PRO ANGLER TRAVEL BAG.
Chris Tyler finds the ideal bag for all his fishy needs.

Even before my childhood days as a Boy Scout, I liked to be prepared. So if I want to travel to fish, I have to pack spare everything. Unfortunately this means lugging a carry-on bag for the flight, and a bag of clothes, and a separate bag for fishing gear. It also means that my rods in their shiny tubes are a bit too conspicuous for airport thieves. Finally, the reluctant homecoming has been made even more difficult by the need to pack wet gear such as waders and felt boots.

Now Pro-Angler has come to my rescue with a great fisherman’s travel bag. It is a smart looking pack in bottle blue, with a discreet white Pro-Angler logo on one side. It is large enough to take virtually all the gear for a week’s fishing, even for me. If you want the dimensions it is 93 cm long by 43 cm wide and 45 cm deep, and that equates to a mighty lot of cubic litres of space! So if you fill this up, it will be heavy. Problem solved, jet setters! It is equipped with ultra large and sturdy roller wheels on the bottom (so they work on gravel at the fishing lodge) and a telescoping handle to make transfers easy.

This bag is made tough, from heavy-duty denier material that will take the abusive treatment that baggage handlers can dish out. Even the zips are made in large size so they don’t fail or jam as you rush to pack. This bag has all the essentials, and also some novel inclusions with anglers in mind.

Most obvious is the zipped pouch in the top cover of the bag, which is ideal for magazines, maps, travel documents, a rain jacket or whatever else you might need between home and your destination. Then if you look closely you will see two zip-close rod tube holders in the base. These contain two plastic tubes each for a total of four rods, and if like me you happen to fish with 4-piece rods that are more than 9 feet long, they will accommodate those too! These are handy for other things too, as I discovered on my last trip to Tassie when I purchased some autographed prints.

The base end has a unique little compartment with brass grommet ventilators and water-resistant lining. This is accessible from the outside, so you can stuff damp waders and boots or just dirty washing in at the last minute and not affect other contents in the bag. This would be handy for quarantine inspectors too, so they don’t have to empty your entire bag on the inspection table. All of these zipper closures are lockable—you only need a few small baggage padlocks, or some plastic cable.

I was really impressed when I saw this bag, but even more so when I tried it. It is really well made, strong, and quite an attractive item of luggage. The unique inclusions for waders and rods are well thought out and not a gimmick—they really work, and work well. Another thing I liked about it is that it is not full of little pockets and compartments that do nothing but take up space and drive the price up. Pro-Angler has designed this to be a serious piece of luggage, with only the features that you really need, at a realistic price. This is unashamedly a ‘no bulldust bag’ that is basically a cavernous space to chuck everything in and take fishing.

Mine has been used several times, overfed and soundly abused. It’s as good as new, and is now my only travel bag. What would I say but “Get one!”

Only available from Pro-Angler stores, price $179.95. www.proangler.com.au