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Last year I did pretty well with the tackle part, bringing everything I needed in a box that was maybe 4" x 7" x 1". The rod/reel are a different animal though, and I'm wondering what other people do. Generally, I end up taking a collapsible pole with a reel attached, and carrying it in the pack. If my son or daughter come along, that's two of those in the pack, and then there are two odd shapes trying to get into a backpack.
I know that another solution is to tie a non-collapsing pole under the gunwales, and carry the reel separately. That's better in a lot of respects, although I think the poles would get in the way when lifting/putting down the canoe for a portage, or get smacked around by a pack loading or unloading. Another solution is a pole that has detachable segments, so you remove the reel and keep it all in the pack. Both of these solutions include something I find a pain in the rear though, and that's putting the reel back on the pole then dealing with line that is unraveling and has a leader or whatever on the end that you have to snake through the ferrules and ha-ha, the last ferrule is too small for the leader to pass through.
So, I'm (obviously) no incredible fisherman. I enjoy it, but it isn't a passion. I really just want to get some input on smarter ways to travel the park with fishing stuff than what I have done.
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Part of it depends whether you are going on a fishing trip that involves a canoe or a canoe trip that might involve fishing.
I would say that most folks who are on fishing trips are taking a couple of 6'-7' spinning rods and you'll have a line in the water most of the day.
We do a lot of base camp trips where we'll day trip. On day trips, then one person can carry the canoe on the portage while the 2nd person carries a day pack and the rods. Well, that day pack may end up being a full sized portage pack with the tackle boxes and other stuff in it for the portages. On longer portages - like 1,500 m or more then we might collapse the rods and think about strapping stuff into the canoe, but not on shorter portages.
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i would look at a rod/reel soft case, with a handle. put you fishing gear in the case and then tie the case into the canoe. helps protect every thing, include your line. some rod cases are large enough to put a extra reel into. or more than one fishing pole. i carry a glue stick for repairs if needed.
i hope this helps
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I bring a full 6.5' spinning rod/reel combo that breaks down once in the middle (a standard rod). When on the move I keep it folded in half and attached to the underneath of the thwarts in my canoe lengthwise with the canoe. I use gear ties to hold it in place (along with paddles on the portages). I put it on the far left side of the canoe, I paddle on the right primarily so this way if I'm not fishing between portages it stays put. That's how I did it all last season and it worked great and I single carried almost every portage while solo tripping.
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I've done a couple of different things. I have a Fenwick travel rod that breaks down into three pieces with a tube case. It's great for keeping safe and straps onto my pack so I don't have to worry about it - reel went in a sock in my pack. The problem I found is, I usually want to have a line in the water or at least cast a bit on every lake while travelling. Too much work to be breaking it down and putting it back together every portage.
Last year I brought my one piece 6'6'' rod with a spinning reel and had it strapped under the gunwales. I just made sure the handle on the reel was down and out of the way. Kept it strapped up in there during portages and barely noticed it. The only thing is, I had to be a little bit more careful when loading and unloading packs into the canoe. Having it out of my way on portages, but being able to grab it whenever I wanted to fish for a bit was great. I'll be doing that again this year.
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basilthegood wrote:
Last year I brought my one piece 6'6'' rod with a spinning reel and had it strapped under the gunwales. I just made sure the handle on the reel was down and out of the way. Kept it strapped up in there during portages and barely noticed it. The only thing is, I had to be a little bit more careful when loading and unloading packs into the canoe. Having it out of my way on portages, but being able to grab it whenever I wanted to fish for a bit was great. I'll be doing that again this year.
Last year I was single carrying the 705m portage between Misty and Shah with an overloaded pack (too much beer?) with my rod held in the canoe exactly like that, somehow when I got to the end of the portage and went to take the canoe off my back the top of my pack caught my fishing rod and literally snapped it in half like a twig. This was the first day of my 10 day solo trip around the park. 
Duct tape and a few branches for the win, and yes I did catch a few fish.
Pic is a few days later on Longer Lake:
Last edited by ATVenture (1/25/2018 8:20 am)
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I put my spinning or bait casting rod and real in the front of my canoe under the handle and secure it with reusable zip ties. With my paddles tied in, safety kit, rope and life jacket attached everything is balanced nicely and I've never had a problem with that set up in all my years. I even leave my rod holder attached. The only time I had a problem was when I put a collapsible pole on the outside of my pack and when I went to lift it the tip got caught on something and it snapped.
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Duct tape and a few branches for the win, and yes I did catch a few fish.
