flying our airlines with fishin' gear

[catflisher]

gentlemen and women,...I am flying down to valdosta georgia tommorow to see old friends and fish on a private pond i'll be staying on....wanted to put a bunch of rods in one case....airline says i am allowed two rods,one reel, a hat,fishing boots and a freakin' landing net....all in one package...how is this accomplished?????????any experienced flyers please help...i leave tommorow at noon......

[Liar]

I'm not sure what airline. I have been on Sun Country . I have traveled to San diego and have brought 11 rods in one case. It"s made from heavy duty pvc. Has a screw on end. Had to make it myself. There are some commericial cases out there. I just didnt feel comfortable with 8-900 $$ worth of rod's in those. I put my reels in my carryon bag. 11 of those as well. The first time, I had no line on the reels. The second time I did. Never had any problems. I do know that the Security has to be able to open, remove and inspect the rod case, so don't seal it up too good. I was able to stand there ( behing the security line) and explain how and why. Also wanted to be sure they put them back in safely. Rules change all the time. It was a year ago that I went. I did have to pay extra for the long rod case over 8'. I dont know how/why they would care what was in your luggage. If it were me I would put my reels with no line in your carry on. Pack what ever you could in your luggage. Including fishing line and lures/ hooks. ( I had a suitcase with all our saltwater stuff in it weighed 60 lbs. but I never heard a word from the airline) . If you can find a rod case, I would put whatever that could hold. 2 rods seems odd, then again, I got several different answers depending on who I talked to. Otherwise, look to borrow a couple of rods for the trip. The rod case will cause the most grief. Arrive very early. Worse case is you would have to ship your reels overnight if security turned you away. I talked with a few people at the counter, I had to explain what I was carrying on their plane, just stay calm and act like you've don it before. In my case I just pointed to my 14 year old and said I'm taking him out on the ocean fishing!!!! When they saw how stoked he was, I got ZERO trouble. (my rod case looks like a giant pipe bomb. We got looks all the way in and out of the airport) I hope it all goes well and you get some fish. In the future you may want to ship your rods and reels out ahead of you, some of the people we fish with do that. Saves some hassle time at the airport.

Dan

[Newguy06]

My dad flew from Hawaii to Minneapolis with a rod and reel as a carry on no case. That didnt say a word to him but yet you cant bring on ur nail clippers.

[catflisher]

thanks...guess i'm going to try to bring three rods in one tube...if they blitch i'll leave my 15 dollar cherrywood there...ship the rest and hope for the best...georgia here i come!!!

[bucketmouth64]

I flew to Indiana on NWA with a rod tube made for flying. I bought it at Gander. These are approved by airlines as luggage. I packed about 6 rods and had my reels and limited lures in my suitcase. Had no questions and none were missing or broken. It just won't come down the chute with normal luggage because they consider this as oversized. They will bring it to where you pick up your luggage at the carosel. Yes, you do look strange walking into the airport with this 6 1/2 foot long tube. No security people stopped me or was I followed at either airport, as far as I know.

[Nate McVey]

G-Loomis makes a travel bag for fly fishing (it fits 4, 4-piece flyrods in pvc tubes on the bottom of the bag). I flew to Mexico with that and 2 homemade pvc pipe cases strapped to the top. The guy I was with had the same bag, but also put his other rod tubes in the bag and had no issues.

[Sonicrunch]

I know it costs more this way, but you could ship you gear down to your buddy.

[catflisher]

mailed one tube to my buddy..84" long and about 5 inches across..there in two or three days.21 bucks,well worth it.thanks guys,good luck up here. I'll be watching the weather and hope you can all get out soon.monster bream,here i come...