Stan Fagerstrom
11-10-2001, 06:43 AM
New Backpack Makes It Easy For
Fishermen To Carry Their Gear
By Stan Fagerstrom
Ever come up with what you’re convinced is a great idea only to discover someone else had thought of it first?
I had that experience earlier this year. Where I have my bass boat stored requires me to go down a steep boardwalk. When I go down that steep walkway to my boat I need one hand free to hold onto the rail or risk going on my nose or other parts of my anatomy farther south.
What that meant in the past was I often had to make two trips to get my tackle box, raingear, rods and what not down to the boat. I finally got a sizeable backpack and it helped. I was able to stuff most of the stuff I required into it but that still left my tackle and rods.
Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if someone would come up with a backpack tackle carrier? The bag I envisioned would have room for things like my lunch, my raingear and other items, but would be primarily designed to carry tackle.
A company called HYI markets some of the best soft bags available in this country. I’ve used one they make for Shimano and it’s a dandy. I’m acquainted with the men who operate this business. By golly, I thought, I’m going to give my friend Patrick Gee and call and tell him about my idea. And that’s exactly what I did.
“Stan,” Pat replied, “that is a good idea, but evidently you haven’t looked at a G. Loomis Rods accessories catalog lately. We’ve already done it. We’re producing a backpack tackle carrier for G. Loomis just like you’re talking about.
http://www.ifish.net/sftb03.jpg
You can match the contents of this G.Loomis backpack tackle carrier to suit your angling needs by swapping the four boxes it accommodates.
It didn’t take me long to get a look at that G. Loomis accessories catalog. Now I have one of those backpack tackle bags myself. If you’ve run into some of the same problems I have in getting gear to and from your boat, and having tackle positioned so it’s easy to work with after you get there, it’s something you’ll want to take a look at yourself.
The bag I’m talking about is the G. Loomis Model LMS-5000. It’s called the G. Loomis Backpack Supreme. The bag is 14-inches wide by 17-inches high and 7-inches deep. It comes with four plastic utility boxes for tackle storage.
The bag itself is made of 900-denier waterproof material and features seven main storage areas and 11 tool or accessory pockets. The bag’s front pocket drops down to provide a flat work area. I’ve fished in a variety of spots where that workspace would have come in handy. A part of the workspace has compartments where you can store your pliers, scissors, clippers or a file.
The box comes with four plastic boxes for your tackle. They are the type of boxes where your can arrange the compartments to meet your own tackle needs. Those four plastic boxes are entirely adequate to hold the gear required on most of my trips. I did, however, pick up some extra boxes. One set is loaded with the tackle I like to carry when I’m going after smallmouth. Another set is strictly for largemouth. A third set of four boxes is loaded with smaller lures required for panfish like crappie and bluegill.
If I go out for crappie and bluegill, I take the four boxes loaded with panfish gear. If the next day brings a trip for largemouth, I replace the panfish boxes with those carrying my bass gear. Switching those boxes around takes less than five minutes.
I’m using my bag primarily for boat fishing. It will function every bit as well for the steelhead angler working from shore or the fly angler hiking out to some far away spot.
My guess is there are other anglers out there who, like me, weren’t aware of the existence of these nifty backpack tackle carriers. The G. Loomis dealer in your area will be able to provide you with additional details.
To sum it all up, my idea really was a good one. I was just a tad late in coming up with it. I don’t know just who came up with the idea for that Backpack Supreme tackle bag in the first place. But whoever it was---I’m glad they did.
You will be too.
---
Short Casts---I’m forever running into fishermen who fail to realize the tremendous opportunities that exist for smallmouth bass here in the Pacific Northwest. Upper reaches of the Columbia itself sometimes provide super smallmouth angling. It’s difficult to top the excellent fishing on Oregon’s top two smallmouth rivers. They are the Umpqua and the John Day. I had the good fortune to fish both of them this past summer. I’ve not fished it myself, but friends tell me the Yakima River is loaded with these hard fighting little devils. I mention smallmouth in part because I had a letter not long ago from an angler who wanted to know if it was possible to catch smallmouth on crankbaits in this part of the world. The answer is yes indeed. Next time you have a shot at smallmouth on any of the rivers I’ve named, by all means carry some Bandit crankbaits. These lures are marketed by Bandit Lures out of Sardis, Mississippi. Be sure to get the Models 100 and 200 in a crawdad color. They can be dynamite for Pacific Northwest smallmouth. I knocked them silly in the Umpqua with these fine little baits last summer. They also caught fish on the John Day. They are small crankbaits and you might choose to throw them with a spinning outfit. If you have access to a computer, you can get all the details by going to www.banditlures.com. (http://www.banditlures.com.)
http://www.ifish.net/sftb01.jpg
Here's a side view of the G.Loomis tackle backpack. You'll note that it leaves the user's hands free to carry other items.
http://www.ifish.net/sftb02.jpg
The lower portion (the black part) of this tackle backpack zips down to provide a flat work place. It also has holders for tools like pliers, scissors, file, etc.
