40 Rivers To Freedom

I’m just about finished with my first full season in a new pair of waders.  I fished the Battenkill with Geoff a few days ago (great day, report to come this Winter when you’ve got cabin fever to the worst degree) and they were already a little smelly when we started.  Afterwards, they were thrown in the trunk.

The next day I was alerted to the fact that my wife opened up the trunk, when she went to get a camping chair or something.  All the sudden, I heard a series of 3 dry heaves, followed by the sound of the trunk slamming shut.

After I got hollered at about leaving them in there, I forgot about them.

Meanwhile, 2 or 3 days went by.  I opened up the drivers door to go to work in the morning and that sweet stench came rolling out at me; so I just ignored it, rolled the windows down, and went about my business.

That afternoon I had class and I kept getting a whiff of the waders that were back in the car.  I held my coat up to my nose and there it was again; that sweet, sweet smell.

So the other night, I had a few minutes of free time and brought them inside.  I flipped them inside-out and tossed them in the tub, squeezed a half a bottle of shampoo on them, and turned the water on.  When I came back to slosh them around about 30 minutes later, I couldn’t help but laugh when I noticed that half a dozen dead caddis, 3 dead Golden Drakes, and a few crispy stoneflies floated out.

While I was sloshing them in the near-hot water, I noticed a little patch that Simms puts on there, letting you know how to clean them.

HAND WASH IN COLD WATER WITH A POWDER DETERGENT

So I drained the water out, rinsed them off, and turned the cold water on and let it start filling back up.  You know, to make up for screwing up the first time.

I went into the kitchen and grabbed the powder detwergent we use for our dishwasher and came back to the bathroom, dumped about half the box in, and let em soak for another 30 minutes.  Came back in, sloshed them around some more, and then rinsed them off real good while I took a shower.

I hung them over a towel by the front door to dry out, and then stuck my head up inside them and took a big whiff this morning.  Smell like roses.  Unfortunately, the car still smells like shit.