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What is the ultimate setup for a long walk?

John Parker

John Parker

Member
For those with experience, what is the ultimate setup for a relatively long walk? I'm thinking mats, rucksacks, nets etc
I was asking myself this as I was struggling back to the van yesterday, so thought I would throw it out there!
I had gone for an unhooking mat/sling rather than a rucksack and regretted it...
I also ditched the pod after the first day in favour of single banksticks....
 
Been struggling with this for a while.The biggest problem item of tackle seems to be umbrellas. Now using the River Lite but it is also heavy. had a Daiwa flatback at one time which was good but not tough enough for river fishing. Quivers also need to be light but none are, also carrying two made up rods can be a night mare. I am not a big bloke plus getting on a bit so maybe its the end of river fishing for me.
 
I suffer with a bad lower back and despite this I can walk a mile plus with the following:

  • Drennan Super Specialist Rod Quiver: 2 rods (with or without sleeves), brolly, bank sticks, landing net handle, Middy Barbel net.
  • Original Korum Ruckbag, overloaded with tackle, scales, sling, food, extra clothing, hookbaits…….. Lightweight unhooking mat attached to bag.
  • Very lightweight Fishrite chair, which I’ve had for years, attached to the above ruckbag. Drennan baitwaiter in between the folded chair.
  • Bait bucket.

Obviously, the brolly adds weight, so don’t take it if weather forecast ok. Choose your chair carefully as too much comfort can be too much weight. What is with the current fad to take a river pod everywhere? In over 30 years of fishing, bank sticks have done me fine, complete with angled adaptors for bite alarms.

And finally, if you are generally unfit, consider joining your local gym and do a regular cardio session, I’m 55 years of age and its done wonders for my overall fitness!
 
For me there’s afew fundamentals.
Everything on my shoulders
Hands, arms and under arms must be kept completely free to allow them to hang and move naturally with my stride.

A chest strap is absolutely crucial for me.
My bag has got to be pulled hard and tight against my back for support of the weight and keeping the mass as close to my body as absolutely possible. I also use the chest strap to go round the shoulder strap of my rod holdall pinning that firmly to my shoulder and stopping it sliding off.

If I’m taking a light chair it’s on my back incorporated with the bag. Same with mats and nets. ….. clipped or fitted to the bag keeping hands and arms free.

I can walk miles carrying a good load of gear. Reducing weight is one thing but preventing it from moving and slipping and juggling about is far more important imo
 
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All I need , rod, net, bag , waders .

David
 
The Korum roving kit is good. Chair clips onto the rucksack, I also clip the mat and net head onto the rucksack with a carabiner. Rod (s) are in the sleeve and net handle tucked into the side pocket and strapped on. If using one rod then the net handle goes inside the other side of the sleeve along with any long banksticks I need.

It’s easier to carry the sleeve than it is a fully made up rod. There’s nothing worse than a long walk with awkward stuff to manage.
 
Thinking Anglers compact rucksack. Small but perfectly formed. Roll up unhooking mat on top.

TA slim quiver - very light and a brolly can be added on bad days. Usually only 1 rod.

Small bucket with a bit of bait/bottle of water etc.

Aeronium chair if necessary, or sit on unhooking mat. Or stand up.

Works for me on short sessions and long walks - but I did run out of bait on the Severn the other day. I’m used to blanking on the Thames.
 
This time of year keep hands free to break the muddy face down experience. Prior to us both using cramp ons my mate face and arse splashed three times in one day, ruined my fishing as my ribs hurt so much!! We’re both aged 65 and realised that day that our bodies don’t recover as quickly as they used to.
 
Much of my barbel fishing is now done roving style with either a float rod or rolling meat, I can cover a lot of water that way. So it's rod, landing net, small rucksack with roll-up unhooking mat attached and good quality waterproofs and sustenance within. Fishing waistcoat with lots of pockets for permits, keys, spare rigs, phone, compact digital scales etc. The less that I take with me the more inclined I am to move rather than sitting it out and that's a key advantage. If the back starts to ache then 20 minutes sat on the unhooking mat taking in the wildlife whilst eating a butty is just the remedy.
 
