Protect and Organize Your Fishing Rods

This guest post was written by Todd Hollowell, FLW Tour Pro and Host of the WFN TV show the “Bass Dr.”Are your fishing rods protected? As a touring professional angler, one thing that I’ve learned over the years is that traveling to and from events can be harsh on your equipment – especially your fishing rods. If you transport your rods in and out of your garage, boat, truck, and hotel room, you’re eventually going to tangle the line on these rods or bang them into something like a wall or ceiling. This can cause damage to a guide or rod tip or even worse, it can even break your favorite rod. So, this Prescription of the Week will help you protect the investment that you have made in your fishing rods and keep you organized all at the same time. Keep reading to learn how to protect and organize your fishing rods all at the same time with protective rod sleeves.

A few years ago, companies like Elite Rod Sleeves began making protective rod sleeves or covers that could be placed over the guides of your rods. As technology progressed, companies learned to utilize this material to become more creative which in turn gave anglers more options on the market. Now, these protective rod sleeves are readily available in many different colors and patterns and sizes, and can be used on casting and spinning rods alike. Using rod sleeves will allow you to store at least two rods in each rod locker tube in your boat without tangling or damaging a rod tip. They’re a must-have for tournament co-anglers, and they’re handy for storing rods in your garage or even fishing from the bank to keep them protected as well. Fashion statements are even made today with these rod sleeves!

I use Elite Rod Sleeves because they offer a unique material on the tip of the sleeve, which gives an added layer of protection to my rod tips, and because they have a unique labeling system with an ID tag that allows me to write on it. I use this tag to keep track of when I put the line on and what size line it is. For instance, if I put 20 lb fluorocarbon on January 1st I'll write on the ID tag “20F, Jan 1.” I use a permanent marker to write on the tags and then when I’m ready to erase it I simply scratch it out with a dry erase marker and then wipe it off. Doing this saves me money over the course of the year, because it keeps me from changing out line that is not old or because I thought it was a different size line.I also like to color coordinate my rod sleeves to help stay organized. I use red sleeves for rods that have reels with fluorocarbon, blue for those with monofilament, yellow for spinning equipment, and green for those with braided line. When I’m getting my rods out of my rod locker, truck, or garage, this helps me know which ones to grab immediately without having to sort through several rods looking for the right one.For more tips like these, visit Todd Hollowell online at www.bassdr.com or www.toddhollowell.com. See you on the water!