Carrying Fishing Rods - what you need to know!
If you're an angler you know what it's like to get all your gear ready for the next day or weeks (hopefully) adventure. It's a well thought out sequence of events, aimed at creating organization and efficiency.
You're meticulous about the condition of your rods, all your tackle, and every piece of ancillary support that you carry with you.
So lets ask the obvious question? Why would you throw all your precious rods into the bed of your truck where they can not only take up valuable real estate, but where they are also in harms way? It doesn't make sense to subject your $1000 rod collection to being snapped in half by your 50 lb YETI.
What's the best way to solve this problem? To not store your rods in the bed of your truck.
If you have a set of BillieBars already, great. If not, check out this resource to figure out which bed rack is correct for you.
We have 2 awesome options for mounting your rods to our crossbars. If you're not using a fly rod, we'd recommend the Grip from KUAT. It was actually designed for skis and snowboards, but it conveniently couldn't be more ideal for fishing rods.
It locks to our crossbars, ensuring that somebody can't easily rip off the accessory and walk off with your gear. The piece also locks the rods in place, so you can't open it without the correct key.
One other major benefit is the cushion that they built into the Grip. The rods nestle in a soft rubberish material, and that really prevents the rods from being scratched or damaged.
This makes things really ideal if you're jumping from location to location - simply pop open the Grip, drop the rods in, close the Grip, and you're golden. Below is a video showcasing the Grip on a 5" set of BillieBars.
The second option we carry for mounting rods is fly fishing specific. We're an authorized dealer for an awesome company called Riversmith, who is based out of Colorado and they're truly a passionate bunch of anglers. We were lucky enough to spend time with them in the 2024 Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Show.
If you're running our low profile bed rack, we'd recommend the shortcut, as it will fit within the confines of the bed. The only drawback for the shortcut is that you'll still need to break apart the fly rods while transporting from one location to the next.
They also have full length, Standard River Quivers, but you'll need the HighPro (if you're running our low profile bed rack). The HighPro attaches to our low profile bed rack and clears the cab, so you can mount items that extend past the length of your bed. It's primarily used for kayaks, canoes, and lumber but it's perfect for a longer fly rod case.
You could also get one of our cab height racks, but we require a tonneau cover with integrated t slots - such as the Retrax XR or Roll N Lock XT. Below is a Tacoma with our 24" Bed Rack - and you can see that a 10' Fly Rod case would be ideal for this set up, easily clearing the cab.
We're passionate about the outdoors at BillieBars - and maybe even more so about being efficient with our time, since we have so little.
Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions about how to maximize your build. We are here to help!
And if you're a spirited angler, please take the time to check out this video that we were part of last year, that will get you excited for your next trip!
