Packable Spinning Rod/Fly Fishing tips

[Nuts]

Weird title I know. On my upcoming trip I will have the opportunity to fly fish some deeper water then I am used to. I am comfortable in typical water 1'-6' with about anything I want to throw. 10'-20' I have never done. I am considering taking a spinning rod because the middle of nowhere Alaska is not the time to find out I cant get to the depth. So I would like to get a packable spinning rod as back up for the fly rod. No problem getting spoons and spinners in the deeper water. I am looking at the Daiwa Wilderness rod. Anyone have any experience with it?

Or thoughts on fly fishing deeper water with Dolly Llama or similar. Perhaps I am over thinking it. I can floss with the best of them with weight added but wasn't thinking I would be using weight. Flossing is more about technique then presentation. I will not be flossing here so I am not sure if the weight will be an issue.

 

[Ben Lamb]

A medium fast action 4 piece travel spinning rod & about 7 feet long should fit the bill. The reel is important. Get a quality reel & line.

For deep action with flies: full sink line & streamers if you want to get down deep. intermediate sinking line with streamers for a shallower water depth. You have to let the line and fly sink. Most of these give you a foot per second drop rate to gauge depth.

Good fishing!

 

[Hams42]

My dad's buddy just puts a spinning reel on his fly rod and uses it that way. You could get a small reel and then have both.

 

[Nuts]

My dad's buddy just puts a spinning reel on his fly rod and uses it thay way. You could get a small reel and then have both.

Hams42-interesting. Had not thought of that. That would make the wife happy. lol. I have plenty of rods and reels just not packable spinning. So throwing one of my existing spinning reels on my fly rod might be and option to avoid another rod. Other then eliminating a good excuse to buy another.

Ben Lamb-I have sinking line on one reel and floating on another with the intention to use what is applicable. I was not aware of drop per second. I assumed with a long cast up stream I would blow by the hole by the time I got to depth and the line would be swinging back with out letting a ton more line out.

thanks for the input

 

[Hams42]

Hams42-interesting. Had not thought of that. That would make the wife happy. lol. I have plenty of rods and reels just not packable spinning. So throwing one of my existing spinning reels on my fly rod might be and option to avoid another rod. Other then eliminating a good excuse to buy another.

Ben Lamb-I have sinking line on one reel and floating on another with the intention to use what is applicable. I was not aware of drop per second. I assumed with a long cast up stream I would blow by the hole by the time I got to depth and the line would be swinging back with out letting a ton more line out.

thanks for the input

I have a couple of the collapsible rods and they are a pain. They dont like to stay straight and I just dont think they will stand up to a big fish.

 

[Wyoming270]

I just keep around a pair of fairly inexpensive 2 piece spinning rods that are medium with a fast action. They are about 5 feet assembled so they pack easy in 2 pieces. Inexpensive light japanese real and ive fished all over wyoming with those two rods. Ive fished places where i had to walk 1,000 feet down into volcanic craters, wilderness areas, tiny ponds at 11,000 feet. They go everywhere unnoticed.

Mainly i fly fish. I like my 9 ft 4 piece 4 weight st croix mojo trout for everything bigger than size 10. Mostly if im in deeper water i use size 14 or 16 bead head nymphs. If its hot and im at a river, ill move to 18 and if they dont bite that i put on the size 20 ant patterns. They do make sinking fly line that works really well. When i throw streamers I use my 2 piece 6 weight rod. Its not super portable but I built that one before 4 piece rods were main stream.

 

[Wyoming270]

Berkely lightning rod is what the spinning rod is called. I have no issue casting across the north platte river with that. It feels almost as good as my $200 st croix rods. No need for an ultra expensive rod when im somewhere it might get damaged or lost.

 

[Bighorner]

My dad's buddy just puts a spinning reel on his fly rod and uses it thay way. You could get a small reel and then have both.

That is a great idea.

 

[Bighorner]

I've caught a lot of fish on a kid sized Barbie fishing rod.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I've caught a lot of fish on a kid sized Barbie fishing rod.

Biggest cutty I've ever caught was on a hot pink zebco 303 combo kit.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Hams42-interesting. Had not thought of that. That would make the wife happy. lol. I have plenty of rods and reels just not packable spinning. So throwing one of my existing spinning reels on my fly rod might be and option to avoid another rod. Other then eliminating a good excuse to buy another.

Ben Lamb-I have sinking line on one reel and floating on another with the intention to use what is applicable. I was not aware of drop per second. I assumed with a long cast up stream I would blow by the hole by the time I got to depth and the line would be swinging back with out letting a ton more line out.

thanks for the input

Stream fishing- sink tip, hit the hole & rip it. If it's a smaller stream then just use your floating line with a 1x leader.

Lake fishing - full sinking line, count for depth, then strip.

 

[el unit]

Heading to Alaska this fall with my Grandpa's Eagle Claw fly/spin combo. The pilot says the lake is crystal clear and deep. We'll see what happens.

 

[BenimusPrime]

Sougayilang (Chinesium no name, I know) makes a really good collapsing rod. I keep one under my truck seat as a backup wherever I go. It's a little on the heavy side if you try to jig or sweep or whatever, but is fine on a straight retrieve/basic rod pumping.

*link if interested*

Amazon.com

 

[cedahm]

10'-20' I have never done. ...

Or thoughts on fly fishing deeper water with Dolly Llama or similar.

If the fish are going to be at that depth in running water (e.g. not just the depth of the water, but the part of the water column they are using is 10-20'), then you'll need a very fast sinking tip. If they are really using that level of the column, it gets pretty challenging even with the heaviest shooting head you can find.

Stream fishing- sink tip, hit the hole & rip it.

All I'd add here, having spent a lot of time casting dolly llamas on sink tips, is you're generally fishing quartering downstream and your "leader" should be very short (depending on the speed of the current, somewhere between 2' and 4') . Upstream mends like crazy while the tip and fly sinks to the right level, then tighten to swing and strip occasionally for some action. Once it straightens out below you, wiggle your rod tip and strip it back.

Also - for sure use some kind of a loop knot to the fly. Those streamers will act much livelier.

 

[Salmonchaser]

Where are you fishing? Timing would make me think Silvers. Or Rainbows Char and Grayling following the sockeye/kings into the spawning streams. Fishing from a boat or wading? I loved the Dolly Llamas, most my clients could figure them out pretty quick but even with those in deeper water stretches we picked most of our fish up fishing the shallower edges near shore.

 

[Nuts]

Depends on where we hunt and also If we kill early and have to come out early with meat. I want to run up and go into the Gates of the Artic or one of the North slope rivers to fish. Tbd.