Sedan rod travel?

[Coastal_Cutthroat_Chef]

My SUV took a turn for the worse a while back, and I ended up with a little beater commuter car (not the worst thing with current gas prices).. but I'm finding it annoying now to travel from beach to beach and having to take down my rods everytime.

Anybody else have a clever way to travel in a compact car and keep your outfits together so I don't have to go through the process several times? Thinking maybe getting some roof racks would be a place to start, but I'd love to find out there's a way to do it without.

Thanks!

 

[Buzzy]

Magnetic rod rack - unless your beater is a Ford with aluminum hood and roof.

Fishing rod sleeves are another option. Leave your rod strung, take it apart in the middle, slide it into the sleeve.

 

[Stonedfish]

If the back seats fold down, that is one option.
I used to do that with a Camry I had.
I could either put a full assembled rod right down the middle or just break it down in half and set it in the trunk over the back of the folded down seat.
Both worked fine.
SF

 

[Chris Bellows]

It's pretty easy to just break down your rods in half and quickly re-rig them. Reel in enough that your fly is attached to top section and use a couple velcro straps and you're set to go. The way I always travelled with rods because I wasn't cool enough to have the magnetic rod rack or rooftop fly rod rack.

Also works great for walking on brushy trails or bushwhacking with a spey rod.

 

[Brian Miller]

My recently sold mid-90s sedan had a center pass-through from the trunk into the back seat. I could imagine putting something on the top of the trunk forward of the trunk lid to hold the butt section out of the fray and passing a rod broken down into 2 pieces through into the back seat.

Another very protective option... if you have or can find an old 2-piece rod & reel case break down the rod, reel the fly into the tip, and insert into the case.

 

[Salmo_g]

I drove a VW Beetle when I first got into fly fishing. When I needed to move around from one fishing spot to the next, I rolled the passenger side window down half way or so and slid the fully strung up fly rod through the window down to the floor, and away I went.

 

[Zak]

Pretty much all of my rods have "reel on" cases that hold them strung up, in two pieces. I recommended these cases. The ones made by BW Sports have some pockets and pouches that will hold extra spools, poly leaders, tippet, and a fly box.

 

[G_Smolt]

Back when there were steelhead in the Columbia, I used to fly in and rent an economy car to have some fishing options in the basin. I would drive all over the place with a couple fully rigged spraypoles tucked underneath the windshield wipers, with the rod butts nearly under the back end of the hood.

Worked awesome unless it was raining

 

[Coastal_Cutthroat_Chef]

Good shouts everyone! Didn't think about passing through from the trunk, pretty sure that will work. The break down into two pieces also would work good. Thanks!

 

[Freestone]

Back when there were steelhead in the Columbia, I used to fly in and rent an economy car to have some fishing options in the basin. I would drive all over the place with a couple fully rigged spraypoles tucked underneath the windshield wipers, with the rod butts nearly under the back end of the hood.

Worked awesome unless it was raining

I have done that, even with my own rigs, and have often added a piece of sticky back Velcro to the top of the windshield trim. Another piece of Velcro over the rod holds it pretty securely and helps when I have a brain fart and turn on the wipers.

 

[Northern]

If you're traveling with more than one rod strung up, sliding the halved, rigged rods into these will keep the inevitable tangled-together moments from happening. Super cheap on Amzn.


You can cut them to whatever lengths you need, then flame the end to reseal. Many options if you don't like candy stripes

 

[jaredoconnor]

I reel my fly up to the tip and separate the rod, in the middle. I then put the reel pouch on my reel, but attach the Velcro loop over the rod pieces. That holds everything together. It's like the photo below, except both rod pieces are under the flap. I then feed it all through the passenger head rests.

 

[Old Man]

If you're traveling with more than one rod strung up, sliding the halved, rigged rods into these will keep the inevitable tangled-together moments from happening. Super cheap on Amzn.
View attachment 10357
View attachment 10358
You can cut them to whatever lengths you need, then flame the end to reseal. Many options if you don't like candy stripes

These look kind of neat. A fine way to keep your rods fully rigged to keep them from tangling. When stuck through a window.

 

[Freestone]

These little silicone hair bands are the best thing that I have ever found for keeping my rod together when broken in half. I keep two or three on the bottom of every rod so they are always at the ready. If I have to hike through heavy brush sometimes it is safer to just break the rod in half. I use them before slipping a rod into the sleeves that @Northern posted or when putting them in a rod/reel case. They last forever and rarely break. They are so small that I use as-is on the reelseat/tip and only twice around on the other end. And if I need to, I can actually use them for my ponytail, lol. I used to find them in stores but now only find them on Amazon.

 

[Mossback]

These little silicone hair bands are the best thing that I have ever found for keeping my rod together when broken in half. I keep two or three on the bottom of every rod so they are always at the ready. If I have to hike through heavy brush sometimes it is safer to just break the rod in half. I use them before slipping a rod into the sleeves that @Northern posted or when putting them in a rod/reel case. They last forever and rarely break. They are so small that I use as-is on the reelseat/tip and only twice around on the other end. And if I need to, I can actually use them for my ponytail, lol. I used to find them in stores but now only find them on Amazon.

View attachment 10365

They are the best...

 

[Tom Butler]

I use the break in half and scrunci method. Tips first passenger side, between seats, reel on floor passenger side. I can get a 9' rod in 1/2 in my MG. Since I may have several flies rigged I clip it at the ring, tucking end in scrunci so I don't restring, and wind rig on foam, then retie at ring when appropriate.

 

[Shad]

Yup. Set up your outfits, flies and all, split your 2 and 4-piece rods into 2, and secure them with hair ties or similar. That way, the outfits are generally short enough to travel in the back seat (or trunk) of just about any vehicle, and getting them ready to fish is a quick, easy process. This saves a bunch of time when moving place to place and experimenting with different presentations. It is much trickier (frustratingly so) with a 3-piece rod, but...

 

[afried]

If you're traveling with more than one rod strung up, sliding the halved, rigged rods into these will keep the inevitable tangled-together moments from happening. Super cheap on Amzn.
View attachment 10357
View attachment 10358
You can cut them to whatever lengths you need, then flame the end to reseal. Many options if you don't like candy stripes

Know nothing about the socks, but good to see the Marryat.