we have the option to buy a blanket license, which means you are covered while fishing with a guide who has that license, but I don’t think that is the case everywhere, so if that information is not readily available on a website, I would reach out to your guide or outfitter to double check and make sure you are legal. I do carry a blanket license, as many other North Carolina saltwater guides do, so you would not need to buy a fishing license if you fish with me.
5. Hat. Hats are also a great tool for seeing fish as well! They can block some of the light that may be peeking into your sunglasses from the top and help you see through the water a bit more. Having just that little bit of shade over your face and above your sunglasses really helps with eliminating light penetration from the sun, which can help you get a clearer picture of the water and see fish. I often wear a hood over my hat to even further eliminate any light penetration! Every little benefit you can muster from your gear to help you see the fish you are fishing for is one step closer to putting that fish over the rails of the boat.
6. Layer up! Layering up is two-fold. You really want to layer up in the winter for quite obvious reasons. I’d much rather be hot and feel the need to de-layer than be cold, wishing I had another jacket. Even if you don’t wear it first thing, bring an extra jacket if you think the weather calls for it. You can always de-layer, but you can’t put on a coat that you don’t have. The second part of this is layers for warmer months. Yes, the warmer months! There is one sole reason for this and its bugs. Gnats in the warmer months, when there is barely any wind, can be brutal. I wear really light pants any summer day with light wind when fishing inshore because, early in the morning, these gnats have a thirst for humans, and it’s insatiable. I don’t love wearing pants during the day because it can get a bit hot, so I’ll have a pair of shorts already on underneath that I’ll switch to once the sun comes up and the gnats disappear. I almost always wear a long-sleeve sun shirt with a hoodie during the summer, mainly for sun coverage, but they also work great for bug protection. If you plan on wearing a t-shirt for your fishing trip in the summer, I’d bring a long-sleeve sun shirt too, just for the first thing in the morning until the gnats are gone. My go-to sun shirt, pants, and shorts are all made by Free Fly. They make incredibly light and breathable summer gear that is really nice to wear when it’s hot out and buggy.
7. Practice! This is more geared towards fly anglers. If you have not casted in a while or you are brand new to fly fishing a little practice in the grass is going to go a long way. It’s not always ideal conditions out there and being able to still cast a fly accurately in the wind can help you immeasurably. Sometimes the fish are extra spooky and might require a longer cast to get the eat. Saltwater fly fishing is not the easiest thing is the world and just a tab bit of practice will make your experience so much better.
That’s it, folks. I hope this helps you out in some shape or form on your next fishing adventure. Get out there and enjoy it!
