Putting Your Fishing Gear Away For The Winter Is Never Fun

If you live in many parts of the country, you’re just starting to come to terms with the fact that another fishing season has all but passed. Although fall fishing has graciously lingered, the last leaves are finally starting to trickle off their branches. If you haven’t made your last cast yet, it can’t be far away. It’s a painful time indeed.At the start of every season I load up my Honda CRV with my gear so I’m ready to go fishing whenever the opportunity arises. My arsenal includes two spinning setups (Dobyns Champion XP finesse rod and Denali Rosewood shaky head both with Shimano Stradic CI4 reels), three casting setups (Dobyns Champion XP Froggin/Flippin stick + Lew’s Super Duty, Denali Rosewood Jigging Rod + 13 Fishing Concept A, Falcon BuCoo Micro + Lew’s Speed Spool Tournament Pro), a spare casting rod, and a trunk-full of tackle. There it stays until the end of the season when I transfer it back down to the corner of basement and stash it behind the metal shelving and cobwebs near the laundry machines.This year I thought about leaving everything in my car through the winter so I would be reminded about the fond (even if too infrequent) times I used them. But I worry that what was once a symbol of my readiness to wet a line at any opportunity will turn into nothing more than a meaningless nuisance. After all, five fully rigged rods in the center console of a car meant for soccer moms does not make for easy driving.

The three casting setups rest on the center console and provide a shaky platform with little stability for the spinning setups. The spinning reels constantly flop onto the passenger seat or my lap while driving. The line frequently wraps around the guides, leaving a tangled mess that pulls the entire bundle when moved. Passengers in the backseat frequently bump their elbows or heads on the rods resting on the back of the middle seat. And my wife only occasionally fails to complain about the smell of garlic.Yes, an entire winter trying to manage my gear in a small car with no hopes of using it likely won’t last. And, honestly, I think that the corner of the basement may be a good place for my rods and reels to reflect on all the times they let the big one get away. And besides, once Cabin Fever takes hold, I’ll be down there to visit them and reminisce on the good times we had and remind them that before they know it they’ll be back on the center console, garlic smell and all.