Traveling with a fly rod can sometimes land you in situations where you end up more frustrated on your vacation than relaxed. If you take the time to remember a few tips while you are traveling, you can save your sanity, as well as your pocketbook by not having to replace the fly rod when you arrive.
Tip #1: The airlines don’t care you’re going fishing in another country.
Their employees do not care that you are traveling around the world to catch fish in different places. They are going to load your packages in the same method they loaded the last thousand packages. As quickly as they can.
Tip #2: Hard rod tubes are the best protection for travel fly rods.
If you think that using a rod sock will protect you, you may want to take the time to invest in a hard rod tube. Hard rod tubes stand up to most of the punishment airlines will throw at them, and end up saving you a lot of money. You still want to use a soft rod sock inside of the hard rod tube in order to keep the sections separated, and avoid nicking the resin finish.
Tip #3: Don’t trust the airlines.
Always keep in your mind while traveling that the airlines do not have your best interests at heart. They are not going to take care of your gear, and you should keep that attitude the entire time you’re traveling. If you have a chance to reduce the risks your fly rods face, you should jump on it.
