Traveling with your fly fishing gear

January 08, 2017

Hat, check. Breathable shirt, check. Toothbrush, check. Underwear, check. Hmmmm, “what about the fly fishing gear”? Great question. Traveling with your favorite fly rod or with a fly box full of critically important flies can be a little stressful. Nothing makes a fly angler pucker like the uninvited image of a broken rod tip or lost luggage containing his best flies. And while I am certainly no travel “expert”, I did have the opportunity to ponder this issue while sipping an overpriced brew in an overcrowded bar while waiting for a really delayed flight (the mind will wander). Here are some of the things that passed through the space between my ears.

First off, planning is everything. It is one thing to grab your gear on a whim and throw it in your trusted rig and dash off to the local hot spot and another to travel 3000 miles with three layovers and a long ground transfer. Some planning is certainly in order.

Next, take stock of what it is you really want to take with you. Then, put half of that back in the garage. Space is always a premium and you don’t have room for the 24 inch net or the 2 extra fishing hats. Stick to the basics. It has always amazed me just how little it takes to enjoy a day of fly fishing when I am forced to scrutinize each piece. Also avoid taking your most expensive gear when the less expensive stuff will do. Theft does happen, as a couple of degenerates in Maui recently reminded me. R.I.P. trusty 8 weight.

Air travel adds a whole new element of difficulty……..can you say “TSA”? Thank the Taliban, but we can’t take our fly box full of ‘potentially deadly weapons” (yeah, maybe to fish) as a carry-on any more. Darn those terrorists. Some Airlines are no longer allowing rod tubes in the overhead now. This means that you are guaranteed to have to check a bag. While this is a definite pain in the behind, it has the advantage of letting you take a bigger bag and therefor more stuff. Here is the place to put the fly gear. Take care to pad it well inside the suitcase and make sure it won’t move around when being handled. Secure your fly box lids and consider some tape to keep them from spilling their precious contents.

Never travel with your fly rod minus a hard case. Soft cases just aren’t good enough and I don’t need to tell you what can happen if carry your rod around under your arm with no case. Two piece rods are hard to take. They don’t fit in the overhead compartments and won't go into a suitcase. The ideal set-up is a 4 or 5 piece rod with hard case either with or without reel pouch. These will actually fit in a large suitcase and can then be checked plus now your rod is double protected.

Avoid the lost luggage nightmare by double checking with the baggage clerk that the destination is correct and that the tags are well secured to your bags. Also have ID tags on your bags, so that if it does miss a transfer the chances of it finally getting to you before your fishing trip is over go up. Then say a little prayer to the fly god’s and rub your lucky fishing license.

If you are going to pack waders and boots (which is almost always), also pack a large trash bag to wrap them in. This is so that during a change in location or on the return trip you won’t get river slime all over the rest of your cloths.

Other things to remember:

You probably need a fishing license wherever you are going.

The weather may be different there, pack appropriately.

If traveling alone, let someone know where you are going (don’t be a news story).

Well, that’s as far as I got before my flight finally boarded, hope that helps those of you considering some “distance fly fishing” for the first time. I’ll look for you at the airport. I’ll be the guy clutching his fly case and fending off the the ignorant flight attendant that is trying to take it from him.

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