One of my fishing buddies is a real wimp. He says he won’t go fishing when the temperature drops below 50. He has had some spectacular days with me in the early season for steelhead, but is off to a slow start this year. On our last trip he noticed how much warmer he was when he put the hood up on the rain gear I loaned to him, and is now considering venturing out in the cold. The lure of getting in on some tremendous days of steelhead fishing is getting to be too much to bear. It made me think about how important it is to dress properly. Wearing some good head gear and having a hood to pull over it when it gets wet makes a huge difference. Staying dry this time of year is very, very important. I don’t care how hi-tech your gear is, if it gets wet, you’re toast. I am in the habit of carrying an extra set of gear in bag, just in case, and it came in handy once again recently. The Wenatchee Wild player on my boat had just arrived from California, and he just hadn’t had time to get any cold-weather clothing. I had some rain pants, a rain jacket, and even an extra pair of socks in my bag, and it made the day tolerable instead of miserable for him. I am used to not only planning for myself but for others that may not be prepared for the kind of days that we face this time of year.