UL chest tackle pack?

[Mark Jones]

Any recommendations for an UL chest takle pack to hold a couple of fly boxes, tippet material and tools? Most of the ones commecially available are far too heavy for UL backpacking.

Thanks.

Mark.

[Miguel Arboleda]

Have you considered the OMM (Original Mountain Marathon) Trio Chest Pouch? 4 liters and only weighs 160 grams with a waterproof interior. I use one and it is the best I've found. Specifically redesigned last year after numerous suggestions from mountain marathon runners.

Take a look here, too.

[Mark Jones]

Miguel,

Thanks for the reply and suggestions. I did a little research and found what appears to be suitable for my needs with the May Fly Lanyard Pouch. It is available on line at Cabelas.

.

[William Herron]

I simply have a bandana rigd with fly's lures of the sort that raps around my hat while fishing, forceps and clipper/jigbuster hang from neck on a peice of triptease. when packd i rap it all up and put in a snack size ziplock and place with emergency gear. you know the stuff you dont venture away from your pack without.

[kevin smith]

fishpond san juan vertical chest pack these are great

i got mine from the gorge fly shop online carries everything i need in a lightweight package

my friend carries the mayfly pouch and loves it too

either would be superb

divr6347

[Richard Gless]

I carry my forceps, clippers, fly dope, with zingers as appropriate, etc. on just a loop of cord around my neck. The flyboxes go into my shirt pockets. Why carry a chest pack when you don't really need the extra weight. But again we all have our luxuries and preferences. Just a suggestion.

[Ryan Jordan]

I used to use the Mayfly Chest Pouch – an older model that was about half the weight of the new model. Now I'm consolidated to two tiny fly boxes in the backcountry, and use a Simblissity Unslack Pack that's had some fluff removed (shock cord and top webbing strap) and a single Spectra cord lanyard added back, and an alligator clip to the bottom webbing loop (to clip to my shirt which keeps it from flopping), which brings the weight down to 0.7 oz (20 g). I wear it around my neck whether fishing with my pack or without it from camp.

Inside it are:

1. A Morell Mini foam fly box with dry flies and a really thin mini magnetic fly box with beadhead nymphs (droppers).

2. Two or three tippet spools (usually 4x-6x or 3x-5x).

3. A MicroZip bag with my license, spare leader, strike indicator, floatant (I use Hydrophobe which comes in a tiny tube and is only available in France it seems, but I used to get mine from Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone), and a MiniDrop bottle that holds about 16 split shot.

RJ

[Craig]

I now use a lanyard (to which I attach a small C&F fly box) and a dedicated fishing shirt, which has pockets for any knick knacks I want to take with me, and allows me to take another fly box (the only reason I carry more than one box is that I'm too lazy to transfer flies, so have a couple of boxes with almost everything in them). Or you can put food bars in and lights in the pockets for the evening fish. Compass, emergency gear, belt attached water bottle, steriliser, knife.

This is very minimal and v low weight. If I need to carry more gear (e.g. long day and evening with long trek out, or spring fishing), then its a bum bag mostly – cool bag, keeps the gear to essentials.

The lanyard needs a firm clip to the shirt so you don't lose it.

[Richard Lyon]

Like Craig I use a dedicated fishing shirt with plenty of pockets, and add either my old Mayfly pouch or a "necklace" to which attach nippers, small fly box, floatant, tippet spool. These are available in many fly shops in the Rockies.

[WV Hiker]

Ryan,

Since Hydrophobe doesn't seem to be available to us mere mortals what will you use when you can't get it?

[Paul Thornburg]

Flyfishing for me is usually the main focus of any backpacking trip. Traditionally, I have always taken a Jansport schoolbook type backpack that I would stuff into my main backpack. This worked well, as all my flyfishing gear (sans rod) would be kept together and ready to be grabbed at a moment's notice. My daypack can also hold enough drinking water and food to keep me fishing all day before returning to camp. Additionally, I can keep fish to be consumed later in a plactic ziplock in my daypack.

As a recent convert to lightweight backpacking, I weighed my empty Jansport and found it to be an astonishing 12.5 ounces! Much too heavy for this newly enlightened one.

Solution: I found an extremely lightweight polyester child's backpack at the 99 cent store that weighs in at 2.3 ounces! It's large enough to hold all my fishing gear (including 2 or 3 flyboxes), food and water for the day, as well as the day's catch. It fits fairly comfortably on my not-too-broad shoulders. The lightweight construction wouldn't stand up to heavy bushwacking, but at 99 cents, who cares if I ruin it? Problem solved!

[Jason Klass]

Mark,
In case you haven't seen it, I just put this one up on my site. It's a sub-one ounce pack that can be worn around your neck, on the shoulder strap of your pack, or on your belt: http://backpackflyfishing.com/blog/2010/08/03/the-trico-ultralight-fly-fishing-pack/

[Stephen Barber]

Jason's Ebira rod quiver and his Trico pouch (the one he mentions above) just arrived, and just in time for a quick trip to the Golden Trout Wilderness on Monday!

I've been using the Mayfly lanyard pouch this last year, and the difference in weight between the two, for essentially the same functionality, is amazing. The Trico weighs 0.7 oz on my scale without the lanyard, 0.9 oz with it. By comparison, the Mayfly weighs 4.1 oz. And in terms of straight-forward fishability, it looks to me like the Trico scores higher there as well.

The Ebira rod quiver looks like a nice bit of gear. It is specifically for tenkara style rods. One size fits the Hane, and another fits the TenkaraUSA rods. I like the idea of being able to securely carry my rod over my shoulder while pushing through the brush and over the boulders that line most of our small streams out here. The Ebira comes with a small detachable pouch – I'm waffling on whether or not to carry that. The Trico is more functional, but the Ebira pouch might be nice for an extra line or tippet spool, along with a Power Bar (or Daniel's sea salt!).

When I get back from Golden Trout, I'll try to have a complete report along with photos.

Just at first glance though, these two look like great pieces of gear.

Edit: The Ebira Rod Quiver is a Trailite Design item sold by Jason. I apologize for any offense to the designer and producers.

[Kai Larson]

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/4305,72761_William-Joseph-Ultralight-Fishing-Chest-Pack.html

They are currently out of production, but if you can find one of these old William Joseph packs on ebay or the like, it might fit your bill. Light, and big enough to carry a day's worth of gear if you pack it thoughtfully.

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