[basshunter1492]

I am headed to gulf coast Florida for a couple weeks fishing and I need some advice on shipping my surf poles..The longest is one piece 7-6 , six rods in all. Leaving my 15 foot heaver at home. I would appreciate any help.

Tight Lines

 

[Belmo]

1. Bundle all your rods together, with string, rubber bands, bungee cords, whatever. You can wrap each individual rod in a cloth, if you want to be especially safe, but I don't know that doing so is absolutely necessary. Do wrap a cloth around all of them when you've lashed them together.
2. Measure the diameter of your bundle-of-rods.
3. Buy or mooch a PVC tube that's wide enough to fit all your rods. Make sure you get two end caps as well.
4. Pack the rods into the PVC tube, and fill the empty space with a filler. Packing peanuts work best, but bubble wrap can be effective, as can crumpled up newspaper. The idea is that the rods should be packed snugly inside the tube, and if the tube gets dropped during shipment (which it will), the rods will not bang against the inside of the tube and break.
5. Tape up the end caps when you've stuffed the inside with filler.
6. Ship the rods via UPS ground or FedEx ground. As long as your tube is less than nine feet long, you won't have to take out a second mortgage (tubes nine feet long and longer get surcharged).
7. Make sure to insure your package.
8. You can ship the tube home the same way.

There are other, cheaper ways to pack rods (some guys use cardboard tubes, which are a lot cheaper than PVC), but don't skimp if you want your rods to remain unbroken. I've sent and received a lot of blanks and rods, and this is by far the safest way to send them. I can't tell you how many cardboard tubes I've received that were snapped in half, usually when the tube got caught on a conveyor belt in a shipping center.

For a 6-inch diameter PVC tube that's 8 feet long and weighs about 10 lbs., expect to pay about $30 each way to ship (check with FedEx and UPS; one might have a better rate than the other).

But if you can't bring your rods on the plane -- and these days, you almost certainly can't -- I'd pack them securely, and ship them back and forth. If you let the airline handle them, they're going to charge you a fortune in baggage fees, and they'll probably get broken. Paying UPS $60 to get them there and back might seem like a lot, but it'll be WAY less than the airline charges -- I've seen baggage charges as high as $300 (each way) to check fishing rods on an airplane.

 

[PalmersTackle]

UPS SUCKS i sent a g loomis back to the factory that the tip broke on my first use and first fish --for replacement packed it at the ups center in their special cardboard tube..they broke it in pieces in their sorting machine..loomis wasn't going to replace now. my mistake was not getting insurance..i was out 240.00 ups paid 100.00 after six months of bullsH$T
try usps but pack in pvc tube as recommended in an earlier post..

 

[rackmaster]

Travel Fishing

If you plan to fly to travel and fish you basically have two options.

One is to buy a simple telescoping rod case to hold the ones you have and take them as checked luggage. Mine came with soft foam in both ends and my rods have never been damaged in baggage handling.

The other is to buy some good travel rods. I have a Lamiglas 4 piece travel surf rod 10ft. that fishes like a dream. It's case is only 35" long. I also carry a Penn International spinning travel rod 3 piece 7ft. long. I use two velcro straps to hold the cases together and carry them on and place them in the overhead bin. I have never had a problem bringing them into the cabin with me. I also have 9ft 8wt. fly rod in a travel case I take occasionally. It is 56" long in the case with the reel and also fits in the overhead bins(two bins are always linked together without a divider). Most people assume it is a driver and a putter(some golfers carry those two clubs and rent the rest).

Most of the time I just get evnious looks from the rest of the men on the plane who wish they were going fishing too. I've taken them on cruises and fished in every port. There's Barracuda all over the southern waters and Florida and you have not lived until you hook one on a topwater lure. Start with a case for your own rods and then acquire 2 or 3 very good travel rods. When people ask what you want for Christmas or your birthday be specifc and give them model#'s and sizes of what you want. There's nothing as enjoyable a travel fishing. I'm met some very interesting people all over the world who saw me fishing and just had to say hello. GO GET EM!

