DIY Fly Rod Mount

[Benny]

Well I have been eyeing one of those cool fly rod holder mounts. You know the one the guides use mounted on the hood and roof top of the cars or trucks. I just could not pull the trigger on the Sumo Rod Mount.

So I decide, hey I could build my own. Do It Yourself. Seems simple enough. Well I didn't really plan anything out just went to Home Depot and looked around where all the nuts and bolts are found. Picked up a couple of eye-bolts and some tarp tie down bungees. Spent about $6. I had an old pool noodle which I sliced into a few pieces for some cushion for the fly rods. Used some black electrical tape to cover up the blue pool noodle. Tried to keep this as inexpensive as possible.

Drilled out a whole on each roof rack tube for the eye bolts, one for each tube. Trimmed down the eye bolts since they were sticking out to much. The nuts are right up against the end caps on the tube so the only way the it comes off is if I twist the eye bolt from below.

The electrical tape wraps around the pool noodle will deteriorate really fast, I am thinking of spraying it with a few coats of Plasidip which has help up very well over the last five years on my truck bumper, sprayed the chrome with black Plasidip. I think it would hold up really well in the elements and will not come off like the electrical tape.

Anyhow easy DIY project for those who don't want to spend $150 on a Rod Rack mount. If I don't have enough Plasidip left in the can I have in the shed, I will have to go buy a can which will set me back another $6 bringing the project cost to about $12. Still beats $150.

Front DIY Fly Rod Rack

Back DIY Fly Rod Rack

On the back end of the rack I noticed the second rod on the left was moving quite a bit and the others were pretty much locked in place. Will figure something out before I test it out.

[Wildman]

I use a similar configuration on my Forerunner roof rack with 1" pipe insulation. I use individual bungees with clips that come in a muli-size pack of bungees from CostCo. Works pretty good and you don't have to duck rods inside the car.

[Benny]

That's great Jim. I wish more people would post up some ideas. Lots of ideas on pvc and magnets for mounts as well on the web.

A simple idea could save someone lots of money.

My truck already had the racks so it was just working with what I already had. I could likely use some tweaking on my mount, but happy thus far.

[fly addict]

Ski racks work for fly rods. Get them cheap on Craigslist or Ebay.

[Benny]

Ski racks work for fly rods. Get them cheap on Craigslist or Ebay.

You are the second person who said they use ski rack/snow board rack, another guy on the SCSF site does as well. That's definitely something to consider if I could place it on the edge like I have this set up.

[John Harper]

Might cost a bit more, but there are surfboard rack pads that come covered in fabric, might be a better solution than tape or Plastidip. Of course the fabric will likely be susceptible to UV rays if left on the car. They attach with velcro so easily removable. $18 for a pair is not that bad.

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/dakine-- ... fgodNU4JIA

We'll miss you up at the Cottonwood Lakes, Benny!

John

[DrCreek]

Awesome ! Can you do the same thing with rods, reels and float tubes? Because I'm sick of spending big $$$ on expensive components !!

[tomsakai]

Here's a tutorial I stumbled across a couple of years ago. Might be promising for someone.

http://www.azbythefly.com/articles/tuto ... rod-holder

[anacrime]

Looks like the tips would be bouncing around on uneven roads?

[Benny]

Looks like the tips would be bouncing around on uneven roads?

They will likely be flexing on bumpy uneven dirt roads, but not bouncing. The rear window on the snug top is open and up in the image. When the rods do flex a bit, they should be fine and not hit any part of the top of snug top.

[briansII]

Looks like the tips would be bouncing around on uneven roads?

First Sasha shows up, now you. What the heck is going on here?

[briansII]

Nice! I have a Thule rack on my truck shell, so I could do the same thing......my luck, I'd hit a giant bird and it would shatter all my rods.

briansII

[John Harper]

Nice! I have a Thule rack on my truck shell, so I could do the same thing......my luck, I'd hit a giant bird and it would shatter all my rods.

briansII

My roommate hit a seagull recently, just after crossing the border into Baja going west along the border fence. It shattered her windshield, luckily on the empty passenger side. If you've ever been on that stretch, there is no where to go and it's usually hectic with traffic.

John

[Benny]

Update on the rod holder, it worked out great! Drove up to 80 miles an hour with no issues. Long uneven bumpy dirt roads, performed flawlessly.

[Eric]

Benny the rack set up worked out great and also looks cool. You have a very nice set up for your truck. It was great catching up over the weekend.
Eric