The bank and wade angler's kit: what to carry when you are on foot

On a boat you can carry a tackle box, a cooler and a spare of everything. On foot you carry it all on your back, and a long walk along a creek or a limestone ledge punishes anything you do not need and anything you forgot. This guide is about the things that are not lures: the pack, the tools and the first aid that turn a bad moment, like a hook in your hand or a long walk back in the dark, into a small interruption.

Start with the pack

Pick a small daypack, sling pack or hip pack that keeps your hands free and does not slide around when you climb. Put the things you reach for often, such as pliers, line clippers and a few terminal items, on a vest, a belt pouch or a short lanyard, so you are not digging through a bag with a rod in your other hand. Everything else lives in the pack in a dry bag or zip bags so one slip in the water does not soak your phone, your first-aid kit and your lunch.

The National Park Service's Ten Essentials make a good checklist for the rest, because a fishing trip on foot is a hike with a rod. Its list is: navigation, sun protection, extra clothing, illumination, first-aid supplies, fire, a repair kit and tools, extra food, hydration and emergency shelter. You do not need all of them for a short walk to a pond, but the longer and farther the trip, the more of them you should carry. Here is how they look for an angler:

• Navigation: a phone with an offline map or a downloaded map, and a battery bank. Tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be back, because phone service is not reliable in every river valley.
• Sun protection: TPWD's beginner card says to protect yourself from the sun and hooks with a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen or sun-protective clothing. Sunglasses also keep a hook out of your eye.
• Extra clothing: a rain shell and a warm layer. Texas weather can turn quickly, and see dressing for a cold Texas morning for winter.
• Illumination: a headlamp with a red light mode. Red light is easier on your eyes after dark and less likely to blind the person beside you. The NPS says lighting is important at night and can help you find your way out or signal for help.
• First aid: see below.
• Repair and tools: a small multi-tool or knife, tape, a few spare terminal items and a spool of line.
• Food and water: TPWD says to bring water. Carry more than you think you need for a long walk, and snacks.
• Shelter and fire: a space blanket or poncho is light, and a lighter or matches go in a waterproof bag for a trip far from the car.

Unhooking and cutting tools

• Long-nose pliers with a cutter. TPWD's card suggests a nail or line clipper and hemostats or needle-nose pliers. Many pliers' cutters will not cut hardened hook wire, so test yours before you rely on them.
• A compact pair of side cutters or bolt cutters for hook shanks. If a treble hook is in a hand or a leg a long way from the car, the cutters are the tool that gets you moving.
• Line scissors or snips for braid. Braided line is hard to cut cleanly with a dull blade, so carry something sharp on a retractable lanyard or a clip.
• A knot tool or small pick for cold, wet hands and tiny hook eyes.
• A lip gripper or a net for fish you do not want to hold. TPWD says smaller fish can be held upright by the lower jaw by hand or with grippers, with wet hands, and that you should use a rubber-mesh net, not a cloth one, if you need one.
• A tape measure. Length limits matter more than weight, and TPWD's card lists a measuring tape or fish ruler. A small scale is optional.
• A barbless hook or a pinched barb. TPWD says to mash down the barb or use barbless hooks, which makes any hook easier to remove, from a fish or from you.

When the hook is in you

First-aid notes here come from MedlinePlus and other pages named at the bottom, and they are for information only. They are not medical advice and do not replace a clinician, 911 or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222. If you are unsure, get medical care.

MedlinePlus describes two ways to remove a hook that is just under the skin. In the line method you wash your hands and the area, loop a piece of line through the bend of the hook, press the shank slightly toward the eye so the barb disengages, and give the line a quick jerk. In the wire-cutter method, if the tip is near the surface, push it through the skin, cut the tip off behind the barb, and pull the rest of the hook back out the way it went in. Afterward, wash the wound, apply a loose sterile dressing, do not close it with tape, and watch for redness, swelling, pain or drainage.

MedlinePlus is just as clear about when not to try: do not attempt removal if the hook is deeply embedded or near a joint, a tendon, an eye, an eyelid or an artery. A hook in the eye is an emergency, and it says to go to the nearest emergency room right away. It also says to contact your provider if your tetanus shots are not up to date, or if you are unsure, and that boosters are recommended every 10 years. A good habit is to know your last tetanus date before the season starts.

Footing and the water

• A collapsible wading staff. It gives you a third point of contact, and a place to test the bottom before you step. See waders and wading boots for Texas trout water for boots and soles on slick rock.
• A snug wading belt over your jacket if you wear waders, which can slow water filling them if you fall. It is not a replacement for a life jacket; TPWD's card says non-swimmers should wear one.
• Check the river before you go. See reading a river gauge and the readings with their observed times on the Rivers page. A missing or old reading tells you nothing about the river now.
• Do not wade alone in water you do not know. Tell someone where you are going.

Weather: heat and lightning

The National Weather Service says that when you hear thunder you should move immediately to shelter, meaning a substantial building or an enclosed metal-topped vehicle with the windows up, and stay at least 30 minutes after the last thunder. It adds that if you are caught outside you should move away from ponds, lakes and other bodies of water, and stay off hills and ridges and away from fences and power lines. A rod is a long pole, so lightning is a good reason to be early to the car.

In heat, the NWS lists heavy sweating, weakness, cool and clammy skin, cramps, dizziness and nausea as signs of heat exhaustion, and says to move to a cooler place and sip water, and to get medical help if symptoms worsen or last more than an hour. It calls heat stroke, with confusion, slurred speech and a body temperature above 103°F, a medical emergency that needs a call to 911.

Leave the bank better

TPWD's card says to pack out all litter, even if it is not yours, to use lead-free sinkers and not to dump live bait back into the water. Pick up a loose line or a stray hook while you are there. Keep noise down and give other anglers room.

Keep reading

• The surf and coastal bank kit
• The pier angler's tools and checklist
• Catch and release: handling a fish well

This is general information based on the pages named below, on the dates shown, not medical or legal advice. TPWD's Outdoor Annual and the NWS decide current rules and warnings.

For more reading, we suggest these articles

• TPWD: Fishing Tips for Beginners (PWD CD K0700-0808, 2020) (checked 2026-10-16)
• TPWD: Catch & Release Tips (checked 2026-10-09)
• National Park Service: The Ten Essentials (checked 2026-10-16)
• MedlinePlus: Fishhook removal (checked 2026-10-16)
• National Weather Service: Lightning safety tips (checked 2026-10-16)
• National Weather Service: Heat illness (checked 2026-10-16)

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