I feel pretty happy with my set up, the only slight trade off is my chair but I’ll take the comfort.

Korum folding quiver housing 1 rod, three bank sticks, net and landing net pole.

Drennan specialist rucksack with clip on unhooking mat.

Fox duralite chair xl. Bit bulky and twice as heavy as my previous decathlon £20 job, but my back thanks me for it.

I can walk as far as I want with that lot and have a spare hand if needed for a bucket of bait.
 
Jim Brook said:
What seat bag is that one? Terry
Click to expand...
It's a Shimano Bum Buddy Jim ...rare as hen's teeth these days. They have a shoulder strap, a Velcro fastening handle, one large and one smaller zip-up pocket at the back, two steel reinforcing strips to add some rigidity, and enough room between the actual seat surface and the back for an unhooking mat. And they weight next to nothing.
 
I know it’s been mentioned before but my trolley was a game changer for me. I put everything on my trolley and only slip my rod quiver over my shoulder and support the weight with my free hand. It is vital for me to keep weight off my back. Yes, some gates have to be negotiated but if I can’t manoeuvre my trolley through ( or over ), I simply unload and lift the tackle over individually, it only takes a minute or two and I am on my way again.
Regards,
G.T.
 
Lots of solid advice. I avoid a brolly whenever I can preferring decent waterproofs and also a poncho which can also be used as a tarp if the swim suits. I just pre-tie lengths of para cord to the eyelets, does the job nicely.
I also have a really good rummage through my quiver and rucksack as it's amazing what accumulates through the season
Weights and feeders are normally essential but do you REALLY need all them spares? When was the last time you lost 6 feeders and 6 leads in a session?
Chairs are great but on my local river it's nearly all sloping banks , so for a true roving session a decent unhooking mat can be perfectly comfortable and I think it discourages you from taking root in a swim, it just depends what you have in mind at the end of the walk I guess?
I pre-tie a lot of my rigs and have them on winders so no needs to carry line, spare hooks - it all adds up.
Radios, headtorches, spare headtorches, spare batteries, spare scales, mozzy sprays, phone chargers, spare forceps , - all recently taken out for roving sessions
I also managed to shed 4-5 banksticks which had multiplied over the summer. And a spare net & handle.
If you're roving do you really need 2 rods- again guilty of this but getting better.
I had a good look in my tackle box and again instead of taking 20 x kwiklinks & No 8 swivels and 10 baiting needles, I just took a few essential bits in a small clamshell box.
All seems small but it's the sum of the parts.
If I'm not going very far but still want to be mobile, I can get everything in a Trakker rectangular bucket with the shallow lid for terminal bits and bait , catapult in the main section.
And bait is another big weight, but I would wager most of us take way too much?
But if it's a yomp - definitely a decent rucksack as high on your back as you can - make sure it fits, I've set off before with one that was too narrow across the shoulders and it made the walk really uncomfortable.
I use a quiver but for years when leapfroggin rivers when piking I would just carry rods , net/handle and banksticks - keeping it as balanced as possible - if my gear is even slightly unbalanced i really feel it now on my lower back and hips so as suggested if you can keep your hands free this is the way to do it
you can get cheap carabiners off any site and it's amazing what you can clip onto a rucksack
I think it's worth the effort as when you are lugging around a lot of extra weight it can detract from the fishing - Ive done it so many times, set off like a sherpa , got absolutely knackered and settled on a swim, rather than compromise a bit on gear and fish where I really want to fish.
On a recent trip, my friend cut his session short as he had to make 2 trips with his gear, each one probably 1 mile there and back. It definitely distracted him.
I stayed on, after nothing all day the fish turned on and I had 3 in an hour
Truth is I had way too much gear and was dreading the walk back but I'm a bit younger and a bit fitter than he is but it was still painful.
 
My top tips for roving:
1. Be brutal. Anything in your bag because “well, I don’t need it but I’ll put it in just in case” stays at home.
2. If using public transport, don’t wear camo or all green (else Joe Public thinks they have to see it, say it, sort it)
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This is my big roving kit. If I’m doing the yomp to Fishers Green, the bag gets halved.
 
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