Just got back from out West. All my rod tubes now are PVC so I can't say how TSA will deal with aluminum (although I did see a few in the terminals at Bozeman and Denver), but you'll probably want to make sure you don't try to carry on a 9' 2pc. Reels were no problem. Flies? who knows? - if you read TSA's rules you'd think you could bring flies in carry-on but I've seen folks get turned back at Dulles and BWI even when they presented a printed copy of the rules, while a guy in the next line over walked through with no problem. No rhyme or reason to their actions so I just pack them in checked luggage to avoid the hassle, although I understand the concern over losing that kind of investment - I'd hate to think how many hours I've put into filling my fly boxes. Normand's suggesting of mailing is good if you have an adress you can mail to, although I've had issues with UPS/USPS as well - a rod I shipped back from Montana a few years ago spent the better part of a week in Duluth before I could convince them that it's final destination was actually Virginia.
Regards,
Scott
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