Do you ever lose fly fishing gear in your home? Or maybe those fly tying materials end up all over the place? It can be hard to keep everything organized, but with easy do it yourself solutions you can feel like you’re on top of your game. Below are some DIY ideas to keep your fly fishing equipment together!
Car Ceiling Rod Holder
Fishing adventures are fun, hectic, and exciting, but an essential part of those adventures is your fly rod. It can be all too simple to halfway breakdown your rod or awkwardly set it on top of a cooler, but that leads to a potential for rod breaking. If your vehicle is long enough to place your fly rods in, try making simple rope holders.
What you’ll need:
24 ft of 1/4in cotton braided rope
1 roll of electrical tape
1 pair of scissors
Pick four spots in your vehicle to tie the rope onto (two towards the front, two towards the back). Such as a handle or hook. Cut the 24ft rope in half and loop one piece through both handles (or hooks). Secure on both sides and make sure the rope is fairly tight. With the remaining rope loop around the tight rope to make rod spots. Alternate over and under with the loops and use electrical tape to keep the loops in place.
Once you have as many rod spaces as you please (6 fit well in a minivan), tie a knot to secure the entire holder around the other handle (or hook). Repeat on the other side and test out your new rod holder!
Fishing Cabinet
After a fishing trip, it’s easy to place all your gear on a chair or in a corner. One way to keep it organized and easy to put away is to have a fishing cabinet. The cheapest solution for a fishing cabinet is to look on craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for free or fairly inexpensive cabinets. Once you find one that will fit in your home, bring it home and decide where your rods, packs, fly boxes, and other gear will fit.
Fly Tying Material Towers
Fly tying is messy; maribou, feathers, and fiber pieces end up everywhere. Maybe your fly tying area looks similar to the one below…
Minimize that mess by placing fly tying materials in hard plastic containers and creating labels for each material type to keep you organized. Stackable or rollable containers work the best because they are easily movable.
Rod Tube Organizer
Rod tubes are awesome for keeping your fly rods safe and protected, but they can get disorganized. Check out this cool DIY rod tube holder from Arizona Wanderings!
If you have time on your hands right now, take a couple of hours to organize your fly fishing gear and maybe even try one of the ideas listed above. Being organized will give you more time for fishing instead of gear finding!
