iFishFar: Fly Fishing for Trail Runners

Over the past decade, I’ve increasingly taken up fly fishing. Whether I’m catching small native cutthroat trout above my Colorado home, looking for lunker brown trout in the New Zealand backcountry, or prospecting for fish during my other travels, I do love fly fishing, and all the more so when I combine it with running.

Yes, I combine running and fly fishing, and I’m far from the first to have done so. My very first fly-fishing outing was as part of a long trail run in Utah’s Uinta Mountains with Altra’s Brian Beckstead around the same time that run/fish flyathlon events were taking root in Colorado.

During the summer of 2020, I found myself fly fishing on the run more than ever. I tried and tried and tried again at what’s called the Troutman (or Troutwoman) challenge — a standing challenge that requires running at least a marathon, climbing at least 3,000 feet, catching the Colorado grand slam of trout (a brook, brown, cutthroat, and rainbow trout), and drinking a 12% beer all within 12 hours — with other outings to scout possible fishing locations along those Troutman routes. That autumn, I tied together a Troutman attempt with a 100-mile run as the pinnacle of my year’s running, as the Troutman 100.

Since then, I’ve logged nearly 20 successful Troutmen attempts, along with becoming the first to finish what’s called the 5-species and 50-mile Ültrout as well as the 6-species and 66-mile Lucifish. As this article publishes, I’ll be out on the first ever attempt at FINSANITY! in which another flyathlete and I will try to catch 10 species and cover more than 100 miles (amongst other requirements) in less than 48 hours. I’ll run it to raise funds for Running Rivers, a conservation non-profit dedicated to preserving and restoring freshwater ecosystems. You can donate to Running Rivers here!

All in all, adding fly fishing to my running has literally pointed my running in new directions, while tuning me into a whole new ecosystem and its inhabitants. There’s also the beauty of engaged learning in a new pursuit, and there are more than a dozen lifetimes worth of those to be had with fly fishing. Finally, I enjoy fishing: being out there in nature, succeeding and failing, and finding peace.

Since you’re here on iRunFar, I’ll assume that you’re at least an occasional runner and that you’d potentially add fly fishing to your running rather than the other way around. However, some folks may have or might come into trail running by way of fly fishing. If that’s you, check out our Trail Running 101 or Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running columns for the basics about trail running, our Your Ultra-Training Bag of Tricks column for more on ultramarathon-distance running, and iRunFar’s running gear reviews for ideas on new running gear.

Please remember that I consider myself an intermediate fly fisher at best. The advice in this article is meant to help bring someone from no knowledge of fly fishing to the very basics of it — or at least point that person in the direction of where to start looking for more info. Likewise, many fish species can be caught fly fishing — trout, salmon, bass, pike, sunfish, carp, or even saltwater fish — with this article skewing toward the small- and moderate-size trout I usually catch.

This article walks you through the basic gear you’ll need to get started with fly fishing, how to go about fly fishing, and how to fly fish responsibly. I also share my personal gear setup (both the running and fishing sides), what I’ve learned along the way, and some of the side benefits I find the fishing offers me.

Fundraising, Fun, and Flyathlons

Here’s a quick call for action and connection before I jump into the article. Whether I help connect your running with fly fishing or you simply want to do some good, please consider donating in my name to Running Rivers, a non-profit dedicated to preserving and restoring freshwater ecosystems, which are critical parts of the ecosystems through which we trail runners travel. They’ve kept me inspired and motivated to run long in recent years.

Having volunteered with them again this past weekend, I can attest that Running Rivers also does amazing, on-the-ground work restoring native trout fisheries. In short, Running Rivers lives up to their motto, Conservation through Recreation! Lastly, Running Rivers has also created a community of folks who love to pair trail running and fly fishing (and a little craft beer) in irreverent annual events called Flyathlons. Check out their website or the Flyathlon’s Facebook page for more.

What You’ll Need to Fly Fish While Trail Running

Fishing Gear

Here, I’ll describe two quite different types of fly fishing. The first is with the traditional Western setup with a rod and a reel that you’d see in the movie A River Runs Through It. I’d guess that 19 out of 20, if not 99 out of 100, American fishermen fish this way. However, I’ll also describe the setup for a tenkara rod used in traditional Japanese fly fishing, as tenkara offers an easy gateway to fly fishing, but even more importantly, it has unique aspects that make it particularly well suited to pairing trail running and fly fishing.

