Open my car trunk in July. Go ahead. I dare you.
You’ll find three rods, half a bag of rancid shrimp, and a alan's fishing tackle receipt from 2019. But you’ll also find real treasure.
Like all around fishing traps. I bought one last year to catch minnows. You know what it caught? Turtles. The same turtle. Three times. That turtle knows my face now. We’re enemies.
I have all fishing equipment back there that I haven’t touched in years. But when you need a specific hook size at 6 AM? It’s there.
Organization? Sort of. I keep my good stuff in an allen cottonwood rod and gear bag. Actually, I have two allen cottonwood rod and gear bag bags. One for “organized.” One for “chaos.” I catch more fish out of the chaos bag. Don’t ask me why.
For terminal tackle, nothing beats old-school aluminum fishing tackle boxes. The kind where the trays pop open and spill 200 split shots across the boat deck. That’s the authentic experience. That’s character.
Wading? I carry an alvey wading bag. It floats. Or it’s supposed to. I haven’t tested that feature yet. Last time I waded, the water was chest-high and cold. The bag stayed dry. I did not.
And look—we’ve all done the 2 AM Amazon scroll. That’s how I ended up with an amazon ugly stik gx2. No regrets. Perfect beater rod. Short. Ugly. Cheap enough that I don’t cry when I drop it on rocks.
I also bought an anaconda ugly stik once because the name sounded cool. Turns out it’s the same rod with a snake sticker. Marketing works, folks.
At the end of the day, angler gear is personal. You don’t need the best. You need gear that makes you want to go outside. My trunk is a disaster. My aluminum fishing tackle boxes are chaos. My alvey wading bag might not float.
But I fish every weekend. And that turtle? I’ll catch him someday.