Heading out West in a few days and plan to carry on board 4 piece rods in an Able rod carrier, and Reels in my backpack ... this has always worked fine everywhere in the past few years, but, for the first time, I am planning to carry 5-6 boxes of Trout Flies in my backpack.

Reading the Federal Regs on line is not very specific or clear as to what can be carried on board regarding Flies. Some places seem to say "hooks belong in checked baggage" and others say "fragile items like expensive reels and flies should be carried on board".

What are you experiencing in travelling from the East Coast to the West (Boise, Idaho) etc?
Have you printed out the Fedral Regs pages that support what you want to do and then shown them to the baggage screeners as necessary? Did that work?
I'm wondering if the Feds may be more easy going about carrying on Trout Flies than the Airline staff ... "Northwest" in this case.
Thanks,
Ken