I was on the bank this weekend glaring at my tackle box the size of a suitcase which had me thinking about the amount of gear I take on trips and what I actually need.

Now I in no way go overboard with gear but can probably cut back on some stuff i.e

1) Committing to 1 or 2 tubs of hook baits leaving my bait bag at home.
2) Clearing out my Avid XL tackle box and only taking essential items fitting into my smaller tackle bag.
3) Losing my camera tripod / DSLR camera as iPhone 11 is quite sufficient for self takes.

I've seen some anglers do 3 barrow loads to their swim!

Does taking less gear make you a better angler as catching on less can be quite challenging?

Have any of you questioned your amount?

In reply to Post #1
If it don't fit on barrow it don't go , never more than 1 trip to swim ,

In reply to Post #1
I Never question it
How much of everything do you really need
And it will also depend on season

A full pot of mixed colour and size of the same flavour hookbaits (could scale that back if I wanted)
A couple of spools of hook link material
3 different type of hooks I only use 1 size (unless zigging or floater fishing so these are stored in the floater pouch)

Most of my terminal tackle is. Now in a thinking anglers medium zip pouch and a clam shell box for swivels links etc and only a mix of 5 of each in there
Weights are in another 1 grappling lead 3 captive back leads and 3 flying back leads and 4 of each 1 oz 2oz 3oz I remove weights at the end to save smashing the rods


My spools of hook link are in a pop up pot along with a spool of pva string hence why in the pop up pot
Made up mesh pva bags are in an old esp pva tube make them the size of a walnut and you can get over 30 in the 1” pot lol
Surface and zig bits are in a jag hook sharpening pouch and the things like cork sticks and foam and zig a
Iiners are in an old ace plastic hook case with the middle bit thrown out
Everything else is in buckets in the van.

Even my thinking anglers rucksack is probably too big lol
Carp care,scales,weigh sling buzz bars, sticks, alarms on either side in the side pockets
a couple of protein bars in the top with some bell clip on alarms in another pouch along with marker float and permits
Cap and Polaroids and normal glasses in the front pouch
Total weight 19lb including the bag


I'm sure there's a few other bits I've forgotten

Chucked in the portalite barrow are
A lightweight avid chair from the stalking kit rucksack can sit on this to get the weight over the front wheel straddling the top end of the barrow so I can still get in the bag
Binoculars
Marker sticks
Bits like stage stands,cross bars screwdriver in one pocket in a bag
The other has a waterproof coat and trousers in it and a cover all
A small turbo bike pump.
Attached to the front is a ridgemonkey action clamp ( the one that breaks into 2 parts) so I can attach the phone for self takes.

Tea kit used to be thrown in there as well but I don't bother now as I only take water in the summer.
In winter will be a flask and a litre of water anyway.
I take the sleeves of the rods and Chuck them in the van until I leave
Captive mat under the rods and net and strap it all down. (Just bought the esp one so may need to play about with that one)
I can pick it all up together and load it in the van in one go but I have a ramp lol
A 45” fibre shield brolly brolly if I need it and 3 pegs stays in the van otherwise

If I do an overnighter just need to add the bed and proper sized brolly(summer) tempest brolly (winter)
Weekend I tend to wind in and go and get food for the day from the cool box in the van when I'm hungry or bored..

A bait bucket with about a kilo of boilies or whatever I'm going to use I clip onto the barrow by unclipping the bag and putting the straps through the handle of the bucket and then clip them back up.
This is quite annoying as it hangs low to the floor but you get used to it

Ps
Hook links are attached using quick change swivels so it only take seconds to whip up a new rig if needed

In reply to Post #1
Yes, i have questioned it all.

No barrow, no nights, because i don't like that. No bivvy, no stretcher, no need. Good clothes. No bait boat, no spod rod, buckets. Come to think of it, if i have to list everything i once had but binned or no longer use i would never end.

So, 2 rods, small pod, net, mat, chair, small rucksack, small tackle box, some food and some liquid and 3 kg of bait for the session. I even have a little system that can be adjusted to just about any water. And lots of prebaiting and recon as it is called:P. Have i become a better angler because of all that? I think so yes. Effective and fast, i'm setup in minutes, move in minutes and the only thing that is sometimes annoying is not having enough bait with me.

But, in all honesty, it depends on the waters you fish if you can get away with it. And if France will ever be on the cards again i might take a thing or two extra with me

In reply to Post #1
Korda tackle safe cut down my bulk massively, I have it in a compac 150 which I take for longer sessions.

