Attaching Fly Rod Carriers to Your Roof Rack

Sep 22, 2025

By Christian Wearsch

Why use a fly rod carrier?

Once you've caught the fishing bug, it's easy to spend money. Lots of money. So, you might be asking if a fly rod carrier is really worth the money, or even an essential part of your setup.

No matter what you call it - a fly rod carrier, a rod holder, rod vault, or fly rod roof rack - these absolutely serve a purpose in the world of fly fishing. Here are just a few reasons to use one:

1. Ease of access - Fly rod carriers allow you to transport your rod fully assembled, making access to the river quicker than ever. If you're spending the day in and out of the car looking for new spots, you can just throw the rod in the carrier and go.

2. Bigger quiver - Whether you want to bring a few different rods for yourself on a multiday excursion, or just carry a rod for a buddy joining you on the river, a fly rod carrier will allow you to travel with multiple rigs that are out of the way and ready to use on a whim.

3. Effective storage and protection - Most fly rod carriers are designed to lock, keeping your expensive rigs out of harms way. Plus, having them on the roof will keep them out of the way, making room for more gear, more friends, or just a more organized car.

Riversmith River Quiver

At Sherpa, we believe in selling only the highest quality products, which is why we are proud to offer the Riversmith River Quiver Fly Rod Carrier.

Based in Boulder, CO (a short drive from our warehouse), Riversmith is known to offer the best fly rod carriers on the market. In addition to their sleek, aerodynamic design, the River Quiver is built to withstand shock, wind, and impact loads, and was thoughtfully designed with UV stable plastic. Plus, you can choose from a variety of colors to match the aesthetic of choice.

We personally have put the River Quiver through the ringer, and stand behind the design and longevity. While there are many offerings on the market, this is our fly rod carrier of choice.

Attaching the River Quiver to your Sherpa Rack

The best way to attach a River Quiver to your Sherpa Roof Rack is using our Offset Fly Rod Mounts! These maintain the real estate on the top of the roofrack for things like rooftop tents, cargo cases, kayaks, etc, all while making them easier to access.

These attach directly to the crossbars on the Sherpa rack, and the River Quiver bolts directly to those. For this, we recommend the standard mount option when buying the River Quiver, as all we use is the main bolt into the extruded tubes.

Check out this video for a more detailed install.

You can also use their standard clamp-style mounts. Sometimes, these are in the form of an elastic tab that easily fits around different crossbars, while other times, they can be rigid plastic pieces that are designed for specific crossbars. Since our crossbars are square, it can often be a hit or miss if the provided clamps will work. However, when they do fit, it's one of the easiest ways to mount your roof rack accessories to your Sherpa rack! Confirm that your Fly Rod Holder has a mount style that works if you plan to go this route.

Some common roof rack accessories with this style mount include ski racks, bike racks, and kayak racks.

Although this is rarely the first thing to try, sometimes your best bet is to grab the ratchet strap and tie down your roof rack accessory or item. Every Sherpa Roof Rack features multiple tie-down points on the sideplates, so you can attach just about anything when it comes down to it! If you want even more customization, you can purchase some of our Sherpa Smiley's, which allow for tie-down points on the crossbars themselves. This opens up even more mounting options and can save you from having to purchase additional roof rack accessories.

Conclusion

There's never just one "right" way to mount roof rack accessories to your Sherpa Roof Rack. With a little creativity, you can mount almost anything to your rack so you can adventure with confidence.