Packing for an adventure fly fishing trip is an art. With the limits on bag weight, numbers of bags, size, etc, the process can be exasperating. Not to mention the judiciary treatment we all receive by some of the airline personnel. I will never forget being accosted by the sweetest, most delicate looking fragile flower of a gate attendant. She wasn’t happy about the size of my carryon backpack which, was nothing more than a day pack. As we stood there with her trying to take my backpack from me, two people walked right past with expedition size backpacks. She started yelling at them, then called for security to accost them as well. We all went to “the room.” The dreaded room of inquisition. A half hour later, I was granted safe passage along with my backpack. I’m not sure if the gate attendant was more disgusted that she lost the battle or the fact that I asked for her number. She was kinda hot after all.
Now days, when I’m not traveling to one the Deneki Lodges that I work at regularly, I travel with one duffel bag and one daypack. Thats it. My rule of thumb is that if it won’t fit in either of those two pieces of luggage, I do not need it. Often times, I can do a week trip to Andros South with only my waterproof backpack as a carryon and sans the duffel all together. Sun shirts and quick dry pants don’t take up much room. As far as tackle, I can stuff a 7 weight and a 9 weight in one rod tube strapped to the outside of my pack. One reel for each rod, one bonefish fly box, some leaders, tippet and that’s it. Minimal.
Packing for a trip to Rapids Camp Lodge is a little different situation. My advice is to get one of the large airline approved rolling duffles that will accept four piece fly rod tubes and gear in the bottom with a divider for clothes on the top. I have one of these made by Fishpond. It is ruggedly awesome and well thought out. Using that piece along with a backpack, I can travel just about anywhere in the world to fish for a week. If you use full size Spey rods, get a separate travel tube just for them. Its worth the extra baggage fee. The agony of trying to figure out how to stuff a couple of 14’ Spey rods in a duffel safely will break you.
If you follow the less is more mindset while packing, your airport life will certainly be much easier. Nobody wants to go to “the room.” Ever.
Thanks for reading!
Chad Bryson
Head Guide Rapids Camp Lodge
In another life when I was working I travelled 30 weeks a year for 20 years working in 5 countries. Fishing wise I have fished most of the fresh and saltwater of Australia and NZ and fished in 12 other countries. So I know how to travel light.
I’ve been retired for 22 years so I have done a fair amount of travel with saltwater Fly Fishing.
I have used several types of Roller Bags, the first one was a split one and it got the flick because the wheels were too small. Then I went to a 120Lt Roller Trolley which has served me well. The current bag is a Kathmandu 80L Roller Trolley which is a better size for the job. I’ve been carrying rods in tubes on aircraft since 1978 so I have the tubes worked out. If I carrying more than 6 4 piece rods I use a 6″ dia tube which has holes drilled in it to cut the weight. All rods are in 4 compartment bags. So far I have not had a breakage.
I have a priced packing list for each of my destinations as the gear and requirements are different. I do mine in a spread sheet. Sheet one is the priced packing sheet. This is linked to sheet 2 which is my Insurance Claim sheet in the event of my baggage being lost in transit. It is surprising how quick the response is when the person on the counter sees the size of the dollars being claimed for six outfits and spares plus flies and all of the other gear. A copy of the list goes to the person who is my contact at home and my “In Case Of Accident” contact and a copy goes in each piece of luggage. That is hand bag, carryon bag and booked luggage. I also carry an electronic copy of the file in my hand luggage. To date I have only had to go to the claims counter once and they took 20 minutes to find my luggage. Cheers
PS
14ft 4 piece rods in a tube will fit in a Kathmandu 120L Roller Trolley Bag. You can buy them in the US
Great story and less is definitely more when travelling!
We had to go to “the room” on the other side once, that is in the arrival hall, because one of our (airline-approved) bags had not been transported to Bangkok. Luckily they were able to deliver it to our hotel the next day and it worked out with how we had planned our trip in the end (not much wiggle-room left though!)
Nevertheless, the more you take, the more can get lost, break, or cause problems like the ones you encountered.