Fly Rods and Survival | MidCurrent

If you had to rely on one fly rod in a survival situation, which would you pick?

That’s a broad question, because it obviously depends on where you’re trying to survive. An island in the Caribbean? The Amazon? An alpine environment? Each situation would ask something else of your fly rod, especially if you depended on it the bring in the majority of your food.

Paul Diprima, writing for the Rome News-Tribune in Georgia, explores this idea by taking us back to a trip he took before the establishment of the Cohutta Wilderness (this would’ve been the early ’70s). He spent the next few days subsisting off the trout he could catch on a fly rod, foraging for edible plants, and shooting a few bullfrogs.

Upon reflecting on this trip, Diprima has a few ideas on what fly rod would be the ideal choice for a survival situation, like the one he experienced all those years ago.

“Yes, the fly rod is a perfect survival tool in almost any area of the world that has water and fish,” he writes. “Don’t worry about technique. Do what is necessary to catch fish. All you want is something to eat.”

You can find out which rod he recommends here.