Martyn White | Thursday, 7 July 2022
This year I feel like I'm quite behind with my gear readiness and fly boxes somehow. I'm probably not really that behind but I feel like it. The float tube issues are probably part of it, but not the only reason.
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I got yet another puncture in my float tube. I decided to give up on that air bladder as it had been patched several times already and ordered a new one. I had to oreder from overseas because no one in Japan stocks the tube I have. After waiting ten days my replacement arrived, but I'd been sent a right bladder instead of a left. Annoying to say the least. Luckily I got a full refund without having to return the item so I cut some oversie patches out of it and tried to repair the old bladder. It didn't work, it still has a slow leak somewhere and I can't find it with soap or water tests. I'll just have to wait for the correct one to show up. I've actually ordered a replacement and an extra spare for each side so I don't end up nonbuoyant again. I'm missing some of the best time for float tubing of the year and I don't want to repeat that.
I'm also just playing catch-up with my fly tying, after losing my last 5cm bucktail to a snag in the river the other week, I realised my river boxes had become worryingly sparse and needed a restock. More disappointingly I couldn't buy an eat on any of the bigger baitfish patterns in my box that day-is there anything worse than losing a fly that's working and realising you have nothing else like it in your box? So Ive been at the emptying and reorganising this week before work, and I've a fair bit of tying to do to get things back to safe levels. The typhoon that's passing by this week might mean no fishing for me so I'll at least be able to get most of the restocking done. I might need to change the storage system too, I quite like the look of the tacky pescador boxes with the added leaf. It would be nice to get everything for the smallmouth into one box, and the silicon grippy bits work quite well. We'll see.
After that I need to have a look at the saltwater stuff, in case I pop down to Okinawa on my summer holiday, again that's something I'd have liked to have finshed by now, but somehow I haven't. Still, that feels a bit less onerous because it's attached to a trip, and I really fancy a few days sightfishing trevally.