Every year some family members and I have a tradition where we take a fly fishing trip somewhere. The location often changes, but we keep it within a 300 mile radius and we take 2 separate vehicles. As we all know, any trip comes with its fair share of stress.

I have 2 younger sons that I bring along with me, and that in itself is a lot like work. There’s so much to think of in terms of packing just for them. Luckily my wife handles a lot of that, which she is happy to do since she’s getting a break from all of us. Then there’s packing for myself and getting all of our fishing gear together.

I used to use an open rod carrier which really was not the best quality. I got frustrated a lot at the movement and noise, which believe it or not, was not drowned out by my kids. I was also constantly worrying that something would break or get damaged. It was time for something different.

I found a few enclosed carriers to choose from. I just had to compare to figure out which one best suited our specific needs. There seemed to be a lot of similarities as far as specifications went, but a lot of variability when it came to people’s satisfaction with the product.

The one that struck me as the best quality and had the best customer satisfaction was the Riversmith River Quiver Rod Carrier on the Trouts Fly Fishing website. I had to trust in my fellow fly fisherman, so I gave it a shot and ordered it.

Installation was quick and easy. The product itself was nice and sturdy. So far so good, but we obviously were going to put it to the ultimate test when we went on our next trip.

When that rolled around, I packed our pre-rigged fly fishing rods into it. That was definitely a perk. We didn’t have to worry about doing any of that when we arrived.

The packing aspect was much smoother this time. It was definitely less time consuming this time around. I had less worries about my rods, which already made for a less stressful time.

It was a 254 mile drive to where we were going, so this really was going to be the moment of truth. The first thing I noticed was that there was no noise, which was amazing. It didn’t move around on the roof which meant my car wasn’t getting damaged.

We stopped to eat halfway through our trip and I had no qualms about leaving the rods out on top of the car since they were locked and secure. Even when we arrived, we had to drive on a very bumpy road to get to where we were staying, and still, the carrier stayed perfectly in place.

My fishing trips are so much more enjoyable now. I’m so glad I found this product. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.