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The Frugal Fisherman: Part II
For those of you that don't know this, fishermen by nature are a frugal lot. Being penny wise and pound foolish is standard fare, and I am no different. I recently noticed that the felt soles on my wading boots had become worn out on the bottom. I found this out the hard way,of course, discovering this while fishing on the river, going into my rendition of the "slick rock disco", and falling into "the drink".You would think I would have noticed that my felt soles had worn out and that I was now wearing hockey skates in the water, but with my wading boots being much like my car, I just get in them and go. I headed on down to "The Blackbird", which is my favorite outdoor store--(not because of service or price but because they have this giant fifty foot,black and yellow blackbird statue in the parking lot)--and proceeded to reaquaint myself with wading boot prices. Having last bought wading boots circa 1990, fifteen years inflation certainly caused my jaw to drop. Outside of standing there and looking like one of the "appalachian" characters from the movie Deliverance, I was quickly convinced that my boots still had plenty of life in them, and that a "re-sole-ing" was the answer. I found that my good friend Hodgeman made felt sole replacements for my boots, and that the fifteen dollar cost was quite reasonable. I also thought this would allow me to "become one" with my boots and give me that nice "do it yourself" project, that gives one that warm satisfying moment when one feels self-suffecient. You see it coming, don't you? The instructions seemed fairly simple,Step 1: first remove the old felt soles. Since. there wasn't much felt sole left, this didn't seem like a very demanding first step.But, what was left was secured to the bottom of the boot like a barnicle to a pier. I pulled and peeled and cut, (and at one point seriously consideredusing my Dremel tool) until finally getting enough old sole removed. Step 2: Spread a thin layer of supplied "felt sole cement" on the felt, wait 30 minutes. This went rather well. No problemo. While I waited, I "scuffed" up the bottom of the boots to help with the adhereing of the felt soles.This seemed rather redundant, since I had gouged up the bottoms pretty well during the felt removal process. Step 3: Repeat spreading of "felt sole cement", wait thirty minutes and secure felt to bottom of boots. Note:You may want to use a generous amount of tape to help hold the felt in place and help secure the heel and toe area. Boy, was that an understatement. After about a roll of duct tape and the use of some large c-clamps that were laying around, I think I finally got the felt to adhere to the boot. I say "think", because there is so much duct tape around the boot that I can no longer even see the felt sole and can only trust that the tape has secured the two surfaces together. Not to mention that the boots now look like a pair of freakish silver Michael Jackson dancing spats or a pair of "punked out" Air FrankenJordans. Step 4: Allow eight hours drying time. This is where I am at now.Past history tells me that nothing good can come of this. I am afraid to remove the tape, feeling the same anxiety a plastic surgery patient feels when they remove the bandages. Maybe I am being a touch negative here, but I have the feeling when I remove the duct tape-- that of course assuming I can get the sticky duct tape off-- the felt sole will simply fall to the ground, be stuck to the duct tape, or that the shoes will scream"I'm alive, I'M ALIVE HA ha ha ha...." At this point I feel compelled to show you an actual "un-retouched" photo of my boot repair operation. If you are unable to view this wherever you are reading this you might want to visit www.twoguyswithflys.com in order to get a full understanding. Yes, these are my wading boots. This is what they have become! Perhaps, the boots will remain shaped in this contorted figure that the duct tape-clamping combination has transformed them into. With my luck, I will be walking around with the toes pointed skyward like some "pixie shoed- fishing gnome", with leaves all stuck to the outer surface because of the tape "residue" left on the outside of the boot!! Maybe, the soles will initially be fine and as soon as I hit the cold clear water of the Rogue river they will just simply shrink up and fall off.We all know about shrinkage and cold water-now don't we fellas?! I just have a BAD FEELING about this!! At any rate, I will be back down at the "Blackbird" this afternoon repricing wading boots. As usual, I will have spent fifteen dollars more than the actual price of the boots, and wasted two hours "becoming one" with my boots. I don't know what it is that makes us fishermen so frugal and why I continually get sucked into thinking I can "do-it-myself", but I know this won't be the last time... ...In fact, there is this pin hole in my breathable waders somewhere that I can't find, anyone know how much a patch kit is? A.J. is a writer of fishing humor and the characters that are in and around the world of fishing. He also is a peddler of fly tacks?!~? You can view his fly tacks and get some laughs at http://www.twoguyswithflys.com His first book is due out in December of 2005.