Lessons Learned (or not)

[greywolf]

I always carry an extra set of car keys - both of them zipped into separate pockets in my vest.
Been FFing almost 50 years now, and have never lost a vest - at least not yet!

I usually dont carry my phone on the water with me - unless I'm meeting someone else, and need to be in touch with them to meet up.
Or fishing a new spot, where I need access to GPS
Other than that, I really dont mind being out of touch with the rest of the world for awhile.

As for the rod - once its strung up, I leave it together for the rest of the day.
Regardless if I move around a lot to try different spots.
Unless I need to go to a different size rod.

Rod allways gets taken down at the end the day though.
If it's hard to get the ferrules separated, leave it together.
Try again later, or even the next day
Leaving it sit overnight often does the trick

On warm days when ferrules lock it can help to submerge the ferrule in the cold stream for a few minutes or even get an ice cube out of your cooler and rub it along the ferrule. Has worked for me several times.

 

[greywolf]

We think alike. Keys always get tethered somehow in an interior (pocket within a pocket) pocket.

I consider boots the most important piece of gear I own. I’ll skimp on rods/reels/waders even/whatever, but I will buy Korkers with studs for life. May have saved my life already for all I know a couple spots I’ve found myself in. (Not recently.)

I almost always fish with waders and the truck keys go into a sealed inside pocket or pants pocket to prevent loss. Phone goes in a sealed inside wader pocket. So I look for a big sealed inside pocket in waders I buy.

 

[riverwhy]

Wading in Autumn with leaves on the ground is 100 times more dangerous than any other
Time. I ain’t down a few years ago on Penn’s just up from the washed out
Trestle bridge. Healthy gash and I had to go home early. Very innocuous paths can really surprise you .