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This again is a personal thing. What’s one man’s meat is another man’s poison. I can only advise on what I use and my reasons for using it.
Waders: I always wear chest waders. In fact I have two pairs that I use; a pair of neoprene waders that I use both early and late season and a set of breathable waders that I wear during the summer. In the early season, the water can be quite cold and the neoprene waders a very good at keeping you warm. This very advantage becomes a distinct disadvantage in the summer; hence the breathable waders.
Wading Jacket/ Waistcoat: When I fish I tend to travel light and therefore never carry a tackle bag with me. Everything I need goes either goes into my waistcoat or pockets of my wading jacket. If the night is a bit chilly which can happen on a regular basis at the beginning and end of the season, I supplement my clothing by wearing numerous thin layers, made of cotton, with thermal sweatshirts and the like over. I always wear a hat regardless of the weather and I attach a headlamp that aids me getting in or out of difficult wading positions.
Ancillary Items: I always carry enough tippet material in 12lb, 10lb and 8lb. Out of preference I use Drennan sub surface for no other reason than it hardly ever kinks and usually you will straighten a hook before it snaps! In addition to my headlamp I carry two other torches that have both been tested! A priest is essential as is a bag to keep your catch in. Apart from flies that I will come onto later, I carry a net and my spare spools for my fly reels. Oh! By the way, carry a good insect repellant; they can be murder in the summer!
Rods: I use the term rods because on the one hand I fish different venues
and on the other hand at different times of the season, I will fish
different size flies that require a different AFTM rating. Let me explain.
The rods I use are all from the G Loomis stable. They are light and
have a fast action to them that suits my casting style. They are a 9ft
9” 3pce 8wt IMX Slate, a 10ft 2pce 7wt GLX and a 9ft 6wt GLX.
In the early season I mainly fish the River Towy and River Neath. The
casting is long and the flies I use are large aluminium tubes or waddingtons.
Now these flies don’t take kindly to being used on light rods
and therefore I use the IMX Slate 8wt. As the season progresses and
the River flows decrease, I will move down to the GLX 7wt, which still
gives me the distance and gives me the sensitivity and presentation
that I require when fishing smaller flies. This rod can then be used
on the other venues that I fish such as the River Ogmore and Cleddau.
It does get to the point at sometime in the season that a 7wt is too
much rod for the River. At this point, particularly on the Western Cleddau
that is only a small River, I will change down to my 6wt. The point
is that you should match your tackle to the venue you fish. On the River
Towy, a 10ft 8wt rod isn’t out of place even in summertime. However,
on the Western Cleddau that is about an eighth of the size, a smaller,
lighter rated rod is a better bet. In low water, it’s no good
thrashing the water that will only put fish down.
Fly lines: I use a number of different fly lines throughout the season for different purposes that I perceive to be logical. For example, as a rule, I wouldn’t think of fishing a floating line with small flies through a pool that was 10 ft deep. But I would fish a slow or medium sinking fly line with small flies just to get my flies down to where the fish are. Perhaps a table would illustrate it better:
Type Reason
Floater Surface Lure. Water Less than 3ft. Fish active in pool
Slow Sink Tip Faster Water and Slower moving ‘holes’
Fast Sink Tip Fast Pool Necks and Faster moving ‘holes’
Intermediate Slow water 3-6 ft (90% of fishing)
Slime Faster Water 3-6 ft
Medium / Fast Sinker River carrying some water after a spate and extremely
deep holes. 6ft plus
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