Gone Fishin'

There’s nothing better on a nice weekend than slipping out to do a little fishing with one of the kids. You can’t get to my favourite spot by car, so we have to travel light. My fishing ensemble consists of two buckets with snap on lids. One is a large rectangular one that used to hold laundry soap and the second one is a smaller, rectangular one that used to hold dishwasher soap. The smaller one fits quite nicely into the other.

In my smaller bucket I carry my reels, extra fishing line, a small compartmented box for my hooks, a multi-tool, mosquito repellant and an emergency roll of toilet paper from which I have removed the centre cardboard roll.

By taking out the centre roll, you can just pull out the amount of paper you need right from the centre without handling the entire roll.

I push the roll into a plastic 2 litre milk jug cut down to size with slits down the centre of all four sides (so it will contract when you put the cover on). The lid is just another 2 litre milk jug cut to fit upside down over the the first one. Years ago, we used to take old round metal tobacco cans and do the same thing, but happily, not too many people smoke any more.

It’s also a good idea to have a couple of emergency items like waterproof matches or a lighter, a candle, a crank flashlight, an emergency blanket, a few large garbage bags (which can be emergency rain ponchos among other things), bandages and a small bottle of isopropyl alcohol. That can be used both as a disinfectant or as fire starter fuel if needed. I put these things into a zippered plastic bag and throw it into my small bucket as well.

On the way to the fishing hole I just put the smaller bucket inside the larger one.

The larger bucket is for holding my catch on the way back, and is also a good seat while I’m fishing. The smaller bucket is always handy near by and can be used as a second seat for my fishing partner, or a small table for me to put my coffee on.

Add a lunch and our fishing poles and we’re ready to catch tonight’s supper!