Mythic Gear Dry Suits and Safe Kayak Fishing

I am getting older and smarter and realized that I was pushing my luck kayak fishing in the spring, fall, and winter amidst the frigid waters. I now have the Mythic Gear ENKI Model Dry Suit. Named after a god in Sumerian mythology. He was the deity of crafts, mischief, water, seawater,lakewater, intelligence, and creation.

These are truly dry suits for the masses. Never has there been dry suits the average guy can afford on a tight budget. These are made like tanks, solid material, and awesome craftsmanship. The zippers are the toughest I have ever seen. When I put it on, the dry suit will puff up with air, that is how sealed my body is. I open the zipper to get the extra air out.  I was stepping over a guard rail with my yak to get to my put in and fell hard. The kind of hard you don't see coming over the rail and on my knees on a gravel covered bike path! The suit didn't have a scratch all though my ego was damaged.

The temperature has swung from 15 - 60 over the last few weeks and I have been Yarpin - Kayak Carpin. I have had 3 based layers underneath the suit and it has done the job nicely.  Actually with out the suit I would of had more bulky layers on and would of been uncomfortable and I do not think I would of toughed it out on these windy cold days with out Mythic Gear.

helpful articles:

Cold Water Danger Not Limited to Hypothermia

Wetsuits Versus Drysuits

Kayak Cats

Wear Polarized Glasses a Fishing Parody of Baz Luhrmann's Sunscreen

If you have ever watched any of my videos you will notice I have a tendency to change the lyrics of some of my favorite songs to be about fishing while I fish. So I made one on fishing Advice, it is a parody of Baz Luhrmann's Sunscreen. I have to say it is my favorite thus far.

This week's Podcast Fishing Spring 2014

The Attack of The Freeze Beast and the Slush monster

I like many of you got the flu, But I and missed a weekend of ice fishing. I was ticked. Monday night after work I decided I was going. My wife told me I was still pale and should not do it. Well she was right by the time I carried my auger down the hill to the pond and drilled, I was spent. So I went home and died on the couch.

Tuesday again my first thought was that I am going to get out on the ice tonight.  Right off the bat I ran into problems, I brought my hand auger this time and reopened the holes I had made the night before. The problem was the slush from my holes was frozen in to tiny ice mountains in the single digit weather. I tried to sit my shelter up on them and it was like trying to stand on one foot after an epic night partying.

Now things went from bad to worse. I have seen slush layers between the ice and the snow before but not this watery. There was a foot of snow, then 3 inches of wet ass slush, then two feet of ice. Usually I see this during a warm up, but it had been no higher then 8 degrees all day. It was now 1 degree and my doom was sealed. When the slush layer met the heat of my lantern it turned my shelter into a smoking Indian sweat lodge and I could hardly see to fish. What the hell? So tired, hot, and out of breath thanks to the flu and my asthma I conceded defeat and started to pack up. My retreat was terrible as well. Anything the slush had splashed on was immediately encased in ice. My boots, legs, auger, shelter, and everything in my otter sled!!! As I pulled everything to the van, I was out of breath and could not figure out why it was sooo heavy. I took separate trips up frozen hamburger hill. When I just had my empty sled it STILL weighed a ton. I flipped it over to find a 5 inch thick layer of frozen slush!! Finally I was back in my vehicle cover in sweat, legs burning, and hitting my inhaler wondering what just happened. I thought this sport was my relaxing stress free escape, I guessed wrong….