Fly Rod Rests and Spinning Rod Rest Designs for Tubes differ.

No matter how committed a float tuber you are, sooner or later you will want to carry more gear. If a well equipped boat angler can carry spare rods, so why shouldn't we do it too.

There are various ways of carrying spare rods onboard your float tube.

Most tubes have velcro strips on the upper surface of both sides of the tube and a rod can be carried clamped by the velcro material, in two parts in a horizontal fashion.

But while this basic storage idea works ok, it gets in the way if you are fishing with a second rod at the time. So we have come with improved rod rests for float tubes.

Here is a tube rod rack for when I'm out fly fishing.

If you are fly fishing, you need to keep the sky around you clear for rod movement, and aerialised flylines.

So your spare rods are best if stored in a rod rack which is basically horizontal.

It's not exactly horizontal however. There is a slight upwards ramp, so that as you go up and down over waves, the rod tips are not immersed into the water behind you each time your ship's bow dips down a bit!  Also it is important that the rod tips are raised a bit when you return in to the shore so they don't get caught up in the bank.

It is also a good idea to tilt it up in the sideways direction, as this means a side wave will not tilt your water craft, and dunk the rods. It's easier to reach the outer rod this way also.

So a little tilt up towards the rods out behind, and more tilt up away from the water surface to the side, is about right.

This fly fishing tube rod rest was made from carbon fibre 4mm diameter rods got in a model hobby shop or kite shop ( I used www.greenhobbymodel.com where I work) with balsa wood for lightness.

The balsa wood sheets were covered with carbon fibre cloth on top to look cool and to waterproof and protect it, and with fibreglass cloth underneath - fibreglass is half the cost of carbon fibre, and nobody sees the bottom! PVC tubing makes the rod holders. It could be made completely from PVC tube in less time, see TubeDude's photo below for an example of this.

Here it is with my standard trout and perch lake setup. One fly rod with floating line / intermediate very slow sinker. The second fly rod has a sinking line, either Wet Cel 1 or faster sinking Wet Cel 2.

The outfit is completed with a light spinning rod for spinning for fry feeders, drop shotting for deep fish visible on sonar that refuse to cooperate with the fly fishing presentation.

Rod Racks for Shorter Bait & Spinning Rods

The handiest bait fishing or spinning rod rack is slightly different.

This is achieved by a vertical baitfishing or spinning float tube rod rest like the one shown left.

After the rod holder tubes are cut, I use a Dremel drill 1/2" sanding drum to buzz out the depressions on either side of the top, for the reel handle to fit into.

If an L shape notch is cut, with a little 90 degree turn, the reel mounting part will rotate slightly and lock into the turn and the rod is even more secure.

TubeDude on Lake Pleasant, AZ, with an angled horizontal rack. It worked fine, but is not recommended for fishing in cover or near shore. The vertical design is far more convenient in these places.
It suits fly fishers where vertical rods would interfere with the back cast.

TubeDude's wife (TubeBabe) trolling and fishing jigs.
The PVC tube rodrack on the far side of the tube stores
her extra rods accessible, but neat and out of the way.

I've been doing a little work on my float tube. I often fish trout and bass from it using fly rods, so I decided to go all out and make something with that in mind. Here are some photos. Most of the mods are inspired by the ideas of others - especially those on the Big Fish Tackle Float Tube Forum.
In the pic, the yellow pool noodle is attached to top of floating fish wire basket. I use this when I fish our in-town lake for stocker trout. Yum!
Also seen in the pic immediately below are the blue/red inflatable PFD, the Fishin' Buddy fish finder, and the green Wood River fly fishing bag. Not seen in picture are the net, anchor bag, and fins.

All PVC is 1 inch schedule 20.

The rod tubes are drop slotted for holding fly rods, and a breech-lock-style notch is at the side of the slot bottoms.

Net slides in "T" attachment on far right. Slots are cut to keep net from turning. Gravity holds it in and it is offset so it doesn't tangle with rods.

Here's the frame unattached. It is held on the tube with clips and bungie cords. It can be disassembled into three parts by removing two bolts. Dark gray padding is foam pipe insulation held on with zip ties.

 by "IcemanXXXV" from BFT fishing forum

 Here is Icemanxxxv's design for a holder for a fly rod which has two settings to suit whatever kind of rods you carry while out tubing. This is an excellent design, and very compact. Notice that supporting T-tube, which  will be  useful in most of the other rod rack designs as an improvement to their stability and an "adjustable angle" upgrade.

 Icemanxxxv : I wanted to design a rod rack for my Togiak float tube. After looking at vertical racks people have designed I thought with my errant casting skills I figured vertical wasn't for me. Vertical rod racks would be nice for launching, beaching, and in tight spots. Fixed horizontal racks while better suited for my casting skills would not be the best choice for other situations.

Here is what I came up with a rack that adjusts from near vertical to near horizontal. The best of both worlds. I just drilled a hole in the tube joint at the Vertical and one at the horizontal position. Disassembled the joint cut the slot in the tube and installed the screw in the hole through the slot and secured with nut washer and locked the threads with super glue. Because once the other tubes are glued up there is no getting at the nut to re-tighten.

The two in the back move together. The rod holders are held in the vertical position by the tension between the "T" fitting and the tube. The nut on the inside is backed up with a star washer and a plain washer then it was tightened to provide the correct tension. Than a drop of super glue on the bolt threads and nut, since I can't rely on torque to keep it tight. When the tubes are in the horizontal position they rest on the stop created by the end of the slot in the tube.

I would like to thank all who have posted your rod racks for others to see with out these posts I could have never came up with this one!

Strapless Quick Fit Multi Rod Holder   by "TubeDude" from BFT fishing forum 

I have been codgertatin' for some time on how to add all of my PVC "essentials" without having to use the bungee straps and clips. That stuff works but it is a pain to set up and take down.  The end result is that it should be exactly what I am looking for...simple, easy to install and remove, little (if any) added weight...and rock solid. No problems with instability of rods, waving in the waves or breeze, etc. The key to this installation is using a pair of 2" x 2" wood blocks inside the pockets...fore and aft...to create a stable frame for attaching external goodies. Then, I connect the front and back blocks with a thin strip of wood along the inside of the outside edge of the pockets. That makes it possible to anchor the "anchor" pieces of PVC to which I attach the modular rod rack and utility rack. The wood blocks are secured by running in 2 to 3 screws into the ends...through the fabric of the pocket. I position and secure them with the tube partially deflated, to get a good flat mount. Then, when the tube is fully inflated it applies pressure to make them even more steady and stable. That framework stays in place and the modular racks just pop in place when you are ready to rumble. The wood strip is about a half inch wide...painted particle board, but any wood will work. You can either screw or bolt the outside anchor PVC to that board. Contrary to what might be expected, the wood framework takes up little space. Nor does it add appreciable weight. But, it does make it possible to mount other things on the outside without having to strap them down or use bungee cords. Here are a few pics (right) and the finished job (below)