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Be prepared - Success is 90% preparation


Pickles

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It’s a shame to pull the plug and have to come in early on a good day on the water because you’ve “forgotten” something.

After a recent trip with some fellow raiders, (always good to spend time with like minded mates), I was reflecting on the things that can go wrong and “when the penny drops” and it all comes together.

it would be good to share some of the “things that can go wrong” that we could have / should have considered.

We are all aware of the basics - well maintained boat and gear, safety equipment, spares (bung, anchor, cable ties etc). But some really “forgettable” items that can make a well planned day a disaster can be very easily overlooked.

A few that I have learned from personal (in) experience (you become old and wise, learning from being young and stupid).

* top of my list is a small “smart fast charger” lithium pack.

* spare hats

* spare water (chilled or frozen)

* towel or rags (slimy fish, soaked in water to cool you down / heat stroke) 

* charger or power pack for phone

 

Edited by Pickles
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Insect repellent! I keep that and sunscreen in my fishing bag permanently.

Braid scissors! If I don't have that, I might as well also forget my hooks. I normally have multiple living in my bag, in case I accidentally forget to put them back when I am rigging up in the house.

Edited by Little_Flatty
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41 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Insect repellent! I keep that and sunscreen in my fishing bag permanently.

Braid scissors! If I don't have that, I might as well also forget my hooks. I normally have multiple living in my bag, in case I accidentally forget to put them back when I am rigging up in the house.

I'll always remember the day when my wife was re-rigging up the front of the boat. I went to pass her the braid scissors and she said "nope, don't need them, I'll just use the pliers". After telling her the cutters on the pliers won't trim braid, she dangled the perfectly trim rig in my face.

Needless to say, I haven't used scissors since.

Also to reply to the original post, I have checklists for all types of fishing I do to ensure I don't leave things at home. I learnt that lesson the hard way after spending hours bush bashing into a remote bass stream only to find I hadn't packed my reel.🤬

Edited by Green Hornet
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It was good to be out there Bob, even though the swell forecast was WRONG - like being in a washing machine.

It was only heat exhaustion, which is still not good.

At least we did not forget how to catch fish, there were just not too many biting on Monday.

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I lost a beautiful jewey a few weeks ago. Only because I was just randomly mucking around with a micro jig on a 15lb setup. Got a hookup, brought it up boatside and couldn't believe what I was seeing. But, being an idiot, I didn't have a landing net, gaff or anything with me, so I lost it as I was pulling it out by the leader. FML.

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5 hours ago, FrigateMack said:

I lost a beautiful jewey a few weeks ago. Only because I was just randomly mucking around with a micro jig on a 15lb setup. Got a hookup, brought it up boatside and couldn't believe what I was seeing. But, being an idiot, I didn't have a landing net, gaff or anything with me, so I lost it as I was pulling it out by the leader. FML.

I did the same with what would’ve been my first Jew in cooks river - with my landing net in the car 100m away 😒

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6 hours ago, FrigateMack said:

I lost a beautiful jewey a few weeks ago. Only because I was just randomly mucking around with a micro jig on a 15lb setup. Got a hookup, brought it up boatside and couldn't believe what I was seeing. But, being an idiot, I didn't have a landing net, gaff or anything with me, so I lost it as I was pulling it out by the leader. FML.

Jew can be grabbed by the gill cover, and lifted on board. I have done it with jew up to the metre, however, DO NOT put your fingers into the gills. The jew will clamp onto your fingers, shake it's head and strip the skin off your fingers. Only grab the gill cover.

Practice with a dead jew to find where NOT TO place your fingers. If you are not confident, don't try it. A big jew will cause you pain and injury if you stuff up.

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Not really something left at home, but once my mate and I were heading out, he parked the car, when we came back to the ramp later, he couldn't find the keys, looked everywhere, then he had a brain "flash" when parking the car, he thought he heard a funny noise, left the engine running and got out to have a listen/look, walked off, leaving the car running, 4 hours later, it was still sitting there, running........

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Something that I saw and cringed at my local ramp, most of us regulars know not to park under the lighting poles, Pelicans sit on them and poop litres of white, stinking muck....a few years ago, I saw a BMW parked under a pole, while the owner was away somewhere, the sunroof was open about a foot or so, the entire leather interior was covered in stinking white, foul smelling Pelican crap, half the car was white outside too........yuck, hate to be him when he got back. Sorry to side track the thread, but I just remembered the incident. The poles now have "anti Pelican" spikes on them!

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Preparation if half the fun. I fish in a lot of reef and mangrove infester places. I always come home with shredded and missing leaders. Before the next trip it is a trip to the rigging bench. This time I have a drag that's not as progressive as I like, So a strip down and clean is in order. I also drop a spot of oil on the line rollers and some other spots. I have no tolerance for gear failure !!! More so when its Maintenance related !! It avoidably, I fish hard on light line, So I need all the help I Can get!. 

Twisted Double.png

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This is 3 lb fluro, I tied a Spider Hitch to form a double line, Cut it so I had 2 separate lines. Then twisted one around the other to stop them from separating.   Haven't caught a fish on it yet. But I love it !!  Idea came from A guy at Hot Tackle.

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18 minutes ago, bluefin said:

This is 3 lb fluro, I tied a Spider Hitch to form a double line, Cut it so I had 2 separate lines. Then twisted one around the other to stop them from separating.   Haven't caught a fish on it yet. But I love it !!  Idea came from A guy at Hot Tackle.

Interesting, I've never tried this.

What I have done in the past with 3lb FC when there's flathead around on the flats, is tie a short 15cm, 6lb bite leader. I don't think it deters the bream too much and saves a few bucks in lost lures and having to re-rig after a bite off.

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2 hours ago, noelm said:

Not really something left at home, but once my mate and I were heading out, he parked the car, when we came back to the ramp later, he couldn't find the keys, looked everywhere, then he had a brain "flash" when parking the car, he thought he heard a funny noise, left the engine running and got out to have a listen/look, walked off, leaving the car running, 4 hours later, it was still sitting there, running........

I've had something similar happen to me. I was taking a girlfriend out for her first ever trip in a boat. While I was on the ramp and pushing the boat off the trailer, she thought she'd help by running around and locking all the doors. 

Not only didn't she realise you actually park your car after launching, but she locked it while the engine was still running (long before the days of keyless entry).

Luckily for me I always kept a piece of that stiff plastic, packing strap hidden in the roof rack for feeding through the door seal and lifting the locking knob.

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1 hour ago, Green Hornet said:

Interesting, I've never tried this.

What I have done in the past with 3lb FC when there's flathead around on the flats, is tie a short 15cm, 6lb bite leader. I don't think it deters the bream too much and saves a few bucks in lost lures and having to re-rig after a bite off.

I was tying a bite leader but had problems with knot strength. Spider hitch "seems" stronger !

I have a friend who uses 90 m/m Double Clutch , A longer Lure To help.

Edited by bluefin
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A first aid kit - even for casual shore based fishing. A tailor latched onto my finger the other day and I was dripping plenty of claret. I had to bandage it quite tightly to stem the bleeding (must be all the fish oil I am taking). I was by myself and this could have been quite unpleasant without the kit.

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Another, not quite forgot to bring something incident, many years ago, my mate had a Sharkcat with the first rocket launcher I had seen, we had all our rods sitting up there, out of the way, feeling like kings, zipped into a servo to fuel up and converted every rod to multi piece outfits in a second, no point going fishing without rods, so, back home we went, not feeling like kings anymore....also snapped a mates brand new Sabre Snapper outfit on a tree when he left it in a rod holder on the trip home, it really was a "snap  per" outfit. 

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