A small keyring and a ziptie on every rod is my secret. Your rod leash doesn’t have to be 500-pound test; it only has to be stronger than your drag setting. A four or five-foot piece of paracord with a small carabiner at each end is plenty long enough to allow you to set the hook with even a large sweep, yet easy to detach for fighting the fish. Clip the leash to a bucket handle or anything else larger than the ice hole. Here’s the rod end:
Wonderful story, one for the books. I was fishing san diego bay in my float tune which has a rod holder for when I troll as if fish with another pole. Something big hit the line and my pole shot out of the holder like a torpedo from a pt boat never to be seen again. It was a $150 lesson, so I now have leashes tied to each pole. I use the sponge cords that the casinos hand out for your player cards which has snaps on each end. I hook them to my pole and then the other end to my float tube. They are light and dont get in the way, but best of all they are FREE!
rusty
Lots of different ways to make your own rod leashes, but this is one of the better I’ve seen. No need to buy them, I’ll be using your idea, especially on all of the rods I use on my yak. Thanks for the tip Rocky.