I have a 8' trolling rod that I've been for at least 10 years that has been spliced and duct taped since about a week after I got it. That one doesn't usually come on canoe trips but still gets used regularly with lead core for summer trout.
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I bring a tackle waist pouch that holds three plano boxes full of tackle and other fishing stuff, line, pliers, etc.
As for the rod and reel...I like to bring two rods. One is a 6'6 medium heavy action rod mainly used for trolling for lakers or small mouth fishing. The other is a 6' light action rod I use casting for brookies in the spring.
Both rods are two piece rods, I take em apart and secure them together with elastics.
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Fishing and Interior Camping I love the solitude that interior camping gives me but the main reason I do it is for the fishing I've gone to a telescope rod they are generally more rigid / stiff and you have to pay more attention when you are fishing but mine is about 12 inches long when not extended and it goes in my back pack the reel is really your choice I also use 5 pound braid it has virtually no memory
Shawn G
Last edited by Shawn G (1/25/2018 11:52 am)
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I've suffered the same fate/problems you've mentioned concerning loading and unloading of packs from the canoe and fishing rods. Last year on my fist trip of the season, I had the tip of my fishing rod snap off on our final portage trail. Fortunately we were leaving and the rod wasn't being used. To solve this problem I went out and bought any Ugly Stik. My biggest challenge is the reel though. I don't remove my reel from the rod and with loading and unloading it gets bounced around pretty good during long trips. I've tried attaching the rod in various ways as mentioned but the reel can still be banged around. If you don't want to remove your reel from your rod (like me) then a soft sided rod case would be the best choice IMO. I bought some elastic Velcro straps at the local Dollarama and use them to wrap around the rod for portaging. Their quick and simple to put on and take off and hold the rod and paddles secure for portaging if your carrying in your hand.
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I don't have a telescopic rod (really like the idea though).
For specs and lakers I really don't bother with a heavy setup of any kind ... I have a rod that about 6 feet and go with 6 lb diameter test (like the braided line too). It breaks down quick for portage and straps to the side of my backpack.
I like having a line in the water all the time so a lot of time if its a short portage I'll just leave it setup and once I'm paddling again its in the water with a diver down about 4-6 feet ...
I also don't overdue it on the tackle ... a few rapallas, spoons, spinners, flies, etc ... and always worms.
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I don't think that I've carried a rod case in since my first year of spring fishing. Like DW I've pretty much always got a line in the water so the case ended up just being bulk that wasn't used and it wasn't worth the effort of unrigging and packing the rod for short or moderate portages.
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Thanks for the tips everybody, I really appreciate it. When I'm just canoeing around locally I almost always troll a little rapala behind, but in Algonquin I never seem to do that, at least not while I'm on the move. I just know every snag I have to take care of would drive me crazy when I'm thinking about destination: next campsite. Not that I'm in a huge hurry, but anti-progress bugs me I guess. I'm not sure if I want to stick with the telescoping poles or not, to me the bigger thing is dealing with the reels, and there have been some good suggestions here. I don't like taking the reels off the telescoping poles because it is such a stinker to put them back on especially if there is a leader that is too big to fit through the end ferrule, and if you can get the lead or clip or whatever through that end ferrule, it is hard to keep the line from unraveling all over the reel. relative to tackle - a lot of you seem to take a lot with you, but of course if that is a big focus of your trip that makes sense. I carry a handful of little spinners, some little rapalas and not a whole lot else. Weighs next to nothing and takes up very little space.
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There are definitely places where we'll pull the lines in but most of the time trolling a Rapala is pretty safe in terms of avoiding snags, especially if you pick a shallow running one.
Looking back over the years it's amazing how many of our best fish came when we were just 'dragging a line' while paddling as opposed to actively fishing and working the shorelines. That includes the family record lake trout up in Metagamasi (NE of Sudbury) when around 4pm in the middle of July paddling over water at least 80' deep the laker came up and hit an X-Rap that I can guarantee wasn't running more than 4' or 5' deep based on where we had paddled earlier in the day without snagging.
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Re: The Reel
A closed face reel could solve your problem I have Daiwa Goldcast =13px
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Something I should mention is that when I say I always have a line in the water with a rapella its usually a smaller rapalla ... My reasoning is that a smaller baitfish presentation wills till attract hungry larger trout ... maybe not huge lakers ... but I find that I'm there to catch fish and not troll for the large ones ... the smaller ones will land you great eating size fish and even decent perch which also make nice eating ... I was on Lavielle and caught the longest brookie I ever got, decent laker and a really big perch .. all in the same morning and all with the same rapella.
and of course the smaller ones are cheaper so not a biggie to lose them.
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