How do you transport your rods when driving to a fishing trip?

[srock]

I am relatively new to the forum and have enjoyed reading various posts. It has broadened my perspective. A question I have concerns how you transport your rods while driving to a fishing location? Having one’s gear ready to fish right away is convenient which means you need to have your rod put together and ready to go the minute you arrive. Putting together rod, reel, flies etc. can eat up important fishing time. Nonetheless, this is risky for the equipment. My preference is to have rods ready to go on shorter trips, ie., 2-3 hours and to begin fishing immediately. I even sometimes drive with my waders on. So as to worry less, I often use my older rods for this kind of fishing, I even keep a rod ready to go in my garage for fishing locally. Just curious what others are doing in this regard.

 

[mcnerney]

I feel the same way you do, I want to have my rods ready to go when I get to the stream. When I first moved to Pinedale, WY I had to take our two dogs with me fishing, so having fly rods rigged inside the vehicle was not an option, so I bought a Titan rod Vault on top of my Subaru Outback. We have had discussions on the forum regarding the Titan Rod Vault, some don't like it, but I have had mine for about three years and love everything about it. If you don't have to carry animals, then there are several options available for carrying rods inside your vehicle.

Edit: Here is a good discussion on rod carriers:
https://www.theflyfishingforum.com/...590-fly-rod-car-carriers.html?highlight=titan

 

[rocketbomb]

I keep them in their original rod tubes. The ritual of putting a rod together and rigging up has become an integral part of the fishing experience for me. It's something that slows me down a bit, to a pace of mind more suitable for fishing. I rush enough in other parts of life.

 

[sweetandsalt]

For transport I use a strong multi-rod PVC/Cordura tube. Once at my destination I like to keep two or three rods rigged. How this is safely accomplished has a lot to do with the type of vehicle you use. As Larry observed above, search here and under Rods and you will find a number of threads with creative ideas member have shared.

 

[chief17]

I keep them broken down in the case. For me I don't think it takes too long to rig up. Sounds like the Riversmith/Rod Vault carrier would work good for you.

 

[Meadowlark]

I always transport my rods in the case...always.

Many times when going on a boat will leave in the case until its time to fish. Leave 5 minutes early if that is a problem...but breaking a rod in transport is a much bigger problem.

 

[huronfly]

I'm like you, drive with the waders on, rods already strung up with fly(s) tied on. If my rod is not ready to go when I've arrived at a river then I feel like I am wasting valuable time, even though realistically it takes the same amount of time no matter what order things are done... I just don't like to be fumbling with knots and flies when I know there are fish waiting for me nearby. When its hovering around the freezing mark I definitely don't want to be tying knots outside either!

 

[JoJer]

Most of my rods are two piece and I transport them in a rod caddy with the reels attached. I use this one, BW Sports Fishing Gear: Fly Vest / All Weather Gear and a couple of single rod types for the rods I use less frequently. Assembly time is time to take a deep breath, look around the water, check for bugs, look for activity on the water, then choose a fly (or a rod/technique). A lot of our local waters are followed by a road. My guru tells me to drive and look (with binocs if necessary) for feeding fish before rigging according to what they appear to be eating. Once I'm on the water, when it's time to move, the rod(s) go on the magnetic rack on the front of the truck.

 

[rangerrich99]

This question is a little different for me, probably for anyone that lives in the Phoenix, Valley of the Rotisserie Oven area, as we don't have any trout water within 5-15 minutes of our front doors.

For myself, the average drive to trout water is 2.5-3.5 hours away, so initially my rods travel in their tubes up to base camp.

However, once there, I break out my set of magnetic rod holders (Orvis), which allow me to travel around the Rim with my rigged rods riding on the hood of my Taco at up to 55 mph, or far faster than I'll typically go on the goat trails I tend to roll around over while running from water to water. I do have to watch out for low-hanging tree branches though. Had a buddy of mine get his rods ripped off his hood by a mean ole pine tree.

All of this means that I have to build in rigging time into my drive time if I want to hit the water at dawn. For me, that's an extra half hour. But there's some coffee-drinking/last watering of a nearby tree going on in there somewhere as well.

Peace.

 

[fr8dog]

The best way to keep from turning a 2 piece rod into 3 is to transport it in a tube and rigging up when you need it. (Or a 4 into 5) Sorry, it's just that simple. Spend the extra 5 minutes to rig up and save yourself the aggravation, heartbreak, and money. I know this from experience, not just pontificating. (Big word. Need another beer)

 

[Ontarioflyguy]

I generally carry broken down in tubes withe the fly reels having leaders and tippet attached for quick set up. However, if I'm trying to get an evening fish in after work and have to drive up to half an hour, I will have my 4 piece rod broken down to a 2 piece with it lined up and holding the 2 pieces of rod together with rubber bands. I will lay it on the back seat of my truck wrapped in my light rain coat so it cant bump around until I pull it out and set up quickly. I have broken one rod tip doing this a few year ago and have been much more careful since lol.

