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How to Plan and Pack for International Fly-Fishing Travel

Some dos and don’ts for international fly-fishing travel and some simple ways to make the experience as painless as possible.

The first golden rule: Pack your wading boots and at least one set of fishing clothes in your carry-on bag, plus all the medication you’ll need for the entire trip–all of which should go in a waterproof backpack (easy to carry, water impervious).

Spread the wealth: If you’re traveling with a friend, or partner, I’d also recommend that you “cross pack,” so some of your gear (clothes, reels, flies) gets stowed in their check-in bags and vice versa. No one wants to be the traveler whose bag gets lost, making the trip a lot more challenging…

Pack your gear in a single duffle: All the major fly-fishing gear brands make duffle bags long enough to pack your 9-foot fly rods conformably. To save weight, pack the rods, including a spare, into a cardboard tube that’s stiff enough to protect the cargo, but without the added weight of the steel tubes. If you’re heading to a remote location, back up fly rods, reels and lines are often essential.

Less is more: There’s no reason to pack all the fishing gear you own–bring just the basics and develop an eye towards simplicity. Your fishing destination will often dictate the clothes you pack (fancy lodges versus a “roughing it” adventure), but the golden rule is to prepare the clothes you want, then halve that amount.

Smiling wins the day: be friendly and a team player to the departure gate attendants. It’s often highly random, but some “overly officious” gate attendants may tell you that you can’t board with your fly rod or reel–it happens a lot. Keep your cool, work with them and try to explain the circumstances. You might even strike up a conversation beforehand, to build some good will.

Stay hydrated: bring a good water bottle on your travels and drink lots of water before, during and after your activities–flying, traveling and fishing can lead to high levels of dehydration. No one ever had a worse day on the river or saltwater flat by staying more hydrated…

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Felix Borenstein is a hotel and travel consultant, former owner of the Owen River Lodge, a world-class fly-fishing lodge near Murchison on the South Island of New Zealand, and a fly-fishing tragic (in his words). He’s also a new Flylab Pro and will be helping us with international travel and lodging insights.

Twelve of the Best Fly-Fishing Destinations in the World

If you have the time, money and curiosity, these are twelve bucket list fly-fishing destinations to consider...

New Zealand. Epic, stunningly beautiful and the best big-trout sight fishing in the world, especially on the South Island. It’s ten times harder than most American anglers anticipate it being, so if you don’t have a single-digit fishing “handicap” you won’t catch many fish, but you’ll still love the country. There’s nothing there that wants to bite, eat, kill, or poison you, so it’s literally like fishing in a fairy tale.

Tasmania, Australia. Overlooked, underappreciated and wide open, but the trout in shallow lakes cruise, wake and tail like seven-pound bonefish, and they’ll eat dry flies. Bring long hemostats to pull your tongue back up your throat after your first encounter with a tiger snake (should not be a deal-breaker, but you should be aware). Probably the strongest angling tradition and community anywhere in the world.

Kamchatka, Russia. Not at all like the “Russian version of Alaska,” which is what I had envisioned. You will be about as far from the comforts of home–and at the same time immersed in virgin wilderness–as you can be anywhere on the planet that isn’t covered by an ice cap. Do your homework, only go with the most dialed, reputable outfitters, and even then, have contingency plans. Hands down the best mouse fishing in the world, perhaps the last place that demonstrates how predatory unpressured trout really can be.

The American Rockies. The envy of all the other angling communities around the world, literally, because of the sheer vastness of opportunities–miles of rivers, and millions of land acres, available to the public, for free. You can catch just as big trout in the West as you can in Chile or Argentina, and so on–maybe not as many, and you might have to get off the beaten path–but they’re here. The diversity of native species is incredible, and worthy of trying to experience as much as possible in an angling lifetime.

Alaska. Every American angler should try to experience Alaska at least once in their lives, if only to see just how wild and beautiful it is. Fishing-wise, it’s a very large, geographically diverse state, and impossible to lock in on one spot as “quintessential” Alaska. I’ve been fortunate to visit many times and if I were told I could only go back once more, I would either go to Kodiak Island or the Bristol Bay region. All salmon seasons are great, but my favorite time is when the silvers run and the rainbow trout are fattest.

Iceland. Unquestionably the most visually captivating natural landscape of anywhere I have ever fished. The native brown trout fishing can be as good or better than the legendary Atlantic salmon beats, and brown trout fishing can cost considerably less. But everything is expensive in Iceland, particularly the food and drink. Regardless of what anyone tells you, that traditional fermented shark stuff is absolutely gross, no matter how much of the local liqueur you drink.

Amazon rainforest. Fishing the Amazon today is what hunting in Africa during the golden age of the Big Five safari was over a century ago. It might be the last, wildest place for exploratory fishing, and we’re just learning what the fish are like, what they eat and how to catch them. This might also be the place in the world that could benefit most by using fishing as an economic driver–to protect the rainforest and benefit indigenous people. If you go there, you will still hear the jungle after you come home, for weeks when you dream at night–it’s weird and wonderful.

