In May, I finally pulled the trigger on a purchase I’d mulled for a long time: I bought a rooftop fly rod carrier.
This wasn’t exactly a need. The Huge Fly Fisherman likes to sneer on YouTube that the only folks who need a fly rod carrier are full-time guides, or folks who want to flex how accomplished fly fishers they are to any innocent bystanders they pass on the road.
“Look at that rod case,” these bystanders say as I cruise past. “He must be a HUGE! fly fisherman.”
Yeah, I live for moments like that.
When I was guiding, sure, a four-rod carrier would have been handy. That was some time ago, however, and I don’t recall carriers being a thing back in the double aughts. Also, I was driving an SUV in those days so I could fit 9-foot fly rods in the vehicle, strung up and ready to fish, if I wanted. Still, I mostly broke down my rods at the end of the day. Rigging up with a fresh fly and tippet, at least, if not a full leader, seemed a professional courtesy. I don’t think I ever handed a sport a rod still rigged with yesterday’s fly at the start of the day. But Huge does have a point about guides. Having four rods ready to fish is a good way to begin the day.
Not every purchase is based on need, however. Wants and desires play a role. And I think there’s a convincing case that a rooftop rod carrier makes at least as much sense for a private angler. There are times when I fish almost every day during the summer, for bass or carp on rods rigged with stout leaders and big, heavy flies. Sometimes I’ll fish the same bass popper for days or weeks. It’s not like you have to match the hatch with those brutes. If they’re looking up and it moves, they’re usually eating.
A rod carrier makes sense for me at times like that. In summer, when I’ve got time every day, sometimes only a half hour or so, I fish. It’s handy when you’re on the water all the time and don’t need to break your rod down for the drive home.
That’s a practical answer, however, not a YouTube script. I think anyone who can afford a rooftop rod carrier, and fishes regularly, should get one. With a two-banger, you can always have a streamer rod and an all-round trout rod handy. For a private, a four-rod carrier is probably stretching it, but only barely.
There are drawbacks, however. I don’t go to the carwash anymore as it’s back to the bucket life for me. And I suppose even a well-built carrier is easier to break into than a locked vehicle. Probably, but most security measures won’t stop a determined thief anyway.
I worried a little that the rod carrier would generate annoying wind noise, but I haven’t noticed any. It hasn’t had a measurable impact on fuel mileage, either.
I do worry about the abuse that riding around in a rod carrier might inflict on my fly rods. I’ve read some rod manufacturers now say carriers are the cause of an increase in warranty claims. I can understand why. Rods can bang around in the metal tubes, harming guides or the rod material itself. And I suspect those metal tubes get hot in the summer sun, and that can’t be good for rods, either. I haven’t had any problems with my fly rods, but I did buy nylon sleeves that the rods fit into, as they slide into the tube. They weren’t expensive and have protected the rods from any damage.
My carrier has key-locking, quick-release mounts, and they are worth the extra cost. If you need the carrier off the roof for some reason, it only takes a moment.