As anglers, developing and honing our skills is a valuable part of time spent on the water. The more you fish, the more you learn. With that process comes valuable tips, tactics, and tools that result in more productive days on the water. While experience is the great equalizer, our Tools of the Trade series presented by onWater Fish helps shorten the learning curve. We sit down with fly fishing experts to learn the tools they implement on the water in hopes they prepare you for your next trip.
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In this installment of “Tools of the Trade,” Marty and Mia Sheppard–world-renowned anglers, spey casters, and owners of Little Creek Outfitters–share seven tools to prepare for overnight fishing trips.
Overnight Fishing Trips:
Multi-day river trips are a great way to get away from crowds, cover new water daily, and truly disconnect and experience wild rivers. There’s an art to floating and camping on the river for multiple days at a time; if you’re planning a float trip here are a few tips from a professional outfitter. Marty and Mia Sheppard of Little Creek Outfitters are a husband and wife team who have been outfitting anglers on multi-day, wilderness camp trips, in Oregon for steelhead, trout, and smallmouth bass since 2001. They have tested and used practically every brand’s gear to help make camping on the river fun and enjoyable. Over the years they have discovered the best gear and tools to be more efficient on the water and provide a comfortable, deluxe camp for guests that make you feel right at home. Here are a few tools of the trade to make your next multi-day river trip a success.
Here are 7 tools that Marty and Mia Sheppard utilize on overnight river trips:
Tool 1: Utilize a Garmin In-Reach Satellite
A Garmin In-Reach is an essential safety tool for a multi-day trip into the wilderness. The reality is you never know when you will need help and a Garmin gives you peace of mind. If something goes wrong you can contact emergency services or family at just the touch of a button.
Our favorite feature of a Garmin In-Reach is it will give you access to emergency services 24/7 by pressing an SOS button. The button triggers an automatic emergency response and will send a rescue team to your location if needed.
With an In-Reach you can download an app on your phone and use your phone to text messages. Lastly, with a few clicks, you can check the weather, track your trip, and share so your friends and family know where you are, all without service.
Tool 2: Utilize a Water Cooler with a Cup that has a Small Hole for Hand Washing.
Cleanliness is godliness they say. No doubt, having easy access to a hand wash station is a necessary tool to utilize, keep sanitary, and prevent sickness on the river. This setup, utilizing a metal cup is an easily accomplished project that anyone can pull off!
Drill two small holes in the side of the cup across from one another and add paracord to be able to hang from the cooler spout. Then drill a small hole in the bottom of the cup that allows the flow to be more easily controlled. With that water conservation tool installed, it allows for a large group to not drain the tank and get many clean hands in one fill-up. We use river water in ours so it is important all participants understand it’s not for drinking. On cold days we add hot water as a nice comfortable touch.
Tool 3: Make a makeshift Chafer to warm food with a bucket of hot water and a metal bowl.
The “Bain Marie” is an easy method to keep food warm for a big crew after it has been cooked. Here is our methodology: Along with big river groups and loads of delicious food, comes plenty of dirty dishes. We use stainless steel buckets to gather and heat our dishwater. We also boil that water before making dinner so it has time to cool to a reasonable temperature for dish duty. Instead of letting that hot water sit unproductive, we put metal bowls in the hot water and as items come off the griddle or grill they go directly into the bowls and are topped with a plate or lid to keep everything warm until time to serve. It works great. Give it a try!
Tool 4: Utilize the onWater Fish App
Of all the tools we use, the onWater app is our newest and arguably most important. The onWater app is a mapping tool that allows us to scout new water, find access points, and distinguish between public and private water. Our favorite use for this tool is to help preplan trips and track river miles. The explore feature is handy and enables you to pre-plan. Just type in a river name and get all the information you need such as; the weather, flow stations, fishing reports, shuttles, state regulations, and more.
We also use the tracking feature to coordinate multi-day floats. This feature gives us the ability to track actual river miles to the next camp. With it, we can pace ourselves and ensure we arrive at camp before dark. After all, there’s nothing worse than setting up camp with a headlamp.
As Marty says in the video, with onWater Fish you can have all the same information as an outfitter, knowing how far you need to float each day, where to find shade to stop for lunch and overall just being an expert at time management on the water. It puts people on the level of an outfitter.
Tool 5: Use Block Ice and an Ice Pick for Fresh Crushed Ice
On a multi-day trip keeping produce and meat cold is essential and having an ice-cold beverage on a hot day is a treat! Nothing is worse than running out of ice or having food spoil on a river trip. You can have both, cold food and ice for drinks by using block ice in your cooler. You might ask, what is the difference between block ice, crushed ice, or freeze-dried ice? Block ice is a large single block of ice, but why?
First, block ice melts slower than crushed ice, lasting longer for extended stays. Unlike freeze-dried ice, block ice will not freeze your food leaving it ready to cook. Lastly, block ice can be chipped and used for drinks.
The best tool for chipping ice is an ice pick, a pointed metal tool with a wooden handle used specifically for chipping ice. Be careful not to poke your cooler. We chip off a chunk then place it in a metal bowl to chip off smaller pieces.
Tool 6: Utilize an Ammo Can for a Trash Can
This “river trash compactor” is an amazing addition to our multi-day river camp trips. The 20mm ammo can size fits a tall medium kitchen trash bag perfectly. We recommend pre-crushing items such as cans, before tossing them in. It’s very effective to pull off a balancing act and manually utilize the biggest guy on the crew to compact the trash as it gets near the fill line. Be careful not to perform the stomping when a fresh batch of grease or wet pancake mix is on top!
Tool 7: Rollacot and NRS Paco Pad
A must-have on a multi-day river trip is a Camptime Roll-a-Cot. We’ve been using Camptime cots for 22 years and they are a game changer for a good night’s sleep on river trips or any camping trip. In the summertime, if there are no bugs, set up a cot and sleep under the stars.
Three reasons to use a Camptime cot:
- Camptime cots elevate you off the ground.
- They are made with aluminum legs and a fast-drying mesh that makes them lightweight and durable.
- They are easy to set up.
No more sleeping on the ground and make it extra comfy with an inflatable NRS Paco Sleeping Pad. Paco Pads are waterproof and can be dual-purpose as a sleeping pad at night or a cushion on the boat during the day.
Final Thoughts:
Multi-day floats are a great way to explore new water, find unpressured fish, and spend time outdoors. Once you push away from the ramp, everything you bring is everything you have. Marty and Mia’s tools and techniques make the process of preparing for a multi-day trip less daunting. Whether you implement a few tools or all the tools above, your next float will be much more enjoyable.
Be on the lookout for more installments of ‘Tools of the Trade’ for even more helpful tools you can utilize and add to your fly fishing tool belt. Also, thank you to the onWater Fishing App for making this series possible.
To learn more about the onWater Fishing App, or see how you can start your free trial today, CLICK HERE.
Thank you to Marty and Mia Sheppard, for sharing their tools of the trade with us. If you want to learn more and book your own float trip check out Little Creek Outfitters.
Photo credits courtesy of Arian Stevens, IG: @arianstevens
Last Updated on August 19, 2024 by Max Inchausti
