Getting Your Fly Fishing Equipment Ready For Spring

 

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. It seems as I get older, the holidays come around faster. As I have said numerous times, winter is my least favorite season, and we have at least two months—January and February—where the weather isn’t suitable for fishing, at least for me here in Alabama. So, I spend some of my time working on projects for my grandchildren, son, and daughter.

I also use the winter months to get my fly fishing gear ready for the upcoming season. Cleaning my fly line and fly reels is one of the first things I do during this time. I like to use a little petroleum jelly to rub inside the reel’s drag and the spool’s inner clogs. I never use oils or grease of any kind on the internal workings of my fly reels. To clean the fly line, I use a few drops of dishwashing detergent mixed in a glass of water and clean the length of the line with a small dish towel to rub off any dirt and stains collected on the line.

I also resupply my fly boxes with extra flies to replace all those flies and poppers that have lost some of their color, hackle, or rubber legs. I always keep extra flies and poppers because you never know when one of those poppers or dries become your star pattern on any given day of fishing. In other words, when I purchase a fly or popper, I usually buy at least four and sometimes six if they are reasonably priced.

I also keep my waders and boots in great shape. This will be my first year wading with cleats screwed into the felt soles of my wading boots. The felt alone doesn’t prevent slipping and falling on those moss-covered rocks on the Sipsey.

I charged the batteries in my Tracker boat and the one I used to power my ten-foot Pelican boat. Batteries will lose power if you don’t charge them at least once a month during winter. I keep all my fly rods in their carrying tubes during winter. You never know when one of those sensitive tips could get broken.

I still remember thieves stealing at least $1,800 worth of fly rod combos hanging on the wall in our garage when we lived in another subdivision years ago. The first mistake I learned was never to leave your garage door open during the day. The second was displaying my fly rods. I never recovered any of them.

For me, the season will begin in the first week of March. Of course, that depends on the weather, but I can hope for an early winter warm-up. I checked my blog a couple of weeks ago to see when I started fly fishing in March, and I found one post from 2020 showing I was landing some nice gills using a gnat during that time of year.

The closer spring gets, the more excited I am for another great season. I’m really looking forward to this season because my wife, Cathey, will be fishing with me using a fly rod. We've been working on her casting in the yard, and she is progressing. She should be a pro by the end of the summer.