What's your favorite fishing paraphernalia?

[Pete]

We've all got one, something that means more to us than anything else. Could be because of who gave it to you or where you've taken it or what fish you've caught with it or the pride you feel in it. But what is it? That tutti-fruiti anodized Abel fly reel that so completely expresses your personality? Perhaps the first rod you built. The drift boat you retreived from a pond and restored to utility? Tell me, then I'll tell mine!

[Jennie@ifish]

My grandfathers Mitchell 300.
I love that thing. I love remembering him use it, and the fact that it was given, lovingly, to me... his little fisher girl...
I loved fishing with Gramps.
"That Mitchell has two spools", he told me, as he gave it to me... "This is a darn fine reel", he'd say... and then launch into stories of what he caught with it.
Want my Grandpa back!!!
Jen :depressed:

[CHUMSALMON]

mine is a shimano bantam 100, rosebud handels and all. my dad bought it brand new when they first came out. he used it for many years. then i finally was able to start fishing with him, first i started with a spinning real then after a year of steelheading he set me up with the little bantam 100 on my own drift rod. 1st day i used it i caught a nice winter run steely. i used the reel for several years and eventually started buying my own stuff. well, to my surprise this last christmas he gave the reel to me as a present, boy that has to be the best present i've ever recieved. i don't use the reel, i just like to look at it and admire how many fish it has landed. Hopefully some day i'll be able to do the same thing with my kids! :smile:

[hound]

hmmmm

good one pete

#1 would be my dads 1940'ish bamboo fly rod and case. boy havn't used that in 20 years

#2 would be the cherry wood fish club i made for my dad in 8th grade about 100 years ago

[Thumper]

When my three sons were in jr. high and high school they had a beloved teacher make me up a 7 ft. boat rod for the mouth of the Lewis. A jillion fish later it is my #1 boat rod for summer steelies, spring and fall fish at that same spot. And it always will be. Gosh that rod has caught a bunch of fish!

[toblerone]

My Pipe. Aged to A golden perfection. Cigars are nice but the fragrance of a fine tobacco wafting through the air reminds me of fishin with my Dad and those are my favorite fishing memories.
Plus it keeps my hands warm if needed!

[Pete]

OK, you got the idea. Now here's mine. While I love my boats, especially my drift boat, I have the warmest, fuzziest feelings for a wading staff I made from an alder sapling I cut down along the Metolius. I was spent a week camped along the remote lower river with nothing but fishing, cooking and eating on my agenda. I decided I needed a staff and went in search of a stick. What I found was a live sapling. I cut it green but it dried hard and supple ... I carved the bark ... It's a silly thing, but its a trustworthy, long time companion that's watched me land more than a few fish.

[Hookset]

Guess I feel left out. Rods, reels and tackle come and go, I've never placed any lasting value on any one single item. I've got some old Fenwicks that bring back a lot of good memories and some reels that do the same. Then there's the first pole I built, a yellow fiberglass fly rod. Still, they never fish with me anymore, instead they sit on a shelf or case, maybe a closet corner. What really counts for me is good, dependable gear that catches fish. In fact, one of my most valued items is a good hook file holstered in a holdzit case. I never leave home without it........at least when I'm going fishing.

Gregg

[Snapset]

When my Dad was a kid, he saved money he made cutting cows in Salmon Idaho, and bought the top of the line Fishing Pole of the day. It was a South Bend square solid fiberglass 7 foot 2 piece ros, and he used it for dragging chinook from the Lemhi river.

15 years later I used it to catch my first fish, a rainbow from Strawberry Reservoir. 20 years later, it was gathering dust in his shop, the guides were mostly missing, the cork was delaminated and a greenstick fracture was spreading back from the tip.

I made the rod disappear while I restored it. Those snake guides were hard as the dickens to find. I had to cabbage a set from about 5 different rods I found at flea markets. After several years, I had it in as new condition, and my dad used it to catch his first Oregon Steelhead.

He still brings it when we Kokanee fish, and if that old South Bend and my Loomis fell into the lake at the same time I would dive in and come up with a handful of fiberglass. I like to keep that rod in the boat for good luck. It has worked because I have never had a bad day fishing with my Dad.

[Jim]

Ol' brownie, 4'6 ultralight rod that I built in 6th grade...2 of its guides now have bandages holding them on and there is my first reel a mitchell 300 which is way to heavy but attached with electrical tape. This little rod only goes with me when I go after lake trout alone, it stays home if the kids or anyone else is along. It is a fine old friend that has caught up to 8lb rainbow. Its mainline is mono, making it the only rod that doesn't have Power Pro on it...and, it will never have Power Pro on it for that matter. It still catches fish and is the only rod that stays in my office all the rest hang in the shop.

Jim

[ampersat]

mine is an old black ambassadeur 5500c. my father gave it to me when i was much younger on a fiberglass surf rod the built himself. it's old enough that the spool tensioning cap is on the opposite side from the handle. i've fished with it recently but the drag is shot (which cost me a summer steelhead). it weighs a ton so i don't fish with it much anymore. when i get a boat, it will go on one of the boat rods.

[hawgcatcher]

Lots of things bring memories, but when I take out my old Lamiglas drift rod, my mind is filled with so many past trips. I bought that rod when they first came out and still use it. I remember trips to Big Creek with Wilbut Hayden, a friend that has past on. He and his wife, Enid, took a young man out and taught him the fine points during the late 60's. Trips to the Klatskanin (sp) with Newell Warren, who has retired to Baja. These times and many others come to mind when that rod slips into my fingers.

Maybe I will put that in my will. Bury me with that old rod so when I get up there, I can catch a few steelhead and salmon, God willing.

[KROY]

I was lucky enough to grow up on the South Umpqua River and spent a ton of time fishing there and the North in the summer with my brother. My wife had my brother order a hand-tied Loomis IM-6, 8 1/2 foot, 8 to 12 lb rod that matched his for my wedding present. The rod has my name painted above the handle in gold letters. Matched with a Bantam reel and a vest full of gear I had the greatest time.

I only fish the North about once a year now when I’m visiting my Mom and I surely don’t have those summers dialed in like I use to. That was a long time ago and before the kids, career, mortgage, school, soccer, baseball, swimming, boats, campers...

Boy I really miss that river...

[chadk]

Mine used to be (before it got stolen!!) my dad's military issue vest that he took back with him from Vietnam. I used it as a fishing vest because it had so many pockets - and that built in holster just looked cool (:

[Rubber Robin]

I have a couple of favorites for winter steelheading in a drift boat besides the usual fishing tackle ideas................
My Coleman heater!!!!!
My Stanley thermos!!!!!

Both these items make life much more enjoyable when it is below freezing and you think back to the old T-shirt that says, "I'm not crazy, I'm a steelheader!!!!! :tongue: