still haven’t found a way of putting together a cohesive system which is ‘ready-to-go’ for whichever approach I’m taking that day. Do others share this dilemma or is it just me?
I identify very much with your problem especially as my angling time is very limited to short sessions at short notice so I have to have everything ready at a moments notice.
The problem is made worse by the fact I am constantly swapping between venues, species and methods and also try to keep weight down to a minimum as well. It basically means I cant just pile everything into one mahoosive rucksack & lug it all round with me.
Instead what I try and do is have a central ”pot” of tackle that I will use across all the species that live permanently in the car and then add only what I need to that.
Essential items that I will use all the time such as forceps disgorger, range of hooks, small float tube, line clips, box of shot, permits, camera adapter & clam tackle box with all the tiny bits and pieces…swivels, beads, stops, silicon etc are carried in a fishing waistcoat that I slip on.
I then have a small rucksack for carrying ancillary items such as camera, scales, sling & sack. I’ll swap the scales depending on what I am after. In the car I have a a 12lb set of flyweights, 40lb set of Avons and 120lb set of whoppers. So for example I’ll take the flyweights if I am after Chub as they are the smallest and lightest, it just takes a few seconds to swap over to the required one in the rucksack.
Same applies for the landing net. I have 3 in the car …Big Kipper net, rubber medium net, small feather weight folding net, I’ll just grab the lightest one I can for the type of fishing I am doing.
Same also applies for any rod supporting items..I have single rests, pods, tripods buzz bars Alarms and so on all in the car. Again I’ll just use the minimum one suited to what I am doing.
A light JRC stealth seat, mat & umbrella also live permanently in the car as do items such as groundbait bowls, mini keepnets and some empty bait bowls and small buckets in case I need them.
Specific tackle is then held in induvial bags also in the car. For example a Carp bag, a Predator bag, a lure bag and a lead and swimfeeder bag & a large range of floats. Each bag has removable plastic boxes inside. I’ll just take the ones I need & put them in the rucksack with the scales, sling and sacks etc. Leads in particular, I’ll only take what needed in a small draw string bag as they add allot of weight.
This basically leaves rods and Bait. I always have a good selection of baits in the car in a large bucket. Things that wont go off…tins of sweetcorn, meat, pellets, shelf life bolies, dog biscuits for floaters, bags of bread bait sprays and some bags of groundbait. I take only what I need into the rucksack. Fresh bait I have no option but to add at the last moment.
Fishing clobber is always a bit of a pain as it takes space. Again in the car, I keep shoes, boots and waders plus some wet & warm gear. Needless to say I only put on what I need.
Finally rods. I have a selection permanently made up in the garage. Its just a case of selecting the ones I’ll want and put those into the car. Obviously it helps to have allot of rods & reels but as anyone who has fished for a number of years will know, collecting rods and reels is never really an issue
Doing things in this way I can literally decide as I am typing this that I will go carp fishing with 4 rods tomorrow or Chub roving with 1 rod or trotting for Roach with a pin and I can be ready to go in literally <10mins without having to take everything including the kitchen sink with me.
The thing is you never reach an end state with tackle organization, not in my experience anyway. I am always looking for ways to further streamline it, trying to find that magic formula. I doubt I will never quite achieve it but it won’t stop me trying.