Historically, each new fishing trip has an opportunity or perhaps an excuse to go a little bit crazy at Tackle Warehouse. Even when I don't need ANYTHING, there's still an opportunity to shop productively for fishing clothing and accessories.

We’ve left tackle at Anglers Inn for several years and it has consistently been safe, well-kept and available upon arrival. Here are some strategies to ensure that’ll continue to be true – and also to be certain that it’s ready to fish when we get there. With a little bit of extra planning and effort, we save myself a lot of heartache and wasted time.

There are times at Lake El Salto when the fish are so thick and so hungry on a given spot that you can take your time casting to them and you can experience success with any casting angle. It’s not always that easy. Many times you have to hunt and peck to get things done.

As I’ve tirelessly researched the Japanese travel rod market, I’ve continued to unearth new brands and products – some exceptionally purposeful, some decidedly odd.

I’ve already written more than I ever thought possible not only about multi-piece fishing rods, but also about how to get them from Point A to Point Z. Whether you’re backpacking, flying, driving or riding a mule, if you arrive at your fishing destination with broken sticks it can be an absolute disaster. For most of us, a standard, non-descript, one-color tube or case will suffice, but if you like a little bit of style in your carrying mechanism – and you’re willing to spend a few extra dollars – there are higher-end options available.

We’ve fished in temperatures up to 114 degrees, and while you can adjust to that extreme by hydrating obsessively and wearing moisture-wicking clothing, I find fishing in freezing temperatures much more challenging. I’m not talking about relatively sedentary varieties like ice fishing, where you can sit in a heated ice house or shanty, but rather open-water fishing, often in a boat.  As a result of my experiences, here are 10 strategies I’ve learned for maintaining the maximum amount of body heat and comfort. 

In my search for travel rods able to handle swimbaits that I came across the Cast Division Beaststick, a 6’9” rod made specifically “for the most brutal fishing you can get all over the world.” After watching a number of their videos, I acquired one, and I’ve been testing it out over the past few weeks.

Obviously fly fishermen figured out a long time ago that various species of fish eat bugs – it’s kind of their raison d’etre – but that doesn’t mean that they have the market cornered on insect-imitating baits. Indeed, within the bass world alone there are lots of lures that would tickle an entomologist’s fancy, and they’re all castable on “normal” tackle.

Part of our collective prejudice against rods with two or more pieces no doubt stems from childhood memories of ferrules that underperformed. If you had one of those old school bargain basement combos, then at some point you likely had one come apart at an inopportune time – either while making a cast or fighting a fish.

Rods and reels certainly matter, but the most meaningful link between you and the fish of a lifetime is a thin strand of fishing line. Whether it’s mono, fluorocarbon, copolymer, braid, or a combination thereof, it’s critical that you make sure it’s perfect. That means fresh, high-quality, and the proper type and strength. While I don’t respool every combo I use every night like some pros, I prefer to change my heavily-used lines frequently, especially the non-braid varieties. That includes times when I’m on vacation.

If you’re going to the Andamans or Christmas Island or the Galapagos, there’s not a Tackle Warehouse next to your your lodging, and some outfitters require you to bring your own gear. You’ll need more than one rod, too, not just because you might be using varying techniques, but also because otherwise if you break your rod early in the trip you may be out of luck.

When picking line for Mexican bass fishing, as far as I’m concerned you should go with what you’re comfortable with, and err on the side of keeping it heavier rather than lighter. On the latter point, I don’t use anything under 17-pound test.

As I get ready to pack my clothes for my trip to El Salto, Mexico, in 10 days, 22 hours and 45 minutes (but who’s counting) I need to make sure to pack the right undergarments. You guys may not understand this, but having the wrong bra for any activity can make for an uncomfortable day.

How do you protect your most expensive rods for a trip to the lake or as you board your private jet? It’s not necessarily a rhetorical question. As more hedge-funders and other members of the international elite discover angling, they want the best of the best.

Only recently have clothing manufacturers started seriously catering to female anglers. While it seems that guys can just grab a “medium” or “large” or “3XL” and slide into them, female bodies are more complicated than that. We have totally different combinations of butts, boobs, torsos, legs and shoulders. That makes us interesting, but it also makes it hard to find universal fits.

Between the possibilities of loss and damage during travel, the rough boat rides, and the fights with brutal fish, your stuff is going to get tested, and in some cases parts will fail. It’s up to you to respond to the failures that can be remedied.

Within their US market, they only offer a limited number of travel options – specifically the Ike Signature Series Travel Casting and Spinning rods. While that selection may initially seem limited, the four-piece rods come with two different tip sections to provide two different actions. At $149.95, that’s a remarkably good deal. If you go to Abu-Garcia’s Japanese page, however, there are a wealth of multi-piece options.

So you’ve booked your trip to El Salto, Picachos or some other Mexican lake, you’ve analyzed the basic tackle you need to bring, and perhaps added a few extra things you want to try. Now you need to get it organized, so you can access what you need when you need it. Time flies. Every minute wasted is one minute that you won’t be catching your new personal best.

If you’ve been fishing for any period of time, then you probably have a favorite knot or knots for tying on your lures or for connecting two lines. At home, they probably rarely fail you, but somehow when you go away things tend to go awry. Maybe you rushed through your knot. Maybe your line was frayed from the day before. Or maybe those giant trevally and yellowfin tuna stress out a knot more than the bluegills in your local pond.

I am not a professional photographer. Still, if you saw my equipment you may think differently. To make sure that I could lug all of it all by myself, I had to find just the right bag that would hold my other carry-on items as well, including but not limited to my laptop and GoPro.