Introduction: Fishing Pole Storage - Great for Apartment, Shed or Garage!
I live in a decent sized apartment with what seems like an entire house full of belongings, space is hard to come by around here. I have 8 fishing poles ranging from light action to surf rods and wanted to create a storage solution that would keep them out of harms way and make them easily accessible. Here's what I came up with:
The mount I created can hold 10 poles. You slip the tip into the smaller hole until there is clearance for the reel side to fit into the larger hole. For really long rods, you can disassemble them in the middle, feed them through the hole, then reconnect them to fit snug in the holder. I spaced my two pieces of wood exactly 5ft apart, seems to be the sweet spot (but may not work if you have very short rods). YMMV. Feel free to get creative and change this around to fit your needs.
You will need:
Piece of Wood (I used a 70 x 3.5 x 3/4 peice of pine from Home Depot, less than $5)
Saw (Hand saw is fine, Home Depot and Walmart sell a nice Stanley setup with mitre box and pegs for $13)
Drill
Hole Saws (I used 2in for the larger holes and 1.5 in for the smaller holes) You could use only the 2in if you wish.
6 Screws (I have Kreg pocket hole kit, my favorite tool ever. I highly recommend purchasing one if you don't have it!)
Clamp (not necessary, but will make cutting and drilling the wood much easier)
Step 1:
Cut the piece of wood at 33 inches and 66 inches. This will leave you with two equal pieces of wood 33 inches long.
Step 2:
Make a mark every 3 inches on both pieces of wood. Find the middle of the wood short ways and create a + sign so you know exactly where to place the hole saw.
Step 3:
Start with the larger hole, and cut into the wood every two marks. Do the opposite for the other piece of wood.
I staggered the holes so when spaced apart, so one large hole was directly in line with one small hole, this allows you to arrange the rods in opposite order so all the reels aren't all on one side tangled together.
Step 4:
Mount to ceiling. With the Kreg pocket hole system, this was a breeze. You could drill a pilot hole through the entire piece of wood vertically and fasten it using a 4in screw being careful not to split the wood.
I spaced them exactly 5 feet away, you will need to measure them to the size of your smallest rod, and make sure your biggest rod can still fit.
14 Comments
7 years ago
Thanks for sharing this instructable that I have been searching high and low for. I have a few rods up in my self storage unit that are simply tied together in a bunch and leaned against the wall which is definitely not a smart way to store them. I think a piece or two have broken due to being tied tightly together for quite some time now. With this ceiling storage system, I can store them in good condition at home and retrieve them conveniently whenever I feel like fishing.
7 years ago
Now this is an excellent storage solution for fishing rods! Not so much about using the bar with holes as a holding apparatus but about using the ceiling space to keep odd shaped things at! I think I could use this idea for a lot of my other odds and ends in my garage!
8 years ago on Introduction
Honestly. The pole storage rack looks like it could be a repurposed pool cue holder! It's really quite nicely made! I'd personally prefer my storage racks standing upright on the floor though easier to insert and remove the poles.
9 years ago
Nice, please check out my guide on bass fishing. I need votes for the hunter gatherer contest. Thanks so much! That would really help me out!
9 years ago on Introduction
I like that you said "Kreg pocket hole kit" is your favorite tool ever.
Reminds me of my favorite web site, now a book.
www.kk.org/cooltools/
check it out.
Thanks for your Instructable.
Please do more.
9 years ago
made a little of am adjustment to fit my children's poles but great idea and no extra space taken up
9 years ago on Introduction
any problems with sagging/bending from the poles after a while?
9 years ago on Introduction
my dad has a simular system but with slots on the side of the hole and goiing down so you don't have to pull the rods thru the holes
10 years ago on Step 4
Excellent Idea!! I'll definitely implement this solution at home!! Thanks for sharing
10 years ago on Introduction
What a great idea, thanks for sharing.
10 years ago on Introduction
Nice job! I have this problem, maybe your solution will fit my needs. I once heard a conversation in a very exclusive fishing shop about a flyrod with a broken tip... "sure you can mend it, but it will no longer be a fishing "rod", it will be a fishing "pole!" I don't think the fish can tell the difference..........
10 years ago on Introduction
I'm building this today! Many thanks for a great idea!
10 years ago
Great idea. Thanks for posting.
10 years ago on Introduction
That is such a fantastic idea! We're going to need some of these in my house. :D