Hey all,
Here in Rhode Island, the temps are climbing to summer levels. I’d like your take on what affect heat has on various fishing components. Think:
A. Rods - fiberglas, bamboo, and graphite (I fish all three);
B. Line;
C. Miscellaneous.
As I write this, my gear is in the car. Came back from fishing a few minutes ago, and plan on going out tomorrow. Gear’s in the trunk; should I get it outta there?
Thanks,
Hugh
Hey Hugh, How are you doing?
How hot - is hot, where you live?
It’s only supposed to reach 91 degrees here today, yet from spring until fall our temps should run from the mid 80’s and top out in 110’s. 90 to 104 is pretty typical, luckily I love hot dry weather.
Back before there was an internet, I had a matched set of ( name brand ) one piece glass rods that on very hot days would twist so much that the first guide and tip top would end up being nearly ninety degrees off from one another. It would take about two days of being indoors at room temperature for the tips and the rest of the guide to re-align. When I contacted the manufacturer about this phenomena, they told me it wasn’t possible. Yet, every time they were used on days over 100 degrees, it happened. So…?
I will not store any gear in one of my autos. None of my fishing gear, including float tubes, waders, boots, flats boots or anything that uses or contains any type of plastic, neoprene, rubber, etc. is ever stored in my garage.
This area has a plethora of relatively young, off white, rough textured fiberglass boats, that were anything but white or rough textured when they were new.
The life expectancy of hoses, belts and batteries in our vehicles are shortened compared to the more temperate climate areas of the state I’ve lived in. Extreme heat and cold kills gear, plain and simple.
Good luck and stay cool, Dave
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I wouldn’t leave a bamboo rod in a car; don’t think the heat has much effect on graphite rods, fibergalss either. Prolonged exposure to sunlight not good for flylines, leaders & tippet either and even though my trunk doesn’t get much sunlight, I take them inside. Waders & boots come inside too.
Regards,
Scott
I leave a rod strung-up at all times behind the seat of my truck.
It’s just a $13 W*lmart rod with an extremely experienced line, but there’s never been an issue
I think you could leave it in your trunk. Just find a nice cool spot to park it. LOL.
I don’t leave my gear in anyplace I wouldn’t spend the time. I find car trunks rather hot and dark in the summer so I don’t spend any time there, neither does my gear.
REE
Hey guys,
Dave E - you have me beat. This week will be in the low 80’s, but will be around 90 and humid Saturday. (Yuck!) We get way more hot, humid days than hot and dry.
All - guess I have to get off my lazy butt and bring the gear inside! Though I do like dudley’s idea of keeping a cheapo in the car for “emergencies”! 
Thanks,
Hugh
Hi All,
I have read quite a bit on rod building in the past year, and while doing that found out that keeping a graphite rod in a hot car in the sun is bad business, even if in the rod case. You especially don’t want to keep one in the front or back window, and the trunk would be in that same category. Over time, it will weaken the polymer that binds the graphite fiber material together in the rod blank. Thus over time, it will weaken the blank.
I left one of my rods in the vehicle for quite a few days while on vacation a few years ago, and it was also left where the sun could hit the rod case. The rod case is no longer straight, so I bought a new rod case for the rod. The rod is still nice and straight, so it is only the case that was bent a little bit. The rod was not one of their super high dollar models, but is from one of the top manufactures, thus not an inexpensive rod, so I am glad that it was not bent. However, I am quite sure that the life of the rod will be shortened somewhat.
If you are going to keep one in the car on a hot day, make sure it is in the passenger compartment out of the sun. If you have a camper, it would be much better to keep it in the camper. We crack the windows a little bit, and that keeps the car a bit cooler.
For what it’s worth, we are working on remodeling our bath upstairs, and I am doing part of the work. Yesterday after church, I had to work outside on parts of it. It got up to 113 degrees here yesterday, and I would work about 45 minutes or up to an hour, and then go inside to drink gator aid and cool down for up to a half hour each time. So, equipment is not the only thing that heat effects. With the 113 degrees we had yesterday, and wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour or so, there is no way I would have gone fishing. Just plain too hot. The wind felt like being being in front of a blast furnace when you would get hit straight on with it.
