I see so many companies offering reel bags for when your rods are on the front rack exposed to sand and the elements. These bags are rather pricey when you look at people who have a few rods out each trip. I found the perfect solution and if you're an alcoholic, you'll love it. My brother brought all these Crown Royal bags home. You know, the bottles that are covered in purple drawstring bags. These things fit over the reel perfect.

I don't drive so sand in the reel isn't a concern but I bag my reels up when they aren't in use to keep any dust, spiders (true story, ground up a daddy long legs in my quantum), or other things that find their way in the reel. It's not waterproof but it's good enough to keep the dust and stuff away.

That's my little recently found tip. Just thought it would be interesting to share. You can probably get these bags for free from a bar since they have no real use for them.

I use a sock ;D (edited wrong thingy). (Nice cotton terry) I would rather non-waterproof because then any moisture can escape. A nice elastic top (I prefer those short tennis ones) seems to be quick, cheap and a good solution.

(edit) Also the nice sturdy terry ones have a good cushioning, helps with the way I wind up handling things. ;D

if you're an alcoholic, you'll love it.

... Never get a job where you need to be subtle, hehehehe...
The Crown Royal bags are great. My grandfather kept his reels in them and now I have them. The bag the Shimanos come in is about the same size. As far as the bar bit, ya might need to know someone and it really depends on the bar... The few bars that I worked at (dives) might have moved a bottle of that in a year.

One of the advantages of haning your rods in the rack up front is that they are quickly accessible when you need them (as if you drove along and found fish). Having your real zipped up in one of those bags will slow you down more than helping. The few times I've run the beach with rods in front (pretty rare) I have not had a problem. Traveling to fishing spots, the rods are on the roof rack and a reel bag would be more
applicable. People should really not travel on the roads with rods mounted in the front racks. Sure, it looks cool but all kinds of damage happens when those rods go through the trees. Of course, I'm not complaining about the plugs I've found over the years in the trees. Had a nice score one year coming out of Wasque: dannys, rangers, atoms...