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lanyards or chest packs.. what do you use.. and what do you carry..

8K views 38 replies 35 participants last post by  Tod Fossetta 
#1 ·
for years now i have been well i'd say ill equiped while on the water.. i was considering a lanyard that i could hang spools of tippet off and the normal items like nippers and forcepts. but i see the chest packs around and they seem nice..

please tell me what you guys use when wading and what you would carry on or in either.. i need some help..

thanks in advance..

pete
 
#2 ·
What species are you after and how are you fishing for them?

I ask because while swinging for steelhead all I need is a leader wallet, small box of flies, two spools of tippet and some Dr. slicks forcep/scissors and I'm pretty much set; in the summer it even gets easier as I drop the leader wallet and only need one spool of tippet material. Everything I need fits in my wadder pocket or wadding jacket. Besides what ever I don't have, I bum off a well equiped buddy.

I did try a chest pack for trout fishing...hated it.
 
#3 ·
i mainly ff for trout.. but i do striperfish. i lliked the lanyard idea. i had been working out of the pocket in my waders. i dont wear a vest.. or should i say i dont own one.. but i am always fumbling for things.. i was thinking a lanyard might work for me.

just seeing what people use.. i have tied for years (for friends and one shop) but my fishing ability is poor.. just hoping to devote more time to becoming a better fisherman.. i am hoping to make it out your way someday.. for now i am stuck here in boston..

thanks
pete
 
#4 ·
I don't know why you would want to fish in Washington for. They don't have any fish. They all try for the last few Steelhead that are left.

I tried to use a lanyard and a fanny pack(ended up losing to much shit out of it), but I end up going back to vest. That seemed to be the easiest for me. Lots of pockets to put shit in and then you have to hunt for what is in the pockets.
 
#5 ·
i have an Orvis sling pack and a Simms fanny pack that have served me well. The fanny pack unfortunately, after a long day of wear, starts to sling down lower and lower so i have to tighten the waist on it every 30 minutes or so. Kind of a hassle.

Sling pack on the other hand is great. Very comfortable, fits in 2 large Morrel boxes, usually carry a couple spools of tippet, forceps, nippers, leader wallet.
 
#7 ·
i have an Orvis sling pack and a ... <snip>

Sling pack on the other hand is great. Very comfortable, fits in 2 large Morrel boxes, usually carry a couple spools of tippet, forceps, nippers, leader wallet.
I have to agree. I got one of the sling packs this summer and it worked very well. No too sure about the funny detachable section. Sometimes it was handy to have up front; sometimes it wasn't.

Overall a very nice bit of kit.

DD
 
#6 ·
I have tried the chest pack and lanyard and prefer the lanyard for trout fishing and floating in my DB. The chest pack always seemed so bulky and difficult to adjust on the body. I would like to try the waist packs some time in the future however, but for now will stick with my lanyard.
 
#8 ·
For trout I use a small Fishpond chest-pack.All I carry is 2 small fly boxes(1 dry fly and 1 nymph),3 tippet spools(4x,5x,6x),gink,1 extra 9' 4x leader,foreseps,nippers,and a can of copenhagen.
For steelhead I wear a backpack with 2 fly boxes(1 streamers and 1 nymphs and egg patterns),a tip wallet,an extra shooting head,rain jacket,a extra sweatshirt(in case I fall),a small coffee thermos,foreseps,nippers,and a can of copenhagen.
I try not to carry to much shit.When I were a vest,for some reason I fell the need to fill every pocket and end up with alot of stuff I don't need.

john
 
#9 ·
I like to carry a lot of stuff, which is stupid, but I always wished I had something else with me. I have an Orvis chest pack and have uses that quite a bit. I also recently bought a William Joseph sling. The biggest problem with either is that if you are spey fishing, the front pack gets in the way. I agree with James that just stuffing the few things you need down the front of your waders makes the best sense. At that time I wear a lanyard. If I am fishing a small stream in the summer I like to wet wade and wear a fishing shirt with big pockets for my stuff, along with the lanyard.

I think one of the reasons I enjoy lake fishing is that I can carry nearly everything I own on my pontoon boat.

Wayne
 
#10 ·
I use a very small Redington Chest Pack for my small stream fishing.I try to be a minimalist whenever possible. But if I fish something else and want to cary more I shift to the vest like Oldman and on ocassion carry a backpack if on a long day excursion into the wilderness.
 
