How to Pack for a Fly Fishing Float Trip

Video Transcript

" Hi, I’m Jim from Zoar Outdoor on behalf of expertvillage.com. In this segment we’re going to be talking about fishing gear and especially fly fishing. In this segment we’ll talk about what you should bring along with you when you’re doing a float trip on a river. Generally speaking, you should pay attention to the weather forecast and pack accordingly, but here are a few essentials that you really want to think about. The first is sun protection, this sunscreen has a UPF rating of 30 and it would be a good thing to bring along. Alternately if you’re allergic to this sort of material, get a hold of a shirt and a hat such as the one I have on here, which are rated for at least UPF 30 or better. I like this muted color because it’s not garish, and bright colors do tend to frighten the fish: they see you quicker and then they’ll go hide. So here is a bag in which you can carry your gear; notice that this bag is clear so that you can see at a glance inside. This particular unit is a watershed manufacturer, but here’s a very similar item from NRS. You’ll see that the difference between those and this one, which is also a dry bag, is that you can’t tell what’s inside here unless you have memorized. So you could get in here, it would provide good protection for your gear, but I would suggest that you get a clear bag so you can tell at a glance what’s there. So that if it starts to rain for example, you can reach right in and pull out your raincoat. It’s an essential thing to bring on every trip, a nice lightweight, this one happens to be a Marmot, nice lightweight jacket that you can get from any reputable outfitter, got to bring that. The second thing you ought to bring is an extra hat, remember you’re going to be wearing a hat and glasses for protection when you’re casting, so if the wind knocks your hat off it’s good to have another. I happen to have another shirt in here, this is a sun protection shirt. This one happens to be tarp and wear, this one is a Columbia performance gear, its great stuff. I also bring along a little synthetic underwear, whether it’s capilene or bergalene, I got two here a long sleeve and a short sleeve, this one is under armor, so that if it gets cool, if you get wet, you need extra thermo protection you got it. I also bring a little bit of a snack, this snack happens to be a Cliff Bar and some matches and toilet paper to start a fire, and that’s pretty much it, extra socks if you need them. A clear water proof container gets you access to that very easily, packs up into a small package, it’s got a handle you can store it out of the way and you’re good to go. "