Store Those Rods Indoors

A thread on the General Fishing Forum inspired me to offer this little window into my own strategy for storing fishing rods. I learned long ago that  the lifespan of a flyrod or any fishing outfit may be greatly extended by keeping the rods and reels in a climate-controlled environment, as opposed to the rapidly changing hot-and-cold, wet-and-dry swings of a garage or tool shed. Plus, no cobwebs or dust!

For rods I'm not using this week, I keep them stored in my bedroom closet, up overhead. It's an easy build: Just eye-hangers screwed into ceiling joists (not the drywall!), with nylon line holding up 1 1/4- inch wooden dowels (three of them).  Space the dowels and level them to support the grips, mid-section and tip section.

In my garage, I have a "staging area" for rods in active use: Basic utility hangers, again screwed securely into overhead timbers. I bought these at Home Depot.  This keeps the rods up above, minimizing clutter.

What's especially handy about these storage systems is that they keep the rods and reels horizontal. Spinning reels, in particular, stored vertically may be subject to small amounts of water intrusion, both under the spool and under the drag knob. Also, single-foot guides tend to trap small amounts of water behind the frame. Lay the rod sideways, and rinse water runs away from these trouble spots.

I move my rods around a good bit during the year: In my closet is a 12-weight flyrod I'll be moving to the garage soon, as tarpon season comes in. Also, my light trolling outfits will be moved to the staging rack, for dolphin season. I rarely break down multi-piece rods or remove leaders, preferring instead to keep my rods ready for action.