My everyday carry is a small, fully waterproof box of inexpensive items I have learned over twenty years of guiding can be total day enders if you forget them. It holds backups for the cheap things that send you home early, a boat plug, an extra hat, extra polarized sunglasses, plus the safety gear that matters most: heavy duty hook cutters and a first aid kit. In this How 2 Tuesday I open the box and walk through every item and why it earns its place.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
My everyday carry is a small waterproof box of items I have learned over more than twenty years of guiding can be total day enders. It holds extra rod wraps, a packable rain jacket, an extra hat, an extra knife, all my paperwork, sunscreen, one or two extra pairs of polarized sunglasses, a face covering, extra live well plugs, my power pole and trolling motor remote, a charging cord and spare, a battery power block, extra dehookers, extra pliers, braid scissors, heavy duty hook cutters, and a first aid kit. Most of it is inexpensive, but losing any one piece can send you back to the dock.
The piece I tell everyone to stick around for is a heavy duty pair of cutters capable of cutting the hooks you are actually fishing with, paired with a good first aid kit. I learned this the hard way after getting a hook all the way through my thumb. Getting a hook in you is not a big deal on its own, but if you are somewhere you cannot get it out, the day is over and you are headed to the emergency room when you could have handled it right there on the boat.
The whole kit starts with the box, and it needs to be fully waterproof and submersible. I use a small Yeti box that says fully submersible right on it. That way, in any rainstorm, or even if the box goes overboard, your gear stays good. Some of what lives in there, like electronics, charging blocks, and a remote control, is sensitive to water, so a truly waterproof container is the foundation everything else sits on.
You always want a communication device and a backup. On my boat I have a VHF radio and I carry a cell phone, but a phone can die, so the first thing I pack is the right charging cord plus a spare, because one is none. Then I add a battery power block so I can get a couple of charges without tapping the boat battery. A way to call for help is a genuine safety device, and redundancy is the whole point.
The five or six cheap things, a boat plug, an extra hat, extra sunglasses, extra sunscreen, a face covering, do not cost much, but if you lose one on the water you have to go back to the dock. An extra live well plug is probably the cheapest safety tool on the boat. If a passenger loses their polarized sunglasses, they cannot see into the water and they are not really experiencing the day. Carrying inexpensive backups keeps you safe and comfortable instead of grounded.
Build it around the type of fishing you do and where you go. If you are doing light panfish fishing you do not need heavy hook cutters, but if you are offshore for marlin or dolphin you need cutters that can handle big hooks. Look hard at the cheap things first, the boat plug, the extra hat, the extra sunglasses, because those are the true day enders. Then add a first aid kit that matches your own ability to handle a problem on the water.
As a guide in fresh and salt water for over twenty years, I put together a kit of things I learned can be total day enders. A lot of it is cheap, but every piece can keep us safe and comfortable on the water. I walk through the whole box and the thinking behind it in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here is exactly how I assemble my everyday carry box. I cover the stories behind each piece in the episode.
I unpack each item in detail in the episode. Press play in the player above.
I once got a hook all the way through my thumb. Getting hooked is not a big deal by itself, but being somewhere you cannot get it out is, because then the day is over and you are headed to the emergency room. That is why I carry heavy duty cutters and a real first aid kit. I tell the whole story in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The boat plug, the extra hat, the extra sunglasses, these cost almost nothing, but lose one and you are running back to the dock. An extra live well plug is probably the cheapest safety tool you can carry. I explain how to think about the inexpensive day enders in the episode, so press play in the player above.
An everyday carry box is the cheapest insurance there is for a good day on the water. Build yours around the fishing you actually do and the place you do it.
Look hard at the cheap things first, then add the safety gear that matches what you can handle. Press play in the player above.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
everyday carry · Danco pliers · Danco split ring pliers · Yeti · power poles · VHF radio · polarized sunglasses · first aid kit · hook cutters · Star brite · Nikon · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
Tom Rowland Podcast — Episode 908: My Everyday Carry (How 2 Tuesday, solo Tom Rowland)
In this episode: the fully submersible box that goes with me everywhere, the cheap day enders like a boat plug and extra sunglasses, backup communication and a power block, and the hook cutters and first aid kit most fishermen forget — in the exact words spoken.
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Tom Rowland: I'm gonna go through my everyday carry. This box is gonna go with me everywhere and I'm gonna show you exactly why because there's incredibly important items in here. Some of them aren't expensive, but a lot of them could be a day ender if you don't have them. And stick around to the end, I'm gonna show you the one that I think is the most important and most fishermen forget. This is how to Tuesday brought to you by Danco on the Tom Rowland podcast. As a guide in fresh and salt water for over twenty years, I put together a kit of things that I've learned that can be total day enders. This little box has a lot of things that are often inexpensive, but can keep us safe and comfortable on the water. I'm gonna go through the whole box.
Tom Rowland: So this whole thing starts with the box. The box needs to be something that is waterproof. Yeti makes a nice little box that you see, it says right here on the, on the box is fully submersible. So that means in any rainstorm, whatever, even if it goes in the water, your stuff's going to be good and there's some stuff in here that is sensitive to water. So you don't want it to get wet.
