Guerilla Fishing

Of late, I have been trying to reprogram my mind. I have found it a difficult task. Especially when all you see in books and magazines are pictures of fly fishermen clad in big fancy hats, dazzling vests with fifty pockets and fishing bling hanging everywhere, standing in a river waving a stick. This had been, sadly, my preconceived idea of fly fishing for the for nine out of ten years of my fly fishing experience.

In a recent post I mentioned trying to change my approach to a stream. Instead of just walking up to a stream, standing along the bank, or worse yet in the stream, I have tried to convince myself to stay low, if not on my knees, hide behind or right beside of trees, bushes and rocks, and to try to blend in with the background. Every bit of which goes against what I've read, heard, or seen about fly fishing.

I've only read or heard anything about fishing like a "guerilla" in a few places. Scantly, some writers will mention walking slowly or thinking like a heron. I understand the analogy, move very slowly and make every step on purpose. The problem is I'm not a bird with pencil legs, a thin profile, that's only interested in fingerling trout.

I believe that a better way of looking at it would be to try and think like a guerilla fighter. You know light weight, mobile, and carrying only the bear necessities. Or maybe a ninja with his deadly accuracy and stealthy approach. You get the idea stealthily, light weight, concealment, tactical, and so on and so forth.

Because of my desire to be more like a guerilla fisherman, I asked for a chest pack for my birthday, which my wife came through with this past week. It is nothing fancy. It has one large section for things like a sandwich, a bottle of water, or a fly box. It also has three other pouches that zip up as well one of which could be used as a dedicated fly box.

The next logical question would be, "What do I put in it?" Now we must remember that the goal is to be as light weight as possible, carrying only what is needed. What do you believe are the most essential items that you must have on any given fishing trip? Of course the flies are a give-in. What I am talking about is the bling, the pocket fillers, the stuff that makes everybody looking say, "Oooo, he must be a fly fisherman, lets take a picture."

So, I ask again, if you had just been given a brand new chest pack what ten (yes, I said 10) things would you stick in it?

Matthew