[Brother Bear]

Pros
- can catch most fish
-flys are cheap
-you can make your own flys
-they are fun to use, making getting dinner fun
-they are good at catching those wary fish( trout)

Cons
-they require some skill
-they are long
-they are harder to fight a fish on.

 

[elittle]

I just watched and epsiode of Survivor man where he used one in the Rockies and he said that most people in the Rockies carry one with them while horse back riding I think. You are correct they do require some skill. For camping/hiking purposes it might be better to carry one of those compactible fishing rods.

 

[Brother Bear]

well i have one and it catches more fish than live bait big fish and small , and i have little skill lol

 

[Maurepas]

I've got an ultralight Orvis fly rod that breaks down into 7 sections. It's good for backpacking. But I catch just as many fish with my $20 telescoping rod with spinning reel. I just take an assortment of hooks, weights and spoons.
So I guess it's whatever you are most proficient at using.

 

[Gator Bait]

I have been having a time trying to learn how to use one. Nobody here seems to know how, and the local fly fishing organization is made up of stuffed shirt types from what I hear. Guess I'm on my own.

 

[kingjames]

I dont see why not. I thinking keeping a fly and spinner reel would benifit you one way or another!

 

[LuniticFringeInc]

Might be some merit there. I have caught fish in small streams before using a fly rod where using a convenmtional rod/reel and worms I have had minimal results.

As a young teen learning to use one I will never forget going down a small knee deep creek with a small sponge spider and just way laying some nice large bream that was in the water as my buddies looked on in amazment. That experience has made a impression on me ever since. I now tie my own flies and its really pretty easy to fashion a terestial bug on a small hook and getting some results. I even tie my own sabiki rigs and use them with a conventional rig to catch some bream for bait when I go out on the hunt for two fisted sized catfish. A couple of slab bream per a person can make for a decent meal with a side or two to go with it.

 

[Brother Bear]

yea they scare the fish less

 

[guide1]

Personally, in a survival situation, I would prefer a medium-weight spinning outfit with a healthy selection of spinners and spoons (metallic artificial lures). I say this as a card-carrying fly fishing guide because I view fishing in a survival situation as something that must be simple, fast, sustainable, and consistently effective. Fly fishing on many different waters can be a very challenging task, even for a professional. On any given day, I typically carry 80-100 different patterns, and that's just on my local waters! I also see fly fishing as more of a recreational activity (especially when it is limited to catch and release) than a survival tool. That being said, if fly fishing equipment was the only equipment available, I have confidence that I would be successful (and I have a lot more fly fishing gear than spin fishing gear!) Also, for those on a budget, a quality spinning outfit is far less expensive than a quality fly rod.