I didn't mean to imply that I agree with 2 pounds being acceptable for the rod/reel/flies alone but I do find that I take enough fishing stuff along to cover most eventualities for a given destination - which in fly fishing terms is very light, no matter which way you slice it. I highly doubt that most freshwater fly fishing sorts could find a rod/reel/fly box/hemostat/leader spool/split-shot canister setup that would add up to even a half pound, much less two pounds. Graphite is hardly heavy material and modern fly rods are very very light weight, albeit not always cheap.

To some extent, if a person is going to hamstring themselves so into a corner with limited fishing gear that they limit their chances of success, it might be more rewarding to simply sit on the side of the stream and watch the fish slurp bugs off the surface than to realize that the appropriate rod/flies/etc. were omitted due to weight/space concerns.