Have you noticed? As of tomorrow, there are only 50 days till the official first day of Spring. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’ve been doing a little procrastinating this Winter. Here are 16 things to do to get ready for the upcoming fishing season.
1.) Flies
First things first. Before you start tying or buying flies for the upcoming season, go through your boxes and get rid of the experiments gone wrong from last year as well as any with rusted hooks. Organize your boxes so that you can find the fly you need, when you need it. Something else to remember is to make sure you have your contact info on your fly boxes. I’ve learned this the hard way, twice.
2.) Suck Up
Do some extra chores around the house and encourage the Mrs. to go shopping, or out with her friends. This will pay off huge during the season when the grass is almost knee high and you’re going fishing for the 10th day in a row.
3.) Fly Line Maintenance
Take your lines off the spool and clean them. There are many methods. I soak mine in some warm dish water, then thoroughly rinse them off a couple times. Be sure to not leave any soapy residue on the line. Once they’re good and clean, dry them by running the lines through a dry cloth, as well as your fingers, feeling for any rough spots.
4.) Check Your Backing
Unspool your backing. Whether you saw your backing last year or not, it’s a good idea to unspool your backing. Chances are good there will be a spot or two that it’s stuck. Wait to spool it back on until after you clean/lube your reel.
5.) Reel Care
Once your reels are free of backing and fly line, thoroughly clean the dirt, sand, or any other crap that might be in them. Also, clean off any old grease with a degreaser or brake cleaner. Brake cleaner will evaporate, thus no residue. Once your reel is sparkling clean, apply some fresh lube. I use Quantum Hot Sauce. Don’t get any type of grease or oil on your fly line! If taking stuff apart and putting it back together isn’t your thing, most reel manufacturers will service it for a nominal fee.
6.) Fly Rod Checkup
There’s not a whole lot to do with rods. But it’s probably a good idea to look your rods over for any signs of stress. I also like to take an old tooth brush and go over the threads on my reel seat to get out and dirt, sand, etc. Check the male and female ferrules for dirt, as well. If there is, clean them with a non abrasive material.
7.) Clean Out and organize Your Vest
“There’s that peanut butter and jelly sandwich I couldn’t find last Summer!”
“Still tastes great!”
Empty out all of the pockets in your vest and organize everything so you can find it on opening day. Make sure you’ve got enough split shot, bobbers, floatant, etc. Check your vest’s zippers, Velcro, hydration pack, etc. for any signs they might need replaced.
8.) Leaders and Tippet
Whether you build your own leaders, or buy store bought ones, make sure you’ve got what you need. Same thing with tippet.
9.) Check Your Thermometer
Please don’t tell me you don’t carry a thermometer. Water temp is everything! Unfortunately for me, the water everywhere I fished was 60°F all of 2007. Most people aren’t carrying around a calibration kit for their pocket thermometer, so a good way to check is to turn your kitchen sink on and get the water to a temp that feels about body temperature, not hot, not cold. Your thermometer should be about 98°F. Then run straight cold water to make sure it shows you that the water is getting colder.
10.) Leaky Waders
Check your waders for leaks in the tub or send them to the manufacturer to get serviced.
11.) Recon
Know your enemy. Study aerials or topo maps. This is a great way to kill time. I’ve already found several areas that I’m pumped to explore when the weather warms. Not to mention some better ways to access spots I already know will produce. Check out hatch charts if you’re going to another region to fish, or aren’t familiar with hatches in your area. Practice knots, especially ones you don’t tie often.
- Animated Knots
- Fly Fishing Entomology
- Fly Fishing Research
- Microsoft Virtual Earth
- Northeast USA Hatches
- Saltwater Tides
- Trout Nut
- USGS Topo Maps
12.) Get Legal
I threw streamers with the president of an anonymous chapter of Trout Unlimited a couple seasons ago, the day after the previous years fishing license expired. We were eating some venison chili afterwards and I mentioned that I just got my new license that morning. Suddenly, he looked like he saw a ghost. Yup, he forgot to get a new license. If your state’s fishing licenses expire in the Spring, make sure you don’t forget to renew your license.
13.) Check Your Float Tube, Pontoon, etc.
I can’t think of many things that would suck more than to hike in to your favorite backcountry brookie pond, start kicking your way out to deeper water, and find out you’ve got a leak. Check air bladders for leaks, clean out pockets, etc.
14.) Waterproof Stuff
There are several waterproofing products on the market. Retreat your raingear, and any other stuff you want to repel water such as vests, tents, etc.
15.) Check Glasses
Make sure you can find your polarized sunglasses. Wipe them off and put them in your vest now before you forget to do it on your way out the door. Make sure they’re good. many inexpensive sunglasses don’t offer any UV protection, even though they have that little sticker saying they do. For some reason it’s unregulated, and a lot of people are out there with their eyes wide open to harmful UV rays.
16.) Practice Casting
Take your rod out side and practice casting. If you don’t fly fish year round it won’t hurt to knock a little rust off before you’re casting in actual fishing conditions. If you’ve got money, maybe take a few lessons.