Regards,
Gandolf
I’m with Ron Eagle Elk on this one. Here in Georgia, the summers are long and hot. This spring we’ve already had a number of weeks where it stayed in the mid-upper 90’s. There is no way I’m leaving my gear in a closed car to be exposed to that heat. If you want to know how hot it gets, let your garden hose sit out in the sun until mid afternoon, then turn on the water and let it run on your hand. I’ll bet you could boil and egg in the water that comes out of the hose. It’s even hotter in a closed car. For me, I don’t leave my rods, lines or tippets in the car unless I’m going fishing. Just my two cents worth.
Jim Smith
I keep gear in the truck too. Heck, I’ve had a spool of mono in there for years (kept out of the sun is the trick) it gets stupid hot inside vehicles here. My stuff really hasn’t had anything bad happen. Did learn not to store hot glue eggs behind the seat in the summer
Many year’s ago my younger brother and his buddy found some bamboo fly rod banks in an unclaimed freight warehouse. They built the rods and fished them for a couple of years until they left them in the back window of his car while they did something else on a hot summer day. When they went to get the rods and fish a while before dusk the rods had delaminated from the heat. I have no idea if the same thing would happen with other blanks as he had no idea who made them or how they were glued up.
hairwing, I just saw the youtube… crazy stuff!
And for the rest: do you see a difference if the gear is in the trunk? In other words, not actually in direct sunlight, but still in a trunk?
If you MUST store some gear in a hot car for a short time, then fine, but why do it if you don’t have to? I just recently had a the frame of an expensive pair of Bolle sunglasses get warped from the heat in the car. They were in a case, under a towel, on the back seat out of direct sunlight. Temp was in the high 90’s. Don’t know how hot it was in the car. Don’t leave crap in the car unless you have to.
Funny, I have a pair of Bolle sunglasses that have taken up permanent residence in my car. Sometimes in their case, in the glove compartment, but just as often, out in the open, uncovered, in the sun. I’ve left them that way for days at a time in the heat and I’ve never had them warp, bend, disfigure, or otherwise change in any way due to the heat in the car.
I keep most all my most-often-used fishing stuff in my trunk (3-4 rods & reels, 2 vests, waders, boots, etc.), and have never had a problem with it.
Your mileage may vary, though, of course. Just try leaving some gear in there for a few days at a time in the heat, making sure to check on it when you think of it. If it’s fine after a few weeks of 90s temps, you’re probably good to leave it in there.
IMO, heat affects everything you use. UV rays and just plain heat can and will loosen the epoxy that holds your real seat and the windings that hold your guides secure. Not to mention heat causing de-lamination of your favorite boo stick. Heat and UV rays will effect your fly line and mono leaders and tippets. The more heat and UV rays the faster the deterioration of all components with the exception of the reel itself. That being said, I believe that heat can also effect the drag efficiency of a cork drag system. The most important component of your fishing equipment is YOU. Heat will definitely affect you and your thinking process. When you get home after a hot day, take the time to put your gear away and clean it. Above all, keep hydrated and you will be able to make better decisions when you get home. There’s no better way to take care of your gear, than taking too much care.
I could be wrong, but not for me.
I always bring my gear inside when I get home, not just because of heat, but also to prevent theft. It’s not that I’ve ever had a problem with theft (with the exception of some kickin’ speakers 20 years ago), but maybe that’s why. When I was a kid we always had a convertible and it was pounded into my head not to leave anything in the car that I didn’t want to have stolen.
Does heat in a parked, closed car damage things? I’m sure it does, but how much I can’t say. I can say for certain that it does them no good.
I just don’t feel right if I don’t have a few rods in my auto at all times, ready to go. I will often go fishing during my lunch hours, and then maybe again in the evenings. I usually have 2-3 fly rods in the car, all rigged up and ready to go. Rods up to around 9’ fit perfectly in my vehicle, so I don’t even have to break them down. I haven’t noticed any damage to the rods, reels or fly lines. Over time, the mono leaders or tippet need replaced, but that’s a normal thing to do anyway.
I’m sure the sunlight affects the rod and lines somewhat, so I certainly wouldn’t tell anybody else to leave their gear in their cars. I’ve been keeping at least some fly rods in my car for at least 5 years, and still use all the rods each year. The only time the rods come out for any length of time is during the winter, when the ice-fishing gear gets put into the car instead.
Someday maybe the rods will be damaged enough that they will need to be repaired or replaced… and they will have earned every minute.