Some time ago I decided to get somewhat more serious about fishing and started looking for a good ultralight fishing kit. Now, for years I have had an ultralight fishing kit that comprised of a line spooled around a plastic bottle with some lures inside. My goal this time, in order to go with my “getting serious about it” theme was to find an ultralight fishing set up that was an actual full fishing kit, complete with a full size rod, reel, tackle, etc.
After some searching, I found equipment that was to my liking. I figured I would share it with you here. For this post I will be focusing on my spin fishing kit. Also, it should be mentioned that this fishing kit is designed for fresh water fishing in small bodies of water. My primary fishing is in streams or small lakes I encounter when backpacking. If you are going after large fish, you will need something more robust.
The rod is St Croix Triumph TRS60LF4 Travel Spinning Rod. It is 6 feet in length, and I opted for the fast action graphite version. It comes apart into 4 pieces for easy transport. When disassembled, it is 18 inches in length. The full rod weighs 3.2 oz as measured (even though it is listed as 3.5 oz). The rod is designed for up to 8 lb test line and cost me $100.00. Honestly, I didn’t look too much. 3.2 oz seemed very reasonable to me for a rod. I am sure you can find lighter products out there if you looked more.
The rod case is one that I made myself. It weighs 1.5 oz, and you can see the tutorial here.
The reel is an Okuma Ultralight UL-10 spinning reel. It was the lightest reel I was able to find, and when I purchased it online I was worried that it would be a toy, but I was pleasantly surprised. It really feels like an actual reel. It has three ball bearings, and can handle line from 2 to 6 lb. I spooled some 4 lb line on it, of which the reel can hold 115 yards. The reel weighs 5.4 oz, and 5.8 oz with the line spooled on. It cost me only $18.00.
The tackle is limited, not in number of pieces, but in that it is focused on small freshwater fish. Depending on what you are after, and how blessed you have been with luck, your tackle will vary. Mine is contained in a small box. It is comprised of several hooks, split shot, swivels, snaps, and a decent assortment of lures. I also have several floats and flies for some different techniques with which I am not good at all. The total weight of the tackle is 2.8 oz. The cost will depend on what pieces you have.
In all honesty, I am a horrible fisherman, so any advise I give you here will most likely be wrong. That being said, the lures I use the most are spinners and plugs.
That’s the entirety of my ultralight spin fishing kit. The tackle and reel are stored in a small bag and are kept in my pack. The rod in the case is strapped to the side of my pack.
The total weight of my ultralight spin fishing kit is 13.6 oz with the bag which holds the tackle and reel.
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