Fly Rod and Reel

Perhaps unsurprisingly, you’ll want a fly-fishing rod to go fly fishing. There are so many variations of fly rods and so many fishing conditions for them that it’s impossible to say what fishing rod you should get, but here are the basic descriptors you’ll hear about for various rods.

1. Weight (often abbreviated as Wt) – This doesn’t refer to the physical weight of the rod, but rather the weight of the fly line (we’ll get there) the manufacturer recommends pairing with the rod. In general, the smaller the number, the smaller the fish being targeted; conversely, the larger the number, the larger the fish.
2. Length – This refers to the length of the fully assembled rod. Easy enough, right?
3. Pieces – Most fly rods break down into multiple pieces for easy transport. For example, all of my traditional fly rods break down into four pieces. A key related consideration for combining running and fly fishing is the length of each piece. If the individual segments are too long, the rod will become more challenging to run with, especially if you’re traveling under or through branches or thick cover.

A fly rod is paired with a reel with its spool to hold line and a crank to reel in the line. Reels are also rated with weights, and once again, they have nothing to do with the weight of the actual item. Like rod weights, larger reel weights are for heftier situations. Usually, the rod and reel weights are matched up, so you might use a 2/3 (meaning 2 or 3)-weight reel with a 3-weight rod or a 5-weight reel with a 5-weight rod.

[Author’s Note: A few times in this article, I refer to the above rod-and-reel setup as a “Western” fly rod as shorthand to distinguish it from the tenkara-style rods used in the Japanese tradition of fly fishing, which I describe further below.]

My advice, if possible, is to go fly fishing with an experienced fly fisher — be it a paid guide or a patient friend — in the type of setting you’d imagine fishing most often. Hopefully, they will let you use an appropriate rod or rods to help you get started. If and when you feel ready to commit to exploring fly fishing, take that fisher’s advice for the rod and go pick one up.

Here are some other ideas for getting the right rod to start with:

1. Simply talk to local fly fishers.
2. Online forums, especially ones targeted toward the location you’d most often fish.
3. A local fly-fishing shop (aka fly shop).
4. An authoritative website, like Orvis, has useful articles and product descriptions of what type of rod works well in various situations.

Flyathlon creator and Running Rivers founder Andrew Todd notes that “a 5-weight, 4-piece rod is a good place to start across a diversity of waters. Such a rod can easily manage smaller fish, but can also handle bigger fish. If you are going to own a single-weight rod, this is the most versatile across the range.” A more experienced fly fisher might move to a 3-weight, 4-piece rod for a high-mountain-stream setting that’s generally limited to small- to medium-sized trout, but this rod would be a bit harder for a novice to cast.

There’s no need to start with the most expensive rods and reels on the shelf of your local fly shop. A decade ago, my first rod and reel combination (unsurprisingly, a 5-weight) was less than $200; it was my go-to Western fly rod until recently, and I’d not hesitate to pull it off the shelves for some adventures this summer.

Fly Line

I don’t want to go too far into the weeds here, as I don’t want to get snagged on anything, but when fly fishing with a rod and reel, there are typically four different types of line used in a given setup.

To start, there’s the backing, a simple line tied directly to the reel’s spool. Essentially, it just adds extra length to your line in case a big or sporty fish makes a run for it. I’ve rarely had a fish take me into my backing — but what a blast when it does!

Next is the fly line, which seemingly comes in as many varieties as fly rods. As with rods and reels, you’ll want to match the weight of the fly line with your reel. The fly line has the heft that allows you to cast your fly. Aside from choosing the fly line’s weight, there are options for how the fly line will act in the water column, such as a floating line, a sink tip, or an intermediate sink tip, which sinks at a more moderate pace. As with choosing a first rod, I’d highly recommend having a local fly fisher or your local fly shop make a recommendation here, but don’t be surprised if it’s a 5-weight floating line. Whether by purchasing a combo/kit or getting help from a friend or a shop, I’d recommend initially having your reel and line assembled for you up to at least this point.

Then, there’s the leader, a thinner, approximately 6- to 10-foot length (although they can get much longer) of tapered line (i.e., they get thinner as you move from the fly line to the tippet, described below) that resembles what folks think of as fishing line. Once again, you’ll often pair the “weight” of the leader with that of the reel, but that’s not always the case.