Argentina (Tierra del Fuego). Sea-run browns thrive here like nowhere else on earth. One guide I met at a certain lodge got sent home to America after his first day on the job, because he parked downwind, and the steady 60-mph breeze blew the door off his truck when he opened it. Food and wines are awesome, fishing is grueling but rewarding, and I’d rate this as one of those places you’d aspire to check off once or twice, but it takes serious game, grit and money to make TDF a habit.

Argentina (Patagonia). If you imagine what Montana might have been, fishing-wise, at the time Norman Maclean grew up and fished there, minus the telephone lines, billboards and paved highways, that’s what Patagonia seems to me. You’re probably not going to catch a trout much larger than something you could catch in Montana or Michigan, but you can experience solitude. And it’s pretty darn nice to experience summer in January.

Ireland. Greatest place I have ever fished–greatest people, culture, music and overall experience–in the context that I didn’t actually care about catching fish. It can be epic on private water, with stocked brown trout, and such, but the wild fishery is still challenged, though rebounding. None of that matters. It’s an absolutely soul-captivating place, and a notable omission for any angler with even distant Irish familial roots. Do fish the lakes.

Bahamas. The hands-down place to fish if you want to catch bonefish. It’s so close to the American mainland, and the people and guide culture are fantastic. Bonefish tend to be bigger here, and they are not “gimmes.” There is always wind. But it is silly to travel halfway around the world to chase bones or any other saltwater species until you have spent at least ten quality trips in the Bahamas.

Belize. Pretty much ditto everything I just said on the Bahamas, though the fish tend to be just a tad smaller, yet the cast-for-cast opportunities tend to be a tad higher. And depending where you go, Belize also offers permit and tarpon. If you are a glutton for punishment and want to chase permit, there is no other place I’d choose above Belize. But I’d be really strategic about the seasons. I’d also spend at least three days inland before hitting the flats. The jungle and Mayan ruins are incredible.

Snow Peak Acquires Majority Stake in Swift Fly Fishing Company

Snow Peak, a Japanese camping brand with 65 years of history, announces the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Swift Fly Fishing, making it a proud subsidiary of the Snow Peak family. This strategic acquisition aligns with Snow Peak’s mission of reconnecting people with nature through innovative outdoor experiences.

Swift Fly Fishing, headquartered in Wanaka, New Zealand, is a leading innovator in the global fly fishing industry, best known for its Epic Fly Rods brand. The Epic brand has set a new standard in fly-fishing gear with its use of advanced materials and innovative designs, including graphite, graphene and Epic’s proprietary “FastGlass” composite material.

Read the rest of the Snow Peak + Swift Fly Fishing press release.

More from founder Carl McNeil on the future of Epic Fly Rods:

“This signals a move to become a more holistic fly fishing lifestyle brand, encompassing soft goods, experiential travel and, of course, great fly rods and reels.

The upshot is that the new partnership will allow us to develop a lot more Epic fly fishing gear that customers have been asking for, and a few related services around experiential fly fishing.

New ranges of rods, reels, lines, accessories and soft goods are all on their way–many slated for release in time for the 2025 fly-fishing season.

Our brand will continue to be driven and inspired by our New Zealand heritage, and our core business team here at the Wanaka headquarters will remain largely unchanged.”

BONEDALE FISHING REPORT #9

THE MUDDY RIVERS OF SPRING ARE SNARLING

Here’s the thing, you either like to fish, or you don’t. For those of us who like to fish, it doesn’t matter what kind of fish it is, as long as we get to see them. A client of mine once caught a sixteen-inch Koi on a Prince nymph. The poor bastard blew out of some dude’s pond up-valley and ended up in our sights. It was a flood year and you didn’t know what the hell you were going to run into. Steve Avery caught a Goddamn Mackinaw on the Burry Lease. We were floating the Fork at 9,000 CFS and the fishing was primarily limited to people’s lawns–the secret weapon was four different colors of chenille gobbed on a hook. I don’t think anyone ever submitted that fly. The river blasted new channels left and right, and we were fishing holding water that didn’t exist, at least in my lifetime. Avery pole-vaulted out of a Grade B raft that Bill Fitzsimmons was renting to the guides. He said he could see the frontage road as he floated over the river. I came close to stuffing it a few times, but dumb luck often carries the day. Tim Heng told me Fitz almost sunk them in the Keys, because he was so busy watching fish. We know // after all // it’s fun sneaking up on things. Come fishing immediately.

Live from the WORLD HEADQUARTERS

Kea C. Hause

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Photo: Roaring Fork River brown, Burry Conservation Easement, Carbondale, CO.