How to Make Your Own Fishing Rod Carrying Case

Exploring new places and traveling to test your mettle against unfamiliar waters are some of the great joys of being an angler. Your rods, though, are expensive and easily broken in transit. Rod cases to protect and carry your gear are expensive to buy but cheap and easy to make yourself with just a few materials.

Things You'll Need

  • 4 to 6 feet schedule 40 PVC piping, 2 inch diameter
  • Marker
  • Saw
  • Newspaper or drop cloth
  • PVC primer
  • PVC cement
  • Closed PVC end cap
  • Female, threaded PVC end cap
  • Male threaded PVC end plug
  • Rod sock
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure the length of the rod you wish to put into your rod case against the length of PVC tubing. Mark the endpoint of the rod with the marker. For two- or three-piece rods, only measure the length of the longest piece of the rod against the PVC as you will want to carry your rod disassembled.

    • 2

      Cut the PVC at the point you marked using the saw.

    • 3

      Place the newspaper or drop cloth on the ground or over the surface where you will be working. This is to protect the surface from staining by the PVC primer or cement -- both of which can quickly and easily damage surfaces.

    • 4

      Coat the outside of each end of the PVC tubing with the PVC primer using the brush included in the primer can. Also coat the inside of the closed end cap and the female, threaded end cap with primer. Be careful -- this stuff stains.

    • 5

      Coat the outside of the bottom end of the PVC tubing with PVC cement using the brush included in the cement can. Quickly coat the inside of the closed end cap with cement, and fit the closed end cap onto the PVC tubing. Move fast in this step as PVC cement dries very quickly, but also be sure to avoid getting cement on your skin or clothes.

    • 6

      Coat the outside of the top end of the PVC tubing with PVC cement. Do the same to the inside of the threaded female end cap, and then fit the end cap over the top end of the tubing. You will now have one closed end on the tube and one end with an opening through which you can fit your rods. Allow all the cement to dry -- this won't take very long.

    • 7

      Put your rod or rods into the rod sock, and insert the bundle of rods into the open end of the tubing. When the rods are inside, check that they are secure, and then screw the male threaded plug into the female threaded end cap.