A friend of mine is going to Costa Rica fishing for about a month. He's bringing 4 Surf rods with him and is being told it will cost him $300. to pay to bring them with him. First , is this normal? Second, How do most of you folks that do the Central America trips deal with shipping or carrying your rods with you? These are not inexpensive rods he payed top dollar to have me build them. He wants them there in one piece. Thanks in advance for your replies....

Contact Michael Taylor at:

cappyri1213@yahoo.com

He is a blue water fly rod builder and a fishing guide who is in and out of San Jose regularly. He can help you get rods properly shipped.

Michael conducted the Blue Water Fly Rod Seminar two years ago at High Point.

Are these rods 1 piece?
I ship to Costa Rica nearly everyday and not too much costs that to get down there. Was he shipping them or trying to fly them with them?

I've always checked my rods on commercial flights when traveling to Mexico and Central America. Sometimes there was a surcharge because of the length, but it was never more than $50 and I rarely had to pay it.

Sorry guys, These are all 2 piece rods. Largest breaks down to 5'. I'm beginning to think he got some misinformation. Yes he is trying to fly with them. Should he try to board the plane with them? And should he put them in a tube? Unfortunatley the tube will have to be a 6" pvc. Might look like a bazooka ...LOL

Let me strongly suggest that, as with guns, he ship them ahead (and back home). Several of my customers have had rods stolen or destroyed by the airlines, even the two-piece ones.

He is indeed getting misinformation from the airlines - given some of the people they have working the phones and counters, I'm not surprised. However, with the new fees and add-ons and such, it might even be true for the particular airline he's dealing with. With the progressive escalation in fees for multiple pieces of checked luggage, it could come to that.

At least with shipping, you have the option of insurance. Trust me, trying to recover anything from the airlines takes more time than you can believe and will rarely cover what you lost, much less the cost of replacing it.

Uncle Russ
Calico Creek Rods

Mate i flew from the states to australia earlier this year and you are allowed a rod case and tackle box as 1 piece of lugage main thing they care about is the weight. I had a 7' rod case and a sports bag as a tackle box and all i had to do was put it on the scales same as any other piece of lugage wouldnt say it'd be any different going to south america

Tight lines,
Chris

I wouldn't fly down with them but that's my opinion. Airlines are the suck but what else are you gonna do?
I would ship them and insure them to the max, if they get lost or stolen at least you can get something for the trouble fairly easy. You can also track them and know where they went. Airlines are a crapshoot either way.

I have flown with my rods for the past 7 years. I pack them in a rod tube locked and zip tied. I lay a blanket on the floor and lay each piece in and do a complete revolution so each piece wrapped in fleece. I nest the pieces and reverse them so a tip of one rod is protected by the butt of another. Jam them in the rod tube, if need be all a towel to make sure nothing can rattle around. At the airport, they usually tell you that they have to go to a separate luggage area. If they say they will take it, I follow them to make sure they get to where they need to be. If they allow me to take them I will walk them to wherever they need to go. I have even escorted them to security and asked if they need to open the tube up if I could repack it. I'm going to Costa Rica next month and that how my rods are getting there. I have never been charged, it's one of my 2 pieces of checked luggage. My reels go into my carry on.

Tony

Well, $300 doesn't sound too bad to me, I was quoted $256.00 to ship a four rod tube to La Paz, B.C.. I'll risk the plane.

One of the services I offer is repair for United Airlines / Canadian Pacific airlines out of Dulles International and Baltimore/Washington. First follow Tony's recommendations above. Pack carefully and use Schedule 40 (heavy/thick) PVC tubing not the thin walled "non-pressurized" or grey electrical conduit. SEAL one end with a heavy plastic end cap (glue in place with foam stuck in the end) pressure fit the other end. With the non glued end cap in place (no rods inside yet) heat up several wood screws - really hot and screw them into the cap (and tube). The hot screws will create their own threads when the cool. This way you can reuse the tube many times. Additional "variations" include attaching "D rings" (one on the end cap and one mid-way down the tube) that you can clip nylon straps to - instant shoulder strap/harness. DO NOT ship anything longer than 6 feet via commercial air. Luggage is "containerized" (put into metal bins). The bins will accommodate six feet - seven if the baggage handlers take their time.

75 a piece if they are in separate cases that are long, and that sounds about right. If he is carrying them all in one case it won't be that much to put them on the plane with him. I used to carry skis around and they charged me 25 extra to check them but times have changed and it costs more. I would imagine whoever he asked assumed he meant 4 separate containers.