It’s all in your hands. Before you pack your bags for the flight, here are some things to keep in mind. These items could make the difference between arriving empty handed or carrying a full cooler. Today we will be talking about flying with fishing gear.
A trolling rod is used to catch fish by an angler.
For a travel angler, there’s nothing worse than being surrounded with hungry fish and your favorite lure.
There are two options available, but they are not mutually exclusive:
Book a fishing charter with equipment (FishingBooker makes it easy to do this globally).
Read on to learn how you can travel with your trusted gear.
We’ll give you some packing tips that worked for many others, depending on where you are going and how much “cargo” they will carry.
Flying with Fishing Rods: Trolling vs. Travel
For light fly fishing and small lures, four-piece travel rods work well. But what if you want to go after something larger? If you ask any serious international angler who is planning a trip to a coral-filled paradise, they will tell you that they will bring at least two trolling rods to the charter boat. They also plan to bring a fourth rod to have fun on the beach.
There are many fishing rods available with different blank colors
The US TSA allows you to bring travel rods with you as carry-on luggage. They are usually packed in a small tube that I use to hold them together. This has worked well for me on both local and international flights. Tape them together or wrap them in the original packaging to prevent them from slipping during flight.
What about heavy equipment such as trolling rods or beach-casting? These items might prove difficult to obtain airport security permission to be carried on board the plane. You can still check your items in as sport equipment and most airlines will not charge an excess baggage or overweight fee. However, make sure you check the policy on sports equipment at the airline you are flying with.
Are you able to bring lures and hooks aboard a plane?
According to the TSA
You may want to bring expensive reels and fragile tackle (small flies), in your carry-on bag.
This is a stance I disagree with. Make sure to inspect all sharp objects. You won’t be able to get through airport security with a bag full of lures, large hooks and flies. You might be allowed to board the plane after a 30-minute discussion with security officers who are probably not very knowledgeable about fishing.
You can ask the airline for information about carry-on regulations regarding fishing lures/flies/hooks. If you get a positive response, you can print it and prepare for a conversation.
The article was written by a professional charter captain at Salty Knots Fishing Charters with 15+ years of experience in the Gulf of Mexico. Salty Knots Fishing Charters is a local fishing charter service based out of St. Pete Beach, Florida. “We know what it takes to catch a giant trophy fish!” Salty Knots Is the best when it comes to St Petersburg Fishing Charters.