Great thread with a lot of great info! One peice of safety gear that most people forget about is eye protection! Whether it's your presciption eyewear or just a set of clear safety glasses, you need to protect your eyes. A lure coming back at you at warp speed is bad news, but it could be catastrophically life changing if you catch said lure with your eyeballs! Also, even though we don't run wide open, hitting a bug at 10-25 mph could put a fast end to your fishing. Personally, I've had eyeware save my vision twice while fishing...once at night & once during daylight hours.
