How much you carrying?

[Ddgx]

In anticipation of some mobile river fishing, today I am going to have a big review of what I take in my rucksack in an attempt to slim it right down. My plan is not even to take stuff to tie more rigs; I'll take a number of pre-tied rigs and thatll be it. I don't think I've ever lost so many rigs bankside that I needed to tie more than I already had with me. At the moment my rucksack weighs way more than I can comfortably carry any reasonable distance. I wondered if anyone has ever considered how much weight of equipment they lug to the bank? I plan on weighing my gear before and after my trimming down experiment and will report back the results. I have had a read on some hiking websites at ideal weights so will be interesting to see where my gear comes in compared to that. I should also be receiving new ultra light pop-up bivvy today so might give you a review of that too.

 

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[nigewoodcock]

That made me chuckle a bit!! Lol

All that about trimming down your kit then at the end, buying a bivvy table lol.

I know it's probably not for the bits you'll be doing on the river but it just read funny.

I take very little with me, even on overnighters and two or three night sessions.

If it doesn't go in my bag, it doesn't come (tackle wise). I do take copious amounts of bait though if I'm not on the syndicate. If I'm fishing there, I will have normally done my baiting before hand so will only need to top up. Home is only 1/2 mile away as well so easy to nip home if I need more!!!

[Ddgx]

I think you misread it Nige, (or I mistyped I haven't checked). It was a pop up bivvy not a bivvy table lol definitely won't be taking my bivvy table along! All I currently own bivvy wise is a brolly. It's brilliant and goes up so quickly but it's extremely long and awkward to carry and it's heavy over a distance. I think new bivvy weighs less than 2kg.

 

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[nigewoodcock]

Ha! Doh, that makes sense!!

I used my bivvy for the first time in about 4 years this week. Won't be using it again for a long time!!!! Such a faff to put up, take down and transport around!

I was mega impressed with the new Nash TITAN tc pro version when shown it though. I think I'll definitely be ordering one when they are released next year.

[liamclose]

One of the best ways to cut your gear back is use an air matress instead of a bed chair. Used to do a 20 mile round trip on a push bike when I was younger the biggest challenge was food and water supply's luckily there was a shop towards the end of the journey so used to get supplys when I was almost at the venue.

[xpl0rer]

As a predominant river angler, I'll go through what I do to minimise gear weight. (Bear in mind im a game fishing river angler, so some thing may not apply). I travel literally miles and miles on my river so minimal gear is absolutely necessary.

 

First of all, rods and reels.

Bring a rod suited to the river you are fishing and your chosen tactics, for example, you dont need a 12ft carp rod for a 20ft wide river, you can take a few foot off that easy. As for reels, load line suited to the river your fishing, forget a spare spool, its not required if you do your homework.

 

Clothing.

Do you need waders? Wear them instead of spare clothes if you really need them. If your river and swim(s) is/are shallow, its easy to take shoes off if absolutely necessary. Buy a nice comfortable jacket with zip pockets, you can thank me later. Waterproof if you need it. My jacket of choice for the colder months is a Regatta storm jacket that cost about £60. Lots of pockets, very, very warm, comfortable, and great against the elements. If your stalking, I wear a thin ngt camo style jacket over my Regatta, it's easy to remove if I need to. If your not stalking, don't bother. If you are stalking, dont forget your polarised goggles either, on a lanyard. If not stalking, or the weather/water conditions arnt good enough, dont bother with these either.

 

Tackle.

For tackle I like to bring ONE tackle box as small as possible with all my gear in it, hooks, swivels weights. I keep this in my jacket pocket. If bringing lures, again, minimise, and fit into a small single tackle box.

 

Essential gear.

Phone, torch, bandage, water. To minimze the water you carry, you can purchase water purifying tablets. Ive used these when doing over 10 mile walks up the river for a weekend as water is heavy (1ltr =1KG), these have been a great addition, and even fit in my tackle box. You will also need an empty bottle for purifying. Phone for emergency purposes, and small led torch, don't rely on your phones torch, if your battery dies your screwed, which brings me on to my next bit of kit, a portable battery pack, again for emergency only as a backup for your phone, don't be tempted to use the charge for playing games if your waiting on a bite. Ive been caught in a flash flood and having a way to call for help may very well save your life one day. A small pocket knife is a welcome addition too, for numerous reason. As for food, bring any cold foods from the super market that will give you pleanty of carbs and protein, pastries and heavy meats are good for this. I you want hot meals, then ration packs and water activated ration heaters are really light and weight added is minimal.

 

Bait.

Go minimal, decide what your are fishing for, for how long, and make any mixes or baits you need to at home. A common problem people have,(we all do it) is bring far too much bait to use in a single single session. Plan for this, and even bring too much bait for a day and lig how much you actually use and make changes accordingly. For me on the river it's easy, a sinlgle pot of worms does me for 2/3 days alone.

 

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[xpl0rer]

Cant edit : I also bring a single spool for fluoro/mono for my hook link. Again, depends on what your fishing for.