In reply to Post #1
Change of user name required, you sounder like a modern camper with rods.

In reply to Post #1
Barrow size is the biggest issue I've had, sold it and got a fox explorer. That done you start to thin everything else out. Can just walk back to the van for anything extra I need clothing or bait wise.

In reply to Post #6
Haha, I've been fishing for 30+ years.

A lot of the anglers on my syndicate have literally next to no gear but still catch a lot of big fish.

I reckon I can cut my stuff down to :

1. Rod bag
2. Food bag
3. General bag (tackle bag / clothes)
4. Bed chair
5. Cradle
6. Shelter
7. Bucket particle / boilies
8. Water canister

I suppose using plastic kitchen ware and not metal forks / ceramic plates would make a difference,

What about no water canister, instead lake water to save on weight?

In reply to Post #4
Agree. Less kit and less time definitely improves you as an angler.

Ampulla website for tiny pop up pots (why take a full tub?) and smaller water containers.
Sea to Summit X-set 11 for kettle and cups, fits inside the RM toaster.
Plastic spork for cutlery.
Fox Easy Shelter Plus.
Only take what leads you need, plus a couple of spares.
Be absolutely ruthless with all the “just in case” crap.
Then add a few cans of Stella to make up the lost weight...

In reply to Post #8
That's all I take and if on a longer session ie more than three nights I have an ice box in van for extra food and bait.

In reply to Post #8
https://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/equipment-c3/water-treatment-c24/water-filters-c165/miniworks-ex-water-filter-p65/s175?utm_medium=ppc&utm_term=msr-miniworks-ex-water-filter-oc311&utm_campaign=froogle&cid=GBP

Better than tap water apparently..

I've long been an advocate for the less is more philosophy..

Last night,was an example,and might be of help or interest to someone.

In this case I was trying to catch wild brownies,on the streams..but stayed over night..

Vango 200 trek wild camping tent
Snug Pak jungle sleeping bag
Thermarest blow up mat.

Waterfilter
Mini trangia 28
Multi tool

Tenkara rod or spinning rod..

All fits in or on a kombat uk NI patrol pack...

You could swap out a rod or reel to what ever you fancied,sometimes I take a Avon ,quiver,caught lots of carp on the Resource doing that..

In reply to Post #12
What water filter do you use adam, ive been consodering one for a while. Ive scaled down everything as far as im comfortable with, but begrudge taking 5 litres of water.

In reply to Post #13
No problem mate,I use a sawyer mini filter,plus a 16oz sachet bag it comes with..I used it yesterday,local stream have drunk from upper,lower,colli,crowdy,inny, camel and Ottery, no ill effects as yet..

Stay away from water to go bottles,they inherently easily re contaminated the fluid when expelling the water..as I found out!!

In reply to Post #14
Fantastic, is that the one around £30?

How does it taste? I remeber making tea from lake water once or twice in my youth, and recalling how strangely sweet it tasted.

In reply to Post #15
Yes,shouldn't be paying more than £30,..

It tastes nice actually, best tea I have had from a flowing stream,river is the Camel..

I also filtered some water from a cattle trough,which was auto filled up a farm...lol,I'm still alive..!!..

Those Sawyers are good,you can backwash them as well,it comes with the kit mate..

Much lighter than carrying water..

Nb,I'm planning a micro adventure,..just a tarp ,bug net and some basic food,plus a stick stove,and Hammaro lighting paper,see how far I get before I turn round..!!

In reply to Post #16
Edited **
Found one

In reply to Post #3
shame the TA tackle pouch with the rig board is NLA

In reply to Post #18
I still have a few of these I might have to dig out from way back when Noah was a lad

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fox-Board-System-Rigboard-Black/dp/B003IR6BI2

In reply to Post #16
I have the Sawyer mini filter as well, on road trips I've taken 2 camelback-esque water container put the filter in series to use as a gravity filter and it works a treat, very handy for more than one person.

In reply to Post #1
I get a lot of satisfaction out of trimming my kit down, its the climber in me.

Snugpak exocet rucksack.

No rig making stuff, just 6 hook links coiled up in an empty hook packet. All of my end tackle fits in a JAG sharpening pouch, leads aswell, few leaders etc.

Two rods, no need for three. No chair either, days only. Flask, Nalgene with drink, and a bite to eat. Catty, bait and other bits in a rather empty rucksack. Unhooking mat acts as sling that I carry my rods in.

