My Fishing Kit

In it’s essence, my fishing kit is pretty simple and basic. The exact tackle I use depends on the type of fishing I expect to do. In most cases, because I am fishing from shore, I use general purpose hooks.

However, I must note that on my last fishing trip I set my tackle up for trout fishing. While I will be referring to the current tackle setup in this post, remember your tackle will change to the type of fishing you expect to do.

• Rod
• Reel
• Tackle
  • Hooks (type depends on type of fishing expected)
  • Lures (type depends on type of fishing expected)
  • Sinkers (as needed)
  • Bobbers (as needed)
  • Small fish hook remover
• Multi tool
• Fillet knife
• Plastic container

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The Rod and Reel

My rod and reel of choice is the “Freehawk Portable Telescopic Mini Pen Fishing Rod” and “HIG 2000 Spinning Reel.” I’ve had this rod for a few years and have caught quite a few fish with it. I have come to find that it has grown to become my go to fishing rod.

When I first purchase this rod, I was concerned about it’s constitution. It is a thin aluminum hollow cap at end that sits in your palm. My concern was that the threading wouldn’t be strong enough and it would bend and break at that point. After a summer season of almost weekly fishing, those concerns were quickly quelled. It was strong enough to tackle what I needed.

The front of the rod, is thin and appears fragile. Even though it is said to be made from carbon fiber, I had my doubts on its durability. Once again, that doubt was quelled after that first season. A few snags I had, I managed to to bend the rod to a near 90° arc without breaking.

The HIG 2000 Spinning Reel is basically a miniature version of it’s full sized counterpart. Aside from the thumb screw, that holds the handle on, breaking, it has worked flawlessly.

From Amazon

Specification:
Type: Pen Fishing Rod + HIG 2000 Spinning Reel(with fishing line of 50m/1968.5in)
Material: Carbon Fiber, aluminum alloy
Color: Silver, Blue, Red, black and gold
Net Weight: 167g

Pen Fishing Rod
Closed length: 21cm /8.27in
Extended length: 100cm / 39.4in
Weight: 65gr

HIG 2000 Spinning Reel
Material: Aluminum alloy
Grer Ratio: 5.1:1
Wheel Length: 10cm
Wheel Width: 10cm
Line Spooling Capacity: 0.17mm/130m; 0.20mm/110m; 0.23mm/90m
Line Length: 50m

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Fillet Knife

My fillet knife of choice is my “Billy Bay” stainless steel filleting knife. I picked this particular knife up a few years ago while on vacation in Daytona Beach, FL. I’ve used it a few times since then and it made the cut, no pun intended, into my fishing kit because it weighted the lightest of the 3 fillet knives I currently own.

From Sportsman Warehouse

Betts Billy Bay Hi Viz 6 inch Fillet Knife – The Billy Bay Fillet Knife features a 6″ razor sharp Stainless steel blade and skeletonized polycarbonate sheath.*Shipped Colors May Vary*

6″ Stainless steel blade
Skeletonized polycarbonate sheath
MPN: FK6-30A

There’s really not much more to say about it, it’s a knife, it cuts, and it does exactly what it’s designed to do. Any flaws with it, from my experience, have been from operator error.

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The Multi Tool

I actually bought the Adventureridge multi tool from Aldi’s with the purpose of having a cheap throw away option for daily carry while at work. Since I’ve yet to actually use it for it’s intended purpose, I’ve designated it to be the replacement to all the individual tools I was carrying with my fishing kit.

Here are the tools on the Multi tool:

• standard pliers
• long-nose pliers
• knife
• wire cutter
• wire hook
• ruler
• scale scraper
• Philips screwdriver
• small slotted screwdriver
• bottle opener
• saw
• large slotted screwdriver
• 2-in-1 file
• middle slotted screwdriver
• can opener
• keychain

It is a decent general purpose multi tool in my opinion for light duty work. There are definitely better, more expensive options available. But for a cheap beat up, don’t care if you loose it option, this is great. I believe I paid less than $10 when I purchased mine from Aldi’s about 2 years ago.

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Fishing Tackle

Not sure what to really say here. In my opinion, this is the heart of the fishing kit. This is where the magic happens. Without proper tackle, your not catching anything. So what is proper tackle? That answer is both simple and complex. Because I am nowhere near qualified to give you the in-depth complex answer, I’ll keep it simple. Simply put, proper tackle is any combination of hook/lure, sinker, and/or bobber to catch the fish you are after.

What combo you use and when will highly depend on the type of fishing you will be doing and the specie’s you are targeting. The specifics of the what and when for a species, I’ll leave to the more experienced folks of the interwebs to explain. A quick Google search should land you a plethora of information to sift through.

My tackle from my last camping trip was specifically setup for Trout. The lake I was at was said to only have Trout in it. Due to unexpected personal hardships on that trip, I did not get to fish. So I’ve yet to fish for a specific species. All my hooks were purchased from Walmart while the lures were purchased from a local Bait and Tackle shop.

All my tackle gear is housed in a small plastic box with a couple of slots to keep everything organized. I cut a few notches in the dividers to hold my fish hook retrieval tool.

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Final Thoughts and Links

In conclusion, this is a phenomenal fishing kit setup for my personal purpose. As it sits this combo weights in at 0.9lbs not including the multi tool. The rod and reel combo is one of the smallest I can find on the market. The fillet knife is the lightest I can find at the moment, lighter ones may be out there. The tackle is customizable to your exact fishing needs.

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Gear Links

The following links may not be to the EXACT gear pictured, however, will be to what I could find comparable to what I have and use. Some are a generalized search so you can pick exactly what you want or give you an idea what might be found at that retail store if it applies.

• Rod and Reel
• Tackle
  • Hooks (type depends on type of fishing expected)
  • Lures (type depends on type of fishing expected)
  • Sinkers (as needed)
  • Bobbers (as needed)
  • Hook remover
• Multi tool
• Fillet knife
• Plastic container

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Till next time, Happy Trails. And If I Can Do It, You Can Do it.