Finally, there’s the tippet, a shorter length of even finer line to which you’ll tie the fly. Tippet is rated with a number and an X, so, for example, I often fish with 5X tippet. Smaller numbers (like 4X) mean thicker, stronger line, while larger numbers (like 6X) mean thinner, more delicate line. As thicker line can tip off fish that something’s amiss, you’ll often want to fish with the thinnest tippet that doesn’t routinely break when you’ve hooked a fish.

Tenkara Rod: A Simple Alternative

Most fly fishing in the American West is done with a fly rod and reel. However, the Japanese style of tenkara fishing eliminates the reel entirely with a fixed line tied directly to the end of the rod. These days, many of these rods are telescoping, meaning these multi-section rods can collapse into themselves and, then, extend for use.

Tenkara is an amazing way to start dabbling with fly fishing, as it greatly simplifies the process. Also, tenkara is a great style for running, as some rods collapse into very short lengths, they’re much quicker to deploy (especially for a novice), and they eliminate the weight and bulk of a reel.

The one universal metric for tenkara rods is rod length. Generally, I’ve heard that one should fish the longest tenkara rod that conditions (often the tree canopy and shrub coverage) will allow. For many years, I had only one make of tenkara rod — one of moderate extended length (10 feet, 10 inches), but highly compact (only 15 inches) when collapsed, that I used for all sorts of fly fishing.

Unlike the four lines used in a Western fly-fishing setup, a tenkara setup has only two: the fly line (often 10 to 15 feet) and tippet (often 3 to 6 feet). As such, a complete novice can assemble a full tenkara setup for the first time in just a few minutes.

[Author’s Note: If you’re interested in trying out tenkara, Tenkara USA is offering all iRunFar readers a one-time 15% discount, which is good until the end of June 2025. Click this link and use the code “IRUNFAR15” at checkout!]

Flies

Where to start?!

I guess we start with the three most common types of flies used for fly fishing. First off, there are dry flies, which are meant to float on top of the water. Next are wet flies, which are meant to be fished under the surface. Finally, there are nymphs, another underwater fly meant to imitate immature insects.

Aside from silly names, flies will also have a number attached to them. Here, smaller numbers mean bigger hooks. The same type of fly might come in three or more hook sizes, with the fly’s body scaled to match the size of the hook.

Some folks are experts in “matching the hatch,” that is, matching up the fly they’ll fish with to the insect life stages that are present in or on that stretch of stream at the moment. They might even pump the stomach of a fish to pinpoint its most recent meals. Personally, I don’t often match the hatch except in the broadest seasonal strokes. For example, only the tiniest “midges” fly around Silverton, Colorado, in the winter, so I’ll fish with microscopic midges rather than a huge dry fly. Likewise, I fish “hoppers ” (i.e., grasshopper imitations) during the summer when they’re present here, but wouldn’t do so during winter or early spring, when they’re nowhere to be found.

Whether it’s talking to a local fly fisher or fly shop, you should be able to get started (and fish for quite a while) with only five or six varieties of flies. For example, I’d be happy fishing the San Juans for a lifetime with nothing more than a hopper, a parachute Adams (another dry fly), a copper John (a common nymph pattern), and a black wooly bugger (a small imitation fish). Add in an ant (self-explanatory) and a royal humpy (a dry fly that floats well and is quite visible in turbulent water), and I’m a very happy camper for life.

Over time, as I’ve come to lose fewer flies in my fishing, I’ve come to value higher-quality flies. (For me, that’s usually Fulling Mill flies.) They seem to do better at attracting fish, but, more importantly, they last much longer in use. That said, losing a bunch of $3-plus flies to early fishing adventures can be frustrating. Even today, when I’m in a situation where I’m likely to lose flies quickly, I prefer using decent, but less expensive flies. (Here, the Half Buck Fly Shop comes in handy.)

