6.08.2007

Essential Gear For Fishing (and camping) in the Sierras

Heading up for a day trip into the Sierra Nevadas? Going camping for a few nights? Here are some of the things that the websites and Ranger Station pamphlets don't tell you (although I recommend you pick up a pamphlet or two if you can).

Some essential gear:

1) At least 40 dollars in small bills... You can't get change back for campsite fees when you're sticking a damp envelope into a metal stump.

2) Camp fire permit... You need them to use the fire pits at most campgrounds in Stanislaus national park. they're free and can be picked up at any CDF or Ranger Station.

3) Fire wood... by June, most of the usable timber for campfires is pretty much used up. Bring your own.

4) Polarized Sunglasses... You can't see the fish without 'em.

5) Mosquito repellent... the stronger the better.

6) Scrub Brush and bucket... You can't wash your dishes in the river. You can't wash your dishes in the bathrooms (most don't have running water anyway). You can't wash your dishes at the water pumps. So you need to porter your own water to your fire pit and wash your dishes there. Also, you need the bucket to drown your fire when you hit the sack. It's a condition of getting your camp fire permit.

7) Light... You can never have to many lights especially if you come in from fishing late, haven't had any dinner and you have to try and cook fish in the dark.

8) Mrs. Dash seasoning... Mrs. Dash seasonings can make campfire roasted squirrels taste like Cornish Game Hen (not that I've ever tried Cornish Game Hen), and there's no salt, which is good because at high altitudes, you become dehydrated more quickly.

9) 50-100 feet of parachute cord or clothes line... Seriously, this may be the most useful thing of all. I use it to hoist up garbage into a tree at night. I use it as a line to dry clothes and waders. I use it as a stringer for fish. And I use it to make awesome snares for catching squirrels and such.

10) Water purifier/filter... Sometimes the water pumps will only pump out rust colored, foul tasting water (which makes pretty decent percolated coffee), so you can just go down to the river and pump some water through your filter and have, what I believe to be, the most delicious water you'll find anywhere.

11) Two different weigh fly rods... I use a 5/6 weight 9 foot rod for casting on the lakes and ponds with good heavy casting lines. I use one medium sinker and a floater. You don't really need the fast sinking lines because you can always add weight to the line if you need it to sink faster, but you can't take the density of the core away if you want it to sink slower. I also bring with me a 4/5 weight 7.5 foot rod for casting on the rivers and creeks. Very seldom do I use sinking lines on the rivers and creeks. There just isn't much need for it, generally speaking, as shallow as the rivers are.

12) Waders with wading boots... This ain't fishin' on no Mississippi River. You, my friend are fishing on some the wildest and most inaccessible rivers and creeks in the continental US (or so I've heard). You need some sturdy wading boots and some durable waders to manage you way through his terrain without becoming hypothermic and battered and bruised.

13) A ball cap... No, don't bring your dorky long billed French Legionnaire style desert cap that you bought for $30 out of your pricey little Orvis catalogue. You may be way up in the mountains, but you're still in California. We have an image to uphold. you just need something that will keep your nose from looking like a Strawberry left out in some 115 degree field in the valley. Not cool. Ok... dude?

14) Pre-tied leaders and tippets... (or knotless leaders, whichever you prefer). The bites aren't always predictable, and sometimes they don't last very long, so the more time you waste tying a leader because you cast into one of those unforgiving and always inaccessible manzanitas, the less time you spend catching fish.

15) Flies, lots of flies... I usually don't lose too many, but we all have bad days, and I don't know of many places less than an hour or two drive where you can buy some more. Consider the amount you think you're going to need and add 1 or of each pattern. Sometimes, the fish are only biting one thing, fore instance, an EC Caddis in some deep half shaded pool in the evening (hint hint) and you're planning on spending more than a day or two reaping the fruits of this productive hatch, you better bring 3 to 5 of that pattern..

16) Glow sticks... Most campsites are not well marked, and I don't know of any campgrounds that are lit. I always bring a glow stick or two (you can pick them up for cheap at Home Depot or Target) Crack it and tie it from my clothes line so that I can find my way back on those often hair-raising middle of the night bathroom runs.

17) A tomahawk... No real reason, I just thinks it's cool to carry one around the campground while wearing a loincloth and carrying six or seven dead squirrels over my shoulder. Everyone is always really impressed. It's almost like the whole campground goes quiet and everyone's eyes are just fixated on you when you do that. It's really cool.

18) A GPS... Just a little handheld one without all the fancy bells and whistles will do. They save countless flat-lander lives up there. Mark your campsite as a waypoint and just always follow the same track back that you took from your campsite. It kinda makes those trips to the restroom a little less daunting.

19) Extra garbage bags... You'll probably pick up and carry out more of other campers trash than your own.

20) A camera... If you forget this, your friends will never believe how many fish you caught.

These are just some suggestions to make your trip more comfortable, relaxing and enjoyable. You should always make a checklist of what to bring before hand. Then have someone look over it and scratch off ten or so things that they don't think are important, then pack them anyway, then get irritated because you can't find your flashlight under all that other crap that you packed that you never even needed to take out of your car. Sheesh! Over-packer!

So have fun, dude!



Disclaimer: I don't eat squirrels, I never have, and I don't even think it's legal to. Nor can it be very healthy, they eat garbage. So please, for the love of all things cute and furry, don' kill, trap, molest or eat squirrels. Even if you have a good recipe.

1 comment:

Sam said...

You left out blankets and scissors. If you don't have a pancho but you need a pancho and you do have a blanket and scissors, you are basically 5 minutes away from a pancho. Also, it is a good idea to bring store-bought whole trout in case you don't catch anything but have other anglers coming by wanting to check out you catch. It is also a good idea to bring something that can start a fire, like matches or smoke bombs that can be used to call in napalm airstrikes (my favorite method of getting a fire lit). It is also a good idea to bring cardboard cutouts of pretty girls to set up in campsites far from your own so that other campers will be more likely to stake out their camps near them and leave you alone. These are just a few tricks I have picked up.