Fishing travel could do without the excess baggage

The map on my office wall is perforated with pinholes from all the local and area fishing destinations and faraway places I have explored.

And when I fly someplace, I often evoke the rule of packing redundancy. That's the ritual of stuffing double and triple items into the duffel or suitcase. All this is for emergencies that occur, like theft and damaged baggage interiors and exteriors.

And because some airlines can't seem to help themselves, several carriers have abused my checked rod cases and duffel bags because of what I believe to be carelessness. I have had fly and spinning reels removed from my stowed bags as well, despite security locks.

It happens soon after the luggage and rod case disappears into the cargo and bag areas. "It" being the systematic breakdown of what was supposed to be an indestructible jumbo bag. On five trips over a three-year period, two different airlines destroyed my super-rugged Plano rod case and its valuable contents.

One of my friends suggested I visit a local luggage distributor and peruse the inventory.

I was dubious about any purchases I might make since baggage is often damaged, and getting service satisfaction is a nightmare.

But now there is word from the U.S. Department of Transportation that the agency has issued a notice to U.S. carriers saying they are obligated to compensate customers for damaged wheels, handles, and straps. I admit I have been compensated by two airlines for damage, but it took nearly six months to see a check.

So I went to a luggage distributor in Mount Prospect called Irv's Luggage. As I inspected the massive amount of products on display. When I started a second cycle around the aisles, I noticed two guys standing off to the side. When I passed by, I overheard them talking about their annual fishing trip. I'm always up to talk fishing, and these two, Dave and Phil Wein, owners of the company, are crazy smallmouth bass fishermen.

I slowed my inspection tour, and being the super-inquisitive sort who is also crazy about smallmouth bass, I stopped and asked about their next trip.

"We're headed for northern Wisconsin," Phil answered. And then he looked closely at me and blurted out, "You're the guy from the Daily Herald who writes the fishing stuff."

They had me cold.

After getting the meat-and-potatoes fishing issues out of the way, they directed me to a section of their showroom where lots of luggage and travel gear were stacked. Before my eyes was exactly what I had been searching for, all kinds of rough-and-ready duffel bags and suitcases that promised to stand up to the rigors of air and sea travel.

After checking the multitude of lockable zippers, pockets, hard bottoms with even more storage capabilities, I decided on a pair of duffels that boasted construction of ballistic-like, non-rip material with big zippers designed to hold and lock tightly with the approved TSA locks.

Because of the airline's 50-pound limit of personal, stowed luggage, this heavier-duty but lighter stuff fit the bill for me.

Then I looked at the water-resistant backpacks I could see using when wading a trout or smallmouth stream. The backpacks were perfect for holding lures, flies, rain gear and some bottled water.

One airline trip I endured was to far western Canada. The luggage came off the rotary ramp practically unscathed, save for my name tag hanging by a single thread.

If you have to fly to a fishing destination, it pays to invest in travel bags that can withstand the rigors of the check-in to the interior of the airplane without bearing the typical travel scars.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at mikejacksonoutdoors.com.