I am headed to the Seychelles for a trip of a lifetime, and the catch is brutal: I can only take 33 pounds in one bag and 11 pounds in another. The 33-pound limit comes from a strict-weight bush flight from Mahe to Providence Atoll, and that one bag has to carry my rods. In this episode I work through packing in real time, weighing everything, cutting gear I thought I needed, and fighting to make room for the flies I actually want. It is a master class in ruthless prioritization under a hard weight limit.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
On my trip the limit was 33 pounds in one bag and 11 pounds in a second bag. The 33-pound cap comes from the small bush flight from Mahe out to Providence Atoll, which has a very strict weight limit, and that one bag also has to hold my rods. Those numbers force you to make hard choices, because there is no room to overpack when the plane simply will not take the extra weight.
I started by weighing everything in an open bin, which weighs six pounds, so I could subtract that and read my true gear weight without repacking the bag over and over. I started at 44 pounds gross, about 38 pounds of gear, and worked it down. I pulled extra fly lines out of their boxes to save space, cut down to one GoPro, dropped a waterproof Yeti bag, and even scaled back on underwear and clothes until I hit my number.
A lot. I had planned on multiple GoPros and got down to one, plus there was other GoPro accessory gear that did not make the cut. I left a waterproof Yeti dry bag behind, scaled down on underwear and clothes, and gave up a little speaker I would normally bring. The whole exercise is about deciding what truly earns its weight, and a surprising amount of what I thought I needed did not.
You protect the essentials first, the rods and the flies, and cut everything around them. One trick that saved weight was wearing my wading boots and carrying my extra clothes separately, which dropped the packed bag down to 28 pounds and freed up room. That margin let me add back some of the flies I really wanted. The priority order is rods, flies, then the bare minimum of everything else.
Because remote destinations like Providence Atoll are reached by small bush planes with hard weight limits, and there is no negotiating with the scale. If you show up overweight, something gets left behind at the worst possible moment. Planning your pack in advance, weighing as you go, and knowing exactly what you can cut means you arrive with the gear that actually matters instead of scrambling at the counter.
I weigh everything in an open bin sitting on the scale, then subtract the known weight of the bin, six pounds in my case. That lets me see my true gear weight and add or remove items without packing and repacking the actual bag every single time. It turns packing into a fast, repeatable process where I can chase a target number instead of guessing whether I am over or under.
When most people pack for a fishing trip, weight is an afterthought. For the Seychelles it is the whole game. The bush flight from Mahe to Providence Atoll holds you to 33 pounds in the bag that also has to carry your rods, and there is no talking your way around it. That single constraint dictates every decision I make, and it forced me to be honest about what I actually need. I work through it all in real time in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The hardest part is letting go of gear you were sure you needed. I planned on multiple GoPros and ended with one, dropped a Yeti dry bag, gave up a little speaker, and trimmed clothes and underwear. But protecting the rods and flies, and wearing my wading boots to save packed weight, got me down to 28 pounds with room to add back flies. The priorities make the cuts obvious. I show exactly what stayed and what went in the episode, so press play in the player above and follow along.
Here are the steps I walk through in this How 2 Tuesday. I cover the details in the episode, so press play in the player above and follow along.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
Packing for the Seychelles taught me that ruthless prioritization beats wishful packing every time. Weigh as you go, protect the rods and flies, and cut everything that does not earn its weight.
By wearing my boots and trimming the extras, I beat the scale and still made room for the flies that mattered most. Press play in the player above for the whole process.
Seychelles · Providence Atoll · Mahe · bush flight weight limit · fly rods · fly lines · GoPro · wading boots · saltwater fly fishing · Tom Rowland Podcast · How 2 Tuesday
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
Tom Rowland Podcast — Episode 973: How to Pack for a Trip to the Seychelles (How 2 Tuesday)
In this episode: a 33-pound bag limit for the flight from Mahe to Providence Atoll, weighing gear in an open bin instead of repacking, cutting GoPros, the Yeti wading bag and clothes, and wearing the wading boots to make room for more flies — in the exact words spoken.
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Tom Rowland: I'm headed to The Seychelles for a trip of a lifetime. One thing, I can only take 33 pounds in one bag and 11 pounds in another. Let's see if I can get all my stuff in there.
Tom Rowland: Alright. So the 33 pounds is because we're gonna have to take a flight from Mahe to, Providence Atoll. And there is a very strict limit. We're gonna have to take one bag that has the rods in it, and it has to be a maximum of 33 pounds.
Tom Rowland: So I've got all the stuff that I have planned on taking right here, and I'm weighing in at forty four. I know this bin weighs six pounds, so we're looking at 38 pounds.
Tom Rowland: So I've already gone through this a whole bunch. That's why I have it on the scale with this open bin here instead of trying to pack the bag over and over.
Tom Rowland: We're gonna pack the bag right now, but I've determined that I can't take any of this stuff. So even as I even as I drop all this stuff out, I have to I've I've done everything from taking the extra fly lines out of the boxes, trying to get space.
Tom Rowland: I was planning on taking multiple GoPros. Only gonna be able to take one, I think. There's some other GoPros stuff in there. Not gonna be able to take that. Not gonna be able to take this waterproof Yeti waiting bag.
Tom Rowland: Even had to scale down on some underwear, some scale down on some clothes. And as I keep taking this stuff out, all this stuff that I was planning on taking, I would usually take a little speaker. Now we're down to 36 pounds right now. So 36 pounds, and I know that the the bin weighs six. So now we're right at 30 pounds.
Tom Rowland: So it looks like what I'm hoping is that I was scaled down enough when I scale take out this other stuff that I can actually take some more flies that I wanna take. So I'll show you everything that I'm gonna take and how we're gonna put it in the bag.
Tom Rowland: 33, but I have my waiting boots and my extra clothes in here. Then I'm going to wear the waiting boots and I'm gonna take leave the extra clothes. So when I go there, now I am I'm at 28.
Tom Rowland: So I can actually take a couple more things. So maybe I'll maybe I'll find something else that I really thought I needed, maybe an extra shirt or something like that, and I could put it in here. Alright. Let's go.
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