 

[hunter1]

I have them in the rear of the Jeep in rod tubes. I haul wader bag , everything back there. I love to get to where I'm fishing, take a look at the water. Then I set up my rod , get waders on and boots. I like to stay relaxed and enjoy what i'm doing. Catching fish is a plus. I don't like to travel with rods set up, I'm never in that much of a hurry.

 

[duker]

I too keep my rods in their tubes and my reels in their neoprene cases (and inside a Pelican case). Waders and boots are in an action packer in the bed of my truck. I don't mind taking a few minutes to set everything up at the side of the river. Who's in that much of a rush when they're fishing? I agree with others in this thread that rigging up is one of the enjoyable parts of the experience.

Scott

 

[Ard]

I keep them in their original rod tubes. The ritual of putting a rod together and rigging up has become an integral part of the fishing experience for me. It's something that slows me down a bit, to a pace of mind more suitable for fishing. I rush enough in other parts of life.

I didn't have to go any farther than the post from my friend rocket. The very last thing I want is stress, stress of any type, kind, style or flavor. If I feel I need to hurry to get on the water I'd much rather be relaxing at home.

My old fishing buddy Steve said nearly verbatim what rocketbomb posted to me 39 years ago. We were putting on old fashioned Red Ball Ultra Light waders and wading boots. I had us parked along Lower Susqua Road in Lewis Township where we were going to fish a few hours following night shift work.

I have never had a rod damaged while transporting in the tube.

 

[gadabout]

I carry my rods in their rod tubes. I don’t find that it takes all that much time to set up my gear. A rod can be strung up pretty quickly if it has traditional snake guides and is not excessively long. (Most of my trout rods are in the 7 to 8 foot range.) When practical, I take my boot foot waders. Getting into a pair of boot foots is pretty quick.

 

[Flyfisher for men]

I keep them cased generally. it's just asking for a broken rod otherwise.

 

[mcnerney]

I guess it all depends on how often you go fishing, if you generally fish one or two days a week during the spirng/summer, then I can see keeping them the rods in their tubes.
For me being retired, in the spring/summer I might fish 3-5 days a week. So let's say, I go fishing on Monday, setup my rods to fish, then take them down to put back in the rod tubes. Then on Tuesday do a repeat, then say on Thursday do another repeat. So after awhile that can get mighty boring. I like my Titan Rod Tube, its not a matter of how fast you can get to fishing, its just deleting one PITA of getting your rods put together then having to take them down at the end of the day. When I fish stillwater's, I normally will take three rods, (a floater, an intermediate, a full sink) sometimes four, I just don't want to deal with the hassle of putting that many rods together. The other reason I like my rods all rigged, is that I like getting up early and hitting the lake before daylight. The dry fly bite might be on right at daylight and only last 30 minutes to an hour, I want to be ready to fish and not have to spend time rigging fly rods in marginal light conditions.

 

[silver creek]

I generally carry broken down in tubes withe the fly reels having leaders and tippet attached for quick set up. However, if I'm trying to get an evening fish in after work and have to drive up to half an hour, I will have my 4 piece rod broken down to a 2 piece with it lined up and holding the 2 pieces of rod together with rubber bands. I will lay it on the back seat of my truck wrapped in my light rain coat so it cant bump around until I pull it out and set up quickly. I have broken one rod tip doing this a few year ago and have been much more careful since lol.

Here is how I have done it for over 20 years without any damage to my rod or reel.

If you have a 9 foot rod, regardless of whether it is a 4 piece or a 2 piece rod, buy a rod/reel storage for a 2 PIECE ROD. Dan Baumgartner founded DBDunn, and invented the Cordura over PVC tube rod/reel storage tubes. I got to know Dan through Jim Greenlee and so I have about 15 pieces of DBDunn gear. I have a selection single and dual DBDunn rod/reel tubes in various lengths.

You can store your rod/reel so it ready to fish the next time you go. Wind the fly line and leader in the reel so that the fly is up to the tip top guide. Break the rod down at the middle ferrule. This will create some slack in the leader and wind that slack back up so the fly is back up to the tip top guide. Now slide the rod and reel into the storage tube. Close the zipper and you are done.

When you go fishing again, the last thing you do is to unzip the storage tube, put the rod together, and you have a fly on the leader ready to fish.

When you get back from fishing, putting the rod and reel away is the first thing you do and you will never forget or break you gear.

Dan sold his company years ago to Scientific Anglers. Redington and Simms also make these rod/reel storage tubes. Buy the double tube even if you only have a single rod reel at this time. You will then be ready for a second outfit. Shorter rods such as 8.5 footers or 8 footers will fit into the 9 foot tubes. I have double and single tubes for up to 10 foot rods.

Scientific Anglers Gear

Redington Gear

Simms Gear

 

[karstopo]

It’s a trip time judgment call, but mostly I transport rods strung and ready.

 

[bocast]

I too keep them in the original rod tubes for the drive. Once there my first job is to rig up my wife's rod. I work quickly, as Gorgeous is not known for patience. Then I relax and take time to choose and rig my rod, letting the sounds of flowing water wash my mind of cares. I take my time and turn to see Gorgeous hooked up on her second or third trout. Already, before I wet my line, the trip is a resounding success. The rest is just pure, sweet bonus.

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