Take less, move more

My New Year's Resolution is take less, move more. Simple as that. As in a rucker and a couple of rods' worth unless I'm off to somewhere you can use the car to move swims or it's worth plotting up near the motor.

I don't know if you've ever taken stock of how much kit you lug about, as opposed to how much of it you're actually likely to need on any given day, but it's quite an interesting exercise.

I'd gotten into the habit of carrying a box of trace making materials. This started as a small box, with a spool of wire, a couple of packets of hooks, swivels and twiddling stick. It morphed into a bigger box, with more wire, a lighter to heat the wire, and more hooks. Times needed this season..? Zero.

I used to carry a box of floats. Big floats, small floats. Blobs, pencils, through-the-middle sliders. Then there were the leads. Big leads, small leads. Bombs, bullets, leads you can attach to your trace, some locking leads someone brought me back from a holiday in the States years ago. Times needed..?

Get shot of that lot, and that's nearly half the weight in the rucksack gone. All I'm likely to need are the rigs already on the rods, plus a couple of spare floats, a couple of larger leads plus enough to re-tackle on the off-chance I tree one or snag. Chances of that happening where I'm fishing at the moment..? Not much.

Then there are the rods. I'm done with carrying four on a walk. I'll just take two rigged up for where I'm going. That's the weight of the quiver halved in one fell swoop.

Landing net, unhooking gear, mat, two rod rests - no need for bite alarms, drop-offs or rear rests if you're float fishing  - and that's it apart from weigh sling and scales.

Baits in the rucksack in a cool bag, along with drink, grub and baccy - job sorted for a yomp to the Saving Private Ryan swim.