 

~X

 

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[salokcinnodrog]

In anticipation of some mobile river fishing, today I am going to have a big review of what I take in my rucksack in an attempt to slim it right down. My plan is not even to take stuff to tie more rigs; I'll take a number of pre-tied rigs and thatll be it. I don't think I've ever lost so many rigs bankside that I needed to tie more than I already had with me. At the moment my rucksack weighs way more than I can comfortably carry any reasonable distance. I wondered if anyone has ever considered how much weight of equipment they lug to the bank? I plan on weighing my gear before and after my trimming down experiment and will report back the results. I have had a read on some hiking websites at ideal weights so will be interesting to see where my gear comes in compared to that. I should also be receiving new ultra light pop-up bivvy today so might give you a review of that too.

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I have minimised my gear time and time again to cover going along my local river and for a large reservoir where on neither was using a barrow an option, although I seem to have gained loads the past few years as I can barrow or even drive to some swims.

 

In most cases, two rods banded together around your landing net and pole make life easier, although if you need an umbrella, look at the Stalker type slings.

 

For days only I resort to a flask of coffee and sandwiches, although in summer I change that to a bottle or two of water and some squash.

I also don't bother with a chair, using my unhooking mat to sit on.

Two rig bins full, along with a stalking bag goes inside my rucksack, inside that is bait, a large single layer tackle box containing end tackle, run rings, beads, a few swivels, baiting needles and braid blades. My PVA bag also contains forceps, side cutters and leads, these all then go in my rucksack.

 

If I'm doing nights a light bivvy, I still have a Nash Outlaw Hurricane bivvy and my bedchair and sleeping bag.

 

The whole lot can be carried, in one trip!

[Ddgx]

Thanks for all the replies. I've had a good go at reducing my gear down. My rucksack is down to 10.5kg tonight. That includes an unhooking mat, net in stink bag, collapsible landing net handle, thermos full of hot water, a kg of bait, tackle, alarms. My rods with reels attached weighs 2.1kg. My chair weighs 5kg and isn't particularly light. So about 18kg to Carry in all (no bivvy though which would have been an extra 2kg).

 

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[gagnaccarp]

my gear /

 1 or 2 short stalking rods , set up then split in half , landing net and pole pole wrapped up in my carp mat and all held tight  with a bungie ,

 i then have a butty box with a few essential bits in, leads , scissors , hooks , hook sharpener , a short length of pipe lagging (insulation ) with a few rigs wrapped round , this is chucked in my rucksack with a bit of bait , flask ,butties and my scales !

 ! greatly needed addition for next year will be a small piece of foam / sponge , as i have so many times had numb backside for hours , carp mat isnt quite thick enough !

[xpl0rer]

Just me being critical, but to minimise weight couldn't you leave the scales and lagging, then tie your own rigs? Foam is a good idea too I hate flattening nettles to make a comfy seat lol.

 

I'm probably minimising too much, I'm a survivalist at heart. However traveling the river for great lengths of time carrying next to nothing is a subject im extremely experienced in. Piggy-backing that statement, I also think that minimising to your situation is more important than minimising completely, comfort is also a big part of it of course. I find comfort in sitting near a steam 3am on my own with nothing on me apart from a rod in the water 5 miles away from the nearest street lamp. Some people won't get the same enjoyment as I do from this situation, friends have commented that I'm bonkers for fishing the way I do lol but the very large salmon and sewin pulls I've had out the river make it all worth it for me personally.

 

In that I guess my new advice would be, choose a weight you are happy to carry the distance you need, after a few trips Im sure you'll hone this skill in anyway nothing quite like catching a truly wild specimen on your own in the pitch black, a moment that many angler unfortunately overlook. Glad to see so many night stalkers out there, makes me feel not quite as insane as people think I am lol (even my fellow association members )

 

~X

 

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[salokcinnodrog]

From when I was sneaking in over the park lake, this was as light as I could go for overnighters:

 

[gagnaccarp]

Just me being critical, but to minimise weight couldn't you leave the scales and lagging, then tie your own rigs? Foam is a good idea too I hate flattening nettles to make a comfy seat lol.

 

I'm probably minimising too much, I'm a survivalist at heart. However traveling the river for great lengths of time carrying next to nothing is a subject im extremely experienced in. Piggy-backing that statement, I also think that minimising to your situation is more important than minimising completely, comfort is also a big part of it of course. I find comfort in sitting near a steam 3am on my own with nothing on me apart from a rod in the water 5 miles away from the nearest street lamp. Some people won't get the same enjoyment as I do from this situation, friends have commented that I'm bonkers for fishing the way I do lol but the very large salmon and sewin pulls I've had out the river make it all worth it for me personally.