 

[rackmaster]

Travel Fishing

Two other points.
Southwest Airlines has no bag fees so you will not have to pay extra to bring a rod case.
I wait until I get to Florida go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy a 10ft. length of 1 1/2" white PVC which I have them saw in half on an angle for two sand spikes. Once you tell them what you need it for they are always very helpful. Last time the guy took a brand new saw from the tool department and cut in half for me. Then I just leave them behind or give them away when I leave for home.

 

[Loudubbs]

Buy a "bazooka" airplane travel case from basspro. it has like a 5" dia adjusts to 7' and runs around 40-60 bucks depending on which you choose.

 

[basshunter1492]

Belmo,,,,right on the money

1. Bundle all your rods together, with string, rubber bands, bungee cords, whatever. You can wrap each individual rod in a cloth, if you want to be especially safe, but I don't know that doing so is absolutely necessary. Do wrap a cloth around all of them when you've lashed them together.
2. Measure the diameter of your bundle-of-rods.
3. Buy or mooch a PVC tube that's wide enough to fit all your rods. Make sure you get two end caps as well.
4. Pack the rods into the PVC tube, and fill the empty space with a filler. Packing peanuts work best, but bubble wrap can be effective, as can crumpled up newspaper. The idea is that the rods should be packed snugly inside the tube, and if the tube gets dropped during shipment (which it will), the rods will not bang against the inside of the tube and break.
5. Tape up the end caps when you've stuffed the inside with filler.
6. Ship the rods via UPS ground or FedEx ground. As long as your tube is less than nine feet long, you won't have to take out a second mortgage (tubes nine feet long and longer get surcharged).
7. Make sure to insure your package.
8. You can ship the tube home the same way.

There are other, cheaper ways to pack rods (some guys use cardboard tubes, which are a lot cheaper than PVC), but don't skimp if you want your rods to remain unbroken. I've sent and received a lot of blanks and rods, and this is by far the safest way to send them. I can't tell you how many cardboard tubes I've received that were snapped in half, usually when the tube got caught on a conveyor belt in a shipping center.

For a 6-inch diameter PVC tube that's 8 feet long and weighs about 10 lbs., expect to pay about $30 each way to ship (check with FedEx and UPS; one might have a better rate than the other).

But if you can't bring your rods on the plane -- and these days, you almost certainly can't -- I'd pack them securely, and ship them back and forth. If you let the airline handle them, they're going to charge you a fortune in baggage fees, and they'll probably get broken. Paying UPS $60 to get them there and back might seem like a lot, but it'll be WAY less thpedddan the airline charges -- I've seen baggage charges as high as $300 (each way) to check fishing rods on an airplane.

p
Followed your advice,,shipped nine poles not even a scratch.Thanks again for the advice, tight lines.:thumbsup:

 

[Belmo]

p
Followed your advice,,shipped nine poles not even a scratch.Thanks again for the advice, tight lines.:thumbsup:

Glad to hear, man. I hope the fact that you were shipping so many rods made the cost a bit easier to swallow: it's easier to justify $50 or $60 for sending a bunch of rods than just one. This is the same thing that kills small custom rod builders who deal in surf rods: the cost to ship a single 11-foot, 1-piece rod or blank is something like $130; the cost to ship 50 or 75 is about the same (the charge is for length, not weight). It's a whole lot easier to spread a $130 charge over 50 or 60 rods than it is to take that kind of hit on just one stick.

Within the past two weeks I've received two blanks that were inside broken cardboard boxes. Fortunately, both blanks survived the damage, but this is rare: every other time I've received a broken cardboard tube, the blank or rod has been toast. Opening a box and realizing that your cherished rods are broken is a lousy feeling, so it's worth doing it right -- if you do, you at least have a shot at having them arrive intact. I'm glad to hear you made out OK. And now that you have a tube, you can ship them again the next time you go somewhere.

 

[thediehardfisherman]

I was going to reply to this but I was too late. I'm a UPS driver and I see too many companies like cabelas and bass pro shops ship rods out in CARDBOARD tubes (what a joke) you did the right thing- Heavy PVC tubes with PVC caps are the way to go, yeah it might add weight but at least is shouldn't bend and break like cardboard tubes. Believe me I refuse to deliver a busted up cardboard tube with a rodd in it/ or any busted up pkg to anyones house. AND ALWAYS GET THE INSURANCE!!!! Ups covers everything upto 100$ if its over 100$ GET THE INSURANCE!