Back when I only had two-piece fly rods I put quite a few dents in the protection tubes using them as walking sticks while hiking into the backcountry. I'm not a big fan of gimmicky contraptions that emerge in the outdoors gear world, but when I saw the Fikkes booth during the Open Air Demo at the Summer Outdoor Retailer Market Wednesday at Jordanelle State Park I was intrigued. Fikkes has combined walking staffs/trekking poles and fly fishing rods into one device. After a quick demonstration on how it works (they say it can be done in under a minute once you have the routine down), I hit the water's edge and waited for the flop. It never came. The casting was smooth and efficient and I half expected to catch a smallmouth bass while trying the rod out. The guys told me they had caught a small bass earlier in the day. North Fork composite carbon fiber blanks are used and the Fikkes Fly Hiker comes in 3-weight, 5-weight and 7-weight models. The suggested retail price is $399. Check out the Fikkes fly site for more information.