Returning from an excellent fishing trip in Alabama in which I was able to test three custom rods (built for myself) I discovered that 5 of the six rods I travelled with where broken. Rods where wrapped in newspaper and stored in a heavey duty rod case (plano tubular) in which I can stand on with all my weight and still not compress it enough to break any rods. The rods where broken at the butt section. I filed a claim and the folks at Southwest have been really nice so I am hoping that I will be reimbursed for the components for these rods (time I am not hopeful for). Two questions: 1)has anyone had any rods broken through airline travel (not shipping) and any luck getting reimbursed, 2) what other methods offer even more protection when travelling.

Thanks,

Dan Grulke

One thing you cannot allow to happen, and that is for the rods to shift fore or aft inside the tube. This is sort of like the yolk moving inside an egg. The shell stops, the yolk keeps traveling and smashes into the inside of the shell wall. Although, this usually breaks the rod tips, not the butts.

Was your tube damaged? Airlines are tough on baggage. I had one fellow who had a 4 inch heavy wall PVC pipe sheared off a foot from one end. He was reimbursed and in a timely fashion, if that is any consolation.

............

Billy, you willing to share again???

Putter
Williston, ND

The rods were wrapped tight in newspaper in which case it filled the tube fairly tight. The rods were also wrapped individualy so they did not move around in the tube case.
The tube had two crease marks on both sides of the tube. If I had to guess I would say it was either pinched in the luggage track, piched in the landing gear (?????), or ran over by a heavy vehicle. You can look at the tube and see that the bottom section of the tube must have been torqued 90 degree's or smashed flat in order for the blanks to be broken clean in half at the handles and another splintered at the handle.

Dan Grulke

Not much else you could have done, really. Sorry to hear it happened. Many guys I know are now FedExing their rods to their intended fishing location and back rather than bringing them along on a plane.

Hope you get reimbursed.

.......

I suggest that when you file you should file for "fair market value", which to my mind includes your time as a custom builder. Cost of blank, cost of guides, cork, reel seat, etc., then add on a reasonable custom building fee. And for the cost of materials, don't forget the shipping costs! You can easily document all that by getting a quote from a custom builder for rods built on the same blanks.

Rady - I never bothered submitting a claim, I will never fly American again. I had 2 BMNAT tip tops flattened, one size 10 the other 12, not exactly light tips. They lost my other rod tube, so I couldn't fish with my rods. On my way back from CHarlotte, my rod tube was again lost, and delivered the next day. I guess the camo black 7' tube is hard to see.

Dan, sorry to here they broke 5 CApe Fear $300 blanks with $150 worth of Fuji TICermet guides & $100 worth of Flor Cork from Goldenwitch on your rods. Submt teh claim fr a lot more than they were worth, in case tehy do not reimburse your labor. From what I was told they'll reimburse teh cost of materials only, tht's why you used teh best materials, right?

"Many guys I know are now FedExing their rods to their intended fishing location "

Thats a gamble as well. I am now fighting with FedEx for an order from Mudhole that made it all the way from Orlando to Toronto, then simply disappeared before reaching my door. No attempted delivery, no idea where it went. They have no answers.

Luckily, Mudhole is an exceptional dealer and will take care of me. FedEx on the other hand will never get any more of my business.

Mark Janeck
Custom Rods, Campbellville, Ontario

When filing a claim, you should certainly file for more than just the cost of parts. The only trouble is, most companies (airline or shipping) will want a proof of purchase on what the completed rod cost. Not hard to do if you have a commercially made rod and can just show them the price in a Bass Pro or Cabelas catalog. However, this can be hard to do if you don't sell rods and have no standard price list to show them. In such a case, it's often good to have a rod building friend who can write you a bill of sale for a comparable replacement rod. Use that and most times they'll accept it.


.......................

My fishing partner used a length of Schedule 40 PVC with end caps as his rod case on our last three fishing trips. Two of three trips the end of the PVC was broken as a result of the brittle PVC tube taking a dive off the baggage handline equipment out on the pavement. Doesn't solve your problem, but is consistent with the experience of Tom Kirkman's associate. No more traveling with rods inside home made PVC rod tubes for me!

