Fishing and Camping - The Dynamic Duo!

Have you ever just wanted to get away from civilization for a while? Do you enjoy camping? How about fishing? If the answer to both these questions is a yes, then perhaps it's time to plan your first fishing/camping trip. While both of these activities are extremely fun on their own, when combined, they form an outdoor experience like no other. Even while just fishing many camping elements often come into play anyway, such as hiking and perhaps a bout of outdoor cooking. Camping also often incorporates fishing, even if it's not the main focus of the trip. Combining these two activities can also go so far as to save you money in the long run!

Getting Prepared

Once you have decided to go on your first fish-camping expedition, you must then decide what supplies you will be bringing with you. Because of the combined nature of your trip, you will need both a full array of camping gear, and a complete set of fishing tackle. This is where problems can start to rear their ugly head, as carrying two very different sets of gear can be very difficult on even the most experienced camper or fisherman. Choosing your gear properly, and knowing your limits, is the best first step when planning your trip. Here is a quick list of both standard camping and fishing gear that you will want to consider:

Camping Gear

• First you will obviously need a tent or other form of shelter. This is largely dependent on where you plan on camping. Many popular fishing locations often feature on sight camp grounds with bathrooms and even running water and electricity! If however you are the more rustic type and wish to camp in the wilderness next to a secluded lake or stream, your shelter must vary accordingly. Always research the area you wish to camp thoroughly, and purchase a tent that can handle the local weather conditions.
• The next item under consideration is what you plan to sleep on. While the obvious choice is a sleeping bag, this may not always be the best or most comfortable choice. As an example, fisherman camping in the deep south often employ hammocks and off-ground sleeping cots due to the heat. These choices would be extremely foolish however in northern climates. Remember, temperature is the deciding factor when picking a sleeping arrangement
• After your tent and sleeping apparatus are chosen, it's time to think about your miscellaneous camping gear such as camping lanterns, camping chairs, insect repellent, emergency rations, toilet paper, flares, insect netting, first aid kit, emergency radio, and if you can afford one a GPS unit. While a couple of these items are merely creature comforts, most can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation.

Fishing Gear

• First on the list of required fishing tackle is of course the rod and reel. What style of rod and real is completely up to you and your style of fishing. However, if at all possible you will want to bring along as many spares as can be comfortably carried. Imagine the heartbreak of snapping your only rod or breaking your only fishing reel on the first day of the trip. Along with the rod and reel themselves, you will also want to bring along basic repair gear for them, as well as several spare spools of fishing line.
• Next, consider what sort of and how many tackle boxes you will need for a prolonged fishing trip. Remember that large, bulky tackle boxes may hold a lot of fishing tackle, but they are also quite heavy and take up a lot of room. This can be a problem if you plan to do a lot of hiking on your trip. Consider smaller, pocket sized tackle boxes or soft sided models.
• Lastly, make sure you have enough fishing bait, lures, and other terminal tackle for your trip. This is one of the decisions that can make or break your trip. While bringing too many lures and fishing baits may just be an annoyance, having not enough can severely cripple your fishing. Luckily in a pinch, several forms of live bait can be found with little effort near most camp sites.

On the Trip

Once you have all your supplies ready and loaded up, and have reached your campsite, it's time to really start enjoying yourself! The best part of combining camping and fishing is you literally don't have to stop fishing until you want to. What I mean by this is that many fisherman will head out of their favorite fishing spot not because they want to, but because night is fast approaching or they have a previous engagement. But if you are on a camping/fishing trip, you can quite literally fish twenty four hours a day, every day, with the proper drive and equipment. Also remember how I said you can save money with this combination? Think about how expensive most special "camping food" is. Now consider how enjoyable, and delicious, a shore lunch consisting of fresh caught fish can be!