Fishing Accessories to Carry

• Extra Flies – You’ll want to carry some extra flies both as replacements for any that might break off (due to a hooked fish, underwater snag, or tangle in a streamside tree) or to swap out if the fish are looking but not striking. To start, you can carry your flies in a cheap (or free) “puck” found at any fly shop, an Altoids tin, or a small medicine bottle rather than a fancy fly case, although single decent fly case shouldn’t cost more than $15 and will help you keep your flies organized.
• Extra Tippet – As described above, this is the finest fishing line, the last piece in the chain of various lines you fish with. You’ll go through this with some regularity. In general, I carry at least two and sometimes three weights of tippet on my runs, one at what I suspect is the proper weight, one at the next thinnest weight (in case the fish are being fickle), and, if I’m planning a long outing with possible bigger fish, one weight heavier tippet.
• Nippers – Basically, these are nail clippers. In fact, you can use nail clippers while you try out fly fishing. You’ll use the nippers to cut various fly lines, including, very importantly, cutting off the “tag” (i.e., loose/free) end of various knots. Some folks cut off these ends as close as 1/16 of an inch to the knot, but, not trusting my knots, I give myself a bit more space of up to 1/4 of an inch. True nippers often feature a small needle opposite the cutting end that can help clean glue out of the eye of the fly’s hook when first tying it on.
• Hemostats – Small pliers used to remove hooks from the mouth of any fish you land. Although heavier, you can try a small pair of needle-nose pliers when you’re starting.
• Floatant and/or Drying Powder – A common way to fly fish is with “dry flies” intended to sit on top of the water’s surface. These flies aren’t always as effective when submerged, as they’re not designed to resemble insects or insect life stages more commonly found underwater. That’s why you might treat a dry fly with floatant, a liquid that helps the fly float, or use a powder to dry an already dampened dry fly. (I use floatant, but I usually dry damp flies by pinching them in my shirt and/or a couple quick “false casts” in the air.)
• Extra Leader – This is the second-to-last line in the chain of lines used while fly fishing and is what you tie the tippet onto. It’d be very uncommon to break or otherwise lose a leader, but as you tie on fresh tippet, you’ll lose leader inch by inch to the tag end of your knots. An extra leader weighs next to nothing and takes up no appreciable space. Still, I only double-check that I have one when I’ll be out for longer outings, especially deep in the backcountry.
• Net – Around home, the fish I’m catching aren’t large enough to warrant a net, so I rarely carry one. If there’s a decent chance I’ll hook a trout 14 inches or larger, I’ll bring a net to help land the fish more quickly and respectfully. For these smaller trout, I sometimes bring a collapsible net that fits into a pocket with belt loops. When I really want to land the fish I catch or if the fish are likely to be bigger, such as when I fish in New Zealand, I will carry a fixed-shape net. They are heavier and bulkier to run with, but I’ve found I can carry them easily in packs with large rear stash pockets while running, and with the handle stuffed between my pack and the top of my back while fishing, creating a net halo effect.

A Pack (or Two)

Until last summer, I’d never bought a pack specifically to run with fly fishing, but instead used running packs I already owned. I do like a running pack with a couple of pockets up front to store some fishing gear. Before heading out for your outing, put your fly rod in the pack and try jogging around a bit to ensure that the rod doesn’t annoyingly bounce around, bang into your head, or otherwise annoy you. Trust me, this is no fun!

If I’m carrying a non-collapsible net, I’ll carry it head down in a rear-most stash pocket of a fastpacking-style pack. Such packs often also have side pockets that are deep enough to carry one or more rods securely. I’ll leave any metal or rigid plastic rod tubes at home in all but the most extreme environments. I’ll carry Western rods wrapped up in their separate fabric wraps and tenkara rods in their “rod socks” or without any covering.

In the distant past, I would sometime use a running belt in addition to a running pack to provide some additional easy-access storage. When doing so, I would often turn mine around when fishing so the main pocket is up front. Although I rarely do this now, I include it if it suits your running and fishing.

What to Wear?

The standard image of a fly fisher has the person in waders (think waterproof overalls), wading boots, a many-pocketed vest, and a bucket hat. You don’t need to look the part when combining trail running and fly fishing. More or less, you can dress for comfort on your run to wherever you’ll fish, while packing additional clothes for standing next to or in the water for however long you plan to fish.

Most of my fly fishing involves “wet wading,” simply walking next to or into the water body in regular, non-waterproof running clothes — so I get wet. Whether it’s warm enough to be wet wading in running shorts and a tee shirt or right on the edge of what’s tolerably cold, it’s nice to wear clothes that dry quickly and shoes that drain and dry quickly. In warmish water, I’ll often wear thinner running socks that hold less water, while the extra insulation/barrier of thicker socks is worth it in cold water. If I’ve got a long enough run out after fishing in which I can keep my feet dry, I’ll often run a mile or two to let my shoes drain off some water and then change into a dry pair of socks I’ve carried.

