By: Mark Romanack
The author stores extra rods using short lengths of conduit cut at a 45 degree angle and mounted to the wall of his pole building. These tubes keep the rods organized and safe from damage between uses.
How many times have you reached into a rod box only to discover several rods have become entangled together? This common problem is easily solved with an inexpensive accessory known as as a rod sleeve.
Rod sleeves slide over the rod protecting the rod tip and guides from potential damage while also working to prevent rods from tangling together. A number of different companies produce rod sleeves designed to work on spinning rods and also bait casting or trolling style rods.
LURES OFF PLEASE
Rod sleeves make it possible to stack a pile of rods on top of one another without worrying about tangles. Before a rod sleeve can do it’s work, it’s important to take a moment and remove any lures. The hooks from these lures are only going to cause problems if they are not removed.
Rod sleeves make it possible to store a lot of rods in rod lockers without having tangling issues. Be sure to remove the lures before sleeving the rods for storage.
STORING ROD SLEEVES
When my rods are actually in use, I gather up all the rod sleeves and tie them into a loose knot. This keeps all the sleeves in one spot and makes it easy to store them in a dry storage compartment until it’s time to call it quits for the day.
BACK AT THE SHOP
Between fishing trips our boats at Fishing 411 are stored in a heated pole building. Because we have more rod/reel set ups than can be stored in a boat, we fabricate rod tubes that mount on a wall. These tubes make it easy to store rods not immediately needed.
ADDITIONAL ROD STORAGE
The space between flooring beams makes for a handy place to store extra rods/reels. If your home has a basement or pole building features a loft, each of these spaces can be used to store fishing rods by simply using wooden strips or lengths of conduit to support the rods.
Simple rod racks for the ceiling of a garage or basement can be made from decking boards and a few pieces of angle iron.
SIMPLE CEILING ROD RACKS
Simple rod racks can be made to mount to the ceiling of any building by taking a length of decking board and drilling two inch holes six inches apart down the middle of the board. Then rip the board in half using a table saw to create two halves with notches to hold fishing rod tips and butts. Use perforated angle iron to hang these racks from a garage or basement ceiling.
SUMMING IT UP
Avid anglers end up owning a lot of rods and reels. Storing all this gear becomes an important issue, because leaning them up against the wall is not an option. Take the time to store fishing rods correctly and the investment will pay off for years to come.