'06 Honda CR-V: Is It Possible to Make a Better Fly Fishing and Car Camping Mobile?

   Why does your fishing mobile work for you?  How does it meet your outdoorsy needs?  What is so special about the interior?  Have you altered your mobile?  Did you discover something positively fishy about it after you had it for a while?  What is your ultimate, dream-fishing, 4-wheeled go-getter??

   I bought my ‘06 Honda CR-V in 2008 with 21,000 miles on it.  I wasn’t keen on the black interior and always thought this model of suv was a tad homely.  However, it was practical, had proven reliability, and the mpg wasn’t too bad.  At the time, the big plus was that I could flip the rear seat forward and roll my touring bike right in the back without even removing the bike’s front tire.  It was also suitable for my newly-growing habit: fly fishing.  I wasn’t thrilled with my purchase so I didn’t rust-proof it.  The Honda was simply the most practical purchase I could make.  (Tip: If you are going to keep any Honda for a while, rust-proof it!)

   Soon, fishing, fishing road trips and fishing friends eclipsed the time I spent on my bike saddle.  I learned that I had accidentally purchased the best available fly fisher’s road machine –despite that you just might disagree!

   I’ve heard some people refer to compact suvs as a girl’s vehicle (Smirk!).  This girl values 25 mpg vs. big suv 17 mpg on 6-hour road trips.  A shorter wheel base coupled with my moderate 8.1” of ground clearance has given me access to most gravel-rutted paths that lead to remote fishing holes.  Narrow, wooded DNR roads are best traversed by vehicles not as wide as my little house.  While my Honda’s AWD is best-suited for softroading, when I ditched the OEM tires for Cooper CS4s the Honda performed adequately on gravel and snow.  While I might want it to go offroad like a Jeep, it’s never been necessary. 

Reliable and Practical

   Other than normal wear & tear, a bout with a suicidal Wisco deer, and a couple of pesky recalls, after 133,000 miles my Honda has had no garage repair time.  I expect 300,000 out of this baby.  Maybe it will finally need some exhaust work by then…  I can’t say enough about the CR-Vs reliability.

   My machine has:  Decent mpg – although the newer, small suvs are better;  good ground clearance, esp compared to the newer, small suvs (what are car companies thinking?!;  excellent head room for my male fishing pals – weird, but all of them are tall.  If there is good head room, there is also better fly rod room!  Also, I can store my deflated pontoon, camping gear, fishing gear, & a medium cooler and still have room for 2 passengers.  There is also a hidden storage area for rods and other valuables (because the spare tire is not stored inside the suv).  It has good safety ratings.

Interior

  I now prefer the black cloth seats.  They don’t get very hot in the summer.  I don’t have to worry about dirt and water marks created by dirty, wet hands or wader butts.  I can’t grasp why anyone would want an AWD suv with a sand-colored interior – other than that it would be easier to see ticks crawling about.

   The seats are also great for car camping.  Some people prefer to sleep in the back of their trucks or suvs.  I’ve come to appreciate another set-up.  I slide my passenger seat completely forward and remove the headrest.  I recline the seat back flush with the rear seat and throw down my camping pad, etc.  With the ability to recline the rear seat backs, I can kick back and write, read, or plan for the next day’s fishing adventure with choices of light from a lamp set on my cooler, a light hanging from my roof hand grip, or from a headlamp.  Of course, the rear armrest has a cup holder to allow for choice of beverage.  When it’s time for fishing dreams, my 5’7” frame can almost completely stretch out for a pretty good night’s sleep.  The advantage to not sleeping in the rear of the vehicle is that when I wake on a cold winter’s morning, I can simply lean forward, turn the keys, and heat up the CR-V before worming out of my sleeping bag.  In case of emergency I can get quick access to the driver’s seat.

   My center console is actually a flip-down table that includes cupholders.  Space exists under the table and between the table and the seats.  My fly fishing travel binder always sits in one of those spaces.  There is an adequate amount of cubbies for storage.  Nothing beats a van for cool cubbie spaces but there is only 1 AWD van and it has a long wheel base and lower ground clearance.

   The interior roof is great!  I have 4 roof lights.  There are 3 nicely-sized, metal latches on the very rear, interior roof.   These were originally designed for use with child car seats but used by me as part of my interior rod holder system.  Rear above-door grab handles coupled with bungies also contribute to the rod holder system.  And, the roof liner is a felt-like material.  I discovered its benefits a few years ago.  I have a variety of flies poked in the liner.  Gifted flies, retired flies from memorable fishing days, and flies that needed to dry before being returned to the fly box hang from the liner.  Velcro fly patches adhere to the liner.  I use Velcro straps to secure my 7.5’-9’ rod bodies to the liner.  The rods then curve down and along the front windshield.  In case of hard braking, rod tips will not slam into the windshield.

      

   I’d day-dreamed of keeping my baby until it had 300,000 miles on it.  I know a guy who has 800,000 miles on an Accord & the only major work was done on the tranny.  However, my CR-V has hints of rust starting in the couple areas known for rust.  Once a vehicle starts to rust, something inside of me clicks:  Sell!

  I had a deal on a new ’14 Subie and private buyers for the CR-V.  The deal fell through so I put in an order on the next best thing, a ’15 Subaru Outback.  I am certain it won’t be the perfect fly fishing and camping machine the CR-V has been, but I’m going to rust-proof the Subie just in case.  Heck, I might even wash it once in a while, too!  And, do you know what the best thing is?  The folks who wanted to buy my CR-V are going to wait the 12 weeks until my Subie arrives to take possession of the Honda!  Oh, wait, do you know what is equal to this best thing?  The buyers are John and Cheryl, fellow fly fishing friends, and when we car pool to fly fishing events I will still get to enjoy the best fly fishing mobile around.