Some cool fly fishing lanyards made here in Texas!

My good friend Rick over at Water Walker Lanyards and Lures sent me a set of the lanyards he makes. He sent me three of his Southwestern model, one of his Dry Fly model, and one of his Gulf Coast model lanyards. Two of the Southwestern lanyards are for my son and I and the rest are for donation to the local fly fishing club courtesy of Rick. In short, these are the nicest looking fly fishing lanyards I have come across!

To begin with, I already had a lanyard made by Morning Star Lanyards. It has been a good lanyard that came with a retractor and fly patch but Rick's beats it in quality for a lower price! Same can be said for the similar fly fishing lanyards made by Orvis and MayFly™ which are more expensive.

What do I like about this new lanyard? Well, to begin with, I know that great care and skill went into it. I like the small touches such as the swivel in the shirt clip, the rubber shrink tubing that finishes off the cord ends, the beautiful beads, inline fly foam holders, and symmetrical location of the swivel connections. The inline fly foam holders are genius! I also like the light weight, that along with thick foam for the back of the neck, make for a very comfortable lanyard. The cord colors and patterns are pretty nice, too. Lastly, you have to love those beads!

I modded my lanyard as soon as I got it and added two retractors; one for my line clipper and one for my clamps. I also added a square foam fly patch for bigger flies that I would not want to stick in the built-in fly foam holders. I still have room for my tippet holder. Rick can add a fifth swivel connection in the center next to the shirt clip if you need one for a small fly box for example.

So, in closing, if you are looking for a quality made fly fishing lanyard for under $20 from a Texas craftsman, check out Rick's site. You'll be glad you did!

A versatile tackle bag from Maxpedition

I've been fishing for years and had all sorts of ways of carrying my fishing lures and accessories. I've bought chest and shoulder packs from Orvis and waistpacks for wading from William Joseph. They either didn't carry enough stuff or they were uncomfortable or inconvenient to wear. Then after being on the Every Day Carry forums web site for a while and purchasing several of Maxpedition's excellent pouches, backpacks and other gear, I ran across a new Maxpedition Fatboy for very cheap on the *-bay and figured "why not?".

Well, the pack arrived and after adjusting the strap to my 6'1" frame, the location for the pack felt very convenient. Unlike my waistpack (a fishing version of a fanny pack), I didn't have to swing it around to take things in and out of it and the Fatboy was easy to access. The strap was also very comfortable.

I started loading up the pack with "stuff".

On the right side, I was able to put a Surefire 6p in the supplied holster without a problem.

On the left side, the pocket was perfect for my handheld GPS that contains waypoints to some favorite spots on some rivers, lakes and bays I go to. The outside MOLLE straps also were useful as a place to holster my clamps that I use to remove fly hooks. This pocket could also be useful to hold your polarized sunglasses.

The cellphone holster held my small slider style phone but I can see where some larger phones may have some issues.

The front flap has a small zippered pocket on the outside that would be useful to store hooks, swivels or anything small that can be kept relatively flat and would be useful to access without opening up the flap.

Under the front flap and front most pocket I placed some fly leaders, tippet, line clipper and in the front zippered compartment a medium size fly box along with a small LED headlamp (such as the Princeton Tec Aurora) for night fishing.

The main compartment can hold a large fly box or several bags of plastic lures or a small Plano box with crankbaits, etc. tucked into the mesh panels on the inside. I was also able to stow a set of compact binoculars in there as well.

Of course, if you are fishing in a really remote area filled with wild pigs, gators, or other predators or bandits and you are able to carry a small pistol, that of course will fit in the CCW pocket located at the rear of the pack accessible by the zipper on the top of the pack. If not for a CCW then this would be a good spot for a small first aid kit in a waterproof plastic baggie.

I also purchased a Maxpedition Three-by-Five pouch to attach to the pack to hold a small digital camera because of course nobody will believe how big that fish you caught and released was without photos, right?

It turned out that the velcro patch area located on the top of the pack had a useful purpose for me in that it was an ideal place for a foam fly patch to put flies to dry after use. It turns out that I have more than a couple of foam fly patches that have the velcro already attached from other packs from Orvis and William Joseph that worked perfectly but they can be obtained from just about any fly shop or you can obviously make your own.

If you use conventional tackle, you can also take a look at the TALS tackle tubes which have a very innovative set of products of which the tubes are the main one that attach to velcro surfaces. The tubes rotate open so that you can remove and safely store something like a crankbait and have it easily accessible on any surface with velcro. To the right is a closeup photo of a TALS tube that I could attach to the velcro patch of the Fatboy if I were so inclined.

Some folks may not like the color scheme I picked but I did say I got it cheap off the *-bay, didn't I?

I think I'm going to like this pack more than the ones I have had in the past that were specifically designed as fishing gear. It certainly seems more versatile.

Micro tools

Not much to report as of recent as I have not been fishing lately but with Autumn now here, I will hopefully get out to the lake soon. In the meantime, I ran across a knife maker in Massachusetts that keeps a blog on blogspot.com that makes some really innovative tools. These tools are tiny though; key chain small but very usable and inventive. This tool/knife makers name is Peter Atwood and his blog can be found at http://atwoodknives.blogspot.com and from there you can find his retail web site from which he sells his wares. Be prepared to see the word Sold Out a lot as his tools are in demand and sell quickly once he makes available a new batch.

