transporting tackle abroad by plane

[Norfolkdipper]

What's the best protective system for transporting rods by plane?

Does anyone know where to get a 'hardcase' & how much they cost?

[Andrew Burgess]

try here - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bazuka-Pro-large-6-Hard-Fishing-Rod-Travel-Tube-Case-Extendable-/140909462473

[Dales]

I find the travel tubes that Shimano & J W Young travel rods come in perfect for transporting my rods. I use them with the rods they come with and pack them surrounded by my clothes in a hard sided case. I think I would find it a nightmare transporting standard sized rods on my travels overseas. Most good travel rods come in decent hard cases.

 

If planing to fish overseas and flying its worth having specialist rods rather then taking your main bulky kit, different if you are driving and weight and space is not such an issue and you are bivying up or staying at a fishing lodge with storage facilities.When staying at hotels its a lot more discrete coming and going to your room with travel sized rods then lugging full sized kit in and out the lobby

[Phone]

Norfolk,

 

That bazooka looks cool on ebay.

 

I'm with Dales. Especially if you are on holiday in search of something new. For example, if you were coming to the US the cost of the case 50 and the cost of checked baggage 50.

For a hundred bucks you can buy a couple really good species specific combo sets. Give them to a local kid when you head home.

I'm not one who enjoys worrying about my "good" kit and filing transportation claims when I should be fishing.

 

Remember dam near any rod and reel will catch fish.

 

Phone

[Ken L]

I have both a Bazooka and a Kiss. The Kiss is the tioughest by a long way, but is heavy. The hinge on thwe Bazooka broke on the return journey the only time I ever took it abroad.

Now, I mostly use travel rods and strap the tubes to my backpack so I don't get charged for an extra item of luggage.

The last time I needed to take a full size rod abroad, I just used a length of drain pipe with end caps.

[Norfolkdipper]

Thanks all. The bazuka looks the business.

[Ken L]

It is worth noting that walking into an airport with a tube bearing the legend "Bazooka" has resulted in me being stopped by armed security staff in a three man formation where those on either side stepped sideways and conspiquously undid the holster clips on their sidearms while the more chatty one of the three stepped forward with a cradled MP5 to ask "What's in the tube ?" - and then ask me to show him what was in the tube.

[Vagabond]

I find the travel tubes that Shimano & J W Young travel rods come in perfect for transporting my rods. I use them with the rods they come with and pack them surrounded by my clothes in a hard sided case. I think I would find it a nightmare transporting standard sized rods on my travels overseas. Most good travel rods come in decent hard cases.

Exactly right. There are now plenty of good travel rods about, almost all come with excellent cases

 

The nightmare days of finding where ("past the admin block, left at the intersection, second door at the back of the dispersal hut") to check in "oversized luggage" at airports (especially if you have to change flights on a tight schedule from international to domestic and there is no facility to book your luggage through) are well and truly over for anglers.

 

Airport check-ins can now concentrate on hassling skiers, golfers, surfboarders, and the like.

Edited January 2, 2014 by Vagabond

[Vagabond]

walking into an airport with a tube bearing the legend "Bazooka" has resulted in me being stopped by armed security staff in a three man formation where those on either side stepped sideways and conspiquously undid the holster clips on their sidearms while the more chatty one of the three stepped forward with a cradled MP5 to ask "What's in the tube ?" - and then ask me to show him what was in the tube.

When I saw these tubes advertised I forecast just such a scenario.

 

You were lucky in that it happened in a civilized country - there are places where "security" is staffed by trigger-happy morons ("He was carring a bazooka so I shot him")

 

I wonder what pratt of a sales manager countenanced that name - it would put any thinking travelling angler off buying one.

[philocalist]

I'd concur with what most people are saying on here: go for the 'travel rod(s)' option rather than trying to take 'normal' rods onto a plane in some sort of carrying case. As someone already pointed out, for the cost of the case (and the additional charges incurred to carry it), you can easily buy decent quality rods that will simply travel within your suitcase.

However - bear in mind - 'travel rods', as sold in the UK, are often way too big to fit into even the biggest of suitcases; they're designed more as a convenience, in that they can be easily stashed away in the boot of a car for security etc, as opposed to being 6 foot lengths that can be impossible to conceal.

 

I had precisely this dilema last year, and from various sources ended up with a selection of rods that I was overall very happy with (and have added to since); if neccesary, I could get all six of them into a very reasonably sized suitcase, together taking up not much more space than a piece of typical plastic rod tube.

 

I'm not sure of the exact dimensions of the case, but packed, I've a job to keep it under 22KGs; the diagonal will take rods up to a maximum of 29" (I was disappointed to find that none of the Youngs Travel rods were anywhere near short enough to fit!)

The selection includes lure rods from Savage (the XLNT's) that will cast a range of weights from just 3 grams through to 80 grams, an 8' 4-piece from Eddie Turner that will cast a housebrick and yet still make a 5lb pike feel like fun ... it will also easily handle fish big enough to warrant a harpoon! There is another 12' 6-piece rod rated at a 3lb TC, so far unchristened, a John Wilson Travel Avon (that is actually a SERIOUSLY nice rod to use - fishes WAY beyond its price tag!), and a very cheap sub-£15 spinning rod from NGT that was bought primarily for my little lad to muck about with ... until I realised just how far it would chuck a loaded waggler, providing I wanted no more than about 6 feet of depth!

FWIW, I paid less than £50 for each of the Savage rods, £40 apiece for the JW and ET and £30 for the 12' 3lb TC.

 

You definitely do NOT need to travel with this many; I 'stocked' up to give me the choices I need for where I regularly travel to - it can see me messing about after perch or grayling with a lure rod one day, fishing for whatever with the JW the next, then having the opportunuity after that to bump heads with what may be a large carp or pike - even a serious wels ... ugly brutes that they are I'd considered the alternative - of buying locally and leaving them there for return trips - but transporting travel rods, even in a car, is so much easier than fighting with full-length rods.

 

I'm a lure angler by preference, but otherwise I'd be 100% happy to travel with just the JW Travel Avon.

 

The REAL challenge is how little other fishing stuff you manage to travel with too!

Edited January 3, 2014 by philocalist