Carrying backups of vital items in the surf just might save your night.
The above adage was born from the military preparedness principle that having backups is vital in warfare, and I have learned, the hard way, the value of having this mentality in the surf. It is perhaps a stretch to liken warfare to surfcasting, but both share similarities related to preparedness. Both endeavors are centered around a target or mission; in my case, catching fish, and the equipment used to accomplish the task is essential. Without the vital equipment, the mission is rendered impossible.
Another similarity is that both surfcasting and warfare often occur in remote places, away from the comforts or our normal environments. If you only have one essential item and it fails, then you are left with “none” and you have no way to complete your task. If you find yourself on the front lines in a remote location and you run out of ammunition, you cannot simply run home to restock. You are in trouble. In the surf this is also true, which is why I always bring an extra rod, reel, headlamp and leaders when I venture into the surf.
Years back when I started out, I had a naïve and generally optimistic view of my surfcasting adventures. I assumed the best and prepared minimally. I’d run out the door any chance I had to take a few casts and would bring a minimal assortment of plugs and only one rod. Most times, this worked out fine and when it didn’t, I’d simply call it quits. As I have gotten more serious about this sport, my obsession has brought me on more precarious surfcasting “missions” which has increased the need to better prepare.
As surfcasters, we will go to great lengths to catch fish. We drive to far locations at all hours of the night. We swim out to ledges and rocks in the dark. Getting to a remote location and having to call it quits due to an equipment failure is not ideal. Just in this last season I have snapped rods in half, broken reels or found myself with a spool that was rendered useless thanks to infuriating wind knots, none of which are good scenarios when the goal is to catch fish.
In an ideal world it would be great to have backups for every single item: bags, belt, plugs, pliers, wetsuit and so on, but doing so for every item is simply not feasible. For this reason, I bring backups for the most vital items for the style of fishing I do, which is primarily wetsuiting at night. Having a backup rod and reel in my car has saved me on several occasions just in the last few months. I had one of my most beloved rods snap clean in half while casting a 2-ounce needle. It wasn’t due to negligence or high-sticking or banging it on a rock. It just snapped on a cast with no explanation, and although disappointing, I was able to finish the rest of the tide after a quick walk back to my car to grab my backup rig. It ended up being a productive tide, with several fish over 30 pounds and I recall being thankful that I didn’t have to watch as my friends caught fish for the following two hours.
Later that same week I was into some good fish with a friend of mine and the surf was up pretty good. A wave knocked my headlamp off my head into the water. I was luckily able to retrieve it but minutes later it started making a strange noise that sounded like wires short circuiting. Water had gotten into the battery housing (despite its water resistance rating) and fried the headlamp. I opened my dry bag and took out my backup lamp and was back to fishing immediately.
Although somewhat rare, having backups probably saves me at least three times per season. There have been a handful of other times where a friend of mine needed a backup and I was able to be a hero and keep them fishing. If you can afford to have a backup rod and reel it is a great idea to bring them with you. Two-piece surf rods are easy to fit in the car and take only a few seconds to pack. Ensuring you have an extra headlamp will decrease your chances of taking a treble hook to your hand. Time is better spent fishing than driving to the emergency room. I know from experience as I had to learn these lessons by doing things the wrong way first. I can attest that in the surf, two is one, and one is none.
