Packing List for a Two Days Fly Fishing Trip

This is the packing list for a two days fly fishing trip I used for my recent adventure to a remote river in the backcountry of Switzerland. Additional tips and tricks are supplied.

I split my packing list for a two days fly fishing trip into different categories. The first section is about the necessary fly fishing stuff you will need. Then outdoor equipment for sleeping, clothing, cooking and food is covered. At the end, there are additional outdoor essentials I carry during such trips. Each category has a short paragraph with further explanations. Right at the end of this packing list for a two days fly fishing trip you will find a summary with useful advice, tips and tricks on how to have a pleasant stay outdoors. Moreover, this post will tell you about Do’s and Don’ts to avoid mishaps such as a cork grip, which is nibbled by a gnawer.

Remember the Golden Rules of packing:

• Leave at home what you do not need (No contact lens water bottle)
• Reduce items to the minimum (cut toothbrush in half)
• Multi-usage is key (use fishing line instead of additional rope for hanging clothes or bivy)

Packing List for a 2 days fly fishing trip

1 Backpack

A one day backpack should have enough space to carry all items.Otherwise you are induced to take too much stuff with you, which will be heavy reduce the enjoyment of your fishing.

1 Sunscreen (I love the Banana Boat sunscreen)

1 Insect repellent (or use the tips here)

These are very important on every fishing trip! Therefore, I put them here because too many fishing trips had been a disaster without them. But do not take the whole bottle with you, unless it is only about 50 ml. Use smaller containers and save weight.

Fly fishing stuff

Fly rod

Rod tube

Reel

Small Fly Box

Fishing License and ID card

Tippet material (according to the fish size)

Strike Indicator Tool New Zealand

Amadou (if dry fly fishing)

Nipper

Loon pliers

Taimen Wading Jacket Master

Taimen Wader River II Classic

McLean Fishing Net

Smith Creek Rod Clip

Smith Creek Trash Fish

Wading boot (I use the Patagonia Ultralight)

Polarised Sun Glasses (always! Not only to see fish, but to protect your eyes too)

Choose your fishing gear according to the size of the fish you expect. Furthermore, if you do not know what to expect, try to ask fellow fisherman who have fished there before. Otherwise, it is better to use too heavy equipment than too light.

Sleeping

Outdoor Research Aurora Bivouac Sac

Sea to Summit Spark II Sleeping Bag

Meru Inlay Sleeping Bag Silk

Thermarest Neoair Xlite Sleeping Pad

Adapt your sleeping setup to the weather you expect. Ask local people if you do not know. Additional, be prepared if temperatures suddenly plummet. Therefore, take another layer of warm clothes with you to increase your insulation. Another way to warm you night is by boiling water and pour it into a bottle. Take this bottle into your sleeping bag.

Although, a tent is more convenient to sleep, the poles add a lot of weight. On the other hand, a bivouac sac is extremely lightweight and small. Yet, you have to get used to them. Sleeping in the bivouac sac can be dramatically improved by hanging the top fabric on a branch. Thus, the fabric is not lying on your face. Choose whatever you like best and willed to carry for two days.

Clothes/Layering:

Pair of socks

Sport Underpants

Outdoor Research Long Sleeve Shirt Khaki/Sand (similar to this Columbia Silver Ridge Long Sleeve Shirt)

Thermo Underwear Odlo X-lite tank top

Thermo Underwear pants/shirt

Under Armour Fitness Pullover

Patagonia Ultralight Downjacket

Trouser with zipper to shorten

Pair of shoes due to arrival by public transport

My Rep Your Water Hat (brook trout)

Most people are prone to pack too many clothes for two days. Thus, try to pack only what is needed. In my opinion this is one set of clothes as well as an additional warm layer. This functions in an emergency to warm you.

Food

Dinner Backcountry Instant Meal

Can of Tuna

Biscuit

Dried Bla Band Cereals/Muesli

I just carried the food I expected to need. If it was not enough, I had the chance to buy some more within little distance.

Cooking

LACD Ultralight Titan Gas Stove

MSR Gas Bottle Small (Check if there is enough gas left!)

Spoon/Fork (or combined: Spork by Light Your Fire)

Swiss Army Knife

Sawyer Mini Water Filter

Additional Stuff

Camera (in a dry sac, unless it is waterproof)

Headlamp (instead of a handheld one)

First-Aid Kit

Toothbrush (Cut the brush and a few cm to hold onto it – that’s enough)

toothpaste in a small plastic bag

Contact lenses container (filled with plenty of Eye Solution so you can leave the bottle at home)

Water bottle (I used a camel back water bladder – otherwise I forget to drink while being to focused on fishing)

Mobile phone

(Maps, Compass, Emergency contacts)

Additional Tips for a packing list for a two days fly fishing trip:

• Make Dinner early. Subsequently you will not be surprised by nightfall. Moreover, after dinner you can head to fish the blue hour, which usually is pretty the best time of the day.
• Take your clothes you wear in the morning into your sleeping bag. It is much more comfortable to take on warm stuff when it is chilly. Usually I put my down jacket to my feet to increase the insulation because that is where I mostly feel cold. The shirt and the trouser I put somewhere around my torso. The sweater is used as a pillow.
• Cover your shoes that no surprises might crawl into it.
• Beat your shoes upside down against each other every morning. It might be that something crawled into them.
• If you have a cork grip at your rod, put it back into its tube. Mice and other animals love that stuff to nibble.
• If you use a bivouac sac such as the Outdoor Research Aurora you might use some tippet material to tie the head compartment to a branch of a tree. Your sleep will improve drastically without having the bivy fabric lying on your face.

You find the post about my two days fly fishing trip here:

http://expeditom.com/two-days-fly-fishing-trip

What are your outdoor and fishing essentials for a two days trip? Do you miss anything in my packing list?