Fishing Rod Storage inside Topper

What kind of solutions do people use for mounting and storing fishing rods out of way inside of truck toppers,? looking for ideas, thanks in advance

 

Are you talking 9-ft fly rods or shorter spinning rods?

My bed is 6-ft, so the spinning rods live tucked behind some velcro-ed on 3M plastic hooks stuck onto the fabric that lines the bed shelf. I also bought some fishing rod brackets for Tacomas off of Etsy that fit into the bed rail T slots. (Thanks to folks on this forum.) This takes up a little more room than the shelf rest, but the brackets are cheap and easy to install.

For fly rods, I've thought about sticking them through the open window of the topper and extending into the cab, but haven't procured the foam I want to keep dust out of the cab. I know myself and know that if there is a way to snap a rod or break a tip, I will find it. Usually if on a long trip the fly rods live in a rod vault mounted on the rack on the topper.

 

I use mainly 8' to 10' salmon, steelhead style rods that are two piece so broken down size max of approximate 5' which is the length of my short bed

 

Gotcha. I was just breaking down fully rigged fly rods into halves as well but got tired of constant entanglements. Also worried about other gear moving around and damaging the rods.

So for longer hauls the rods live in the rod vault. For moving short distances between fishing spots, I found something called the "On the Fly" rod holder. It consists of two pieces that adhere with magnets to the exterior of the vehicle. One section holds the rod tip, the other section holds the reel/butt end. I've got several, about $25-30 at my local hardware store. You can order online as well.

I know you specifically asked about carrying rods inside the topper. I haven't found a good way to do that yet. Others will say just break your rods down and case them.

 

I had a cargo net on the roof of my cap. I fly fish (all 9' rods) and would break the the rods in half and hang them from the net with those thick twist tie things...like they use for extension cords.

 

I used to use PVC pipe with one cap glued on and the other cap gently pressed on.

Now I don’t fish. I need to fix that problem.

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1502166866/fishing-rod-holders-for-toyota-tacoma?ref=share_v4_lx
Found these, pretty nice
Etsy has a bunch of Tacoma stuff, alot of it is USA made small companies, do a search for Tacoma on their site and all kinds of neat stuff pops up

 

I saw those the other day. I was a little leary of the way it installs in the rail. Theres a similar set on Etsy that uses some kind of t-nut to mount to the rail.

 

Ya there is several types, i love fact someone in USA is making them

 

Sounds like you need some diversity in your life!!! Only 9’ rods??? There are soooooo many other length fly rods you need! Hahaha.

FWIW I split my fly rods in the middle, put a reel case over the reel and other half and have a large bungie thing that pulls tight for the other end. Has worked for 30 years for me. I sometimes think I need a rod vault but in truth I could never bring myself to leave a rod rigged up in one and bounce down the road and certainly not leave rigged rods in there when I’m not near my vehicle. The do make a half rod vault that fits in a truck bed under the tonneau cover that looks slick…

 

Haha...I do have many under 9' and an 11' euro nymph rod. Other than that I haven't found much use for anything over 9' in the single hand rod space. Been in the game for 30+ yrs.

 

I love my 10' fly rods. They help me suck less at mending.

 

hahaha. Ok good…. I was worried about you!

I have a 6’2” glass 2wt
7’6” glass 3wt X2
7’6” 3wt
7’6” 4WT
8’ 4WT
8’6” glass 5WT
Lots of 9 footers….. who doesn’t right?
8’6” glass 6WT
9’6” 7WT
10ft 7WT
9’ 8wt

hahaha whoops…. Can’t forget Euro Rods.

10’6” Recon
11’ Helios Blackout.
Both 3wts.

probably some others I’m forgetting about. Like you I’ve been at it for 30 years or so. They just seem to accumulate…. You can see I’m a sucker for glass though. Since I don’t have bamboo (yet) it’s as close as I have come.

epic has a new pack light 4WT 5pc glass rod that I am REALLY trying to justify needing….

agreed. I have the two long 7wts for steelhead and big trout.

 

Is that a cabelas cgr? I've been wanting one just to see if I like glass rods and to have something for small ponds.

 

https://www.scottflyrod.com/rod-series/view/F-Series

It’s a Scott FS

small stream light rods in glass are so much fun! A 6” brookie feels like a trophy. Also I find it much easier to cast a glass rod super short distances because it loads much easier.

 

Run a bungee cord from side to side in the rear of your bed and open the back window... simply slide the rod through the window and rest the reel on the bungee. Simple and effective.

 

At that point you have to break down the rod anyways, so might be simpler to just put it back in the tube. I run my trout spey rods half broken down in the back of my 5'6" bed, and live dangerously.

 

A friend of mine has a topper on his taco, so he built a plywood box the height of the wheel wells, one side is a big tray he can pull out and put waders etc. in and on the other side he mounted a bunch of vacuum tubing (thin pvc pipe) and has grooves cut into them so he can leave the fly rods rigged up, just break them in half, and all the lines are secure so they don’t get tangled up. I plan on building something similar before this guide season.

 

I have fished bamboo for 20 years or so and started building them a few years back, I sure love those boo rods for dry fly fishing!! Since you like glass rods I am sure you would love bamboo, if you get you hands on a decent rod, grab it up and go fishing.. But beware bamboo is a big rabbit hole you can find yourself slipping into.
And don’t believe the hype that bamboo is easy to break, I can set a blank on my shop floor and jump on it and it won’t break, my plastic rods would explode if I did that. LOL.

 

hahaha. Well believe it or not, not only have I fished bamboo that’s what I learned on. I grew up right on the Farmington River and had a dear family friend who was not only a man of means but also a dedicated fly fisherman. I cut my teeth fishing bamboo in Ovation pool dry fly fishing. Some of my absolute fondest memories.

I’ll definitely be end up with a few of them at some point in time however as it stands I have at least 14 or so different rods now so adding even more can be tough to justify.

If I had to speculate I’d guess a 4 or 5 wt bamboo rod is in my future as well as a few more glass rods.

What’s even worse is I’m basically a EuroNympher now and probably do that 85% of the time. Only time I really dry fly fish is when I’m on the Delaware or in Roscoe on the Willow or the Beaverkill. It just seems wrong to Euro on those rivers…