Do Rod Sleeves Actually Protect Your Fishing Rods? (Rod Jacket Review)
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips, Product Reviews, Weekly Newsletter: 5-24-20
Have you ever broken a rod while transporting or storing it?
I have, and it’s incredibly frustrating.
In hopes of protecting my rods, I recently started using rod sleeves.
Rods (especially the eyes) can get stuck or tangled with one another or on other objects, which is a big cause of them breaking.
Rod sleeves, or rod jackets, help protect your rods and decrease the chances that they get stuck on something.
However, rod jackets come with their own set of hazards as well.
In this video, I’m going to talk about the pros and cons of using them, as well as address the big question: do they even work?
If you’re looking to protect your rods, check out the video below.
Rod Sleeves: Do They Work? [VIDEO]
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Alright, let’s get into the pros and cons of rod sleeves.
Pros:
- They prevent your guides from catching or getting tangled on things (including your other rods)
- They protect your rods from getting nicked
- They don’t cost much
Cons:
- If you get a rod sleeve that’s too short, it can put pressure on your rod tip and may break it
- Hooks are easily snagged in the nylon material
Conclusion
Whether you have a $50 rod or a $500 rod, you probably want to make it last as long as you can.
Rod sleeves can help do that, as long as they’re the right length for your rod.
Have any questions about rod sleeves?
Do you use them?
Let me know in the comments below!
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Hi Tony, great video. I do like my rod covers for storage and travel. West Marine sells 1/8th inch bungee so you just make an extension to the existing cord to secure the sleeve. Pieces of any kind of foam cut small for the hooks can solve the snagging issue. I’m a bit on the picky side so my lures all get removed after a trip and put with the ones used on the trip and placed in a bowl of fresh water. A little dish soap, a quick soak, a real good rinse and my hooks last forever and the salt does contaminate any of the other artificials in my boxes.
Thank you for the great feedback Scott!
I got some cheap rod sleeves on Amazon and have noticed my braid fraying where it’s exposed with the sleeve on. Is this is normal problem?
If the material is rough it could possibly fray up the line at the end of the sleeve if its constantly rubbing on the line.
Tony your tips are great and helpful! To save time between vehicle to fishing, I Do have my lures pre-tied but I put masking tape around my hooks the night before 🙂
Thank you for the great feedback Vincent! Great tip! I have also seen that some people will use pieces of foam from a pool noodle or pieces of old soft plastics lures to cover the hook points.
They’re great for storage not travel. Had couple of my rods almost sail out of my boat. They catch the wind like a sail. All in all highly recommended.
I definitely agree with you on that one!
I made my own some years back, use them on steelhead, salmon and albacore rods. They protect from boat rash and tangling. From custom rods to Lamiglas and GLoomis, all my rods are sleeved during transport.
Good stuff Derek!
I’ve been using rod sleeves for the last 10 years. Absolutely love them. With my older bass boat(1993 Stratos 285 Pro XL?) the rod locker is much smaller than newer boats. With the rod sleeves, i could carry 15-16 rods with me and never worry about tangling or damaging guides or the rod blanks. I could grab a rod on the bottom and pull it out with no problems.
Nice! They are definitely a good investment to protect the rods.
I have been using them for years and they do work. But it is hard to find the right length. Most are to short or small for spin cast roods.
Good stuff Richard! I have heard people use small bungee cords to help secure them if they are too short. As long as they can cover the guides you should be good to go.
I get it on spools if 50 feet, McMaster-Carr. Tight woven expandable sleeve, for instance pn 2837K74 expands from 1/2 to 3/4” id and 50 feet cost about 30 bucks, cut to length, wrap one end with line, trim the end and singe it with a lighter. For the open end I turn it in on itself about 3-4” and then stitch it loosely so it can still expand. For spinning rods you just look for a size that will extend over you largest guide.