Packraft Fishing - Backcountry Fly Fishing
With Steffen Brothers Rod Company
5 Days on the Middle Fork Feather River - Packraft Fly Fishing, Adventuring, and Wild Trout!
Andy from Steffen Brothers Rod company contacted me to put together a Backcountry Fly Fishing experience for his customers. He calls them "Outings" and describes them as:
...we all agree that everyone could use a little more adventure in our lives. What is adventure? A proper adventure is a situation where you don’t have complete control, and often times in these moments, it's when we learn the most about ourselves! Let's bring anglers together to fish some unique gems across America. All trips include access to custom fly rods and a full complement of hospitality. A healthy dose of ADVENTURE & SPACE to refill your mind and soul.
His definition of adventure is exactly what I do for a living as a Backcountry Fly Fishing Guide!
Backcountry Fly Fishing the remote Canyon of the Middle Fork Feather River
We hosted the trip at the Lost Sierra Ranch in Sloat CA, a private 200-acre ranch with 1 mile of riverfront property. Andy and his guests stayed in the "River Front Cabins" and were treated to the sights and sounds of wild trout sipping dry flies from their deck while preparing for the day's adventures!
On our first day, we got right to work with a 3-mile Backcountry Packraft Float in the remote canyon section of the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Feather River. The guests learned the ropes of Packrafting and we quickly got on the fish. In addition to all of the amazing Fly Rods Steffen Brothers builds, Andy brought one rod that caught my attention right off the bat, a 10'2 Euro Rod prototype. I rigged it up with my tried and true mono rig and balanced out the leader system for our depth and boom fish on! As a guide, I watch a lot of people catch fish, sometimes 25-50 a day. I watch the rod, the line, the drift, and the take. I coach people on setting the hook, putting the fish on the rod, and if need be, putting the fish on the reel! Like any good piece of gear, it should blend in, work hard, do the job, and enhance your experience. All of the Steffen Brother's Rods did just that!
Further down the river, I showed Andy how we strip streamers on glass rods to catch big wild trout! On the first "demo" cast I was explaining to him why I keep the fly in the water near the end of the retrieval and BOOM, fish on! We had an amazing day on the water, in typical Lost Sierra Fly Guide Style, we "lost count" of how many fish we had in the net and soaked up the beauty of the Middle Fork Feather River!
The next few days we did walk and wade trips on the Ranch Property while targeting dry fly risers, deep fast runs on the tight line rig, and stripping streamers on rad glass rods!
The next few days were spent soaking in the amazing scenery, catching wild trout on the fly, enjoying amazing food, and the top-notch, hand-built fly rods. But we had to keep the adventures going, so we geared up for an overnight float deep into the remote canyon of The Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Feather River! These remote overnight trips are my favorite things to share with guests, and Andy and Alex were the perfect people for the adventure!
Our overnight float was approximately 6 miles, allowing us to access remote backcountry fly fishing spots others can only dream about. I asked Andy, "How does being here compared to photos online? He said it's twice as good and absolutely amazing!" I smiled and said out loud, "I love my job!"
Steffen Brothers Rod Company is known for their "glass rods," but I was blown away by their graphite rods! The "Modern Classic - IM6 Graphite rod is one of the best fly rods I have ever casted. The 9' 4wt rod placed accurate casts with dry flies and punched woolly buggers and pockets with 100 percent confidence and finesse! I absolutely love that fly rod!
More intriguing was the Euro Prototype rod. I have been fishing Moonshine rods for about a decade and have been losing confidence in their quality, customer service, and overall appeal since the business moved from a "small batch" rod company to an e-commerce on Amazon. Looking for that "small batch" custom experience, I put Andy's prototype through the paces on my home waters and quickly realized this was the next rod for my guiding business. It's a 10'2 3/4 weight with a lean taper. It's light, fast, accurate, and feels amazing! The rod becomes an extension of your arm as you delicately slip in and out of contact with your flies on the tight, thin mono rig. The cast is smooth, the take is instant, and the smiles are contagious.
At the end of our trip, I asked Andy if Steffen Brothers could make me a custom "Tight Line" nymphing rod to my specs and price point for a guide, I don't like to fish $800 plus fly rods in the backcountry as the environment is so rugged. After some riverside brainstorming, we shook hands on a deal: Lost Sierra Fly Guide will start hand-building Steffen Brothers Fly Rods.... and The Lost Sierra Fly Rod Company was born!
If you can connect with Andy from Steffen Brothers Fly Rods, it will be well worth your time. Andy is relaxed, enjoys life, and has an innate ascetic for Fly Rods, rod builds, and marketing. We share a lot in common. Check out Steffen Brothers Rods, and make sure to reach out to Andy with any questions, you won’t regret it!
Packraft Fly Fishing is the ultimate Backcountry Fly Fishing tool. Agile, light, portable, and beginner-friendly, this form of rafting allows anglers to access more water than they can on a walk-and-wade trip without the investment and logistics of floating a full-size oar raft.
Why choose a Packraft for backcountry Fly fishing?
Easy to shuttle, Packrafts roll up, and you can store 3-4 rafts in the back of a pickup truck.
Easy to launch, lightweight, and do not need a trailer. You can hike Packrafts into remote locations and launch them pretty much anywhere, I have thrown them off bridges!
User-friendly, Packrafts are easy to paddle and do not require a ton of practice to get the hang of things.
It is always best to go with a partner or hire a guide to show you the ropes if you are new to packrafting, even though these little rafts are easy and forgiving, the river and backcountry are not. be safe and be smart!
I use Kokopelli Recon Packrafts for my fleet. They are well-priced, bomb-proof, fun, and functional. The company is small and based in CO and works hard to make sure you get the right packraft, and it lasts for years of adventuring. Check them out at www.kokopelli.com