Tom Rowland: And extra rod wraps might not think that's important at the beginning, but when you're going to take, you know, 20 rods back to the truck, if you lose your rod wrap, it's an inconvenience. I always have a packable rain jacket. Packable rain jacket could actually save your life. You definitely need a packable rain jacket. As a fishing guide, you see this happen at least a few times a day, if not more. And that is when someone is riding in the boat, they're not used to riding in the boat and they look up or something like that, hat off. So I'll always have an extra hat for me or for one of my passengers or customers.
Tom Rowland: Next, you're gonna have, an extra knife. I always need an extra knife because for whatever reason, on my boat right now, I've got several knives. But sometimes a knife might go in the water and if you only have one, you may need this not only for fishing purposes, but you might need to cut trap rope off of your prop. You might need it for something other than fishing to get you back to the dock. That's super important. I always have all my paperwork in a place that's organized and easy to find. Most boats have sunscreen on it, but don't count on someone having sunscreen. Always bring your own sunscreen.
Tom Rowland: Then one of the most important things, as your hat can go flying off, oftentimes people will turn around to look at something behind, their sunglasses will go flying off. So I'll always have at least one or two extra pairs of sunglasses. Again, for me or for my passengers because if someone is out there for the first time fishing and they can't see into the water with a polarized sunglasses, they're not experiencing anything.
Tom Rowland: Some of the smaller items that I take, everything that we do on this particular boat is operated by power poles. So we have our trolling motor up front, we have our power poles in the back. Everything is now operated on a remote control. So if I lose this, it is bad, bad news. When you buy these things, they come with an extra. I make sure that this is charged and I have an extra I have extra live well plugs. These things are probably the cheapest safety tool that you could have on the boat.
Tom Rowland: When it comes to sun protection, we talked about an extra hat, extra sunglasses, extra sun screen. But one of the things that we use is something that will cover up our face. Right? So we use these to cover up our face. So I always have an extra one of those.
Tom Rowland: You always want a communication device and a backup communication device. On my boat, I have a VHF radio. I carry a cell phone. The cell phone could die, so the first thing that I have is a way to charge the cell phone within the boat and so I have the right cord and a spare cord. There's one and one is none. Then, what if the battery dies? It is really important and these things can be, a great safety device to be able to get a couple of charges on your cell phone, without having to plug it into the boat battery. So I'll have one of those blocks.
Tom Rowland: And then we have some other items that are more fishing oriented. A lot of times you might lose a dehooker, goes right in the water, it's gone. So I have a couple of extra dehookers for bait. That's super important. I always have a pair of pliers on me. I wear them on my belt. I'm gonna wear those every single day. But again, something could happen. You can lose those pliers. If you lose those pliers, it becomes very, very problematic to tie the knots, cut the line like you need to, and of course, get the get the fish off the line. So I'll have an extra pair of pliers. And then I have another pair of pliers extra that I have in the boat, and these are split ring pliers. So this has this little tooth at the end. This is the Danco split ring plier. This is operates as a regular fishing plier. It has a cutter and it also has a split ring. I have, extra braid scissors. So when you're really tying special knots, sometimes you need the braid scissors and these are really, really sharp.
Tom Rowland: Now the last thing I told you to stick around till the end because there's there are a couple of pieces of safety equipment that a lot of fishermen don't take and they realize they don't have it at exactly the wrong time. And you can go and see how I realized I didn't have this, with this video of me getting this hook all the way through my hand. I got a hook all the way through my thumb. It's not a big deal. A lot of fishermen get hooks in them, but what is a big deal is if you're in a place where you can't get that hook out for some reason and the day's over, you gotta go back to the emergency room where you could have taken care of it on the boat. What I like to have is a heavy duty pair of cutters that's capable of cutting the hooks that you're fishing with. So if you're just doing a little light panfish fishing, you don't need some heavy duty ones. But if you're out there offshore fishing, maybe marlin fishing or dolphin fishing or something with really big hooks, you need something that's capable of cutting the hooks that you're going to be fishing with.
Tom Rowland: Finally, having a first aid kit. Now I've always got a first aid kit on boats and a lot of boats will have a first aid kit. If you don't know what's in the first aid kit, things can happen and you need a safety gear box that's capable of handling the things that you're capable of handling. So if you're a EMT, then have a box that is is up to your standards. If you're just somebody that thinks you're gonna get a hook in your hand or or, you know, have have a cut, you need to be able to handle that. This is one that I found that I really like. It has all the things that I need and it's incredibly well organized. If I've got somebody that's bleeding, I'm gonna go to the bleeding thing. I need a bandage, splinting, eye, and then I've just got my my, extra pair of gloves. And, you know, luckily, you can see that a lot of this stuff hasn't even been used. Hopefully, that's the same way that your safety kit's gonna look. Hopefully, it never gets used, but you don't wanna go out there, get a hook in your hand, not be able to cut the hook and then not be able to take care of the wound that you have.
Tom Rowland: This is my everyday carry. You can come up with your own everyday carry based upon the type of fishing that you're doing, where you're going, and I encourage you to look at the cheap things. The five or six cheap things like a boat plug, extra sunglasses, and extra hat. These are day enders. They're day enders. If you lose those things, you gotta go back to the dock. It's no big deal to have a little box like this that you carry on any boat and you can make sure that you're gonna be safe and comfortable while you're out there on the water. Good luck.
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