Air Travel with Rod

[Bemoredog]

Curious if anyone has experience flying with West Jet and bringing their fishing rod?

I'm visiting family out in the Niagara area this x-mas and wouldn't mind bringing my salmon rod to go after steelhead, lakers or the odd pike & walleye on the Upper Niagara.

Just wondering what people were charged to bring their fishing rod, or if there is anything important to be mindful of.

The West Jet site says that the rod will be charged an over sized baggage fee. This seems weird since I'll be putting the rod in a 4.5 ft case, which I believe will fit in my checked luggage.

[fishman]

I've carried mine on and put it in the overhead they said nothing. Maybe I got lucky

[Anomaly85]

One time with westjet they made me check it and pay 35$ ...
The second time they let me bring it as carry on. It will probably depend how full the flight is and how good of a mood the customer rep is in.

[RavYak]

You will be charged an over sized baggage fee if your bag is 62-80 inches in combined dimensions(length + width + height). If you are putting the rod inside a checked luggage bag you are probably going to be paying over sized baggage fee anyways as 4.5 feet is 54 inches only allows for 8 more inches width + height. If your tube is under 4 inches in diameter shouldn't have to pay oversized but it will count as a piece of baggage.

I have travelled with rods before but I use 3 piece travel rod and the case just fits inside my backpack so I transport it that way.

As others mentioned taking smaller cases as carry on sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I am pretty sure they will make you check a 4.5 foot rod case though as no way that would fit in the overhead bin.

If it were me personally I would purchase a travel rod. I like my fenwick method and can set it up as either a M or MH. It is 7 ft long and can catch a wide range of fish including all the species you mentioned.

[FlYiNGuY]

A 4.5ft carry on? I've travelled numerous times with a 32" rod tube as carry on but 4.5ft is getting excessive. Really - even at 32" it wouldn't fit in any sizing device and that is the determining factor if the gate agent wants to make a stink over it.
I believe the op is asking about checking it though, if it fits in your checked bag then you're good to go, if it won't, then it is a separate piece of luggage and will be charged as an additional bag. 4.5ft bag might be subject to oversize fee? 62" combined length is the limit I believe.

[neilsledder]

Don't take your rod but ask how to carry it when you are at the airport. Then when you are there buy a new rod and bring it home. That way you have a good excuse to buy a new one!


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[Tfng]

I've traveled often with my fishing rods on Air Canada. Make sure whatever you put it in is extremely tough. They are not nice to luggage. Out of ten or so trips I've had one broken rod tip but I think it'll was likely caught on another rod in the case and broke when they slid within the tube.

I've been using 3 inch pvc with a threaded cap on one end for years. It's around 5 feet long.

[THERICARDO]

Like Rav I have used the Fenwick travel and just put it in my checked bag for last few years. Rod is actually very good and have caught numerous fish with it from shore as well as from kayak and boat. Good luck

[Bemoredog]

I may have to buy the Fenwick. I was hoping not to have to buy another rod for this, but even if I took my shorter 7'6 MH Pike spinning rod I couldn't get it into my suitecase.

The Fenwick solves most of these problems for me. It's still relatively long enough that I could probably chase some Steelheads. It's not ideal but it should work. And it comes with a hard tube and breaks into 5 pieces, so very portable. I'll just throw the reel from my Pike setup onto it and I should be good to go.

Looks like Cabela's doesn't have any but Bass Pro does.

Edit: whole sale sports has it http://www.wholesalesports.com/store...ethods/p/56984 so I'll probably just grab it there.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by Bemoredog

I may have to buy the Fenwick. I was hoping not to have to buy another rod for this, but even if I took my shorter 7'6 MH Pike spinning rod I couldn't get it into my suitecase.

The Fenwick solves most of these problems for me. It's still relatively long enough that I could probably chase some Steelheads. It's not ideal but it should work. And it comes with a hard tube and breaks into 5 pieces, so very portable. I'll just throw the reel from my Pike setup onto it and I should be good to go.

Looks like Cabela's doesn't have any but Bass Pro does.

Edit: whole sale sports has it http://www.wholesalesports.com/store...ethods/p/56984 so I'll probably just grab it there.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

It is a good rod and I use it all the time. I have caught pike, walleye, lake trout, redfish, snook, bass and even used it one night and caught a couple 4 foot sturgeon(forgot sturgeon rod).

I really like using it with the moderate fast middle, if you use the moderate fast medium combo it will have enough flexibility for steelhead. Like you say won't be ideal but it will get the job done.

For the record it breaks into 3 pieces not 5(has 5 pieces but you only ever use 3). The case is 32.5 inches long so double check that will fit in your luggage as it probably is tight. You can take the padding out of one end of tube and get it down another ~ inch, that is what I do to fit it in my backpack.

