Pre-season warm ups!

[Cider]

Ok, your flyrod has been leaning up in the corner of the den, your vest gathering dust in the closet, waders and boots are aging nicely in the basement, and your flies haven't seen the light of day since October...

What does everyone do for getting ready for the new season?

A.    Inspect/replace your gear, lines, waders, tie flies to replenish your losses from last season, refresh old tippet and leader material? 

B.    Or do you just grab all your stuff on opening day and work out the kinks on the water for the first couple of outings!! 

With the exception of tying a few flies, I am guilty of choice B!   

[Trevor]

Ok, call be crazy but my gear is always organized in such a way that I could(if climate allowed) grab my stuff and be on the water in minutes.  24/7, 365 days/year...

However I know what I'll be doing this spring while awaiting the season to open.  Alberta, as of April 1st, will be 100% barbless.  I've been using barbless hooks for years, but not exclusively.  About 95% of my hooks are still barbed.  I have thousands of barbs to pinch down.  Time to grab the fly boxes and get started I guess.  Wonder how many hooks I can break in the process?  Oh, that reminds me of a tip for all you fly tyers.  If you plan to fish with barbless hooks, pinch down your barbs before the hook goes in the vise.  This way if you snap off the barb you're only out the hook and not the fly you just spent valuable time tying.  The barbless rule applies to all sportfishing, so in the fall I get to do it all over again with my ice lures.

Trevor

[Cider]

We aren't barbless in NH yet, but it is just a matter of time.  I really don't have a problem with it.  If you know how to play the fish with a barbless hook you will do just as well as with barbed hooks.

I think we are on the verge of that legislation ourselves.  We recently underwent a lead band a couple of years ago.  Anything under one ounce or less than one inch is illegal if it is made of lead.

Good tip on the hook treatment before tying your fly!

[rrich]

I release all the trout I catch but have yet to go to the barbless hook. Lazy!

[Cider]

Ok, call be crazy but my gear is always organized in such a way that I could(if climate allowed) grab my stuff and be on the water in minutes.  24/7, 365 days/year...

Actually, mine is too!  All I need to do is throw everything in the truck and replace last year's leaders with new ones when I hit the water.

The scrambling I usually do in the first couple of days is putting stuff back in my vest that I have pirated for the hardwater season.  I usually take my nippers, hemostats, and various other tools off the vest because they come in handy on the ice.  Each season I always end up on the stream without something and I remember that it is sitting in the bottom of an ice-fishing pail in the basement!!

[Trevor]

That's hilarious, I do exactly the same thing.  I need to stop being so cheap and buy a couple extra pairs of everything...

Trevor

[Germ]

Well iv'e only been flyfishing the LAst 3 years but...Thing is My pole is ready its in its Flyrod carrier...Iv'e replaced the line In December...I was still flyfishing for perch and Crappie up till all the water froze..ANd the last 3 months iv'e been tying more flys then i can use...Well since im still very new (3 years) i still loose a bit of flys from mistakes on trees or things of that nature(the ocassional Car) But My waders were hung and i cleaned them up the other day...Checking to make sure no spiders in them...I hang em upside down as the first year i had a mouse that got stuck in my boot..thank god He was only in there a few days i would amagine as he was still alive barely..ANyhow Im ready for action..Just need a few Leaders but I tied alot last year that i havent used as of yet! ANyhow sorry bout the run on....

[livin4ice]

Germ, don't feel bad about donating fly's to the trees once in a while, it happens to everyone.  I tend to loose more to grass if theres a hill behind me.  I useually notice the trees but sometimes tend to not pay attention to the shore behiind me.

As far as my equipment goes I keep it ready to go.  I went through the whole scavanging thing a few years ago.  I went to a flea market and found hemostats of all sizes and clippers for like a buck a piece so needles to say I have them everywhere now and don't have to wory about it.  I useually leave my flys alone since I tie some for ice fishing and keep them seperate.  I almost always ad lead to my ice flys.

[Cider]

Hey, when you get your fly hung up and pull out a hunk of grass, the experienced fly fisherman will calmly reach down and snatch if off the fly then carefully line the bottom of their creel with it and go back to fishin'!!  It's just one smooth motion.  Just make sure you pack that grass down tight so the lid on your creel doesn't bulge!