Fly rods are many things, but one thing they aren’t is convenient for air travel. You need a special case to haul them as a carry-on, and I know few anglers who have enough faith in baggage handlers these days put a few thousand dollars worth of rods, reels, and line in checked baggage.

What is the best fly-fishing grip? The simple answer is: the grip that feels and works best for you. Period. Though there may be no fly fishing topic that earns the ire of internet fly casting trolls, also known as the “casting police,” most of these individuals live in an echo chamber where they preach about the One Way to fly cast. What these individuals fail to understand is that no single fly casting style is best for everyone. While there are certainly tactics that work best for the masses, there’s always a minority in need of another approach.