way to protect the rods
 

When you launch how do you store your rods??? Does anyone has any pics... I been thinking about making a sort of a pod to tie in the back and put the rods in there so it would protect them in case of a roll and keep them out of the way

Sasha

Sasha, if you can't get them inside the yak, you might want to leave the reels off, strap them together and use on of the paddle keeper spots on the yak (assuming you have them); and throw a leash on them during launch and landing.

I dont feel right about getting the rods in the front hatch. I just know something is going to happen to me while i got it open. i dont have paddle keepers on the side. So still thinking about making a pod to keep the rods .

try moving rods in / out of the front hatch in calm water first, in a bay for instances, and see how comfortable you are

Pool noodle trick. Remove the reels stash them in a dry bag inside the yak, cut a pool noodle in half length wise. I use 3 velcro straps to hold the noodle around the rods and bungee the rods wrapped in the noodle to the yak

I saw a guy with an 8 foot length of 3 inch A.B.S with caps on the ends strapped to the side of his yak. I assumed it's where he stored his rods

Just don't get tossed...problem solved.

First thing I do is take off all hooks and turn on all the clickers. Seems like lever drag is just another way of saying your reel will freespool while you are not looking.

I just strap mine together with velcro and put the but end under the bungies in the back, strap the middle to the carry handle, and front to the dock cleat.

I finish everything off with a nice freshwater rinse.

Unfortunately I like long rods and Hobie doesn't really make it easy to store them inside or I would! And I am not about to add even more weight to my Yak just to keep the rods dry for what should only be a problem for a few seconds...

This is what i do. I tied a a huge knot on one side of my milk crate and put on end of the rods on the loop i just created. Then I tie a small paddle leash around the rods and tie them to the side handle.

A long rod pod or rod tube sounds bulky and a waste of space when not on use. You're only going to use it 3 minutes at the launch and 1 minute at the landing any way. Try putting your rods down the front hatch, it's actually not that hard. Like rogersmith said, try practicing in calm water. You just slide up the boat and stradle it. Good ballance with your legs on either side. The idea of launching and landing with the reels off the rods sounds ok, but assembling the outfits on the water might cause some trouble. Most of my rods don't have reel seats and dealing with screws and rod clamps on a kayak I'd end up dropping some thing small but vital over board. Kayak fishing is hard on fishing gear. Good post trip cleaning is important. Mike

Depending on the type of yak you are using will determine if and where you can store your rods. My 1st yak was a Hobie Quest and I could store them inside, but was just as comfortable lashing them to the side using the paddle keeper on one side. I also had a Malibu X-13 that I could not store rods in through the front hatch since it had a wet well there. I did the same thing on this one.

Now I have a Hobie Outback and the front hatch does not give one much room to slide the rods through with the mirage drive in the middle, so I plan on doing basicly the same thing. The few changes that I will make are:
1) Use a rod wrap to hold all my rods together.

2) Bungee the front and rear of the roads to the yak just to keep them close without to much pressure so they do not spear anyone next to the yak.

If you store them this way you may want to place the rod butts towards the front of the yak with the tips to the rear and remove your reels and store them in a dry bag in the front hatch. This way the butts (typical stronger end) would hit the ground/object first reducing any damage to the rods and the tips.

I will try to post a pic of the rod wrap that I have later. I did a search but could not find a pic of the one I have. It also comes in handy carring the rods any distance as it's like a sling.

Here's the pic of the rod wrap sling. http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/5589/110502059.jpg