Maybe it's the 8 year old in me, but pocket tools still fascinate me. Years ago I bought a couple of Leatherman multi-tools that I used to carry with me but eventually found too heavy and bulky for every day carry and now keep in some gear bags that I take camping or to the gun range just in case.

Recently, I had been looking around for a small, lightweight replacement with just the essentials such as flathead screwdriver and Phillips head screwdriver and maybe something else that I could carry with me every day. I considered a Swiss Army Knife (SAK) which I have yet I already carry a knife. After much research I came across Peter's tools.

What fascinated me about these tools was their simple yet useful designs. I believe Peter started with one or two original designs for small prybar/flathead screwdriver tools that could go on a keychain to new and innovative designs that added other features yet still maintained a small and flat profile.

I ended up deciding on the BottleBug tool which features two prying tips/flat screwdrivers, bottle opener, 1/2" wrench, 1/4" wrench, O- ring retention system and a #1 Phillips bit. The driver bit is a standard one inch 1/4" wide bit that fits into the 1/4" wrench hole and is held in place by one of the O-rings which usually cover the area in which the bit is stored. This is an elegant, economical design and is pure brilliance! What is cool, is that you can replace the bit with say a Torx bit that is the one inch long 1/4" wide standard or any other standard bit if you prefer.

Now, as I mentioned before, Peter's tools are in high demand due to the fact they are so well designed and made by Peter himself. Since they are made by this one man, it takes time to produce enough to sell over time so any time they get posted on his website as available, they quickly sell out. I was fortunate to have seen one of these times and seized the opportunity to purchase one of the last in a recent batch of Titanium Bottlebugs (Peter also makes Bottlebugs in a CPM 154 semi stainless premium cutlery steel). The Ti Bottlebugs have a wonderful heat anodized finish that is not only tough but gorgeous. They are also extremely light.

Now, all I have to do is find something somewhere that needs tightening or prying and I am ready. I suspect I may also attach this tool to my fishing lanyard and thanks to the titanium material will be excellent even in and around saltwater trips.

The minimalistic approach

As a kayak angler, I evolved to become somewhat of a minimalist with my gear. I tend to just carry one fly box, a lanyard with nipper, clamp, tippet and knife and of course, my fly rod. The less things I carry the less I have to lose. I have also attempted to attach what I can to my lanyard so it doesn't get lost and is close at hand.

This approach has also spread to the my EDC (Every Day Carry) items. Not long ago, I replaced my old leather wallet with an all plastic Jimi wallet. Since I really only have a couple of credit cards and a debit/check card and don't really carry paper money, this wallet suits me just fine. I really love this wallet and how it helps me identify what I really need and avoid clutter.

I always carry a pocket knife. I have a bad habit of biting my fingernails and without a knife I sometimes would not be able to open simple things. I have bought some nice folders made by Benchmade in the past few months. My current favorite being a Benchmade 525 Mini-Presidio. It is an essential tool.

I also carry a small LED task flashlight since my night vision isn't all that great and it also helps when walking around the house at night without having to turn on all the lights.

I used to have a keychain with eight or nine keys on it, most of which I didn't use. The ones I did were my truck key, mailbox key, house key and key to my office. Eventually, I ended up removing the mailbox key and simply keeping it on its own ring with a fob in the center console in my truck. I also removed the office key and placed it on my badge lanyard since it only needed it with me for work just like my badge. This left just my house key and truck key. Perfect.

One other thing that changed in recent years is that I don't wear a watch anymore. My phone has a clock display on it so that allowed me to eliminate one more item. In a month or two when I am able, I will be replacing my current flip phone with a slimmer and lighter Motorola Razr phone.

Recently, my wife started teaching me how to take paracord and create fobs and lanyards that I can use to attach to my stuff to make it easier to pull out of my pocket or attach to something so I don't lose them while on the water. I also come to appreciate making them and am thinking of making many more intricate ones that I can give away as presents.

Related to this new hobby of making lanyards from parachute cord, I ran across a fellow blogger who has a wonderful blog simply called Stormdrane's Blog that has some great photos of fobs and lanyards he has made as well as a lot of information about making them. I intend to learn how to make some of his cobra stitch lanyards.

I remember once at work, we had one motto that motivated us to create simple to use products which was "Simple - good; Complex - bad" and it feels good simplifying things. I think I will extend this motto to other things in my life.

Got knife?

One of the things that happened on my last trip to the coast that I failed to mention in a previous post was that I accidentally dropped my Kershaw folding knife in the water and lost it. I had taken it out to cut some mono line that had tangled in my line and then I placed it in my pant pocket rather than in my zippered PFD pocket. While I was fighting a fish, I heard a *ploop* and realized it fell into the water. Aw man! I also broke my spinning rod on the last night by dropping my anchor on it. *sigh*

When I got back, I decided that my next kayak knife would have a fixed blade with a sheath that I could attach to my lanyard (so it has to be lightweight) when wading or to my PFD when in the kayak. My daily carry knife is a Kershaw Rainbow Leek which is a great knife (lightweight, easy assisted opening, holds an edge and is pretty to boot) but I was open to other quality knife manufacturers for the new kayak knife.

I did some research and decided on a Benchmade Instigator tether/neck knife. I was able to find a new one on ebay for less than $35. Benchmade makes high end knives and the Instigator is part of the lower end made in their factory in Taiwan to their specs and not in the USA factory. Still, it is the gem of the lower end and a real nice value. I just hope I don't lose this nice knife on my next trip. I may have to attach some parachute cord to the knife to keep it around my wrist just in case. We'll see.