Vintage Fishing Reel Key Hook & Organizer

A few days before Valentine's Day
(because I work best under pressure!),
I decided to make a custom present for the guy I'm dating.
Here's the story.
He likes to fish.
I know nothing of fishing!
Wouldn't know the first thing to buy him to actually use for fishing.
But I do know a little about repurposing things.
And I know a little about building things.
So I made a trip to a local antique store and picked up some fishing gear.

I had my mind set to make him a keychain from a vintage fishing lure.
I found one that I really liked and bought it.
Turns out it was easy enough to convert.
The hooks were actually on eyelets that screwed right out the lure.
Yay for easy!
I added a dose of spray paint to the keychain hardware so it wouldn't be quite so new.
Easy-peasy custom Valentine present with a fishing theme.

But while I was at the antique store,
I also happened to see an old reel.
Things got a little crazy from there!

I had this bright idea that I could use the reel to make a key hook for his new keychain.
So I bought the reel.
And a few more goods.

I brought everything home and got out some barn wood that I had previously acquired.

Then I grabbed the saw and cut a piece to size.

You can see from the picture below that I drilled a hole in the top of the reel

and screwed it onto the barn wood to secure.

I added this little pallet wood shelf above the reel.

I wanted this to be a fairly functional piece.

I was thinking something along the lines of a dresser valet.

A catch-all, where he could put his wallet or pocket change or phone.

So I built this little box out of the barn wood scraps.

Then I secured it to the barn wood backer board with screws and wood glue.

I figured I had better embellish the shelf a little.
Otherwise, it might just stay an empty shelf!
I could't imagine that decorating his new shelf would be at the top of his to-do list!

So I added this second reel.
Well, it might not be a reel.
Maybe it's just something that holds line.
I'm telling you, I know NOTHING about fishing!
At any rate, a screw fit perfectly into the existing hole
in the reel/unnamed metal object that has some kind of purpose for a fisherman!
So I screwed it onto the wooden backer.

I had also picked up an old spool of fishing line.
To be honest, I didn't intend to use it on here.
I just liked it because it was a nice bright teal.
I could imagine myself sitting it on a shelf to decorate with at some point.

(Oh, if the guy I'm dating were to read this, he would definitely be shaking his head at me!)

Anywho..,
I tied some fishing line onto a couple of smaller vintage lures I had picked up
and let them dangle above the shelf.
I placed another vintage metal piece on the shelf.
The thing that looks like a little like a hook there in the left bottom corner of the picture below.
Yeah, I don't know what that is either.
But I think it looks cool on the shelf!

I added a couple of very small lures (maybe for fly fishing?) next to the reel.
And then added this bobber
(Yes! I know that one!)
onto the front of the catch-all box.

And I was very happy with how it turned out!

And he liked it too!

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