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news News Corp. says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Mark Williams, a News Corp. executive named late on Wednesday as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere, has taken over in an interim capacity, a News Corp. spokeswoman said on Thursday. News Corp exec becomes chief of Germany's Premiere (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's chief financial officer for Europe and Asia has been named chief executive of German pay television group Premiere, following the resignation of Michael Boernicke, Premiere said on Wednesday. Premiere CEO Is Replaced by News Corp.'s Williams (Update2) (Bloomberg.com) Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Premiere AG , the German pay- television company partly owned by News Corp., said Chief Executive Officer Michael Boernicke is being replaced by a senior News Corp. executive. News Corporation to redevelop London Wapping site (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is to redevelop its Wapping site in London, moving all its UK businesses, including News International, Harper Collins, MySpace and Dow Jones, under one roof. DeJesus, Royals sad at Sweeney news (MLB.com) DeJesus, Royals sad at Sweeney news Phila. mayor to announce grim budget news (Philly.com) The Nutter administration is expected to announce grim budget news today, which is all but certain to lead to significant spending cuts - perhaps as high as 10 percent - in some city departments, according to three sources familiar with the budget. Tribune blames Google for damaging news story (Market Watch) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tribune Co. said Wednesday that the mistaken online publishing of an old news story that cratered UAL Corp.'s stock price earlier this week was because of a repeated technology failure at Google Inc. Get the latest news in racing (Daily Racing Form) In order to read Daily Racing Form's free daily news stories it is required that you have a DRF.com free membership. If you do not have a DRF.com free membership, please register here . You will NOT need to be logged in to read each day's free news stories. UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News (UPI) Chesney nominated for 7 CMAs ... Hoffman: I'm not playing Penguin ... 'RocknRolla' No. 1 at U.K. box office ... Jessica Simpson stops song on 'GMA' ... News from United Press International. Kyodo News agency says three inmates executed (AP via Yahoo! Malaysia News) Kyodo News agency says three death-row inmates have been executed in Japan. Site: news - Google News Apple disappoints: No Jobs or big news at Macworld - Reuters
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for fishing Fly-fishing for these salmon is simple, fun (Detroit Free Press) SAULT STE. MARIE, Ontario -- Going after pink salmon is perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to catch salmon on a fly rod. The techniques are so simple and so much fun that they should call this Salmon Fishing 101. INSIDE THE OUTDOORS: Fishing by the numbers? Try a 7 (Detroit Free Press) My standard fly-fishing tackle for chinook salmon and steelhead used to be a nine-foot, eight-weight rod with a traditional floating line. But for pink salmon I've sometimes used a six-weight trout rod for fish that run two to five pounds. They're considerably stronger than trout of the same size, so using a six-weight really revs up the sporting factor with these fish. Fishing report: Sept. 11 (The Tennessean) FISHING REPORT South Florida fishing report (Miami Herald) With water levels more than 15 feet in Lake Okeechobee, Howard Kleeman of Slims Fishing Camp in Clewiston reported that largemouth bass are scattered and moving further up into the grassy areas, where they have not been able to get in years. . . . Largemouth bass are being caught in the Moon Shine Bay area, Pelican Bay and the west side of Red Island. The bass are eating swimming frogs, shiners, ... Fishing derby designed to promote sport of fishing to kids - and parents, too (Morris Daily Herald) The third annual Just 4 Kids Fishing Derby is just as much for the parents as for the kids, Troop 471 leader and derby organizer Dana Morse said. Pittsburgh hooks big-money fishing tournament (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) Pittsburgh will host another big money fishing event on the Three Rivers in July and August, 2009, with $1 million guaranteed to the winner. Fishing report: Sept. 11 (The Longview News-Journal) AUSTIN (AP) ? Here is the weekly fishing report as compiled for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for Sept. 10. (Report also available on Web as www.txfishing.com.) Of the Outdoors ? Jig Fishing: The Ultimate Catching Tool (Yankton Press & Dakotan) With all of the traveling I do, I have the opportunity to talk with a lot of anglers. At a recent in store promotion, I was talking with a group of fishermen talking about different fishing techniques. Boy Scouts set to host fishing derby Sept. 13 (Morris Daily Herald) Morris Boy Scout Troop 471 will host its free Just 4 Kids Fishing Derby on Saturday, Sept. 13, at Gebhard Woods State Park in Morris. PHOTO GALLERY: Fishing Rodeo in Fairview Heights (St. Clair County Journal) The pond at Everett Moody Park in Fairview Heights was the place to be for young anglers on Aug. 30 as Elk?s Lodge 664 and Mayor Gail D. Mitchell sponsored the 16th annual Kid?s Fishing Rodeo. Site: fishing - Google News Illegal fishing charged; tons of rockfish seized - Baltimore Sun
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