img_2842Any place that requires a passport should generate a little more thought to your travel and fly fishing plans. On more than one occasion, an essential piece was missing, or I may have been forced to use a well-worn back up, because I didn’t physically check my gear to my list. Your gear needs will be determined by weather, time of the year, how much time you have, and if you plan to wade or fish from a pontoon boat, kayak, or panga. Puerto Peñasco is a great place to fly fish, but you need to bring everything, no one sells gear down here. It’s a good idea to pre-assemble your gear before making the trip, and plan to have duplicates of almost everything.

In the picture, I have a collection of essential gear for Puerto Peñasco fly fishing. Normally I will have a collection of 4 piece rods with fighting butts. Usually I will have one or two 6 weight rods and 3 or four 8 weight rods. The duplication is good if you or a fishing buddy breaks, loses, or has forgotten a key piece of equipment. The same with reels that have floating lines, intermediate lines, and 200-400 grain fast sinking lines. I usually have 6-8 reels and spool combinations available. The fighting butt on the end of the rod does give you a leverage advantage when fighting strong fish. I like to wear a lanyard that has forceps and scissors combined. My nippers have a nail knot tool, hook sharpening tool, and a probe. Usually I have several spools of tippet material, these fish are not leader shy and 15 pound tippet is as light as I usually go. Many times I will use 20 pound, and after getting bit off by a Sierra Mackerel, I’ll switch to 30 pound. Yes, the bottle opener does get occasional use.

Also in the picture I have sunscreen, polarized sun glasses with built in magnification, (and an eyewear retainer) a hat with a neck guard, stripping gloves, a long sleeve quick drying fishing shirt with big pockets for gear. One small handy item is the pre-moistened wipes for cleaning salt off your sun glasses. The camera has a waterproof case and many cell phones have water proof covers if you intend on taking them fishing. The roll of duct tape is a life saver, everything from protecting your stripping finger to securing the windshield on the SUV. I usually have more flies than I need, but a few Clousers, Gotcha’s, and Poppers will get you through a day of fishing. For Peñasco fishing, concentrate on size 4 hooks and have an assortment of colors. It may seem like a small detail but I have been relieved that I had a small roll of toilet paper sealed up in a plastic bag when fishing the estuaries. You will appreciate having a hand towel after handling a few fish, and if you were in too big of a hurry to put on sun screen early in the day, aloe vera will soothe your extra crispy sun burnt flesh at the end of the day.

I hope a few of these tips and suggestions will make for a better fly fishing trip when you come to Puerto Peñasco. Vince Deadmond The Fly Fishing Hardware Guy can be reached at Best True Value Hardware 237 N Apache Trail Apache Junction, AZ vince@ajbest.com and at 480 982 7461.