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Picket Thill Field NotesA field journal for fly fishers and hunters

Reach 04 · Gear Checklists

Gear checklists built in the parking lot

Fly fishing gear by budget tier, a wading safety checklist for moving water, and the upland hunting kit that lives in the truck all season.

Fly vest laid open on a wooden bench showing fly boxes, spooled tippet, nippers and forceps arranged beside a pair of laced wading boots

Gear fails in two ways: it breaks, or it was never in the truck. The checklists in this reach fight the second failure and respect the first, because nothing on any list here is precious. Budget tables give typical retail bands rather than model worship, so a first rod, a wading kit or an upland vest can be bought once and used hard.

Wading safety gets its own page because moving water earns it: cold water, current force and dam releases are the parts of this sport that forgive nothing. Run that checklist every trip, not just the first one, and read the budget tiers before replacing anything that still works.

The parking lot is also where a trip gets its shape. A checklist that only covers rods and flies misses the water itself. Anglers heading to the Loire and its Touraine tributaries work with a different set of questions: which species are active, how the current moves over sand and gravel, and what a lure does in that flow. Banc de Loire keeps a French-language journal on exactly that ground, covering silure, sandre, brochet and carpe in the middle Loire, plus the tackle each technique demands. Read it before you load the truck, then finish the list.

In this reach

  1. A late afternoon workbench in a Vermont barn workshop, a brass shelf clock movement laid open on a felt mat beside a loupe, a small oil bottle, and a paper repair tag, with low window light raking across the brass.

    Antique clocks: dating, buying, restoring

    A field guide to antique clocks: how to start a collection, date a movement, and judge what restoration involves before you buy or repair.

  2. A golf stand bag resting on a wooden bench beside a clubhouse door at dawn, with a pair of soft-spike shoes and a folded rain jacket on the bench, shot from a low three-quarter angle in soft side light.

    Golf gear by layer and by season

    A field notes guide to building a golf bag by layer, surface, and weather, with notes on shoes, bags, rain gear, and club competition days.

  3. Three fly rods assembled in a row on a garage floor beside reels, fly lines in boxes and a pair of broken in wading boots

    Fly fishing gear by budget tier

    Fly fishing gear pricing is marketing with a rod rack attached. Three tiers cover the whole decision: a starter kit, a solid mid setup, and the level where money buys refinement instead of fish. The bands below are typical retail, checked against what actually lands on the water.

  4. Angler leaning on a wading staff mid river with a wading belt cinched over chest waders in green water pushing past at thigh depth

    A wading safety checklist for moving water

    Moving water is the strongest thing in this sport and it does not negotiate. The rules are old and they all come from the same physics: water at knee depth pushes harder than you think, and cold water ends arguments in minutes. Run the checklist before every trip.

  5. Blaze orange vest and cap hung on a fence post beside brush pants, lace up boots, a shell bag and a water bowl for a hunting dog

    An upland hunting gear checklist

    Upland gear is a walking kit with safety rules written into it. Blaze orange to the state’s letter, boots that survive the third mile, and a vest that carries shells, water and birds. The checklist below runs in a parking lot, with typical price bands attached.

Every note in this reach reads against the hunting season calendar guide, and two neighbouring reaches extend it: Fly Fishing Basics and Hunting Seasons.