Try to wear drab colors and, if you’ve got options, colors that blend into the background from the fish’s perspective. That means bright yellows, oranges (unless it is hunting season), and reds are disfavored, while solid blacks can often contrast too greatly with the background. Instead, think dull greens, tans, or maybe a gray if you’ll be fishing where there’s tree cover or terrestrial background such as shrubs or rock walls behind you. If you’re fishing from in the water or a bank with no cover, a light blue shirt can work well to simulate sky. You don’t need to overthink this or buy new clothes, but let this help you choose between the options you have on hand.

Whatever the conditions, a pair of polarized glasses can be a huge help in spotting fish. I’d call polarized sunglasses a near must! It should go without saying that a pair of sunglasses might be helpful on sunny days.

Speaking of sunny days, you’ll want to avoid sunburn by covering exposed skin with clothing or sunscreen. Aside from the usual places like your ears and back of your neck, watch out for burning the back of your hands (especially the backs of your thumb and pointer finger on your rod-holding hand) and places like the back of your knees and upper arms that could get a big dose of reflected sunlight.

How You’ll Fly Fish While Trail Running

I’m a decade into my journey with fly fishing, and I still feel like I have no business teaching anyone how to fly fish! However, I can lay out some of the basics and point you to resources I’ve found helpful in learning how to fly fish. That said, the two best ways to learn how to fly fish are to fish with experienced fly fishers and to simply spend time fishing to practice what you know and learn what you don’t know.

The upside of fishing while running is that you can go way back where the fish don’t typically see a lot of fishing pressure, giving you the opportunity to make mistakes that these more naïve fish will forgive. That upside – the ability to access less fished waters – remains a constant bonus for the trail runner who fly fishes.

Knots

You can get away with only knowing two knots in the field as you start fly fishing, the double surgeon’s knot and the improved clinch knot. You’ll use the double surgeon’s knot for attaching tippet to your leader and the improved clinch knot for attaching flies to your tippet.

Eventually, you might want to learn the nail knot and the perfection loop, either of which would be used for attaching the leader to the fly line. I’ve never had to tie either in the field. Many leaders have an attachment loop already tied in them, making attaching a new leader easier.

Casting With a Rod and Reel

If possible, get your initial casting lesson(s) in person. This can be from a friend, at a fly shop’s instructional session, or with a guide. These first lesson(s) should get you enough of the basics that you can later practice on your own. Check out Orvis’s casting videos for refreshers to keep you pointed in the right direction. You’ll likely be able to fish plenty after learning just the overhead cast and roll cast. Learning the bow-and-arrow cast is also a must for those fishing highly vegetated mountain streams.

In my early fly fishing, my biggest error with an overhead cast has been not pausing at the end of my backcast (the backward motion of a cast), such that I whip the line forward, which snaps flies off the end of the line. The key to a successful overhead cast is to be patient and cast between 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock (with 12 o’clock being the rod straight up and down), letting the line fully extend behind you before bringing it forward.

Tenkara-Style Casting

Casting with a tenkara rod is pretty darn intuitive and straightforward. Here’s a quick how-to video from Tenkara USA.

Where Are the Fish?

This is the million-dollar question, isn’t it?! Aside from a lifetime of practice, the Google machine is pretty good at letting you know what sort of a body of water and where in it you might find the species you’re trying to catch. Since trout are a typical fly fishing target, check out Orvis’ video series Reading the Water on where to find trout. Orvis also has video lessons for fly fishing for bass, pike and muskie, steelhead and salmon, and saltwater fish. When all else fails, ingratiate yourself with someone who has been fishing for a while, buy them breakfast or a few beers, and get them to take you out to show you where they find fish. Alternately, just bust out a map, pick a route along a creek or lake, and stuff your fishing gear in your bag. The worst that can happen is that there aren’t any fish, in which case you still get to practice casting in a new set of conditions.

Don’t Spook the Fish!

You’ll want to do what you can to avoid spooking fish (i.e., scaring them off), which will likely result in that fish and, possibly, all the others in its pool stopping feeding for some time.

