It’s always exciting when you buy new things especially when it comes to hunting and fishing gear. I tend to make sure I get the full use out of mine to the point where I have no choice to replace the ones that are falling apart. Take my current pair of waders for example.
I’ve smeared aquaseal up both inside seams which fixed the leak for a couple years but they are starting to leak again. They don’t leak on every trip and it depends on how long I stand in the water whether or not I end up with a wet foot. A wet foot isn’t fun in the winter months when the water temperatures are cold and when I use my waders the most so I think it’s time to start looking for a new pair.
I can’t determine exactly where they’re leaking this time or I would just gob some more aquaseal on them.
They’ve also become quite putrid to the point where Kelsey was holding her nose on the last trip to the river and she would agree that I need a new pair. My wading shoes are falling apart at the seams and my soles are almost worn slick so it’s time for a new pair of those as well. Both are pricy items nowadays but are essential for making the trips to the river not only safer, but more enjoyable.
We bought Kelsey her first pair of waders and she got to try them out a couple of weeks ago. They’re pink, of course, so we won’t be hard to miss on the river this year. I’m use to pink by now, and purple, but I despise anything with glitter. That stuff sticks to everything and won’t come off.
It was fun to watch Kelsey get in the creek for the first time and realize she wasn’t getting soaked. She looked up with a puzzled look on her face and said “I’m not getting wet”. Needless to say she loved her new waders and I told her to jump in all the muddy puddles she walked by, which she did.
Every trip to the outdoors is an adventure now with Kelsey tagging along. We only caught a couple brown trout that day, which Kelsey helped net and release. As always we came home with some treasures which made up for the slow day of fishing. We found an empty turtle shell and a prized bear skull which Kelsey said she wanted to paint when we got home. I had spotted the bear skull on mine and Tara’s last trip to the creek and left it there for Kelsey to discover. She liked looking at its big teeth.
I make sure to point out things I see to her that I would normally mumble to myself. Deer rubs, coyote tracks, well-worn deer trails, bear scat are examples of things I notice. I’m highly observant when I’m in the outdoors to the point Tara thinks it’s obnoxious sometimes. It really annoys her when I keep stopping and can’t find the perfect tree to hang a trail camera on. Kelsey seems to find it interesting for now, or at least I’d like to think so.
Our main goal is to watch Kelsey catch her first trout on a fly rod all by herself this year. She has waders now and can somewhat cast the fly out there but we need to work on her hook set. Last year a rainbow came up and ate her fly then spit it out before Tara and Kelsey realized what happened and lifted the rod to set the hook. I plan on taking her to the pond by the house to practice on some bluegills which are the perfect fish species for kids.
It’s April and I’ll start wet wading soon so I’ll probably wait on purchasing new waders. Knowing me I’ll deal with a wet foot on another trip or two before ditching the old stinking worn out pair. Tara and Kelsey might not appreciate my decision but I’ll have plenty of room to cast and fish. I’m glad Kelsey likes her new pink waders and hope she wears them out, although I doubt they’ll smell as bad as mine.