[cranky]

Have you considered the UglyStik travel rod 4 pce.? When broken down its 21" Fits in almost any pack or suit case for carry on.

[Bemoredog]

Originally Posted by cranky

Have you considered the UglyStik travel rod 4 pce.? When broken down its 21" Fits in almost any pack or suit case for carry on.

I did actually. It would be a no brainer except that:

1) it's even shorter than the Fenwick, which is already about 1 ft shorter than I would regularly want for steelheading;

2) It's medium and my preference would be for medium heavy

3) Doesn't come with a hard case

4) I'm put off by the fibreglass/graphite construction (this is probably unwarranted, I just don't know enough about it. I'm used to a rod being either glass or graphite, with my preference for casting/jigging rods being graphite)

That said, I could probably make it work. The two advantages of this rod are it's portability and price. It's kind of a difficult choice TBH.

The Ugly Stick is probably a bit more general purpose than the Fenwick

Agh. Choices!

Edit: Reading more on the Ugly Stick, the tip is fibreglass, for sensitivity (so Shakespeare claims at least)? This seems counter-intuitive. Anyone have experience or thoughts on this claim?

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by Bemoredog

The Ugly Stick is probably a bit more general purpose than the Fenwick

More general purpose then 4 rods in one?

Ugly sticks are tough and cheap, nothing more... They have no backbone and are short which correlates to poor casting and lack of sensitivity. They get the job done, they do catch fish, but they are far from a quality rod. If you just want a cheap travel rod to get by with then it will work but once you get home you will never use it again(assuming you own a few quality rods).

One big advantage of the Fenwick is knowing you have spare parts. Accidentally break a tip or mid section and just swap it out and keep on fishing. Not that important on a trip like the one you are going on but on some other trips this can be important(I travelled all across Nicaragua with mine).

[Bemoredog]

Originally Posted by RavYak

More general purpose then 4 rods in one?

Sorry, I'm not following you here; can you explain what you mean by this?

Edit: When I said general purpose I suppose I was simply thinking as a medium setup I could "reasonably" use it for basically any species I chase in Alberta. With the Fenwick I don't think I'd go after stocked trout, or anything in a mountain stream (then again, I already have rods for this...).

So with the Ugly Stick I could see it fill perhaps more roles than the Fenwick. However, thinking this over, I have a strong feeling the Fenwick will be more sensitive and similarly as strong, and therefore actually a better overall rod for multi species fishing.

Fenwick is still my top choice...

[cranky]

According to the reviews on the UglyStik, the rod is very good. Very few complaints. Ive read a lot more reviews than most would have patience for. Literally dozens of them.
Some even claimed to end up using them as there goto for even non travel fishing. I have a interest in possibly getting one myself next year. Still looking for a while like Bemoredog.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by Bemoredog

The West Jet site says that the rod will be charged an over sized baggage fee. This seems weird since I'll be putting the rod in a 4.5 ft case, which I believe will fit in my checked luggage.

You must use gigantic suitcases to put a 4 1/2' rod case in one.. LOL
Apart from a number of 4 piece fly rods, I also bought a 4 piece travel spinning rod. I take it on many holidays. It also fits easily into a backpack for hikes around here. It's not going to handle tuna. I think it's around 17 lbs capacity, but it's useful.

[Bemoredog]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

You must use gigantic suitcases to put a 4 1/2' rod case in one.. LOL

Just wasn't thinking clearly when I posted

It's a big suitcase, but definitely not 4.5 feet tall. Sometimes I can't brain.

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by Bemoredog

Sorry, I'm not following you here; can you explain what you mean by this?

The Fenwick Methods is 4 rods in one. It can be a moderate fast medium power, fast medium, moderate fast medium heavy or a fast medium heavy. It is 5 pieces(butt section, 2 middle sections and 2 tip sections) but you only use 3(1 of each section) to make the rod you want to use for a certain situation.

I prefer to use it with the moderate fast middle(I like the extra bend when fighting fish) and then just switch the tip between medium and medium heavy depending on what I am fishing for but some people prefer different setups.

Even the medium/moderate fast would be too stiff for average/smaller size trout though. If you want to target trout their is a Fenwick Methods that is a ML/M F/XF combo that would be better or there is also a Fenwick Eagle 4 piece ML that is probably the best for trout(my go to light rod setup).

The ugly stick doesn't have anywhere near the backbone the Fenwick methods MH has. The ugly stick might compare to the M power setup but I like to target fish like this, all of which you can see were caught on purpose with my method. You might be able to land fish like these on a M ugly stick but you would have to be a little off to actually target them with one imo.