Building an Affordable Fly Rod Rack

How many of you guys tube your fly rods when you are not using them? I am guessing here but I would say the majority of all fly fishermen and women tube their fly rods when they are not fishing with them. I feel I am in the minority, because I never tube my fly rods, unless I know I am not going to use it for at least a season; or I know I am traveling some distance to fish. So where do I keep my 5 fly rods when they are idle? Well the 6 wt. is safe in its tube until next spring, the other four, which includes my two 3 weights, 4 wt. and the 5 wt. are all neatly placed in my newly constructed fly rod rack. 

This rack is inexpensive and easy to build and consists of the following materials:

One piece of ½” plywood 22” tall by 20” wide
One piece ½” plywood 7 ½” wide by 22 tall both plywood pieces have all the edges rounded
Four 2x2 pieces holding the rods in place are 7 ½” long with a concave cut out for the rod to rest against
The other 4 short 2x2 pieces are 2 ¾” long with the same concave cut for the base of the rod to rest on
A 4 ft. 2x4 can be used for all 8 rods rest

The tools you will need to complete this project would be a router with a concave bit and a skilsaw or hand saw to rip the 2x4 in half. Be sure to use the router to cut the concave in the 2x4 before you rip it in half. It is much easier to route a wide 2x4 as opposed to routing a narrow half 2x2. All the pieces are assembled with glue and screws, with the screws being driven in from the back.

Your materials for this project can be scraps of wood you may find laying around your house, or your neighbor’s house. If you don’t have a router you might borrow one from a friend or neighbor. I built the entire rack in a couple of hours and painted it to blend with the garage walls.

Notice the blind over the window, it is not only used to screen out sunlight, but I also use it to hook my flies in the fabric loops on the blinds. The blind loops not only pins the fly but it helps to keep the leader/tippet straight until my next trip. I don’t like to fish with a leader or tippet that is not straight.

When I am traveling to the lake or tailrace which is a short distance, I simply break the fly rod down in two pieces and tie with two short pipe cleaners. The pipe cleaners works perfect because they are so durable and bend well to hold the fly rod together until I get to my destination.