Review: Douglas Upstream 3wt. 7.5 foot, 6 piece travel rod

The fly fishing industry has struggled to provide a 6 piece travel/backpack rod for many years. They have either been too heavy or the action was about that of an overcooked spaghetti noodle. Most back pack rods were either poor quality or way overpriced for what they were. That conundrum was solved by Douglas Fly Rods. The Upstream 6pc travel rod seems to have all the qualities we need in a travel/backpack style fly rod. It is available in 3 & 4 weights and comes in both 6 and 7.5 foot models.

Since weight is key on travel rods, that was the first focus. The 7 ‘6 rod weighs in at a mere 1.75 ounces. This has been achieved mainly by using sliding reel seats, on elegant cork handles, versus a full on locking seat. It is noteworthy to state that the handles are not overly slim. Too many previous iterations of travel rods have skinny handles that don’t set well in wet hands.  The handle is larger, in diameter than most comparable rods, and sets very well in an angler’s hand.

The action of the rod is slower and more akin to a bamboo rod. The energy transfer and action are both due to the use of spigot ferrules, this age old technology makes the fact it’s a 6 piece rod feel non-existent. 

As we at On the Fly have stated in many rod reviews testing a rod with only one line is extremely narrow minded. Most all purpose rods get tested with a minimum of 6 lines. However this is a purpose built rod for small water so we aligned the line choices with that in mind. That said, I fished this rod with three lines. 

• Rio Selective Trout 
• SA Amplitude Smooth Trout,
• Royal Wulff Bamboo Special weight forward. 

My favorite for all around small stream fishing was the RIO Selective Trout. It was the most accurate with this rod out to 50-feet, a long cast on small water. The SA and Wulff offerings were both fine lines. However, given the slower action of this rod design and my casting stroke, they just didn’t get it done for me.

Packability is where the rod really shines. These 6 piece rods will sit on top of a backpack and not extend past most users shoulders making it all but impervious to tree limbs, vines and other objects.The tube also fits inside most tackle bags making them as “handy as a shirt pocket” when flying into fishing destinations.