Yes, fish can see out of the water. They’re particularly sensitive to movement and shadows. So, if you’re walking quickly at full height on the sun-bearing side of a barren creek bank, the fish will see you and your shadow flick across the water. Both you and your shadow will give you away. Positioning yourself such that your shadow (and that of your rod!) doesn’t move across the water you plan to fish is important and will be part of your strategy of where to position yourself. You’ll also want to move slowly. Think of the heron walking very slowly while it’s fishing. Be the heron, with slow, deliberate movements.

Use any objects, like boulders or shrubs, as cover to hide behind. If you can’t conceal yourself, make yourself small by keeping a low profile, stooping, kneeling, or even lying down.

If you’re in or next to the body of water, you’ll want to avoid banging rocks around or otherwise creating loud sounds or large disturbances in the water.

This article is a nice overview of how to avoid spooking trout.

Fly Presentation

While some hungry, high-altitude trout might take a bite at nearly anything resembling food, plenty of picky eaters are out there, too! When you’re fly fishing, you’re trying to get a fish to think it’s about to eat a tasty treat. However, if the fly doesn’t look or act like fish food, the fish aren’t likely to strike. That’s why “presentation” is essential.

The most common presentation problem is drag. This occurs when a fly moves at a different rate or direction than the water it’s on. With a dry fly, you’d see this as a little “v” of wake on the surface (and drag also occurs underwater with wet flies and nymphs), and you want to do what you can to avoid this. Straight upstream or downstream casts can reduce this drag, but they have their own problems. You’ll often be casting at least partly across the current (if you’re on a river or a stream), and the speeds of the various currents your line crosses can create drag. In this case, you’ll want to “mend” your line with a Western fly rod or keep much of your line off the water with a tenkara rod.

Aside from avoiding drag, there are plenty of techniques for improving your fly presentation, but that’d be going down a rabbit hole. But, for example, if you’re fishing with a hopper, you might give an occasional slight tug to cause the hopper to twitch, as if it’s struggling on the water’s surface. Here are a couple of presentation techniques for tenkara.

Setting the Hook, Fighting the Fish, and Landing the Fish

You should be ready for the moment a fish hits your fly, as you’ll want to set the hook right away before it can reject the fly. There are two ways to set a hook when you sense the strike.

First, whether you’re using a rod and reel or a tenkara rod, a lift set, where you simply raise the tip of your rod, is an effective method for setting the hook. With a Western setup, you’ll want to pinch your line against the rod to have a tense line when setting the hook.

Second, if you’re using a fly rod and reel, you can strip set the hook. “Stripping” means pulling line in from the water with your hand. Stripping is often used to attract fish when fly fishing with a streamer, an underwater fly meant to imitate a small fish or leech. The strip set is just a continuation of that.

You can watch some basics of setting the hook and fighting a fish with a Western rod in this Orvis lesson or this one on hooking, fighting, and landing from Tactical Fly Fisher. The linked videos from Tenkara USA show how to set a hook and land a fish with a tenkara rod.

Other Resources 

• Curtis Creek Manifesto – A simple illustrated guide that gets to the basic fly fishing concepts.
• The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide – A full 260-encyclopedic pages of fly-fishing knowledge.
• Tenkara – The Book – A great guide dedicated to tenkara fishing.
• Simple Fly Fishing – An enjoyable read in addition to a solid guide on tenkara fishing.

Be Respectful

• Have a license and know the local fishing regulations, which can vary from water body to water body, in different stretches of the same water body, and throughout a fishing season.
• Consider primarily catch-and-release fishing, especially when and where you’re catching resident, wild (i.e., not stocked by your local game department) fish. This helps keep fish populations and sizes up for you and other future fishers. If you do catch and release, then please research best practices, such as these for trout. In general, that means using barbless hooks (or crushing the barb on barbed hooks), touching fish only with wet hands (if at all), keeping the fish in the water until you are ready to take a photo (if you take one at all), and giving them time to get their bearings before releasing them into the current.
• If, after researching local fishing regulations and making sure you’re not eating native fish, you plan on keeping your fish, please dispatch it swiftly after landing it, such as with a swift blow to the back of the head.
• As with any outdoor outing, practice Leave No Trace principles.
• Respect private property.
• Respect other fishers. Give them space, particularly those who aren’t part of your group. If a stream or river is being heavily fished, consider trending your travel upstream as most folks do, so you’re not crossing paths and spooking about-to-be-fished fish. At the same time, don’t “high hole” by starting at a great pool just upstream of the person you are giving space to, as they are likely fishing in an upstream direction and looking forward to that spot.

