Once you’ve booked a fishing trip, YOUR responsibilities shouldn’t just stop there and then. Here is a list of things that travelling anglers should do to ensure a safe, fun and successful day on the water.

Amazing fishing trips require an insurmountable amount of preparation from the charter operator, guides, crew, lodge staff and the anglers themselves. Everything has to be near-perfect to fully enjoy your hard-earned dollars on a trip and total preparation is key to pulling of a great

1 Learn Your Fishing Equipment

Yeah, you’ve got the best of the best equipment all top of the line stuff. But this won’t matter to the fish you are catching if you can’t cast your lure accurately or if you don’t know how to set up your equipment. Guides and crew will be there to assist you but take time to learn about your gear. Get to know them intimately. Head out to the marina to practice your casting so you can break in your brand-new Japanese popping rod while getting your casting accuracy on point. Your photos will look so much better with fish in them, not just sunsets and scenery.

2 Investigate and Learn More About the Fishing Destination

After getting to know your gear and doing some practice casts, find some time to study up on your planned fishing destination. Spend a few hours searching the internet for weather patterns, best fishing lures to use, best times to fish, fishing attire, etc. If you find less than ideal sources on the internet, don’t hesitate to communicate directly with the charter operator guides and staff. They’ll provide you with first hand knowledge about your fishing destination and will set you up perfectly not only for your success, but theirs as well.

3 Check Your Line

If you don’t have a manual line spooler yet (bee’s knees / daichiseko respooler), get one now. Modern braided fishing line can be quite expensive but is worth it to have your reels re-spooled with fresh line before a big fishing trip. If you’ve just re-spooled recently, it is worth to inspect your line carefully and even flip the ends over so you have the fresh, unused line on top.

4 Check All Terminal Tackle

Swivels, split rings, split ring pliers, braid cutters, line pullers should all be given a once through. You don’t want to lose a fish due to faulty terminal tackle. Buying fresh stock is always good, but if you’re trying to save some dollars, inspecting them carefully and doing some pre-trip maintenance should be sufficient.

5 Pack your Bags Well

Check out our previous article about how to pack for a big fishing trip, and also our article about good things to have in your bag when out fishing. They are great sources of information about what to bring and what to leave behind.

6 Pack Clothing for the Destination

Pick and pack clothing to suit your desired destination. Don’t bring thick and cumbersome overalls when in a tropical paradise like fishing in Vanuatu. Or forget your singlet and thongs for when you are to go halibut fishing in Alaska. Make sure you dress comfortably for travel too. It is best to bring an extra shirt and shorts for long layovers to change after having a shower at the airports.

7 Tackle Maintenance

Send your reels in to the service center for a good servicing, check your rods for guide damage or cracks. Do the maintenance yourself of bring your tackle to your local tackle shop to service, it doesn’t matter as long as they are well maintained and ready for your trip. Doing a once over yourself or with the tackle store specialist, can prevent disappointment during the trip.

8 Give Your Fishing Guides Some Love

Treat your guides with some stuff that they cannot get locally. A jar of Marmite, beef jerky, Fruit Loops can work wonders. Spare face masks also does the trick as we have some manky masks in our bags somewhere that need replacing. This is not a requirement in any way, but small gifts can make a trip insanely better for guides and guests alike.

9 Check the Weather

Find out if there are any rainstorms on the way during your trip. Pack essential rain gear at all times when fishing in the tropics, but you don’t need to bring hurricane weather gear.

10 Travel Insurance

Do yourself a favor and spend a bit more moolah on your trip by purchasing some sort of travel insurance. It will serve to protect you and your trip if anything goes awry. Flight cancellations, trip cancellations, lost luggage and emergency medical evacuation are some of the major stuff that can happen on a trip, so you’d want to be prepared for them. Fishing travel insurance is good to have when you need it, trust me.So there you have it folks. Some things you must do before your next Vanuatu fishing trip, may it be an international destination or even a local one. Almost all will benefit your overall fishing experience, and catching more fish is the main objective of this article. Remember, more fishing photos than scenery photos is the goal!