how to pack fishing equipment for airline travel

[molarholer]

Dear Larry,
Plan on making several fly fishing trips to Alaska and South America
And would appreciate your expertise on how to organize reels, rods,
and other fishing equipment. For one do you carry on your reels or
do you check them in luggage? Is pvc pipe ok for storing rods or do you
prefer something else? When planning just fly fishing for say salmon or
peacocks, how many rods would you recommend for unexpected breakage. I have alot of two piece rods but can float planes store 5 f00t
or greater rod cases? Well, I can think of many more questions, but in your experience what's the best way you have found to protect and ensure your equipment arrives and can be transported safely?

Sincerely,
Scott

[Questor]

I had an epiphany a few years ago when I discovered the benefits of travel rods that can be taken down and stored in tubes short enough to transport as carry-on luggage.

I used to use a Bazooka case (which is not a great case, but is functional), but now I just bungee a couple of rod tubes together with my daypack and get on the plane. Unless, that is, I am going fly fishing; in which case I still use the Bazooka in conjunction with my aluminum rod tubes and some sweatshirts or towels. I put my rod tubes in the Bazooka case and then stuff the towels around them to keep the rods from rattling. I then lock the Bazooka with an electricians tie wrap. BE SURE to check current regulations about using the tie wraps because the TSA is a bit capricious about changing rules.

The Bazooka approach with the fly rods still works well for travel because if, for example, I were going to Alaska, I could get my fly rods there in the Bazooka, leave the Bazooka with someone designated by the outfitter, and then use only the rod tubes aboard the outfitter's plane.

For spinning and light casting rods, I have some Cabelas Salt Striker travel rods, which are reasonably priced and perform very well. (About $90 each with tubes.)

Reels, optics, and cameras come with me as carry on luggage.

Line and terminal tackle gets put in nice tight-closing plastic boxes that are duct taped closed and put in the middle of a soft-sided two suiter suitcase insulated by my clothes.

[dahlberg]

HI MH,
My criterion for performance in fishing rods is pretty high, so I can't stand fishing with any of the "so-called" travel rods designed for bait casting.
3 piece flyrods fish just fine, but the mult-piece versions for bait casting don't cut it for me.
Since I travel with so much camera stuff I don't have the luxury of bringing any rods or reels with me on the plane, but if I could I would.
Many airlines insist you remove the line from your reels and of course hooks are prohibited.
The main issues with pvc is weight and danger of shattering if they take it out of the belly of a jet at minus 60 and drop it on an asphalt tarmac. I've had heavy duty pvc that's survived two dozen trips suddenly turned to shards when the above circumstances occur.
Most important with tubes/rods is to lay them tip to butt so the butts are slightly longer than the tips then tape the whole bundle together at both ends and in the middle and stuff them in the tube so there's no room for them to slide back and forth. This prevents the tips from getting broken when the end of tube is slid at high speed and bashed against a wall.
Of course padding such as towels etc around them is a good idea as well.
I frequently use a tube that extends to 7 feet and have not had any problems, but that's no guarantee you won't!
best,
L