#11 ·
Recently I moved from a traditional vest to a lanyard (I fish mainly for trout). I thought that I would miss having all my stuff ready, but I have found that I rarely need anything more. When I first started with the lanyard, I would carry a bunch of extra stuff on the back of my WM, just in case. I have stopped doing that. I have found that with a little innovation, I can get the job done. Other that someplace to carry my lunch, the only limitation I've found with the lanyard is selection of flies that I can carry, but with a little careful packing I can take along whatever I will need in the various colors and sizes. It also helps that I have become pretty familiar with the rivers that I fish, so I know what I will need before I go.

On the rivers that I wade rather than drift, I have found the lanyard to be much more comfortable than a vest, especially when it's hot. I carry a small lunch in my wader pocket and carry water in a belt holster. My fishing buddy still uses an overstuffed vest with too many fly boxes, and I find him spending way too much time trying to find the perfect fly when I am catching fish on the usual pattern.
 
#12 ·
I almost always use an Orvis sling pack. The funny little detachable piece will attach to the back as well as the front so I move it around as needed. It's big enough for a lot of "stuff" so I usually toss in some energy bars and a bottle of water as well as the ff items. Several years ago I made a really small chest pack that's just large enough for two fly boxes. I put a Scientific Anglers two sided box and another wide open box in which I put a spool of tippet material, license, small pen, and several leaders. I attach two Simms zingers, one on each side for forceps and nippers and when not in use, I slide them down beside the boxes inside so they don't bang around. The pack, loaded, weighs no more than a pound or two and it's only about 4X7 inches and 2 inches thick. I find it really convenient unless I'm wearing a rain jacket. It isn't waterproof so I try to keep it under and that is a little annoying. I should probably waterproof it with some of the spray stuff that was talked about in an earlier thread but I never gave it much thought until now. I've also used a lanyard from time to time. They are okay but I find that they swing sometimes and get in the way...and I have a vest that is loaded with about eight boxes of flies for some odd reason and I usually fish for trout with that on. Go figure. When I started using that, there were no fanny packs or chest packs, or a sling packs. Habit. A hopelessly committed flyfisher has a variety of junk. :thumb:
 
#13 ·
I use the William Joseph Solo Chest Pack (50% closeout price [$25] click here) and love it for the beaches and rivers. As long as I keep the zipper pulls all down at the bottom on one side, they don't get hung up when throwing line. I find that I don't even notice it being there until I need it. Of course I have arms that are quite long so that helps. I've read about guys placing it on their side, but I've never bothered. There's a loop on the neck for attaching a net too.

I love the 'tippet control system'- the front pocket- even though it only holds 3 spools, although you could jam 4 in there if you want but with risk of stressing the zipper. It has a slot on the side for forceps that are attached, along with nipper, to a built in retractable device. It holds a surprising amount of crap (more boxes than I thought it would just by looking at it online) and I've never found the need for more. Seriously, I can fit various boxes, camera, a tippet wallet, snacks, phone, etc. If I want to bring a beer or 4, I'll just put them down my waders on top of the wading belt- the same place I put trash I come across on our beautiful waters.

And for that price, you really don't have much to lose.
 
#14 ·
I'm a little bit lost. I get the chest pack thing, but I thought a lanyard was something you tied or pinned on to your vest to attach nippers or forceps. After reading your posts, it seems like the lanyard referred to here is something different. Can anyone help clear up my confusion?

Thanks,

Stan.
 
#16 ·
Everything I need fits in pockets: shirts, wader and jacket. I have two tote boxes full of vests, chest packs, fanny packs and satchels to prove it.

A couple of small fly boxes with a selection of options, tippet material, maybe some tips, multi tool, cigar, TP, lighter, and I still catch more fish than 20 years ago when I stuffed handkerchiefs into my vest to keep it from rattling when I waddled.
 
#17 ·
Lanyards and chest packs will eventually cost you a fish or two...
Fanny packs are the the most comfy, but not the most convenient . A simms backpack is what I use for winter steel heading, keeps me warm, and can have extra clothing , but it's hot in the summer, so I switch to a william j ...
I guess the answer is all of the above... Except, I could never get used to a chest pack, but mybe it would work for you...
Lanyards are cheap, start there, unless you are a steel header, loosing a trout, not a big deal, a big steel head , because your line got tangled in you lanyard , heartbreaking....
The most important thing i use for winter steel heading as far as gear goes, is my simms g3 "Flack jacket" ... Pretty much all I need fits in the front zippered pockets...
 
