Fishing with a backpack.
- This topic has 12 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated Oct 22, 2009 at 9:11 pm by
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I used to fish with a backpack a good bit, just an old one from rei that i had from school, but it had hydration capabilities which was nice. it is convenient for trips where you shed & add layers a good bit, but you nailed the fly box dilemma. if you go that route your best bet is to use a lanyard and small fly boxes that fit in shirt pockets or wader chest pockets.
William Joseph, Exodus pack. I fished with this pack on for a 26.5 mile fly-fishing marathon for about 28 hours. Just need to take it off to change layers. Boxes, tippet, nippers, pocket knife, etc… all in front pockets. You can also unclip the vest pockets and just use it as a pack. This is my favorite fishing pack so far.
Me and my mutt, after about 22 hours of fishing.absolutely.
i currently fish with a north face bag
it has 3 sections
the front is small and i keep tippet spools and fly boxes in there. i can keep 3 big mono spools and 4-5 fly boxes in there.the next compartment is small. i keep lighter, stogie cutter, spilt shot, swivels, and tipet material in that one.
the next is the main compartment. i keep water, extra layers, food, dslr, and other bulky items in there.
there is a section that velcros to the back that separates for a seat cushion. i keep a home made seine net between that pad and the backpack.
the shoulder straps and hip compression straps both have zipper compartment that can store other chatchkeys
i can also attach my ice axe to the back when going down canyons and hills in the winter.
i wear a lanyard with nippers, hemos, and other gadgets
the bag can be stashed on shore or hung from a tree if i am fishing in the same area
otherwise, it is on my back. if i need to get tippet our flies, i simply connect the waist strap and swing the bag around.
my chest packs and vests are collecting dust in my gear closet.A fly fishing marathon? 😮
Never heard such a thing, but sure sounds like fun.I don’t mean to change the subject, but here’s a bit about this year’s Cuttie-thon, that I posted on a bamboo blog. I believe Cameron Mortenson wrote a bit about it on his blog, and maybe here.
The 5th Annual Cuttie-thon is about to begin! Lead [-]
08/10/09 08:40:55
Well, I leave the evening of Aug. 10th, from western Montana and head for NW Wyoming, to Jackson Hole, then on to find camp and the starting line on the Greys River, to begin the 5th annual Cuttie-thon. For those who haven’t heard of the event, you can read a bit about it at: http://www.cuttiethon.org, but briefly, it is a true fly-fishing marathon where participants fish by wading upstream for a minimum of 26.2 miles in one continuous effort. I started the event to raise money for native Cutthroat trout populations, and to encourage those with diabetes to live adventurous lives; I am a type I diabetic. The first three ‘Thons were done on the Yellowstone River in the Paradise Valley. Last year I partnered with Wyoming Trout Unlimited and moved the event to the Greys River to help with TU’s fund-raising efforts for several projects they are working on.We will start Wed., Aug. 12th and continue well in to the 13th, finishing about 33 hours after we started. I figure it’s the most extreme fly-fishing event in the world, where participants fish a longer distance and time than anyone has documented, on foot. The Greys route is about 26.5 miles long.
I have custom-roasted coffee, for sale at $12/bag. It is roasted by Salmonfly Coffee Roasters in Butte, MT, and is some of the best French Roast I have had. It is whole bean to protect flavor and wake your ass up!
Also, film-maker Justin Stroup, will be filming a documentary on the Cuttie-thon and myself! I’m pretty stoked about this project and hope it will get people fired-up to help. Justin is starting his own filming business, and chose to donate time and equipment to do a documentary on me this year. The film will be shown at festivals around the country, hopefully including the fly-fishing film festival as well as other events. I’ll keep you updated, as the project builds speed. Interviews start this evening.
Please make checks payable to Cuttie-thon Foundation, 606 S. Main St., Buffalo, WY 82834. Just make a note of how many bags of coffee you want, and we’ll fire ’em off to you.
Mojo pointing a Snake River Cutthroat I caught after about 24 hours of fishing. The rod is a Matt Schliske creation: http://www.bamboo-fisher.com, he donated for my use last year on the Greys. It was a great rod that went all 26.5 miles for 33 1/2 hours, and caught more fish than any other rod on the river!
The 2009 Cuttie-thon route.I finished the 5th annual Cuttie-thon on Aug. 13th, finishing the 26.5 mile course in a record time a bit more than 28 hours of fishing! My younger brother Robert and a buddy of his completed the event with me. We had a good time–considering we were exhausted. We finished filming for the documentary, which should be rough-edited in about a month. That was interesting to fish while on camera and do interviews. Don’t worry, I lied about the flies I used. We did do a little Q&A on the wonders of bamboo rods and why I make/fish ’em. That should be pretty cool. I ended up landing 26 fishies, 21 of which were Snake River Cutts., and the others were also native fish, but a bit whiter…. I fished the rod I’ve been working on to throw big flies/streamers, and my brother fished the Dickerson variation I made him for Christmas. That was pretty cool. Thanks for your support. It was a great event and will continue to build cfs, to a raging torrent of fishing craziness.
Below are some pics. from the event–note the shots with my new underwater camera!
A decent Snake River Cuttie late in the first day of the Cuttie-thon.
My biggest SRC, 16 1/2″, next to my newest creation, an 8′ 8″, 6 wt, hollow-built, big-bug tosser!Some underwater goodness…
Alex, Robert’s friend, fishing a log-jam on the Greys.
Robert, walking toward the finish line–only about 18 miles upstream from this point!
Robert and Ariell changing directions after running right in to (within a rod’s length) a cow moose and her calf! You can see
the cow in the left hand side of the picture. We re-routed and manage to make it upstream
without incident.…At any rate, I beat the hell out of gear during this event. It’s a good test to see how things work. Waders need to fit perfectly, gear needs to work perfectly, boots need to grip the frickin’ rocks, I need to tie better knots, etc… 😉 I do like a good pack. Some friends just used Osprey packs, and they liked ’em quite a bit. You can always just put a couple spools of tippet and a small box of flies in yer pocket. That with a lanyard should keep one from having to remove a pack too much. Water bladders sure help, however.
Tim: That is awesome! Yes that spot is something else. And yes, we didn’t find any fish either;-( Not there, anyway.
Cole: I do have some videos. I’ll try and post them tomorrow.
And I would love to get more anglers involved. I haven’t done much marketing for the event, b/c I’ve been busy working on my book. But I should have that done soon, so will have more time to get the word out. Glad you all are interested! 🙂
I love fishing with a pack, as do most of the guys I fish with. The only thing that would be really nice is a fishing specific waterproof pack for camera gear. I had been using a aquaknot for about 10 months, but it is already falling apart. Currently using the WJ Exodus ….
I just picked up the Watermark “Drake” pack from http://www.fishwest.com
$44 bucks, free ship , had one or two left.
During the extended hot summers we have here, I sometimes use a Camelbak MULE. I can carry everything I need to fish, lunch, 100oz’s of water/ice, a shell, and lash a net to the back. There is also a small padded pocket on the top that my camera fits in. It is narrow and allows full range of motion. For extended trips I use an old Gregory day pack. The additional volume comes in handy when you shed layers or are carrying gear for more then one.
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