For nights my food bag would be whatever carrier bag came from the shop I bought the stuff in, an atom shelter in the unhooking mat and the lightest bed chair I can find. CBA carrying it mind, id break out the porterlite.

Good idea on the water filter!

In reply to Post #1
I will simplify modern carp angling for you. If your not on fish you can sit it out and HOPE that they come into your swim and want to eat your bait. Or you can move your 3 barrow loads to the other side of the lake

Worst thing you can be is a camper imho. I started out with **** all gear and it's how I have always done it and prefer it.

Prime example, busy day tickets, pure pot luck. You either get in a swim with fish in it or hoping they will move into it otherwise you may as well be sat at home, it's a lottery. Punishers catch the most fish purely by being there

Light as possible, know what bite time is and taylor your fishing around that for me nowadays, be prepared to move. Watch 90% of carp anglers and you will see they are campers, the other 10% catch the fish

Are you doing nights, if so you need a tent and all the associated crap, however, pending seasons you can fish say 4am until 12pm (me today) or say 4pm until 12am. Depends what you want from your fishing. If you are fishing light it takes 10 minutes to pack up, a doddle for me

Fishing works for me now, not the other way round

It can take minutes to catch a fish in the right circumstances, I.e fish wants to eat your bait. Ask yourself a question, how many times have you moved and caught straight away, or straight from the off

For me there is only so much trimming down of gear you can do before you compromise your angling.

For example, if you leave those few extra leads out to save weight and you end up in a swim where the fish move out to a range where you can't reach because you've left the extra leads at home then that's bad angling.

Loads of other examples of that.

I think the best way and it comes down to what vehicle you have is to take everything and then fish to the situation you are presented with and leave what you don't need in the car/van. Risk here is getting gear nicked from idiots breaking in.

I always leave the floater gear in the car just in case they are having it on the surface.

Lastly, as long as you can fit all your gear on one barrow load and keep it organised so a quick move is possible I really can't see the difference between taking a full barrow load or half a barrow load. It's still one trip to and from your swim.

I do a lot of cycling and it's a similar thing there, people spend thousands of pounds on the latest carbon fibre bikes but forget that the thing that's letting them down is the extra weight they carry on their body.

In reply to Post #24
Its not always about weight, I prefer a minimalist life in general. If the fish are out of range then so be it, my little rods (and me) wouldnt cast that far anyway, ill try and find an opportunity elsewhere.

I simply cant abide 1) buying all the gear 2) packing/setting it up 3) carrying it (I don't use a barrow). I often go fishing on the spur of the moment, so it suits me really.

For example, I carry a single float for floater fishing in a pen slot in the rucksack, the hook is a bottom bait hook and the hook link a piece of mainline. It is easy to go down the path of you need, say, a 10lb line for zigs, 8lb line for surface fishing, 8 different types of swivels, a raft a hooklength materials, and leads for every eventuality - you don't.


Like much of life in general fishing has become way over complicated, keep it simple and consistent I say.

In reply to Post #25
Wise words indeed ,especially the bit about if you can't cast to them..

I feel similar..I use low tc rods since the 80s,if I can't reach ,so be it,not gonna scritch bout it ..

In reply to Post #26
Aye, each to their own I guess.

In reply to Post #25
Wise philosophy. I'm working on becoming that minimalist man.

Top posts

On a side note, minimalist anglers are much more pleasant people, they whisper, give you a nod, leave you to it, wish you the best. Compare that to territorial campers:P

In reply to Post #1
Take everything you need including spares . . .then leave 75% of it in the car/van

Job done . . .

In reply to Post #1
Double Penetration

In reply to Post #30
Try that on the likes of the North Met and see what's left of your gear when you go back to your car.

All this idealistic minimalist lark is all well and good, it goes belly up when you fish non enclosed public waters where the general public are mincing about and you have to take everything with you, because if you don't and you leave your gear in your motor, you run the risk of having some ***** popping your windows or doors to pinch your kit, seen it all to often with raging anglers at the car park screaming blue murders that some turd has broken into their car coz they left a small bag behind.

Inb4, yeah but don't fish public waters..lol, no. Oh, let's pay 500 bar for a 4 acre muddy whole in the ground, banged out with the most insuferable/ at all costs, brain damage anglers with fish looking like they've been in a mangle and half a face, goody gumdrops, sign me up for that absolute nightmare.

