“Don’t be that Guy”- a reminder to gear up before it’s too late…
It’s early April, the ice is off, the air is warm, and the sun is shining. You’ve been waiting for this day for six months, the day you finally get to cast a line again. You get to your parking spot and begin setting up your rod, only to discover that you left on your dirty old beat up leader from last season. No problem, you think to yourself, I’ve got another one in my bag. You rummage around in your gear bag some more… Ah ha! Here it is! You pull out your new leader and begin straightening it out when… SNAP! It breaks right in half. Problem. Lucky for you though you notice a guy wearing a North Park Anglers shirt, he looks pretty nice, maybe he’ll loan me a leader. After a few minutes of playing “poor me” he decides to loan you a leader. A brand new fluorocarbon leader, the only one he had left. Alright, thanks man! You leave feeling relieved and he leaves $8.00 poorer. Don’t be that guy.
With your butt saved, you cover it with some waders and lace up your boots. You downsize your bag so there’s not so much weight to carry, grab your rod, and head out for the river. You step in and make the first cast of the year, when suddenly it hits you… the frigid, just melted water hits you that is. Oh shoot… You remember the hole you got in your waders last season and suddenly you’re regretting watching one too many episodes of The Big Bang Theory instead of taking a few minutes to patch it up. After a few moments of debating, you decide to tough it out and keep fishing despite the increasing thoughts of frostbite forming in your mind. Don’t be that guy.
This better be worth it, you think to yourself as you move along the river, losing feeling in your toes. You round a bend and spot a 20 inch rainbow cruising along the far bank. Looks like you’ve found yourself a meat eater. You sit down to change your San Juan Worm to a Wooly Bugger. You pull out your streamer box and…What the heck? That’s right, you have dry flies in your streamer box, and now you’re REALLY regretting binge watching the Big Bang Theory all winter. By the time you finish frantically searching your downsized gear bag, the rainbow has moved on. You wish you knew more curse words. Don’t be that guy.
Feeling bummed out you decide to call it a day. You sulk back to your truck, undress, and put your skunked gear away. You hop in the truck and glance at your rearview mirror, of course this would happen. Your face is as red as the stripe on that colored up ‘bow you didn’t catch. Your pasty white skin was not ready or protected for the UV exposure you just put it through and you know you’re going to be peeling like a banana on Monday morning. Don’t be that guy.
On your way home you pass by a quaint little fly shop with a sign that says “North Park Anglers” and remember the guy from the parking lot who gave you a leader, so you decide to pull over and stop in. You’re greeted by smiling faces, one of whom was the guy that helped you out!
“Hey man, how’d you do?” He asks.
“Ahh, not so good. After I had to mooch a leader off of you, I forgot about the hole in my wader from last season, so my foot is freezing. I missed out on a nice rainbow, because I had dry flies in my streamer box, plus I look like my 8th grade crush just told me she liked me,” you say.
“Awh, man that’s no good. We can fix you up if you’d like,” He offers.
“That would be great.”
You’re sent home with a bag full of goodies. New waders, fresh leaders and tippet, a new fly box full of tasty streamers, and some SPF 50. At least one good thing happened today.
Lucky for you it’s only March, so you have plenty of time to binge watch AND organize your gear. Is something missing from your gear bag? Do you want to try something new? Head over to NorthParkAnglers to get hooked up with everything you’ll need this season, and don’t be that guy.
Written by: Taylor Martin
Taylor Martin with a beauty North Park Brown
