Overlooked fishing gear

This might seem obvious to most but its just a rundown of various bits of gear I wouldnt set of on a days fishing without that many beginners overlook

1. Cool bag: very cheap in places like Aldi and lidls or markets and very important. The most important factor of wheter you catch or not is bait quality. So get one!
2. Seat box: many beginners might scoff at paying 40 euro for a plastic box but believe me its worth every penny. I have a shakespeare beta box and there pretty indestructible and will last for years(I have mine about 5 years now and its good as new). As well as providing somewhere to park your ass all your tackle can be thrown in here and transporte hassle free
3. Bits boxs: one drawback to the seat box is a lack of compartments so get a few boxs for things like swivels,beads,hooks etc. nothing fancy just a few plastic boxes with compartments.
4. Filleting knife: One of those items which I always thought unnecessary as a beginner. "sure me mas kitchen knives will do". My god was i wrong. A lifesaver for filleting mackeral fillets and essential for good bait presentation. get one for about 15 euro but for the love of god be careful!THEY ARE SHARP
5. baiting needle: Some people love them some people hate them. I fall into the first category. its basically a long needle with a hollow in the end. you thread the ragworm or sandeel onto the needle stick the point of the hook into the hollow and push the bait onto the hook. Try it out and see if it works for you at about a euro its not gonna have the bank manager crying.
6.Spare spool *loaded with line*:when I was starting out I rarely gave much thought to the spare spool. Again I was wrong. It should be loaded with line and shockleader and ready to go in your seat box. That way if your line gets cut up on snags or tangled you can just switch spools and be fishing again in no time.
7. Rig wallet: I was fishing a while before I got one of these and I dont know how I survived. Its a wallet(as the name suggest) with individual compartments for rigs. This is an absolute necessity.
8. An old rag: easy to forget but makes the trip that bit more comfortable when prepating fish baits like mackerel and the hands get a bit messy.


Although these bits and bobs will cost a bit extra they are worth every penny and will make your fishing trip much more enjoyable. I wouldnt go fishing without any of these items now.

The list looks good Johhny. I have found a rag particularly useful. I try not to handle the fish directly as I believe it must be very uncomfortable for a cold blooded creature to be in contact with a warm blooded one, scalding in effect. By using a damp rag I also find it easier to grip the fish when unhooking and obviously it helps to keep the mits clean. It's also useful for keeping a grip on baits when hooking up, especially nasty pinching king rag.

cool bags with back straps currently 2.99 or 3.99 in tesco - larger capacity than the mustad ones in veals that they sell for 5.99 sterling

I don't bother with a rig wallet - I used to have one for fly leaders but found it was a bugger for tangles within the envelopes. I take the cardboard inserts from toilet rolls and store two rigs wound onto each one and put three or four in the top of my tackle box. Probably takes up more space than a rig wallet but less prone to tangling and rusting, I find.

Take a small board for cutting up bait on. The edge on the knife will not dull as quickly when you cut down on top of rocks or metal.

Eoin

This might seem obvious to most but its just a rundown of various bits of gear I wouldnt set of on a days fishing without that many beginners overlook

1. Cool bag: very cheap in places like Aldi and lidls or markets and very important. The most important factor of wheter you catch or not is bait quality. So get one!
2. Seat box: many beginners might scoff at paying 40 euro for a plastic box but believe me its worth every penny. I have a shakespeare beta box and there pretty indestructible and will last for years(I have mine about 5 years now and its good as new). As well as providing somewhere to park your ass all your tackle can be thrown in here and transporte hassle free
3. Bits boxs: one drawback to the seat box is a lack of compartments so get a few boxs for things like swivels,beads,hooks etc. nothing fancy just a few plastic boxes with compartments.
4. Filleting knife: One of those items which I always thought unnecessary as a beginner. "sure me mas kitchen knives will do". My god was i wrong. A lifesaver for filleting mackeral fillets and essential for good bait presentation. get one for about 15 euro but for the love of god be careful!THEY ARE SHARP
5. baiting needle: Some people love them some people hate them. I fall into the first category. its basically a long needle with a hollow in the end. you thread the ragworm or sandeel onto the needle stick the point of the hook into the hollow and push the bait onto the hook. Try it out and see if it works for you at about a euro its not gonna have the bank manager crying.
6.Spare spool *loaded with line*:when I was starting out I rarely gave much thought to the spare spool. Again I was wrong. It should be loaded with line and shockleader and ready to go in your seat box. That way if your line gets cut up on snags or tangled you can just switch spools and be fishing again in no time.
7. Rig wallet: I was fishing a while before I got one of these and I dont know how I survived. Its a wallet(as the name suggest) with individual compartments for rigs. This is an absolute necessity.
8. An old rag: easy to forget but makes the trip that bit more comfortable when prepating fish baits like mackerel and the hands get a bit messy.


