It might be trite to say, but "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". This surely goes for fly fishing just like most things in life.

Planning a fly fishing trip varies by degree of difficulty. If you are going out for the afternoon or day and will be back later that night, then a lot of planning isn't required. However, if you intend on going overnight and a long distance from home, you'll want to sort out the details before you hit the road. This is why it's referred to as planning.

The first step is working out where you'll be going fishing. This may be the easiest or maybe the most difficult part of working out a trip. If you have a friend invite you, or get a hot tip - then the hard work is done. Or, maybe you'll have to sit down with some maps, an atlas or gazeteer, the internet, a few good fly fishing books and whatever other resources you can pull up (don't forget Google Earth) and hash out your plans that way.

Make sure you either bring a GPS or a good set of road maps if you'll be going somewhere you're unfamiliar with. This will pay off big time down the road (no pun intended). You will get turned around or a bit lost when you're somewhere you've never been and it will most likely happen an hour before dusk when you should be on the river getting your dry fly slammed by monster trout.

Where you'll be going fishing will lend to what you'll be fishing for. This is usually a natural progression. Going to a river? Fish for trout, salmon or steelhead. Going to a lake? Maybe you'll be fishing for some warmwater species. What you'll fish for will dictate the gear you bring.

Now the fun part. You know what, where and when. You have the pieces to start packing up your gear. Before you head out, take a light inventory of your gear. You don't have to go through every leader and fly, but make sure you know what you have in your gear bag and fly boxes. Envision yourself standing on the river; do I have my boots, waders, rod, reel, leaders, tippet, etc? It helps to make a checklist. The last thing you want to do is forget a vital piece of equipement that you'll need to get out on the water. Lastly - don't forget your license. This can ruin a trip in a heartbeat. Even if you decide to fish without it.

The night before you take off (most likely getting up early), get all of your gear together and either pack it in the car or place it by the door. Since you've already done a pre-check on all your stuff you know that you have it ready to go and won't have to worry about it in the morning.

Now for the how. Chances are you'll be driving. This is straight forward. Just make sure you have some essentials in the car before you go. A can of fix-a-flat is a good idea and a spare is an even better one. Typically, fly fishing will take you off the beaten path and sometimes the beaten path likes to eat tires. So, there you have it.

Keep a close eye on your gas gauge too. When we drive around town we don't really pay attention to it because we can just stop whenever to fill up. If you're heading into the outback, most likely you won't be seeing many gas stations. Fill up when the opportunity is there and don't go off the beaten path without a half tank in reserve. Could end up in a long walk.

Here is a partial list of some of the things you might need: