[jayodonn]

Hi All,

I'm looking for a chest pack for saltwater use. Browsing the manufacturers websites they don't include information about whether the pack is suitable for saltwater (it can't have metal that will rust). Any recommendations?

[jimw]

Hey Jay
I was wondering if you use a stripping basket if you do check out the post from vest to chest. The orvis sling pack seems to work well with a basket. I have never used a chest pack but have tried a few on and didn't like the way they sit they kinda get in the way with a stripping basket.
Jim

[jayodonn]

Hi JimW. I'm new to fly fishing, have no experience, but will be using a stripping basket. Are you right or left handed? The sling (and others like it) seem to all hang on your left side. I'm right handed, will be stripping with my left so I'm thinking the stripping basket will go right where the sling pack is. Again, I'm new to this so maybe I've got the setup wrong.

[sandfly]

Orvis packs work great, I fished for years on the jersey coast with them..along with there stripping baskets..

[jimw]

Hey Jay
I am right handed, i have heard a few complaints From lefty's that it is designed for right handed people. It is very roomy to and holds everything i need for a whole day fishing. You can spin it around so it is on your back and totally out of the way when you need something you just spin it to the front. Where are you from and where do you fish surf, inshore, boat or wade??
Jim

[jayodonn]

Thanks for the info. Have you tried the William Joseph Creel Pack? It looks similar and seems to have more storage. I don't think they make them anymore but still a few left at discount prices on the internet.

I live in RI. Fished all my life from boats using spinning/conventional rods. However, I've never fly-fished and no longer have a boat so this is a new experience. The current plan is to fish mostly from shore but will also fish from kayak on occasion. I'm not planning to hit the big surf with a fly rod but there are places with easy access to open water so I'm sure I'll try that too. That being said I'll focus mostly on estuaries, salt ponds and calmer beaches of the bay.

[hsmith1313]

Hey Jayodonn,

For what its worth, I spend my summers on Cape Cod doing what it sounds like you are planning to do and have found that a chest pack is unnecessary. I fish the inlets to the saltwater ponds, wade fish the ponds and fish from a kayak and I just wear a fishing shirt with lots of pockets and a lanyard that holds tippett, forceps and nippers. I stick a fly box in one shirt pocket and a few extra leaders in another and I am set to go. I will sometimes use a stripping basket if I'm in fast moving water or surf. I've found that chest/back/fanny packs start to get uncomfortable after a while and I can't recall needing something that I didn't have.

When I go on a longer trip in the kayak, I pack additional equipment in a fanny or back pack that I leave in the boat or carry to my point of entry for wading.

On my recent trip to Andros I did the same thing while several of my buddies used chest packs, but they never needed anything that I did not have.