My backpacking fly fishing gear

I make no secret about my laziness. I very much do not want to do one bit more than I absolutely have to, especially when it comes to my backpacking. The whole point of my backpacking adventures are to have fun and carrying huge amounts of weight up steep trails is pretty far from my idea of fun. So with all that said, I am always looking for ways to lighten my load. I don't think I am fanatical but I am pretty serious about keeping everything as light as possible and still be safe and comfortable in the backwoods. Since most of my backpacking centers around trout streams and fly fishing I have gotten my fishing gear down to the minimum that I need.

This is my complete fishing kit. Starting from left to right: Fly rod and rod sock. Current stick of choice is a Fenwick HMG 8 foot 4 weight. Beside my rod at the top are my wading boots. These are some no name boots I picked up on clearance somewhere on the web. They have felt soles that I have added ice racing studs to. Below the boots are neoprene wading socks, Frogg Toggs brand and work well to help keep your feet warm, or at least warmer. On the far right starting at the top is a small bag of brightly colored wool that I use as strike indicators when fishing nymphs and some spare leaders. Below that is my reel and two pill bottles, one with dry flies and the other with nymphs. Next row down from left to right is a bottle of Frog's Fanny fly drier, 3 spools of tippet, 4x, 5x and 6x, some reading glass's in a case ,dry fly floatant, forceps and nippers. Last but not least on the very bottom far right is an ultralight fanny pack to carry all this gear in. 

If you're not a fly fisherman this might seem like a lot of stuff but believe me it is pretty much the bare minimum. I tried to pare it down and not bring the boots and socks and just use the same shoes that I hike in. After slipping, sliding and falling all over the creek and then hiking back to the trail head in wet shoes I decided to suck it up and carry my boots. So what is the weight of all this gear? The rod and rod sock weighs 4.4 ounces. The boots and socks together weigh 1 pound 8.3 ounces. And the fanny pack with everything else in it weighs 15.3 ounces. For a grand total of 2 pounds 12 ounces. 

It took a lot of trial and error for me to get my gear pared down to this, and for me, this is the minimum gear that I need. It has worked for me for several trips but is also open for change, not only for something lighter but also for something that may be a bit heavier but performs better or does multiple jobs. 

I would love to hear critiques or what you carry, as always hit me up in the comments. See you on the creek, Chris