In reply to Post #32
Obviously this is down to the individual, and the venue/s that we park at, and fish.
I have walked round North Met so I know what you mean about car security.

In reply to Post #33
The whole Lee Valley is the same 👍

I wasn't trying to be negative in my post, just pointing out that it's not all sunshine, rainbows and rivers of chocolate. I've done the thing with bare minimum, thing is with that is that the older you get, it becomes less and less appealing.

All of the modern era of sponcered anglers have done a piece at some time about taking minimal kit so they can move onto the fish. Then they prove it works with a picture of 3 nets in the water retaining fish and 5 retention slings out in the water. Do they have a seperate barrow for slings and nets?

In reply to Post #35
Conversely, there's anglers out there that catch just as much and more by not constantly zooming around a pool chasing ghosts and not time bandits, just weekend anglers. Point proven as I and others watched guys upending sticks last year lapping and ending up with two fish all season, not nods either I hasten to add.

You can still move even if you've got more kit than you can carry in a Sainsbury's bag...eh?

Anyways, if that's people's thing going light, if it puts more fish on the bank for you and you're enjoying it, fair play, good on ya. Keep on truckin.

In reply to Post #36
I generally see the minimalist anglers do the legwork and find all the fish, the top rod is often the weekend angler that knows everyone's name, and has everyone's numberand knows whete every single fish has come from. They plot up on the Friday on the back of everyone elses information and catch. Just depends what it is you get from your fishing.

In reply to Post #36
Coupla years ago my son and me fished digger lakes for the first time...bit of an eye opener in some ways..

We stayed put over three days,just steadily baiting ,one chance at a time..

However,the super,mover,rushing from swim to swim,and banging and tangling his rods reels terribly, desperately trying to land on fish..

W1 and son ,5 chances,for w1,9 chances for son..

Supermover,=..1 fish,as he moved off a lovely area,as we were packing up,supermovers shadow moved quicker than the vestigial body into my sons swim ,...

Desperation angling..,..

What did we learn,we learnt not to fish circus waters,although we did enjoy our time together...

In reply to Post #37
Maybe that's the places where you're fishing, can't say I've seen that myself where I'm fishing fortunately enough, though I do know they exist. Funnily enough, the guy that wouldn't sit still was the one with everyone's number cept mine and a few other guys, was always over the top friendly, suspiciously friendly so I'd say, so much so I'd soon came to the realisation early on that *Pickford's* - as I fondly called him - was just after gemming as much intel out of anyone as possible, it was all just camouflaged fakery.

Anglers so I've found are a mixed bag, some are genuine and chatty, some full of s-hit, some secret squirrel, some are out and out liars, some just are happy just being there regardless whether they catch or not, some are hyper tuned in and can read a water immediately, some just act like information parasites hoping from one victim to the next, venue to venue. There's guys that take the kitchen sink and catch and there's guys that take next to f**k all and catch, you can flip all that on its head and say the opposite is true. There's guys that plot up and catch everything that swims, there's blokes that do the same and catch sod all, guys that won't sit still and catch loads and blokes that CopyPasta who catch next to nothing.

Just coz some are super mobile, it isn't necessarily the case that they'll catch, they could have missed out from where they've just come from.

In reply to Post #39
For me it has nothing do with being able to move, that's not the point.

All the end tackle I could possibly need fits in a small JAG pouch. No leaving stuff in the car really aside from a bucket with some worthless odds and ends in it.

It just how ive always done it aside from a brief spell when I was flush and went though a period of buying bags for everything for no real reason.

In reply to Post #40
I don't know what you mean.

In reply to Post #41
Im just saying I don't go light so I can 'zoom around the pool', I do it as its just an easier, simpler way of fishing for me.

However, I do agree with the idea that there are just as many people that take loads of gear and still catch. Horses for courses, preference mainly I suppose.

In reply to Post #42
ive scaled down this year for day sessions and its been liberating, about a tenth of the gear, but just what you need. its been expensive effectively replicating, but it allows me to just pick up a small bag rather than carrying or decanting a massive rucksack. I must say its really added to my enjoyment this year.

In reply to Post #42
Gotcha now. Much-o thank-o.

In reply to Post #42
When you know your venue, you just know, or sense, what may be best to do on a certain day/weather conditions/angling pressure.

Sometimes you are better of letting the movers and casters, spook and move the fish all round the pond, back to your quiet, settled lines, and undisturbed swim