Kyle Shea
Finished product
Deneki Outdoors
Call them what you want – retainers, chums, croakies, whatever – but that simple strap on the back of your sunglasses is invaluable in making sure your shades don’t end up in the drink. Whether you’re sporting some gas-station budget shades or a pair of 250 dollar Costas, the fact is, losing your sunglasses stinks.
Should you leave your sunglasses retainer at home on your next fishing trip, not to worry – you can make your own! Don’t risk losing another pair to the river – all you need is a short piece of old fly line. Check out how.
Step 1: cut fly line.
Cut a short piece of old fly line, approximately three feet long, and cut in half. Small parachute cord, a shoelace, or even heavy backing would work as well, but style points go to the gnarliest fly line.
Kyle Shea
Step 2: tie nail knots
Step 2: tie nail knots.
Nail knot a piece of fly line to each earpiece of the sunglasses. Make sure to tighten the nail knot enough to hold but take care not to break the fly line. The number of wraps is personal preference as to what is the most comfortable on your sunglasses (the nail knot in the photo was tied with ten wraps).
Kyle Shea
Step 3: tie blood knot to length
Step 3: tie blood knot to length.
Measure the distance you want your sunglasses to hang around your neck when not on and tie the two pieces of fly line together using a 3-4 turn blood knot. Trim all excess ends and smooth out any sharp edges.
Originally published here.