If you’re an avid angler, chances are you like to explore new fisheries. It can get pretty dang boring fishing the same old places time and time again, so a lot of times it’s important to be more mobile and travel a bit. Whether you’re taking a trip to one of the famed trophy bass lakes in Mexico, going to a new pond with a buddy or taking a family beach vacation, it’s tricky to transport fishing rods. I’ve broken my fair share of rod tips in vehicles.
I ran across a pretty neat product lately that’s going to make it a lot easier to travel with your fishing rods. The Flambeau 6095 Bazuka Pro rod tube is going to be a huge help for anglers around the world. I’ve been testing it out and if you have any intention of taking your rods on a trip with you this year, this is a relatively small investment that can certainly protect your expensive fishing rods.
This isn’t some cheap, plastic rod tube that’ll bend, warp or crack when abused. The Flambeau 6095 Bazuka Pro has some serious shoulders to it and there’s absolutely no need to worry about it breaking. You can toss it in the bed of your truck, put it on an airplane or cram it in the back of the family SUV with total peace of mind. It’s made with incredibly tough blow-molded construction and the minute you put your hands on it, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. This rod tube is meant to take whatever you can throw at it.
Priced at $119.99, I consider this to be a reasonable investment to protect your gear. If it saves just one mid-priced rod while you’re traveling, it has already paid for itself.
I’ve played around with some rod tubes over the years and one of the main things that stood out to me were the flimsy latches. I think we’ve all used some cheap tackle trays in the past that have those really wimpy latches, right? That’s how a lot of other rod tubes tend to have. Knowing my luck, I’d have some of my favorite rods in there and they’d dump out or something during a flight. Crazier things have happened to me, I can assure you of that.
Thankfully, Flambeau made sure to put a really high-quality latch on the 6095 Bazuka Pro and when it closes, you can tell it’s going to stay shut no matter how much vibration, shaking or knocking around happens in transit.
The one-pieced hinged door works quite nicely as well as it provides convenient and quick access. There’s no fumbling around or aggravation trying to get to your rods and the hinges are also nice. There doesn’t seem to be any flex whatsoever, so I don’t think you’ll need to worry about it breaking off or anything crazy.
I think this is really smart. 6095 Bazuka Pro extends from 73 inches to 102 inches which allows you to keep your rods from sliding end-to-end while they’re inside the tube. This is a great idea that will keep even your most fragile rods safe. A rod tube can be the toughest thing in the world but if it allows your rods to slide around and knock all over the place, you’re going to end up with broken rod tips, jacked up line guides and who knows what else. This a great design feature that certainly deserves recognition.
I’ll be using the 6095 Bazuka Pro a lot this summer as my wife and I go on our beach trips. Like most of you, I can’t just sit in a beach chair all day and not do something, so I love surf fishing. When we were younger, we’d take my old diesel truck to the beach and I’d put my rods in the front seat or in the bed. She didn’t take kindly to sitting next to/on top a pile of fishing rods inside the cab and I didn’t like throwing ‘em in the bed of the truck. I wish I had this rod tube back then and I’m sure my wife does, too.
Now that we’re older, we’ve upgraded and we take our SUV to the beach which, for me, makes fishing rod transportation even more difficult. Before I took some of these photos, I actually had to pull a treble hook out of the back of one of our third-row seats. Oops.
The low profile of the Flambeau 6095 Bazuka Pro, however, allows me to slide it in and out of vehicles really easily without worry about latches or bulky handles catching on suitcases, coolers, tackle bags or the 4,000 other bags my wife packs. Not to mention, this is going to be a really nice thing for family trips with kids and pets in the car. You won’t need to worry about any body getting a stray hook in their hand or paw during the drive, which is a big relief.
As I mentioned earlier, this is a darn good investment for anglers who are frequently on the go. Whether you’re flying or driving, you’ll no longer have to worry about the safety of your fishing rods. My dad and I will be saltwater fishing in a few months and I’m thinking about getting one for his rods as well. I absolutely recommend this rod tube.
The Flambeau 6095 Bazuka Pro is available at TackleWarehouse.com.