 

In that I guess my new advice would be, choose a weight you are happy to carry the distance you need, after a few trips Im sure you'll hone this skill in anyway nothing quite like catching a truly wild specimen on your own in the pitch black, a moment that many angler unfortunately overlook. Glad to see so many night stalkers out there, makes me feel not quite as insane as people think I am lol (even my fellow association members )

 

~X

 

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the thing with where i usually find myself fishing , is that to be successful i must remain as still and silent as possible , i have caught the majority of my fish in the past few years by locating them then getting as close as possible ,when located , i will often tempt them down the margins with a few tasty tit bits , i dont want to be tying rigs , i just have a few prepared with a long or short hair then a couple varying in length from 7 -14 inch, wrapped around a 4 inch length of 50mm pipe lagging , on the few occasions i have had to change rigs when there have been fish around i have been able to do so quickly without to much disturbance , oh yes , i will always take a hand saw to new places and my home made drag , which consists of 3 lengths of ally scaffold tube (chopped down to 8 ft ), 2 connecting clips and a very strong tarmac rake which bolts into the end of an ally tube ( through pre drilled holes ) .all of the above gear can be carried on my little kayak ! i have caught most of my  fish from swims that others overlook ! 

 And dont forget the polarised glasses , essential , i always make sure i have one hand free whilst scurrying round on river banks 

[gagnaccarp]

From when I was sneaking in over the park lake, this was as light as I could go for overnighters:

 

i have used similar with a tarpaulin and bungies 

[xpl0rer]

Another super cheap way of making a makeshift shelter is a bin liner cut down 2 side so its at its widest, and 4 sticks out the ground in every corner of the bin liner. Then another bin bag cut the same way on the ground under the makeshift roof. I came up with this shelter before when I got caugjt in a storm and had a bin bag to sit on. Very cheap and light to carry, something to consider

 

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[dayvid]

The best thing i have done is buy an electric barrow with the wheels on the back , weight and what i take is not an issue now ,although the venues have to be unobstructed ( no fences or stiles ) so you may have problems on a river.

 

It opens up parts of lakes i would never have fished because of the  distance

[cyborx]

i just bung all my gear in the back of my toyota hilux crew cab with a snow plough fitted (takes care of fences) and given enough room for extra fuel i can go for days without needing to take extra kit

 

was tempted to upgrade to one of these but may be a bit of overkill, views please!!

 

[David_Ridgers]

i just bung all my gear in the back of my toyota hilux crew cab with a snow plough fitted (takes care of fences) and given enough room for extra fuel i can go for days without needing to take extra kit

 

was tempted to upgrade to one of these but may be a bit of overkill, views please!!

 

I dont know sounds like a good plan to me .

 

But would a unimog be better .

 

Was actually thinking about one of these no place cant go

 

Plus room to sleep so dont need a bivvy

 

 

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[cyborx]

I dont know sounds like a good plan to me .

 

But would a unimog be better .

 

Was actually thinking about one of these no place cant go

 

Plus room to sleep so dont need a bivvy

 

 

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Now your just taking the pee [emoji38]

 

sent from my bivvy while holding a 50

[David_Ridgers]

Now your just taking the pee [emoji38]

 

sent from my bivvy while holding a 50

[Ddgx]

I dont know sounds like a good plan to me .

 

But would a unimog be better .

 

Was actually thinking about one of these no place cant go

 

Plus room to sleep so dont need a bivvy

 

 

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How much?

 

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[David_Ridgers]

How much?

 

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40 plus k

 

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[yonny]

A common problem people have,(we all do it) is bring far too much bait to use in a single single session. Plan for this, and even bring too much bait for a day and lig how much you actually use and make changes accordingly.

 

 

Defo a tricky one this. See the problem with angling for carp, especially bigguns, is you simply don't know how much bait you need. It is completely dependent on how many fish you manage to get feeding and for how long they feed on a given day. I've turned up for a weekender with 5 kg and run out after 24 hrs, but I've also taken 4.5 kg home with me at the end of the weekend.

Personally I think it's worth the risk. I'd rather carry that extra few kg around with me and not use it than have carp going mental in front of me and run out of bait - there's nothing worse. I normally have back-up bait in the car too.

[xpl0rer]

Keep all the bait in the car do its there. What I meant by the above statement was what you are carrying on your person. I too would keep lots of other stuff in the car just incase I needed it

 

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[androoooo]

If you have an idea how you're going to fish a venue it can be easy to cut right back, especially for short sessions. When you're unsure and want multiple options depending on conditions and what you see it becomes more difficult.

 

For example when I've gone up the canal I've just pretied some pva bags with a short unleaded leader coming out and simply looped to loop when I got to the swim. I'd make about 10 beforehand letting me fish 4-5 swims, moving every hour.

 

Some local lakes I go to, I will either stalk the fish using particle or floating crust, so simply a loaf of bread, a small bucket of particle and a few rigs in a wallet, a couple of leads in a bag along with a bottle of drink, a little food and then just rods and unhooking gear.

 

Then if on longer sessions I'll have much more variety but will use my car for some of it.

 

I have my main fishing ruck sack and then a smaller one for the more mobile sessions and just add, replace or subtract items to keep gear to a minimum.

 

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