Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Inside ColoradoCasters: Mattsabasser garb explained

Fashion blogs are growing immense popularity on blogger and other formats. The numbers of hits and followers have been explosive on a few blogs that I admire from a distance with subtle envy. Maybe I could create an excerpt called “Fashion Angler Update” and run it on a sporadic basis on the blogilicious. Maybe for the first run I can cover a little history regarding the Mattsabasser garb that has been a mainstay of my angling attire.
It didn’t take long for me to adapt the same clothes I used in my construction days into my outdoor\fishing adventures. As a youth I considered myself the Colorado version of Tarzan and ran through the woods in little more than shorts and maybe a pair of shoes. The scratches and bug bites in weird places just came along with the territory. My body didn’t want to be weighted down with fabric and my skin seemed to love soaking up the sunshine. Now everything has changed. I cover up as much as possible from sun, bugs and thorn bushes that magically appear out of nowhere.

The hoodie came about after working construction between high school and college. I wear them year round even though they can be a bit uncomfortable in the summer. Once upon a time a handful of these hoodies were purchased in several colors and they are still in use today. The material is a 50/50 blend of polyester and cotton. Not perfectly ideal for outdoor use but does the job while being comfortable and easy to wash. Light colors for hotter days and darker colors for cold ones. Folks would look at me a bit strangely back in the day but now I see quite a few anglers have adopted the hoodie getup as well.

The camo pants: I can’t say enough about how much I love these pants. Fairly light and durable considering the weight of the fabric. Dickees are stronger but too heavy for my mountain excursions and too hot for my summer rambles. Regular jeans are ok but these allow more movement and have more pockets. And with the camo pattern only the smart fish see me coming. That last part is probably way too optimistic.

The bass glove: One day I came home after catching bass in the double digits with a few of them over four pounds. These were angry fish that fought hard and refused to make the hook removal easy. Rigid gum lines and spiny fins took their toll on my hands. The fish would even shake its head using my own hooks against me at times. Every trip seemed to end up with band-aids on my fingers. Mild infection lingered adding an extra element of pain to the fish post creation. Then I put the glove on my left hand. Each bass gets a grab with that arm and the glove takes most of the abuse. The glove also comes in handy on cliff dives and at other times when I need to use one hand in danger. Sure there may be some Michael Jackson jokes or some heckling from the peanut gallery.

The image was done using magcover to see what it would look like if I created a fashion blog for angling. If you want to experiment with this yourself, I will add a link below.


Look for more excerpts of Fashion Angler Update on ColoradoCasters…maybe. Hope this answers a few questions and allows me to shamelessly generate a few random hits from fashion bloggers.

Good luck and good fishing.

4 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

you're too cute, cover boy. :)

cofisher said...

This would be a good "show us what you wear" contest. I think I'm more fashionable than you!

Unknown said...

Hahahaha, love it, but you forgot a couple of things. First the ever popular fishing hat with the back/neck cover to keep the sun off and second the oversized, black, pedophile style polarized fishing glasses that compliment every fishermans wardrobe.

Coloradocasters said...

@ TexWisGirl: Oh thak you so much! My battered self-esteem really needed a boost today. You are the best!

@ Howard Levett: Yes, Howard. I am sure you are way more fashionable than me as most fly anglers have dress codes and even fashion police on some rivers and streams in Colorado. If the waders don’t say Simms or Orvis I usually get a frown or scowl. ColoradoCasters invites you to do an interview and photo op for a full page\centerfold layout called, “What Howard wears on the handful of days a year that he fishes”. =)

@ Rod Blonke: The hat deserves a separate article entirely and was one of the first excerpts on my blog. The lucky hat is a crucial part of my game along with the polarized lenses. (sigh) Maybe I rushed this article a bit.