My Fly Fishing/Trail Running Gear Setup

Fishing Gear

• Valid Fishing License and Knowledge of Local Fishing Regulations – Please have and carry a valid fishing license when fishing public waters (and even most private waters). Fees from fishing licenses go to conservation work and stocking efforts. What’s more, if you’re caught fishing without a license, you can be fined and have all your fishing gear confiscated! Nearly all fishing comes with some restrictions, which can vary from water to water, so be sure to research where you’ll be fishing to know all local restrictions.
• Tenkara USA Hane (and Tenkara kit) – This is my everyday rod that I probably do 90% of my fishing with near home. In fact, I have two, as on rare occasions I break a section hooking into an oversized fish (thank you, warranty!), and I always want to have one on hand. This 12-segment rod is 10 feet, 10 inches, and collapses to 15 inches. It weighs a scant 3.5 ounces (100 grams). I can’t recommend this rod enough! (In really tight quarters, I use the 4-foot, 6-inch Tiny Ten rod from Tiny Tenkara. It makes 8-inch fish feel like whales!)
• DRAGONtail Hellbender – I’ll often carry the Hellbender along with my Hane on my biggest Colorado fishing adventures. I’ll most often use the Hellbender on alpine lakes or if I suspect larger-than-average trout are present. I also use the Hellbender to streamer fish on tenkara!
• Redington Wrangler Trout Kit, 4-piece, 5-weight – My first fly rod, bought as a combo set. A decade later, it still works fine enough for me!
• Diawa Folding Net – I don’t need it often, but this was the fly-fishing purchase of the year. I can easily slip this collapsible net in my pack when I’m running and then onto the webbing of my waist pack when it’s time to fish. There it sits out of the way, ready to be easily pulled out of its pocket and shaken open when need be.
• Accessories – I use Gink floatant and have a set of Tenkara USA nippers and hemostats, both of which come in their tenkara kit.

Running Gear

• Salomon Adv Skin 12 with Salomon Custom Quiver – If I’m headed out for the day with just a tenkara rod or two, I’ll usually opt for the Adv Skin 12. It’s got plenty of front pockets for a couple of fly boxes along with my phone, food, and water, while the Custom Quiver allows for quick tenkara access and stowing without taking off the pack. The main rear pocket easily stores a set of pants, a jacket, gloves, spare socks, and plenty of extra snacks.
• Osprey Talon Velocity 20L and 30L – In the summer of 2024, I fell in love with Talon Velocity 20L for my longer run/fish adventures or ones on which I wanted a Western rod (often in combination with one or more tenkara rods) and a fixed-shape net. Its front shoulder strap pockets were great for my phones and fly boxes, while I keep a puck of streams and 2-4 rolls of tippet in the open-topped hip pocket for easy access. (Critical snacks go in the zippered hip pocket!) My Western rod goes in one rear side pocket, and tenkara rods go in the other. I tuck my net head down in the rear stash pocket. The zippered rear pocket holds more than I could need on a day trip, enough for one night camping, and two nights while hitting New Zealand’s huts. I switch to the 30L version when I head out for two or more nights camping or three nights in a hut or refugio solely for storage capacity.
• Patagonia Strider Pro Running Shorts 5″ (there’s also a 7″ version) – I love the four small stash pockets on the sides. I keep my nippers and my floatant in the two right side pockets. (I often use one of the left side pockets for trash.) You know I’m serious about fishing if I wear my gray pair of Strider Pros. Separately, we’ve named these the best running shorts for men. Fishing Bonus: These dry well when wet wading.
• Patagonia Capilene Cool Lightweight Shirt – It’s a great technical short-sleeve shirt, but it’s my favorite because the dullish green (light graze green) comes the closest to matching the stream-lining willows and grasses where I most frequently fish.
• Sitka Equinox Guard Hoodie – While I feel funny running in camo, I’ve come to run in this fairly often for its combination of sun and insect protection, its wide range of temperature regulation, and, well, its camouflage. Consider sizing down from your size in an athletic shirt. (Sitka, I’d love for this to be offered in men’s small!)
• Montbell Tachyon Pants – The Tachyon pants are ultralight, incredibly packable, and dry in a jiffy. They are adaptable enough that I’ll wear them as bug protection even on warm days and use them to keep warmer in cold streams or mountain thunderstorms. The black silhouette probably isn’t ideal, but it’s certainly not kept me from catching fish!
• Sitka Dew Point Jacket – I’ve worn a camo version of this jacket for a 6-day float on remote Alaskan river and as sole jacket for multi-day run/fish outings that mixed high exertion with the need for rain or insect protection. I love this jacket!
• Hat with fly patch – Last year, I added a 2-inch x 4-inch stickie foam patch to my age-old Headsweats Race running hat for easy access to my favorite flies.
• Naked Belt – Occasionally, I’ll head out for a fly-fishing run with only the Naked Belt. It can carry my phone, all my small fishing accessories, and my Tenkara USA Hane rod in its trekking pole loops (as long as the rod is in its “rod sock”) behind me with my shirt draped over the rod to help keep it in place.
• Smith Seeker sunglasses – Polarized sunglasses make fly fishing more fun and these are some great lenses! This more casual frame style works well enough when trail running, too.
• Katadyn BeFree 0.6L – If you’re in a place where you’ll be fishing, you’ll most likely have ready access to water. If that’s the case, there’s no need to carry much extra, and the BeFree has been a game changer for quick, easy, and safe potable water.

