Rigging Tip - Traveler's Rod Leash

[Friday]

Home-Made Traveler's Rod Leash

I call my rod leash, “Traveler’s Rod Leash” because it is small (not bulky. I carry two in a plastic tackle box when I traveled other state or other countries.

It is cheap and more durable than you think. And the most of all, because it is almost weightless, it is better than a bulky rod leash when you cast few hundreds times. Practically it is better than the ones sold at the stores.

Parts Needed (Picture Below):

* A bag of Cord Organizer (Velcro grip strip typically used by IT person to bundle computer cables) – A bag of five 8”-9” strips is less than $4.00 at Wal-mart
* 3 – 3.5 feet of 3/16” Bungee Cord (or ¼” elastic band) – Costs under $2.00.
* A large costal lock swivel
* A rubber band

Notes:

* Cord Organizer (with Velcro) is useful when you need to remove the rod quickly from the leash. Cord Organizers are available at Home Depot and Wal-Mart, but not at Lowes.
* Bungee cord is available at the most of fabric stores. Elastic band is available stores like Wal-mart.
* One of the advantages of Bungee cord/Elastic Band is that the length of the leash is shorter than non-elastic leash.
* The knot strengths of both bungee cord and elastic band are greater than 40lb. I never lost my rods yet. Rod or fishing line will break before the leash.
* I use bowline knot to connect bungee cord (elastic band). It is easy to undo the bowline knot.

http://www.comeonfish.com/KayakRodLeash/RodLeashParts.jpg

Rod Leash and Rod:

Note that a rubber band is used to keep the leash below the reel handle (below your hand). This prevents the reel handle from catching the bungee cord while fighting fish..

http://www.comeonfish.com/KayakRodLeash/RodLeashOnRod1.jpg

If a rubber band is not available, try the left method on the picture below
http://www.comeonfish.com/KayakRodLeash/RodLeashOnRod2.jpg

[Steve Rehner]

Nice design! Think I'll try making up a few.

Steve, Greenbelt

[kryn13]

I've always been irked at the $20 each for off the shelf rod leashes. I like this.

[barrell]

Nice simple idea. Ive never used a leash however in 15 years of yak fishin. Never understood why I needed one. Ive fished from New York to Key west in the yak and never dropped a rod. I leash my pliers though after loosing a couple pair.

[Tracker12]

I think this same leash can be used on a paddle.

[barrell]

I think this same leash can be used on a paddle.
On flat water, but on waves you want a stretchy elastic type leash to absorb the impact if you wipe out. The urethane cord type are the best.

[FishPrintGuy]

I always leash my paddle and the rod i'm fishing - my rod holders have the key chain (mini telephone cords) attached. Here's my take on the elastic and bungie style long leashes. Stretchy leashes work, they take up less room and are less prone to tangle until you go over. Once flipped the stretchy leashes tend to be more of a problem. Now - i've never flipped a rigged kayak, I flipped a rigged surfboard with rods which is way easier to turn over. I had used telephone cords with velcro ties (like Friday used - also available in some arts & craft sections at Wally world) and the two rods found each other and were not easy to untangle once I was out of the impact zone. I use para-cord now BUT you never want to have a bunch of things tied to your yak that will be dangling when flipped because you could get tangled or have a hard time getting the problem resolved.

[Friday]

FishPrint,
Your photo gave me an idea of how to carry a rod. I was in Maui, Hawaii last week and I could not get a rental kayak for fishing. While I was surfing, I thought about fishing on a surf board but could not figure out how to carry a rod. Next time, I will bring some straps and a home made rod holder (possibly PVC pipe) for surf board. surf board is easy to carry on inside of a rental SUV without a rack. I think I can also attach a bag to carry water bottles and energy bars. In Maui, I learned that catching while surf-fishing is almost impossible for travelers. I may post my experience in Maui as a fisherman.
Joe

[FishPrintGuy]

Hey Joe - you can build a really light model that will fit in a suitcase for sure. I made a wood and fiberglass one with pvc rod holder base that had a 6" x 6" base - 3/8" plywood - slots cut at the corners for the cargo straps (make sure buckle is on top of the board and there is padding between it and the surfboard) then you can glass on a PVC fitting or part of one. I also used counter-sunken small bolts for added strength. Then you just make a rod holder tube out of pvc - I even added set screws to make that more secure. You can just use a small back pack or fanny pack for the gear. I built the light rig for punching my board out through bigger waves to fish for snook. The only thing else you need is a towel or something to put between the surfboard and rod holder/cargo strap buckles. The boardfishing thing was big in San Diego in the 90s right before kayak fishing took off and when I was in Costa Rica the size of the surf limited what you could do with a kayak (if you could find one).