Essentials?

pliers, side cutters,hook sharpener,spare line..

zooker

Ditto Zooker.

scissors (for braid lines), digital scale (to pre-weigh & cull the fish for tournaments)

Superglue, spare rod tips and tip glue. Bait knife. Gripper gloves (good for eels). Lighter,small keychain light. Multitool.

super glue.... good call!!!

Unfortunately, as of late, glasses.

Water bottles, ice and a cup, reading glasses, bandaids

A fly swat!!

Monkey trap!

My tackle bag carries four of the medium-sized plano boxes. One of the four is dedicated to the first-aid kit (and appropriately adorned with red reflective tape -- came out kinda cool).

I've taken to making a point of wearing long pants more often than not, especially now that I've got two of the lightweight "sun proof" types. When I'm bank fishing they protect me from the poison ivy; when I'm on the yak or a boat, they'll protect me from the sun.

To repeat a few, the bugspray and sunscreen are in the outside pocket of the tackle bag; the first-aid kit contains a pair of wire cutters.

Before I take the kayak offshore, I plan on putting a handheld marine VHF on the shoulder of my PFD. That sounds like an "essential" to me...

Snacks and some fresh drinking water. Al

almiyo said:

Snacks and some fresh drinking water. Al

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That's a good point. I load up my cooler with bottled water before heading out in the boat. I hope to never be stranded at sea but if it happens, I hope I have a cooler full of water to hold me till I'm rescued.

i never thought about that till you guys mentioned it........

first aid stuff. GOOD IDEA!!!

see, this is why i subscribe to this forum. you guys have your heads on straight.

You didn't hear this from me 'cause to this day I've never carried one fishing....camera

Just for my personal peace of mind, whether it really works or not, is a snake bite kit.

A cell phone. Nothing says you have to have it turned on while you're fishing, but it sure is nice to have in the event of an emergency.

dlcomer1982 said:

Just for my personal peace of mind, whether it really works or not, is a snake bite kit.

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Speaking as an EMT... throw your snake bite kit away. It does more harm than good and can actually aid the venom with a fast track to your heart or nervous system. Best bet if you get bit by anything other than a rattler... stop and go to the hospital with the bite lower than the level of your heart.

If bitten by a rattler... apply a tourniquet and do the same.

rangergreg281 said:

A cell phone. Nothing says you have to have it turned on while you're fishing, but it sure is nice to have in the event of an emergency.

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I 2nd this one....