PDA

View Full Version : Travel question for Alaska



seth
07-13-2011, 08:12 PM
Has anyone traveled on Alaskan Airlines and checked rods and reels lately? I've heard that you are not allowed to bring "lined" reels on the plane. Also, how many rods are you allowed to carry on?

Thanks,

Bob Laskodi
07-13-2011, 08:48 PM
Yes, I have flown recently on Alaska Airlines. I carry on all my rod and reels (with flylines) in my Orvis Safe Passage Carry On Case and have not had a problem with carry on. The case holds six rods and reels and I will not check it as luggage since the contents are worth a ton of $$$$. In fact, I got selected for a "random" security check with TSA (just last week) and they opened up all the reel cases and inspected every rod and reel completely. All they said was "WOW, you got some nice stuff in there"! And then I carried it on to the plane!

Scott Thornley
07-21-2011, 05:53 PM
Has anyone traveled on Alaskan Airlines and checked rods and reels lately? I've heard that you are not allowed to bring "lined" reels on the plane. Also, how many rods are you allowed to carry on?

Thanks,

Keep in mind that it is not the Airlines that would be allowing/denying lined reels, it's the local transportation security personnel. And no matter what the local transportation security people will tell you, policies DO vary by airport.

So while I fly to AK annually, and have not had an issue with lined reels in carry on, last year I was reading on an Alberta CA based forum that lines were being confiscated from passengers leaving Calgary. A recent thread on Speypages mentioned lines being taken from passengers traveling in BC.

As for general rules:

You are allowed 1 carry on bag, and one small personal item. This personal item can be a rod case. I fly a lot for business, and bring fishing gear with me during the summer hours. I have a 43" long homemade case that takes two spinning rods and a switch rod, and it's never been questioned. It would easily fit 4 fly rods with sections to 42". Typically, my rods are carried on, and the rest of the gear goes checked.

Regards,
Scott

amoeba
07-22-2011, 01:39 PM
Not heard of it (checking/confiscation of fly lines) in the USA. I bring one of those smaller Abel rod "carriers" (4 rods) and 1 "bucks bag" reel case (6 spools/reels, with lines); pretty compact -altho the Abel cases are no longer available. Any and all metal carry-on rod cases have to be opened and inspected manually at security, so better to use something else if carried. I never check reels, sometimes rods, tho.

I'm not sure what the threat is of fishing line; if there is a weaponry use, what would be the difference between fishing line and knitting yarn?

crashq
08-28-2011, 10:33 AM
As Scott mentioned, the Canadian version of the TSA is usually much stricter than the TSA. If you change planes in Canada (Vancouver, most likely) you have to go through Canadian customs before you reboard. Then, I might worry, otherwise the TSA is pretty consistent about allowing lined reels on board. I fly 2-4 times per year with a full complement of reels including 3-4 lined-up fly reels and have never been stopped because of line on the reels. Once, while my stuff was passing through the X-ray machine, a TSA agent asked her supervisor of they allowed rods on board, and was told "yes". She didn't even blink an eye at the reels.
MOst of the stories about getting stopped for lined reels were very shortly after 9/11 or in foreign locations. Many countries who depend on American tourism are much more strict than the TSA because they don't want to get labelled as a security risk. Of course, there is always the odd TSA agent that sees things differently. Calmly ask them to check with their supervisor. If not, keep the reels in a bag that can be checked, return to the counter, tell them the TSA wouldn't allow the reels on board, and they will check it for you.

P.S.Since the tungsten and lead used in heavy sinking lines shows up much more brightly on the current x-ray machines, I always take these lines off my reels (leaving the backing and running lines) to avoid having an agent think that the round spool of wire is some kind of device.