Packing for a Trip

[Wayne Brown]

That is a fantastic breakdown Nick with some great tips. I particularly like those shout jig sleeves, they seem a much more efficient way of packing that what I use currently. Many thanks.

[Nick Bowles]

Hi Wayne, the jig sleeves are great and work well, the only thing is that obviously you get some jigs which are to long and cause a bit of an issue closing the flap at the top but nothing serious. They are also good as they fit perfectly in the bottom of my jigger box so everything is nice and neat. I have also used the Hots Jig Pouch which you put all the jigs together in one pouch but found for traveling you need to wrap the jigs to protect them.

Cheers,
Nick

[Trevor Skinner]

Nick,

Don't forget the defibrillator......

Oh and the portable massage table.


Regards,


Trevor

[Nick Bowles]

Trevor did not realise you give massages...........Sure the guys will appreciate this!

[Rick Smith]

Hi Nick, thanks for taking the time to document everything. That info will come in handy in the future.

Can you tell me how that saltywater rp200 is as a GT rod. I thought if them mOre as tuna rods. I'm also on the look out for a new Lbg stick and was curious as to whether you had any input on that 11' assassin?

Thanks again Nick. Cheers!

[Wayne Brown]

Nick I also just purchase a sports tube rod case in preparation for my first "overseas" GT trip in Vanuatu next Month. Whilst I already have a lot of the gear sorted, there are always just those few extra great tips that make a difference. I was in Muscat in August catching up with a mate but unfortunately could only fit in a few nights and so no fishing. Planning to get back in the next 12 Months and will be looking forward to joining a charter with you then. Keep up the posts.

[Brian J Richardson]

Nick

You keep going the way you are going and you will end with as much tackle as this guy.  I wonder what his wife thought about it?

[harley ray]

I have a fishing buddy that has one of zane's split cane game rods

[Brian J Richardson]

I agree with Mark on packing the rods.  I get the longest rod and lay it on a flat surface.  Then take the next longest and put it tip to butt with the other rod so the tips are within the ends of the butts.  This protects the tips against sliding and hitting the end of the tube.  I use rubber bands over the guides and around the rods to get the guides to align together to make the smallest possible profile / X-section.  Keep adding rods and do trials to make sure it all slides into the tube.  I use rod wraps to wrap the tips to the butts.

It turns into a bit of a puzzle but you can fit a lot of rods in one tube this way.  I buy the straight round foam floats you see in swimming pools and cut it in sections and as I slide the rods in the tube I stuff the foam in with it so there is no impact on the guides during travel.

[wes_jones]

Hi nick great info mate, funny i was looking through the site to try and get an idea of what people pack as i am New to the world of overseas trips to jig and pop but extremmly keen to get started and plan a trip in the not to distant future.

once again great info mate top job!!

[Andre van Wyk]

Nick

Great thread and post mate... but I must say, thats not packing for a trip, that is packing for an expedition!!!! 

Fantastic advise, thanks for sharing.


If I may add one additonal tit bit...

I do much like Mark and Brian with regards to packing rods, but to add more protection, and save space I do the following:


I prep all the rods as per Brain and Mark's advice and use either masking tape or elastic bands to bind them together in groups of 2 or 3 or 4, depdning on the rod ( I usually have a mix of jigging, popping, plastics and ultra light rods ) but keep the butts from butt joint rods separate.  Most of my jigging rods are 1 piece models anyway, so its just the heavier popping rods which have the separate butt sections.

I also use the Sportube case, which in my opinion is the best case out there....

Next step I take a Sarong/Kikoi ( always travel with one anyway ) and lay it down on the floor. Then I take my fishing shirts ( Pelagic Aquateks etc ) and lay them down on the sarong, open and staggered, basically covering the whole sarong. I then grab a couple of extra t-shirts that I'm taking along, and my board shorts etc, and lay these on top... So now what you've got is a "matt" of clothes basically...

I then lay the first set of rods onto this "matt" on the side closest to me and then roll them up in the "matt". The Sarong/Kikoi keeps everything together and the clothes gives lots of protection and padding. I then lay the next set of rods and take another roll.... follow this procedure until all rods are bundled up snuggly and nice and protected.

I then take the masking tape again and wrap the ends and the middle to keep it all together.
Then I just slide the whole set up into the sporttube, and slide the butts from the butt joint models in and close it up and away I go....

Using this method, I have been able to fit all my boardshorts ( 3 pairs ) all my fishing shirts ( 5 x Aquateks ), a couple t-shirts ( 6 x Shirts ) plus 13 rods and never had any issues whatsoever...

The advantage of this system is that it frees up a ton of space in your other bag trhat would normally have been taken up by clothes, and kills two birds with one stone in protecting the rods as well...

[Cameron Mundy]

No photo's of the whip you use on the captains carrying your gear? 

[Derek Mock]

That's a nice arsenal of gear.... I would struggle to choose which to use when, you have so much choice!

Derek

[Nick Bowles]

Sorry been out on the road for the last couple of weeks in Southern Oman and Yemen so did not finish off the post. I have the last few pictures I took that I'll post. I also tried out a few new things from suggestions and necessity.

Hi Rick, The RP200 is a great all round rod and one of the few that still has no breakages both on giant tuna and big GTs. I rate it a lot and this is our best selling GT rod in the shop. I'm obviously a bit biased as I promote the rod but I do also use it and would only do so if it could hold up to our fish and conditions. I have had a couple of casts with the 11" Assasin and is a great casting rod, almost need more line capacity on my Stella 10000! But I have not hooked up and fish. I'm heading back down to Southern Oman next week and hopefully will give it a go!

Hi Wayne, I have used the Sportstube for the last couple of years and is a great tube, you can fit in loads of gear like Mark and Dre said! Plus a few extra clothes and gear! I think there is always room for improvement and we as fisherman will never be finished changing and buying gear!! Next time give us a shout, we have a boat in Muscat now and starting trips to some of the surrounding islands by the end of this month. Also some great potential for jigging trips for 2 days.

Hi Brian, I have just had to move into a bigger house so I could have a bigger fishing room! The room is now bigger than the shop...........I think I have issues! I tried a mix between your and Marks rod packing way when I went to Socotra and Sami and I fitted all of our rods into one tube, not bad for 2 chunky monkeys with lots of gear. But I kept most of my rods in the rod socks and put Samis rod loose around the rod socks to protect and cushion the rods. We then strapped the rods together with 4 rod straps and we fitted about 12 heavy duty rods! I just get a bit nervous not using the socks as we have had rods break off the tips in the guides of other rods!

Hi Wes, Hope you get into the popping and jigging, great fun and an awesome bunch of guys around the globe. Half the fun is getting the gear and packing it away so you can get as many toyz onto location as possible!!

Howzit Dre! Like your style! More bag space for lures!! I like the wrapping of all the rods and think this might be a good mix between the rod socks and rods al natural.

Hi Cam, Only when you did not carry the gear quick enough..........reminds me you coming through today, got a few things to carry in the new villa......

Hi Derek, Thats why I try take everything so don;t have to leave anything behind! To be honest although I have a tackle shop I still think most lures are to catch fisherman rather than fish..............Love new shiny things!

Cheers,
Nick

[David Noble]

When travelling light and space is a premium (flying aswell as onboard vessels), i no longer carry spools of leader, preferring to pre cut leaders to desired lengths and tie up each loop neatly with kitchen ties. Each size is kept together in snap seal bags, packs flat & ready to go... ie, all lengths of 250lb in 1 bag, same for 170lb, all the way down.

Amazing the space this saves but then again, this doesnt seem to be any issue for Nick....

Cheers Dave