Barret Duncan Blog

  Most anglers skip this. Then wonder why they're losing fish. I spent twenty-two years as a diesel mechanic. Long hours, dirty hands, problems that needed fixing right the first time because there was no second chance once the truck rolled out of the bay. Fishing got me through all of it. Weekend mornings on the Tennessee River before anyone else was awake. The kind of quiet that a shop floor never gives you. But here's what that career taught me that most fishing guides won't tell you: preparation is everything. A mechanic who skips the checklist loses an engine. An angler who skips the setup loses fish. Same principle, different stakes. This is exactly how I prepare my rod before every trip. Not the gear I buy — what I actually do with it before the first cast. Step 1 — Check the Line Before You Leave the Driveway Not at the water. At home, the night before. Run your thumb and forefinger down the first ten feet of line slowly. You're feeling for two things: nicks a...

  After thirty years I've stopped guessing. This is what's always in the bag. I've owned a lot of fishing gear over the years. More than I'd like to admit, more than I've ever needed, and considerably more than my wife thinks is reasonable for a man who fishes a river twenty minutes from his house. But somewhere around year fifteen of fishing the Tennessee River regularly, my approach to gear changed. I stopped thinking about what I might need and started paying attention to what I actually used. Trip after trip, season after season, the same things came out of the bag. The rest sat untouched. These days my fishing bag is light. Everything in it earns its place. Here's exactly what's in it and why. The Rod and Reel Setup I fish two rods on most trips. Not one, not six — two. The first is a medium-fast spinning rod in the 7-foot range paired with a quality mid-range spinning reel spooled with 10 lb fluorocarbon. This handles about 70% of what I do on the rive...