What I Wish I’d Known

• Rod Transport – Many rods come with hard cases. I no longer use a hard case when running with fly rods. Until recently, I carried my Tenkara USA Hane in the rod sock it came with, but I’ve ditched it to save weight. (Sometimes, I now carry two Hane rods pre-rigged with different fly setups and keep one in a rod sock, so I can pull the one I want out of my pack without looking.) For my multi-piece fly rods, I almost always run them in a rod sock rather than a hard case. This requires a bit of care, especially when wading through trees and shrubs, so as not to catch the end of the rod and snap it. If I were headed out for a many day adventure in a densely vegetated area, I’d probably suck it up and use a full rod tube.
• Reel Transport – While I used to carry reels in minimal cloth bags to save weight, I now just use the nice foam pockets most come in.
• Pockets Are Your Friend – Fly fishing involves more small pieces of gear than trail running, so many small pockets are nice, both on your apparel and your pack. I’d recommend setting up a personal system to store stuff every run/fish outing, so you know where things are when needed. Wherever you store your phone, make sure it won’t easily fall out when you bend over the water, as you often do while fishing. Even knowing this, my phone gets a stream bath often enough.
• Other Tips for Not Losing Stuff – I really like keeping my hemostats on a retractable cord. It keeps them handy, but they’re not going to fall and get lost. I now keep floatant on a small leash if I’m not storing it in a shorts pocket. (I’ve lost a few of these small bottles by tipping them out of a chest pocket.) I’ve painted my nippers fluorescent orange for a bit better visibility for the countless number of times I misplace them.

Fringe Benefits of Fly Fishing While Trail Running

• Being in the Moment – I don’t know about you, but I often tune out when running. Fly fishing doesn’t allow that. You need to be minding your fly so you can set the hook in case you get the slightest strike from a fish. The same applies when you’re casting. Fail to pay attention and your fly’s in a tree — or your ear.
• Increased Range of Motion – Goodness, I find myself moving in the oddest positions. I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent moving over boulders while crouched in recent summers, but it’s a lot. My Achilles, ankles, knees, and hips routinely have their range of motion tested.
• Patience – I’m not talking about patience in waiting for fish to bite, but rather for undoing the umpteenth line tangle on a windy afternoon. It’s been good practice!
• Cold Baths – Spending hours wet wading in mountain streams has sure targeted my troublesome Achilles tendons.
• Unqualified “Me” Time – At times, running can feel like a means to an end, such as when training for a particular focus race or challenging adventure. It is “me” time, but that can sometimes be lost on us. However, with no ultimate purpose beyond enjoyment, fly fishing nearly always feels luxuriously indulgent to me.

Call for Comments

• Are you a runner who already incorporates fishing into your runs?
• Are you already a trail runner and a fly fisher? If so, have or would you consider combining the two?
• Do you have any questions on fly fishing or how to combine trail running and fly fishing?