Although these bits and bobs will cost a bit extra they are worth every penny and will make your fishing trip much more enjoyable. I wouldnt go fishing without any of these items now.

Lava heavy duty wipes ~ 90c for 10, one will clean and scrub your hands and leave the car fit for your wife....well orangy instead of baity/fishy

the lid off a bucket will make do as a chopping board

1. Kitchen scissor for beheading and detailing sand eel as well cutting mackerel and squid into strips.
2. nail clippers for trimming tag ends.
3. Water proofs and gear much warmer than you think you'll need.
4. Sandwich, Choclate bar and diluted drink in summer or flask of tea in winter.
5. Mobile in case I get in trouble.
6. Map to find a new mark. In the past spent the guts of two hours on some occasions trying to find the right location.
7. Pliers for unhooking conger, dogs, huss & ray and forseps for unhooking flatties and whiting.

Donagh

2. nail clippers for trimming tag end

Thats it I couldnt think what I was forgetting :?
A scissors is dead handy to for the sandeels and peelers.

Bait elastic is a pain to forget/lose

I always carry sunblock in the summer after getting caught out once or twice.
A T-Bar disgorger, much easier than pliers for Dogs, Ray, Congers.
Small hook sharpener.
Back up LED headlamp and very small Maglight torch on night sessions.

The list looks good Johhny. I have found a rag particularly useful. I try not to handle the fish directly as I believe it must be very uncomfortable for a cold blooded creature to be in contact with a warm blooded one, scalding in effect. By using a damp rag I also find it easier to grip the fish when unhooking and obviously it helps to keep the mits clean. It's also useful for keeping a grip on baits when hooking up, especially nasty pinching king rag.

glad you said 'damp rag', as a dry one removes all the natural slime off the fish which leaves the fish open to catch any infections, and possibly die.

I like to throw a big bottle of water into the boot to give the hands a good wash before
spreading the sweet smell of sand eel, mackerel & rag worm (not sea bass though :evil: )
from the hands to the steering wheel.

Forgot about washing hands, always have a pack of wet wipes in the boot of the car myself, doesn't matter if you forget the water then :wink: .

As for stopping smells in car, i use an alco based hand gel from supadrug £1.25 lastest mnths and small enough to drop in bag or box. Loads of different smells to. Being alco based kills germs and makes you smell good. Great if you got small cuts acts as anti bac too.

never tried it, but i was told it works wonders, shaving foam gets rid of all the crappy smells of your hands.....(supposedly)

[jd]

never tried it, but i was told it works wonders, shaving foam gets rid of all the crappy smells of your hands.....(supposedly)

I often use it on my hands when I get home ! I guess it would be slightly antiseptic too.
John

<edit>tx blowin</edit>

Last edited by jd on Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

So how often do you get home on your hands then ?

I've found a nail brush is the most effective way of cleaning hands of bait.

Someone said use a T bar over pliers. Personely I have both but find the pliers great for pennels and deep hooked ray. Use the T-bar mainly for bigger hooks and conger.

Donagh

Gave up worrying about clean hands, shortly after I got used to all my lunches tasting of mackerel. Mackerel flavoured sandwiches, crisps, biscuits, mmmmmm.
Hot Tip -Bananas . You can eat em with mackerely hands and they still taste like bananas

Kev

PS I'm not far from divorce, so any advice offered should be considered suspect