Backpacking fishing gear

[judders87]

I'm gonna be hiking in Glacier National this fall and was debating bringing a fishing rod since we are staying on lakes 4/6 nights we're there. What set-ups do you run? Trying to go packable and somewhat lightweight.

 

[Poser]

Deep dive topic for sure. Some folks just take a short rod and some flies in a container.
I generally bring my chest rig along with forceps, flies, and a small, collapsible net. Kind of depends on much of a focus the fishing is vs. other objectives.

 

[judders87]

Deep dive topic for sure. Some folks just take a short rod and some flies in a container.
I generally bring my chest rig along with forceps, flies, and a small, collapsible net. Kind of depends on much of a focus the fishing is vs. other objectives.

Gotcha. I don't flyfish but was thinking of getting a small lightweight spinning combo to take. How the miles shakeout on our hike it seems like I will have a lot of time to fish. Guess I need to see what all I can fit into a chest rig.

 

[taskswap]

If you don't have specific requirements, you could do a lot worse than a Tenkara rod, or one of its cheaper clones.

I own two knockoff collapsible rods myself, one saltwater and one more for lakes. Both have small spinning reels. The saltwater one is very undersized for its job (I was surf-casting and really needed another foot of length - it would have been fine on a dock) but the reel is surprisingly good. The freshwater one is junk and I never use it. YMMV.

 

[The_Jim]

I just take a 4 piece rod and strap a little bag with some flies and basic supplies to my pack.

A collapsible spinner with some panther martins is much more convenient though.

 

[TaperPin]

If I’m not fly fishing, an ultralight 1lb to 4lb medium stiff spinning rod anywhere from 5’ to 7’ and rigged up with 4 lb stren does a great job of lobbing small casting bubbles or lures. High lakes without agricultural runoff have fewer subsurface bugs and get a lot of surface takes all summer, often a few feet from the shore. Some guys fishing lures aggressively do really well at times, but it’s hard to compete with basic flies even fished poorly. The best a lure guy can do is use droppers.

The hairs ear nymph is a small (1/2” ish) subsurface fly that can be tied as a dropper off a lure. Half the time a fish will take the bigger one and half the time they key in on the dropper.


A 2-1/2” black woolybuger is a great streamer for lakes that swims like a leach. It’s a juicy treat that will bring big trout a long way and leaches don’t swim all that fast so it works retreaved slow or fast like a minnow. I use it so much on a casting bubble it’s what’s rigged up 9 times out 10, usually with a hair ear dropper. I’d fish it a lot like a lure. There’s no reason it can’t be a big dropper off a spinner or spoon.

 

[justinspicher]

I use a tenkara rod and a small box of flies and supplies. It’s about a pound altogether.

 

[rogerdoger]

If you are bringing a spinner bring as others of said, panther martin, etc. I also like to bring an adjusta bubble and flies, the clear ones, and wet and dry flies. You can add water to them, enough to get the fly out but still float. Good way to fish small flies with a spinner.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Gotcha. I don't flyfish but was thinking of getting a small lightweight spinning combo to take. How the miles shakeout on our hike it seems like I will have a lot of time to fish. Guess I need to see what all I can fit into a chest rig.

Daiwa Presso 5 piece rod.

https://a.co/d/3pFw9Qe

Penn Fierce 1000 or any 1000 size reel.

Amazon.com : Penn FRCIII1000 Fierce III 1000 Spin Reel RH/LH Front Drag, 5 BRG : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Penn FRCIII1000 Fierce III 1000 Spin Reel RH/LH Front Drag, 5 BRG : Sports & Outdoors

a.co

Super Duper ultralight spoons.

Amazon.com : South Bend Sporting Goods Super Duper Chrome/Silver Prism-Lite, 1-1/8" (1303-501-0150) : Fishing Spoons : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : South Bend Sporting Goods Super Duper Chrome/Silver Prism-Lite, 1-1/8" (1303-501-0150) : Fishing Spoons : Sports & Outdoors

a.co

I spool mine with 10lb braid and top with 10' of 6# flourocarbon. Something about those tiny little Super Dupers. I've fished right next to people throwing all sorts of other things including various bait or eggs and caught fish after fish while they get nothing. I've caught brookies and rainbow ls on them, can't remember getting any browns. Any reel with work but man I love that rod.

Edit: Sorry for the Amazon links, just easier because I can just pull up my order history.

 

[GunsAreFun]

3-4 piece ultralight rod with a spinning reel, some spinners and small jerkbaits. You can either carry a small net or get something like a laundry bag and a willow branch to make a net. Trout are sock as snot. It’s hard to land them without harming them without a net.

 

[ztc92]

I've caught a pile of fish on both fly and spinning rods in the alpine lakes in the 5 years since I moved out west. As others have said, in very secluded lakes it's hard to beat dry flies as this seems to be the primary food source. In my opinion, you don't need anything fancy. My first fly rod was a cheap kit from amazon and my first spinning rod was a 4-piece berkely from wal-mart.