#19 ·
Texstan, Lanyards are worn around the neck with a large loop hangining down your chest. The loop has clips or zingers to hold forcepts and clippers and floatant and what ever else you wish, some have a strip that willl hold 3 to 6 spools of tippet oone way or another. The listings on lanyards have them at aout 30 to 40 Dollars, some even have small pockets to hold fly boxes. I have been using a vest which seems always to weigh about 5 lbs. and that gets hot and heavy after a while so I think my waders will carry a couple of small boxes and a lanyard will carry my tools. I also use a fanny pack for the beach fishing that carries a little more, whem I want bigger flies and mabe a couple of tips along and my fanny pack also carries two water bottles or could be cans of something. Some lanyards have a clip on the bottom that will clip to your shirt to keep it from swinging around, easy to put one on.
 
#20 ·
I had a vest. It now goes unused.

I use a nylon cord for a lanyard. See picture. The "figure 8" type clip came from REI and is a recent addition. I always carry a Tie-Fast combo tool, a file, and an Able Perfect Tool. I don't use the Able tool too often, but when I do it is life saver. Obviously I can add floatant etc as necessary.

I have switched to Mitten Clamps from forcepts. Mitten Clamps fasten by a squeeze and unfasten with an additonal squeeze -- very easy to do one handed. Some work smoothly, some don't.

Depending on where and how I am fishing, I use a fanny pack or an extreemply light weight back pack.
 
#21 ·
I purchased a camel pack (small backpack with a water bladder) a couple of years ago and I take it to work or when I go out on the water.
It holds my lunch, camera, a small first aid kit, has pockets for a pen, a lighter, my knife, and other misc. items.
I can also expand it to include a couple of fly boxes. Its been a great little setup.

I have a couple of vests but they would literally be a pain in neck and shoulders once I loaded them up (poor design?).
 
#23 ·
Interesting you should ask; same question going running on two other major fly (US and UK) fishing boards. I'll keep my 'answer' short ... if it doesn't fit in the pocket of your waders/shirt or clamped (string of clamp/clipper/file on you shirt) you don't need it unless you're going to be a hell of a long way from your car. Why lug all that shxt around?

Just a thought, just a thought (and .02 cents).
fae
 
#24 ·
I wear a sling pack, shapped sort of like a Fish Pond. It is a Tamarac photogrphers bag, empiled of campera equipment and filled with three fly boxes and the other crap I need. With a camera bag, I finally have a place for lunch. They are handy because you can quickly take them off. Lanyars would drive me crazy. Anythin that hangs around my heads and jingles is going to get caught on something, plus I don't want to look like a Christmas tree out there. It might spook the fish.
 
#25 ·
When wade fishing I usually use a backpack. I started with a vest but I mainly fish trout on rivers and streams and am typically away from the truck or campsite for a few hours or more. I usually have a jacket, hat, food, water, booze, smokes, camera, bug dope, sun block, misc. first aid/survival gear, fishing gear...it depends on the weather and how far I plan to go. I do my share of backpacking so the weight doesn't bother me and if I am fishing with one of my buddies we will both use it and take turns carrying it. I keep tippet and nippers on a zinger and some flies in my hat or shirt for easy access.
 
#26 ·
A backpack, if I'm walking any sort of distance. Gave up on the vest a long time ago and don't like the chest pack, especially when I'm spey casting.

I have a separate trout and steelhead backpack and a fair number of duplicate things such as pliers, nippers, etc. so that I don't have to deal with moving stuff from one to another and usually forget something. I use the trout pack, that has some front pockets most of the time I fish for trout.

For steelhead, I just take a fly box, some Maxima, tippet, a spare leader or two and its stuffed in my jacket and wader pockets. I've found that less it more and I get tired of carrying the extra weight! I've got enough of that w/o any more stuff! :clown: If I was hiking in somewhere then I do carry my backpack, but try to take only what I'll need.

The really important items are the flask of ____ and a few cigars! And a wading staff, I hate when I forget that!

:cool:
 
#27 ·
I use a sling pack, my wife got it for my birthday last year and I love it. Just spin it around and everythings right there, spin it back and it's out of the way.
 
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