SHIMANO PADDED ROD SLEEVE
Most specialist anglers, myself included, carry their rods to thewater already made up. Then all we have to do is slip them out of therod quiver or holdall, peel off a couple of elastic bands, ordedicated rod bands, fit the two (occasionally three) piecestogether, and we’re away.
Of course, there is always a downside. Rods and reels arevulnerable to knocks and scratches, lines snag on anything they canfind in the car, and even moreso on bushes and brambles as we trudgeto the water. And now and again, maybe more often than we realise,there is a hefty price to pay when we snap off on a good fish becauseof line damage.
One answer is to put the rods in rod bags, reels in the rucksack,and make up the rods when we get there.
I don’t like that option for two reasons. The first being that Iwould much rather make my rods up at home, in good light, and thesecond reason being that I often do a lot of opportunist fishing. Youknow what I mean, the wife goes out of sight so I take theopportunity to sneak off fishing. So ready made-up rods are ideal forthat. And of course they are for short sessions when you just don’thave much time to tackle up and what time you do have is best spentwith the line in the water.
Another answer is to use rod sleeves like these padded ones fromShimano, that accommodate made up rods, including big pitset-ups.Two things to look for when buying rods sleeves: flimsy ones arecrap, you may as well not bother. Overly padded ones take up too muchroom and usually weigh more than the rod and reel. Not good for riverroaming or any long walks to the swim.
These Shimano padded sleeves are neither flimsy nor heavy, andthey’ve designed them so that getting the rod and reel into and outof them isn’t an experience you would rather do without. The doublezip, with its Shimano Engineering pullers, help a great deal, and theduplon padded handle makes it comfortable to carry if you’re carryingjust the one. For carrying two or more in a holdall they’ve beenfitted with a clip that is compatible with the Shimano QuiverCombi.Smart looking piece of kit too.
They measure 195cm (6ft 4ins) long by 25cm wide.
Price: £ 19.99.
