I have always loved the idea of using a backpack as my fishing pack. Backpacks are comfortable on long hikes to the river. You can carry all the gear you need for a full day and then some, including extra river beers. Plus, all the pockets and organizational features always appealed to my inner OCD monster.

All that sounds great on paper, but in practice backpacks are horrible fishing packs. It all comes down to access, backpacks are hard to access. Picture this you’re in the middle of a larger river fishing a run and you want to switch flies, of course the fly you want is in the fly box at the very bottom or your backpack. There is no easy way to get to that fly box and fly without taking your backpack off. Now removing a backpack, opening zippers, moving fly boxes, all while in the middle of a river juggling a fly rod is a nightmare. For that reason, I have stayed away from backpacks on the river.Well, I have been fishing out of the Simms Headwater backpack for five months now and I can say Simms has solved the “access” problem. Simms built this backpack all around “access”. You no longer have to fully remove your backpack to access your fly boxes. Instead, you take the strap off your left shoulder and swing the backpack to your front, just like you would with a sling pack. From there you can access a compartment on the side of the backpack that holds all your fly boxes. This compartment has an included velcro divider so you can really dial in your organization and feed that inner OCD monster.

The Headwater Backpack also has an integrated roll top dry bag in the main compartment that is great for keeping anything that needs to stay dry, dry. I have been keeping my first aid kit and extra layers in this compartment, along with a few river beers.

Andy Ellis

TCO Fly Shop Head Buyer