One of the drawbacks to keeping all of your fishing gear scattered throughout your SUV for 8 to 9 months out of the year is that when you go to pick up one of your daughters, the first comment out of their mouths is usually “Oh my God, DAD.”
That’s usually followed by an endless comparison of the smell to a variety of dead things. I’m sure the aroma of cheap cigars adhering to the interior doesn’t help. Besides all the tackle I’ll ever need, I carry around everything a wading and walking angler needs.
For the walking, I have a pair of waterproof boots that I wear when I’m working in my back yard. The grooves in the bottom are impacted with mud and dog shit. The dogs came with the woman I married. They aren’t my dogs and I’m certainly not going to walk around a yard picking up handfuls of their crap. Eventually the mud and crap will go away as I trudge through enough puddles and grass surrounding lakes and ponds. They sit on the floor in the back seat, an appropriate amount of newspaper under them so the carpet is semi protected.
For the wading there are a couple of pairs of long johns, you never know how cold the water will be. A couple of thick socks for the same purpose. Every now and then they get taken out and washed, but it’s rare.
Of course there are the breathable waders and the wading boots. Why let them sit around outside drying when they can dry out in the SUV, eventually. A ratty sweatshirt or two and a coat only used when out fishing. Somewhere in the SUV are 3 pairs of fingerless gloves. Air temperature dictates which pair gets used on any given day. I think I wash them once a year, if I remember.
All of the above items are covered with layers of fish slime from a wide variety of species. Catfish and carp are the most insidious of the fish slimes. Once you let it dry, it’s like having freeze dried slime. Get a little water on it and it’s as good as new, stench and all.
To cover all this equipment I have a 6 foot by 8 foot, thick cotton throw rug. I also use it to throw on the ground when changing in and out of my waders. Keeps rocks from puncturing the neoprene booties, but it also protects me form the goose shit that seems to be everywhere. It also absorbs all of the river smells as I stand on it still dripping wet from some wading. Once a year I try to remember to take it out, hang it over a fence and hose it down. My wife won’t allow it in the house. Then there’s an identical rug on the bottom of the pile to protect the carpeting. It absorbs everything. That gets a good hosing now and then too.
The obvious benefit to having all of this in your SUV is that at any given moment, you can go fishing. Driving past a pond, along a creek or crossing a bridge over a river, the only thing keeping you from fishing is finding a place to pull over.
I think the stench of a well seasoned SUV is a small price to pay for endless possibilities.
I took advantage of one of those possibilities today as I passed the river at the end of the day. When I won’t step in the water, you know it’s high. Even standing shin deep in water on the shore was making me a little nervous. Carp swimming around on shore, at your feet, will do that to you. I was certain I knew where the beginning of the 3 foot tall undercut bank began, but I was suddenly not that certain.
I did what I could for an hour before I gave up. But, like the title says, at least I didn’t get skunked.
Okay fine, a bit of an exaggeration. My daughter sent it to me today. I told her this was still another good reason to never go swimming in the ocean.
It does resemble me a bit, think 30 years ago.
Fine, here’s the more realistic pictures from today.
The Four Season Angler
28 Apr 2011My wife read this and said one word.
“Gross.”
I concur. (however I can relate on more levels than you think)
Ken G
28 Apr 2011And how often are you passing water and wishing you had everything in your car so you can stop?
This is the fourth car I’ve done this too. The best was a small Chrysler mini van. I would take out all the seats when I would drive out to Virginia. Set up half the bed to sleep on. Never worried about crime. I had a half dozen shotguns and rifles along side me with enough rounds to ward off a sizable group of zombies.
Ahhhh, the good old days.
bob long
28 Apr 2011excellent narrative. flows. relatable in many ways, gentle humor. perfect for a Gray’s without the sucker pix. no one would know that you are not flying it.
Clif
28 Apr 2011You look really young in that picture.
Ken G
29 Apr 2011I was hot 100 years ago or so. A real ladies man.
Nina G
1 May 2011Dan saw this and thought you’d like it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN2gMP3Q2Z4
And I only saw it fitting to post it on a post about carp.
Ken G
1 May 2011That’s nuts!!!
At a meeting of DNR heads years ago, one of them suggested going down the river with a boat load of guys with shotguns and shooting them like skeet shooting.
I would imagine you’d have to use steel shot. Lead shot could be an issue.