1. release the male end from the buckle
2. measure about 9" from the buckle up the strap and cut off
3. burn ends with a lighter to avoid frays
4. fold down 3" from the end so that the new length of the strap is 6"
5. sew it shut so that you end up with a loop at the end.
6. take the remaining web strap and repeat step 3,4,and 5 to one of the ends.
7. grab the male end of the quick release buckle and loop the non-looped end of the long web strap through it and sew it shut.
Now you have two parts to your gear leash. Take the small section and loop it around your rod right in front of your reel by wrapping it around the rod once and passing the female end of the buckle through the loop.
Make sure you pass it through in the opposite direction of where the crank is on your reel so it doesn't interfere with your fishing.
Take the long end and loop it around something else (in the same fashion as the section on the rod), be it it your milk crate, seat strap, your leg, etc. Caution: do not attach to a rod holder. if the rod holder were ever to fail, you lose everything (defeats the purpose).
While in a rod holder your rod can be attached to the leash and be safe from sacrifice to Neptune. When you want to use it, you can quick release it and fish as normal. The short section is the one attached to the rod and doesn't get in the way (for casting rods).
You may have to mess around with length and location for spinning rods to keep them from getting in the way of the bail arm while retrieving. you can also attach the rod to your ankle and fish while attached to it if you're just that cautious. (but not for T-sharks with 40 pound test :shock: -Mod.) And you can adjust lengths as needed to suit your personal preference.
Now keep in mind that the areas that you see staples are where you should sew the straps together. I haven't had time to get them over to my mom's sewing machine to do the real job. but you'll get the picture.
This is what the strap looks like. 60" of web strap, a male and female quick release buckle.
Measure out 9" from the female end (or whichever end is already connected to the web strap).
Cut the strap at about 9" (Hey...Bali songs are illegal in Ca. ;- )
