During the latter part of winter and early spring, many anglers make the exodus to Fraser, Stradbroke or Moreton islands or further south to target tailor, mulloway and other beach and rock dwelling species.
Transporting your rods safely, especially those long single-piece models, has always been difficult. Decades ago the bulbar rod holder was invented to transport long rods. This made it much easier for anglers with four wheel drive vehicles sporting bullbars to carry their rods to the fishing areas and along the beach in safety.
It is only a matter of time before law enforcement start another blitz on bullbar rod holder legalities. Ensuring that yours is legal will save you the hassle of being pulled over and possibly copping a huge fine.
If someone became injured as a result of your bullbar rod holder being illegal, then you could be in all sorts of strife. We all want to get to our fishing spots with minimal hassle and have our rods in good condition when we get there, so take the time to sort out your rod transit issues now so you are ready to head out for that next trip at a minutes notice.
ROD HOLDER LEGALITIES
Fishing rod holders can only be fitted providing they comply with the following conditions:
• The fitting allows the driver a view of the road and of traffic to the front and sides of vehicle.
• They must only be attached to the left hand side of the vehicle.
• They must be designed to carry no more than four fishing rods.
• Rods, hooks and sinkers must be properly secured.
• Vehicle lighting must not be obstructed by rods or holders.
• Rod holders must be either removed or retracted behind the profile of the bull bar when they are not in use.
For further information on this and other additions to your vehicle including bike carriers, spotlights and aerials check out tmr.qld.gov.au
Reads: 35114
Bullbars used to be fairly flat across the front and anglers would simply put one or two rod holders onto their bullbar and they were set to go. Bullbars are now more stylish ND shaped to wrap around the front profile of vehicle. Commonly they are only sq
The tackle on your rods needs to be secured so that it doesn’t come loose where it can fly around and damage someone. A large sinker could easily smash a windscreen, dent your vehicle or damage the blank of a rod if it came free. My advice would be to unr
NOT LEGAL: As a result, many have chosen to position their bulbar rod holders in the middle of the bulbar so that their rods go straight in line with the vehicle. As this bar is often thicker (commonly 75mm) than the 50mm bar often used on the side
NOT LEGAL: You don’t need to be Einstein to figure out that having your bullbar rod holders on the right hand (driver’s side) of the vehicle is not a wise choice. This will greatly decrease your vision of the road, which could lead to an accident.
NOT LEGAL WITH MANY BULLBARS: Having your rods positioned on the left hand side of your vehicle is the only legal position to carry them. However, with most bullbars not being square in relation to the length of the vehicle this poses further probl
LEGAL: L Wilson and Co have recently solved anglers’ problems with the Removable Turntable Rod Holder. Basically, the rod holder portion of the assembly can be set at any position no matter what angle the left hand side of your bullbar is. The rod
NOT LEGAL: However, even in this position, your rods cannot obstruct your driving lights or extend forward past the front profile of the bullbar where they could possibly cause injury to someone while the vehicle is underway or parked. Putting a tu
NOT LEGAL: Bullbar rod holders cannot be left on the vehicle when not in use if they protrude forward of the bullbar. You can turn a standard model around so it is behind the front profile of the bullbar when not in use and this is legal providing
LEGAL: Some rod holders, such as this one are designed to be easily removed. The locking pin is removed and the stem of the rod holder is slid out of the bracket and then stored away. All that is left is the mounting bracket, which is behind the fr
Your rods also need to be secured so there is no chance that they come dislodged during transit or if you were to brake suddenly. A stretchable strap can secure them into the rod holder and/or the tips secured to a carriage bar or other point on the roof