James - it doesn't matter what e uses. I have a heavy duty Bazooka tube which was in fine shape. There's only so much that can be done - if they take a PVC tube or a Bazooka tube, and throw it 10, 15, 30? feet - somethig is going to get damaged.

#^#^$@#

As far as I know all mail/baggage handlers are the same. Back when I worked in a small post office the parcels would come in early in the am. They were to be sorted and put at the case for the route they belonged. The person that sorted them would stand in one spot and literally throw them into the hampers for the routes they went to. No matter if they were 15 feet away it flew through the air & landed on who know what in the hamper...if it even went in the hamper...a concrete floor was the other option.

As TomK said, I also know guys that ship their rods & tackle ahead of time when they fly out of state on trips. It may not be perfectly safe, but at least they can purchase insurance ahead of time PLUS they know if their stuff got there BEFORE they leave home themselves.

Still, bad deal on the above post.

Jay

Dan,
I took 10 rods with me to Costa Rica and they all returned in one piece. I called the airline before leaving on the trip and asked them to let me be in the area where they were checked and they agreed. I made sure the person handling the case was careful in checking the rods in and out of the case. The case was a Plano rod carrying case with wheels. I wrapped each rod with bubble wrap and stuffed rags in the case to prevent any rod from moving. It worked. A lot of time has to be taken to make sure the rods are tightly packed, since the airlines tend not to be that careful in moving them. Unfortunately, it is the time spent custom making the rods that hurts, not that getting the money back doesn't help.
Sanford Hochman

It sounds to me like Dan did everything right to prevent damage. He packed them the way I have many times. I'm just curious to know whether golfers incur the same rate of damage and loss of valuables. From what I've observed in lots of air travel, there are probably 5 people traveling with golf clubs for every one with a fishing rod. Maybe they are doing something a lot better than we are doing to prevent damage and loss? Or maybe they experience all the same stuff. It's a bummer for sure and I hope you get some reasonable compensation Dan. Good luck.

Hi,
I built a custom rod for my son who flew Jet Blue, he put it in a rod case with small master padlocks on it and checked it in at the counter and told them it was a custom rod and was willing to show them. When he got to FLA he found the locks gone and cable ties in its place and the rod was broken. He called me at home and of course I was furious. A few inquires later and it was determined that any kind of case like these are subject to inspection by airport security for contraband or explosives and they are not responsible if it breaks for some reason on another. Jet Blue reimbursed him by giving him a free one way to FLA, which did not even cover the cost of the materials, but I guess this is all you can expect have to live with the 9/11 fear. Hope you get something but I don't think it will be much

Frank,
The airline allows you to watch the inspection of these cases, so when I check in, I don't lock the case until I see them inspect the rods, then lock the case. I also tell the inspector how to remove the rods with care. I have had enough problems in the past with the airlines. If we take the time to do this, the rods will fare out ok.
Sanford

As I may have mentioned before I do repair work for United Airlines and for Air Canada (into Dulles and Baltimore). I've also had the "opportunity" to look over the basic guidelines for airport security (as an adjunct to my "real job") It's actually surprising how few rods are turned in for repair. When they are the airline will either ask for some or purchase price information (or ask me to look at it for a fee/repair estimate to determine the value of the rod AS NEW) . In most (80+%) of the cases the airline will pay full replacement /fair market value. In others - especially when the rod has not been properly packaged they will point out that "proper care was not taken to protect the material inside the package). In the days since 9/11 YES - the airlines are lawfully permitted to open ANY bag and to perform random checks. They are watchful of odd looking packages (sizes/shapes) especially those which are locked. When you check in your fishing rods offer them for inspection AND ask that an inspection sticker be placed on them. Do not expect any additional hassel often offering it for inspection will result in the sticker being placed on the rod case. Baggage handling is a totally different area of concern - virtually everything that is shipped is "palletized" - packed into containers - the containers to not accomodate (easily or well) long cylindrical tubes. Likely what happened is that the tube was jammed cross-way into a container and either "made to fit" or had something randomly, and yes carelessly , tossed on top of it. That shipping methodology goes for airlines Fed-Ex, DHL - virtually anything that is put into "baggage".
In your case you could ask that the airline have the rod professionally evaluated for "fair market value" and go from there

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