A long time ago, multi-piece fly rods were considered junk. The technology to prevent multiple ferrules from compromising the action of the rod simply hadn’t been perfected yet. Fast-forward to the present and we are lucky enough to have a multitude of pack rods that cast just as well as 2-piece rods. Lucky for us, most modern backpacks have the perfect place to store them too. Just slip your case in the side pocket, secure it with a compression strap and you’re off.
My only problem with that is that the cases that come with most fly rods are unnecessarily heavy and are designed more for carrying through the airport than miles into the backcountry. For a while, I started leaving the case behind and just putting a couple of rubber bands around the rod sections before slipping it into the side pocket. That was more than a little precarious and a few snags on branches gave me a good scare on more than one occasion.
When I was first learning about Tenkara fly rods, one of the things I immediately noticed was how thin and light the cases were compared to conventional fly rod cases. Perfect for backpacking, right? I carried the case for a while, very happy with all the weight I was saving. Then, a thought occurred to me.
Do I even need the case? When closed, all of the segments of the telescoping Tenkara rod are safely stowed inside the butt end of the rod and kept in place with an end cap. Since they’re contained in the thickest, strongest part of the rod, I couldn’t see any likely scenario on the trail that could possibly cause damage. So, this became my preferred method. No case, just stick it in the side pocket as is. Without the case (and no need for a reel) I had reduced my total fly fishing setup by many, many ounces without sacrificing anything. I love it when you find the perfect system for you and get to reduce pack weight as a bonus. How do you pack your fly rod?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback!
When it comes time to selecting a new fly fishing chest pack, there are a few things that you are going to want to take into consideration to ensure that you are not only happy with your purchase after it is made, but are also going to get plenty of use out of the chest pack.
works for me
Thanks, that means a lot to me. While I would like to make some money, that’s not the main intent of the site. I just wanted to create something that I wished existed when I started taking a fly rod on my backpacking trips. If I make a few bucks off of it, great. If not, then I still get the privilege of being able to have a meaningful dialogue with others (like you) who share my passion for these two great sports.
-Jason
Hi Jason
I don’t get to do a lot of fly fishing anymore, but I have a trip coming up this spring where I’ll be along a small trout stream in North GA. Most North GA trout streams have low hanging limbs and no room for a back cast, learning to roll cast is a must. On the even smaller and tighter streams like the one where I will be, I will flip the fly parallel to the water and under the over hanging brush and under cuts, think of it as using a sling shot with a fly, it’s not artful, but it’s effective. For this type of fishing I leave my Sage and Orvis at home and take my el Cheapo, basically it’s a rod tip glued into a foam handle. I tie the line to the handle, thread it through the eye, tie on the fly and flip. I carry about 12′ of line, a 15″ leader, 24″ of tippet and small assortment of dries and nymphs flies. I catch mostly Rainbows 8-10″ and lots of keychain size. The rod and foam handle are 24″ and weigh 1.1 oz.
Even with a 24″ rod in the side pocket of my pack the tip still gets caught on low hanging limbs and vines. Now comes the MYOG rod case, I went to Home Depot and bought a fluorescent bulb tube, about $2, found in the lighting department, cut the tube to length and capped the ends. The tubes come with end caps one end I glued the cap in place with epoxy the top end I used a plastic bottle cap, it fits tight enough to carry w/o falling out. Case weighs 1.1 oz with rod 2.2 oz.