The diaries should be out and all of this season needs careful planning

The diaries should be out and all of this season needs careful planning. Those of you who fish in team competitions, need to be thinking of the implications of qualification for the next round of any competition that you fish. Bookings need to be made for practise boats and, if you are to be fishing at venues away from your home area, maybe you will need to think about overnight accommodation. Team captains especially carry a great deal of responsibility at this time of the year!It is a very good idea to start the serious planning of the coming season. Look through the last few yearsí entries in your diaries. What was happening on your chosen venue in April/May? Can you spot a pattern? If there is a pattern, will it last into this season? Is there anything different about the winter that we have just had compared with the previous few? All of these aspects need consideringGet the team together. Plan, talk about the expectations, discuss the flies, set up some fly tying evenings with your mates. It all helps to bring the season closer, and get you thoroughly prepared. Get out your gear. Check that you really donít need to replace your rod rings on your favourite rod. Have a look at your reels Ė Iím sure that they will benefit from a drop or two of machine oil! What condition are your lines in? Did you reel them onto your reels at the end of the season and just chuck them into your bag? At the very least give them a wash. Unless your spools of leader material were purchased just before the end of the season, it may well be worth throwing them out.How about getting the new tackle mags and going through them Ė by now you should just about be over the excessive spending that you had at Christmas. Are there any new items of tackle that you need? Was your drogue rope in good nick? How bad were the leaks in your waterproof coat? Does your waistcoat really have enough pockets?Clear out your fly boxes Ė I cannot honestly say that I do that, but I AM going to try to this year. You really donít need all of those flies! Some go back years and havenít seen the light of day since that day when you might have had a take on them!Be like the good Boy Scout Ė be prepared. Time spent now on your gear is really worthwhile. Iím promising myself that I am going to attempt all of this Ė starting this week!

Happy tidying!