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Tips and tricks for backpacker trout fishing.

Backpacker fishing is quite different from the "conventional wisdom" of trout fishing.

It is a new challenge!

When fishing at near home localities it is easy to load up the car with all one's fishing gear, excluding the kitchen sink, and have a happy and productive excursion.

It is a different ball game if your fishing gear is confined to what you can reasonably carry in your backpack or wheely bag. Many comfort items such as clothes, toilet gear, guide books etc have first priority. So your fishing gear is restricted to the bare minimum and that being the most effective to cover a wide range of fish habitats.

I am assuming that as a backpacker you intend roaming widely in some region where you can reasonably expect to catch trout, such as the USA, Southern Africa, South America or Australasia.

So what to do? What gear to take?

If you are a golfer, and many anglers are, or have been, I suggest the following experiment.

Let's say you are a competent golfer and regularly score a round of 85 say, using a full set of clubs carried in a wheelie bag. Next time out just carry two clubs and no wheelie bag (I suggest a five iron and putter) and see what your score is. Once you have accustomed yourself to this restriction I predict your score will be only 10 more than usual, or perhaps better!

The point I am making is that with backpacker fishing you have to compromise! Don't worry that you have to leave behind your favorite expensive fly rod or best spinning rod. You are allowed only one rod and it must do everything! You need a "backpacker rod" that will cope with all types of fishing and will pack away to almost nothing.

When traveling I carry a 7 foot, 5 piece, carbon fiber rod (Snake River model by Shakespeare) which is fine for both fly fishing and spin fishing, as it has a reversible handle. It takes a weight #7 fly line, preferably a floating one or slow sinker. You need a matching fly reel and spinning reel to go with it. With this outfit you can cope with almost all eventualities.

So far so good. What else. You can't take any waders. You have to wade wet. Wear shorts and old gym shoes. And no landing net. You must learn to beach your fish or pick it up by the gills.

It is a great advantage in being able to both fly and spin fish on a river or lake during one fishing excursion. Small streams may favor the fly rod approach but rivers and lakes favor a combination of both techniques, depending on the terrain and other factors.

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