[ 11-10-2001: Message edited by: Jennie@ifish ]</p>
Fishermen To Carry Their Gear
By Stan Fagerstrom
Ever come up with what you’re convinced is a great idea only to discover someone else had thought of it first?
I had that experience earlier this year. Where I have my bass boat stored requires me to go down a steep boardwalk. When I go down that steep walkway to my boat I need one hand free to hold onto the rail or risk going on my nose or other parts of my anatomy farther south.
What that meant in the past was I often had to make two trips to get my tackle box, raingear, rods and what not down to the boat. I finally got a sizeable backpack and it helped. I was able to stuff most of the stuff I required into it but that still left my tackle and rods.
Wouldn’t it be great, I thought, if someone would come up with a backpack tackle carrier? The bag I envisioned would have room for things like my lunch, my raingear and other items, but would be primarily designed to carry tackle.
A company called HYI markets some of the best soft bags available in this country. I’ve used one they make for Shimano and it’s a dandy. I’m acquainted with the men who operate this business. By golly, I thought, I’m going to give my friend Patrick Gee and call and tell him about my idea. And that’s exactly what I did.
“Stan,” Pat replied, “that is a good idea, but evidently you haven’t looked at a G. Loomis Rods accessories catalog lately. We’ve already done it. We’re producing a backpack tackle carrier for G. Loomis just like you’re talking about.
http://www.ifish.net/sftb03.jpg
You can match the contents of this G.Loomis backpack tackle carrier to suit your angling needs by swapping the four boxes it accommodates.
It didn’t take me long to get a look at that G. Loomis accessories catalog. Now I have one of those backpack tackle bags myself. If you’ve run into some of the same problems I have in getting gear to and from your boat, and having tackle positioned so it’s easy to work with after you get there, it’s something you’ll want to take a look at yourself.
The bag I’m talking about is the G. Loomis Model LMS-5000. It’s called the G. Loomis Backpack Supreme. The bag is 14-inches wide by 17-inches high and 7-inches deep. It comes with four plastic utility boxes for tackle storage.
The bag itself is made of 900-denier waterproof material and features seven main storage areas and 11 tool or accessory pockets. The bag’s front pocket drops down to provide a flat work area. I’ve fished in a variety of spots where that workspace would have come in handy. A part of the workspace has compartments where you can store your pliers, scissors, clippers or a file.
The box comes with four plastic boxes for your tackle. They are the type of boxes where your can arrange the compartments to meet your own tackle needs. Those four plastic boxes are entirely adequate to hold the gear required on most of my trips. I did, however, pick up some extra boxes. One set is loaded with the tackle I like to carry when I’m going after smallmouth. Another set is strictly for largemouth. A third set of four boxes is loaded with smaller lures required for panfish like crappie and bluegill.
If I go out for crappie and bluegill, I take the four boxes loaded with panfish gear. If the next day brings a trip for largemouth, I replace the panfish boxes with those carrying my bass gear. Switching those boxes around takes less than five minutes.
I’m using my bag primarily for boat fishing. It will function every bit as well for the steelhead angler working from shore or the fly angler hiking out to some far away spot.
My guess is there are other anglers out there who, like me, weren’t aware of the existence of these nifty backpack tackle carriers. The G. Loomis dealer in your area will be able to provide you with additional details.
To sum it all up, my idea really was a good one. I was just a tad late in coming up with it. I don’t know just who came up with the idea for that Backpack Supreme tackle bag in the first place. But whoever it was---I’m glad they did.
You will be too.
---
Short Casts---I’m forever running into fishermen who fail to realize the tremendous opportunities that exist for smallmouth bass here in the Pacific Northwest. Upper reaches of the Columbia itself sometimes provide super smallmouth angling. It’s difficult to top the excellent fishing on Oregon’s top two smallmouth rivers. They are the Umpqua and the John Day. I had the good fortune to fish both of them this past summer. I’ve not fished it myself, but friends tell me the Yakima River is loaded with these hard fighting little devils. I mention smallmouth in part because I had a letter not long ago from an angler who wanted to know if it was possible to catch smallmouth on crankbaits in this part of the world. The answer is yes indeed. Next time you have a shot at smallmouth on any of the rivers I’ve named, by all means carry some Bandit crankbaits. These lures are marketed by Bandit Lures out of Sardis, Mississippi. Be sure to get the Models 100 and 200 in a crawdad color. They can be dynamite for Pacific Northwest smallmouth. I knocked them silly in the Umpqua with these fine little baits last summer. They also caught fish on the John Day. They are small crankbaits and you might choose to throw them with a spinning outfit. If you have access to a computer, you can get all the details by going to www.banditlures.com. (http://www.banditlures.com.)
http://www.ifish.net/sftb01.jpg
Here's a side view of the G.Loomis tackle backpack. You'll note that it leaves the user's hands free to carry other items.
http://www.ifish.net/sftb02.jpg
The lower portion (the black part) of this tackle backpack zips down to provide a flat work place. It also has holders for tools like pliers, scissors, file, etc.
[ 11-10-2001: Message edited by: Jennie@ifish ]</p>