That said, like anything, better gear can make it far more enjoyable and perhaps help your success to a degree, if you have the skill to utilize it. I just decided to make an upgrade to my spinning rod setup and settled on this affordable but very nice combination from a local cabelas that I found on sale. I'd suggest something like this if you plan to use a spinning rod and pack it in with you.

This rod in 6' 6" medium-light is a great little 4-piece rod that comes with a carrying case (pretty bulky and heavy to hike with but great to use for airplane or travel).

https://www.cabelas.com/p/bass-pro-shops-fish-eagle-spinning-travel-rod

I added this reel and some 6 pound monofillament. Whatever reel you get, make sure the handle can easily be broken down or removed as this is prone to breaking when hiking with a fishing rod/reel.

https://www.cabelas.com/p/bass-pro-shops-micro-lite-elite-spinning-reel?gQT=1

For lures, I use a combination of panther martin, little cleo, spoons and mepps. I have found the most success with panther martin yellow blade, black dots and gold spinner. That said, I like having a good variety as sometimes fish can be picky. I've also found adding a swivel with safety snap helps a lot with getting the line too tangled from the spinner, also makes changing lures much faster when time is limited. I carry them in a small plano plastic box that is a little bigger than a deck of cards. It holds about 6 spinners, a few spoons and a couple of slip-shot + swivels.

Last, I always bring a hemostat as I try to release any fish I don't plan to eat and often trout get the hook deep enough it can be a pain to remove.

I've never weighed my setup but I would guess its 1-2 pounds for everything I bring.

One final thought - I've never done it but there is a way to fish dry-flies with a spinning rod. I prefer to use a fly rod as I find it more fun but a setup like this might be a great way to get fish feeding on the surface if all you have is a spinning rod.

 

[CMF]

For those of you packing multi piece rods, have you done anything to mitigate losing a section? Do some just put together tighter?
We had a small uglystik 2 pc spin combo on a spring bear hunt in Idaho and my daughter got hung up, popped the line and the top of the rod went into the lake. I went for dip for it in freezing cold water, but couldn't turn it up with all the grass.

 

[rogerdoger]

For those of you packing multi piece rods, have you done anything to mitigate losing a section? Do some just put together tighter?
We had a small uglystik 2 pc spin combo on a spring bear hunt in Idaho and my daughter got hung up, popped the line and the top of the rod went into the lake. I went for dip for it in freezing cold water, but couldn't turn it up with all the grass.

if needed bring some electrical tape

 

[Ferrulewax]

For those of you packing multi piece rods, have you done anything to mitigate losing a section? Do some just put together tighter?
We had a small uglystik 2 pc spin combo on a spring bear hunt in Idaho and my daughter got hung up, popped the line and the top of the rod went into the lake. I went for dip for it in freezing cold water, but couldn't turn it up with all the grass.

Cheaper rods tend to come apart a little bit easier, probably just looser tolerances on the sections. That said, if you apply the sections tight, with a quarter twist that seems to hold better for me. You can also use ferrule-wax to add some friction on looser sections, but most modern rods don’t need it.

As far as loosing a section, in all but really rare cases it’s probably mostly user error, but not much you can do with kids. They are tough on gear.

 

[mostlybirch]

I have caught a lot of trout hand casting flies and reeling around a stick or fly box, the ultimate in ultralight. Other times if a good willow is available tying off to the end.

 

[dribeerfeht]

For those of you packing multi piece rods, have you done anything to mitigate losing a section? Do some just put together tighter?
We had a small uglystik 2 pc spin combo on a spring bear hunt in Idaho and my daughter got hung up, popped the line and the top of the rod went into the lake. I went for dip for it in freezing cold water, but couldn't turn it up with all the grass.

Try putting parrafin wax on the ferrules. I noticed it both lubricates and allows me to fit them tighter.

 

[Pilsner]

Tenkara for the win - if weight is the concern. I have a medium light 6' four piece spinning setup from Bass Pro Shop that works great for small streams and lakes. Heavier and bulkier but not horrible.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

For those of you packing multi piece rods, have you done anything to mitigate losing a section? Do some just put together tighter?
We had a small uglystik 2 pc spin combo on a spring bear hunt in Idaho and my daughter got hung up, popped the line and the top of the rod went into the lake. I went for dip for it in freezing cold water, but couldn't turn it up with all the grass.

No concerns with the Daiwa Presso, they stick together nice and firmly.

 

[Ferrulewax]

Ditto the diawa presso, alternatively the diawa spinmatic is pretty solid as well.

 

[Idaho Mtns]

Lots of good tips posted by others. Will take a fly rod and a lightweight spinner as backup. My 10mm semi auto in the Kenai chest holster goes everywhere I go outdoors. Doesn’t interfere with fly fishing at all. Careful in Glacier, that place is loaded with grizzlies. And for those that aren’t familiar, you can carry in a NP. Good luck and post some pics when you go this fall.