I forgot my kayak seat

What is missing from these pictures?





The ice fishing in Western Montana has been demolished by week after week of above-freezing temperatures, so Saturday night I started packing up my ice fishing gear, and I threw together my kayak fishing gear.  Or almost all of my kayak fishing gear.  When I arrived at Flathead Lake Sunday morning, I realized that I had forgotten to load my kayak seat into my vehicle.  Dang.  Fortunately my tackle box served as a backrest, and I was able to get in a full day of fishing without any discomfort.  I’m pretty sure I won’t forget my kayak seat when packing for my next kayak fishing trip.  But I’ll probably forget something else.

Now that's one tough Montana mountain man

i made that painful mistake once, and won't make it again. i now make it a rule of thumb to store my seat in my front hatch when not in use.

So, I haven't forgotten my seat before, but nets, harpoon, or other items that I take for granted. I guess it is part of the aging process, so now I have a check list that I use when loading things in the truck.

Checklists.  I love checklists!   

ahh, but what if you forget your checklist?

and that's what i have a checklist for all my checklists

Yep, paper copy in the truck, and saved on the phone. Because losing it is a definite possibility.

Good thing that's not a Vantage CT Outback!

I like to rig the boat on the ground in the yard the day before, then load the gear in the Subaru put the boat on lock it and - bam Bob's your uncle..... Of course I have still managed to forget a few things. 

ahh, but what if you forget your checklist?

and that's what i have a checklist for all my checklists

I usually create the checklist on my work phone during work, and then on Wed when I'm off I email the list to my personal phone. 

Then the time leading up to the day of departure I get everything out and physically verify its existence.  Pile it all up at the front of the garage, or pack it all in my trailer.

Forgotten paddles.....worst situation ever.

Ha.  I've done all of the rookie mistakes...  I've forgotten my paddle, my boots, my seat, I've forgotten to take the bungee off the rudder, I've forgotten to take my wheels out (twice).  I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting...
I think INSAYN follows me around fishing out of morbid curiosity, wondering what I'm going to do next.

Forgotten paddles.....worst situation ever.

I carry a cheaper spare paddle inside my hull. Haven't used it yet .... Knock on roto molded plastic!

Bummer!  It's easy to forget things.  I'm usually good and dannybay gets so excited to get on the water he might forget a thing or two but last time we went out on Detroit Lake, I grabbed his dry suit.  We ended up at the lake fully ready to go except I had no dry suit, no boots- nothing except my summer running shoes I wear in water, my fishing pfd and what I was wearing.  Don saw his dry suit already hanging in the truck and thought I had grabbed both. I ended up still kayaking but stayed closer to the shoreline in case anything happened I could get to shore before hypothermia set in. 
Glad you still got out and had a good day. 

What is missing from these pictures?
...
But I’ll probably forget something else.

Pete, with the amount of gear that you load onto a kayak, who knows what's missing?! Ahh yes, just look for any exposed yellow!