#1 rule when going to the Truckee

[Hairstacker]

It's all about the check list. Make one, and use it.
Jim

Yep, that and keeping a gear bag loaded at all times with the standard stuff (e.g., nippers, tippet spools, hemostats, floatant, tape measure, etc., etc.)

[DFrink]

I'm horrible about remembering things... So I keep all of my gear right next to the garage door, vest hanging with everything in it, hat hanging on vest, net underneath vest, waders on seperate hook with boots right below them and a water bottle sitting in my boots (I do have to remember to fill it). Oh yeah, the rod and reel are on hooks just above.

[harryls]

Hi Scott,
Your predicament brings to mind several of my own bonehead moves involving fly rods. The worst case scenario is putting broken down rod sections on top of your vehicle when getting ready to leave. Seems like there are always a bunch of things to do after taking off the waders etc, including taking a last whiz, slugging down a brew or grabbing a quick bite from a stale sandwich. In my case any activity away from the routine invites tragedy. What I have done twice now is get distracted during the packing-it-in process and then driving off with my rod on the roof of my truck. The first time it was my sweet 4 wt Light Line Sage and I made it out to the paved road before I got the panic flash. When I made it back, a couple locals had found 3 sections and luckily I found the 4th. Whew! The sections were all scattered into the ditches by the shoulders of the road. The next time was when I fished the Big Sur for steelhead and afterward was lying in bed that night in Monterey when the flash came - my rod is on top of my truck! Sheeei....!
I got up early a.m. and found my rod in a ditch next to the road where I made a U-turn the previous day.
Bottom line is to establish a routine or check list, stick to it, and get very conscious when putting-in and taking-out rods etc. When I get distracted, game's over, and I have to double check everything. And now I'm even older and more of a space case! I have lost a couple other expensive rods in different ways, but have hopefully learned my lessons.

[nightgoat]

For a minute I thought Scott was gonna jump in the river when he realized he didn't have his rod I usually bring a couple of rods, but for some reason decided I wasn't gonna need the extras on this trip. Figures. Still, it was a great day on the water. The fishing was surprisingly tough, as there were plenty of bugs coming off and we hit some really good water. I think we threw nearly every fly I had in the box, but the fish just didn't want to eat. I don't think we saw a single rise all day. The river was in pretty good shape and we were able to cross at some of my favorite spots. The warden was very friendly and thorough. He checked our licenses (which is the item I usually forget) and gave the flies a close inspection for barbs. We fished the first half of the day in the Hirshdale area and moved closer to Nevada after lunch.

Thanks for the excuse to go to the Truckee Scott. We'll have to do it again soon.

[Mike O]

(I though I had messed up badly when I forgot my net at Pyramid, though nothing beats forgetting fins on a tubing trip - ahem...)

_SHig

I can beat it:

Try forgetting your hood when going SCUBA diving off Big Sur...BRRRrrrrrrRRRR. Killer ice cream headache

[bigfly]

Harryls, that is the best advise there is!
A-l-w-a-y-s put the rod away first.
Lost two rods that way. Heart breaking!!!
I've gotten a little better at staying organized, put things away in the pocket they came out of immediately. Everything else is tied to me.
No holding fly boxes between the legs anymore either.
Got caught short of tippet the other day, now I check that too before hitting the T.
When I leave now, I do the idiot walk around, because sure enough, if I don't, I lfeel like an idiot and leave something.

Jim

[Troutstalker55B]

In 98 I was fishing the Hex hatch on Lake Almanor in the Fox Farm area, I had a decent evening fishing and went back to the truck to get into some street clothes. I set the rod against the truck. I packed up and headed for home at around 10pm. At 4:30 am I woke up and laid there thinking..... I forgot to put my rod in the truck! I jumped in the truck and headed for Fox Farm - No Coffee! I got to the pull out and just as I arrived the county was bringing in all this equipment to resurface the road........And there is was laying on the ground, unscratched...My 10 ft. 7 wt. Scott! Talk about lucky.....Like FRSam quoted "stop twice at the stop sign - and look both ways."

Jon.

[Pound]

I forgot a reel on top of my friend’s car once. We drove back to SF from Burney, and I received a call from him a week later, “Are you missing your reel?” He found it on his hood a week later, wedged in a railing, and he found it when he began washing his car.

Yup, left a rod on top of the hood last steelhead season, and had the “freak out” moment which was quickly followed by an emergency u-turn. It was lying out in the middle of the dirt road unscathed.

And just last weekend, I went to rig up my 7wt for some bass after 2.5 hours of driving, and realized that I brought the broken rod that I haven’t mailed back in yet. Luckily I did have my trout rod, so I went to the other pond and caught some bows instead.

Overall… been luckier than I deserve.

Pound

[RenoLipRipper]

I was at Big Bear Lake about 3 years ago, fishing with my now wife. Had fished all day, had a great day, got already to go, drive all the way to Chino Hills, CA (about 2 hour drive). Didn't unload as I was going fishing the next day. Amazing how sometimes later at night you remember that you need to make sure your nice Sage Z Axis 5 wt is not with you. Panic sets in. Then the back tracking and finally realized I left it on the side of my truck. Panic again. The next morning drive like a mad man in my 350Z to Big Bear and fearing the worst all the way. Well, the man was looking down on me as I found the rod & reel on the side of the road were we had parked.

So now, I ALWAYS DO A WALK AROUND TO MAKE SURE ALL IS AT LEAST IN THE TRUCK BEFORE LEAVING. I can't afford to lose rods and reels as the stuff in expensive. So alittle double check before leaving seems to to the trick. I have other stories about breaking tips etc. but won't go there.

[caniretireyet?]

My all time best Homer Simpson moment: forgetting my sleeping bag on a lower owens/Hot Creek forray at the end of December. Allow me to quote from the singing buzzards in the "Jungle Book;" "a friend in need is a friend indeed".

Steve