- Hand Made Lanyard
I had the honor and good fortune of attending the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset New Jersey this past weekend. I had a great time making some new friends and seeing a lot of interesting new items. I had a great conversation with the guys from the Jersey Shore Chapter of the TU (Trout Unlimited), hey guys - let me know if I win that raffle. I also seized the opportunity to speak with representatives of Ireland about fly fishing the Emerald Isle. My wife and I are going in August and I want to get at least one day of fishing in. I smell an episode cooking. :)
While perusing the many vendors and booths, I saw a lot of great items that I would love to add to my inventory, but found myself on the lookout for something unique. I have pretty much all the equipment that I need, my rods are fairly new, reels are all in good shape, lines are fine and I have enough flies to start the season, I was searching for something different, something rustic. My first thought was to track down an old fashioned leather fly case. You don’t see them much anymore as most fishermen prefer the less expensive fly boxes. I had been at the show for a couple of hours already and was about to give up when I found it.
What I found was a lanyard. I thought it was the coolest thing I ever saw. The lanyard was part of the Grizzly Hackle display. That’s the Grizzly Hackle of Missoula Montana. I’m sure that I don’t have to tell you about Missoula but did you know that a river runs through it? Anyway, while gawking at the lanyard I actually met the owner of Goertzen Adventure Equipment, Joe Goertzen, he is the one who makes the lanyards amongst a ton of other great stuff, all hand-made one of a kind. He went through and explained about the product and I was sold. Also at the display Joe had another item that I was crazy about which was a combo creel style fishing bag. It was just a bit outside my budget though, maybe next time.
Now the lanyard has a couple of real cool features.
Lanyard Swivels
The first being the fishing swivels that were used to hold gear suck as your clippers or you a floatant bottle.
Next it had a great fold down wallet for placing flies that you are changing out. Joe included a set of foreseps with that. Lastly there is a bungee-like cord that is used to secure the lanyard to the body.
I haven’t used the Lanyard on the water yet but I’m sure that it will be great. Go to Joe’s website and check out his ware. And it’s not just for fishermen. There is camping equipment and bags for everyday use.
Thanks Joe — it was great meeting you and maybe one day Hook, Line and Skillet will make its way out to Missoula for a little of that classic Montana Fly Fishing.
The Lanyard
Filed under: Hook, Line & Skillet