KEEN Gorge Boots (Product Review)

Badly needing a new pair of wading shoes, the decision was made to go with the Gorge Boots offered by Keen Footwear.


 After wearing river sandals for a few years I was getting tired of taking them off numerous times during the day to get the gravel and rocks out of them from wet wading. What drew me to these were these features.
- Abrasion resistant synthetic and 3MM neoprene upper
- AEGIS Microbe Shield treated lining
- High traction, performance water outsole
- Multi-point adjustable strap system
- Removable metatomical EVA molded footbed with AEGIS Microbe Shield
- Wrapped outsole with multi directional lug pattern

Now that the weather has warmed up I have been able to put them to the test and so far I am very pleased with my purchase. The boot fits comfortably and is snug without allowing gravel inside. They are easy to put on and easy to take off even when wet, the toe guard has helped out numerous times with the amount of rocks that I hit them up against when portaging the kayak through a set of rocky rapids and the sole offers excellent traction, even on the slippery surfaces that i've encountered.
This is a product that I would definately reccomend to anyone who asks.

River Time

Pulling the kayak down the hill and into the river reminds me that I really need to start working out again. Once in the water and after wading fifty yards, I lifted the kayak over the dam and proceeded to paddle my way upstream against the current and into the chocolate waterway. The fishing was pretty good today with fish hitting a popper as well as a black wooly booger and the bigger fish coming from areas with current. It was also a good day to explore new areas. Today I did a lot of paddling up the current and wading through different sets of rapids going further upriver than before on this section. Still more to explore and more fish to catch on the next trip.

Father-Daughter Time

After eating Easter dinner, I mentioned that a little help was needed to load the kayak in the truck for a half day river trip in the morning. My daughter informed me that she would like to join me since she didn't have to go back to class until Tuesday. Next thing I knew, we were loading up two kayaks and all of the gear for the mornings excursion.
It's 7am,  the bedroom light goes on and I see a beautiful smile and a young lady dressed in fishing gear. Oops, I had overslept. After fixing a cooler we loaded the rest of the gear and made the short drive to the river.
Hauling the kayaks to the rivers edge, I explained that we would be wading upstream and climbing over a small dam to get to section we would be fishing. Reaching the dam I put the kayaks on top of it and we crawled over. Holding her kayak steady, she loaded up and I gave her a shove after telling her to paddle like crazy. After catching up, we proceeded to toss topwater plugs as close to the Cypress knees as possible which produced some pretty viscious strikes. This was her first time to fish and paddle in current so I spent the day close by for safety as she learned the feel of the river. Really enjoyed watching her shoot the rapids on the return paddle with the scared smile all the way down.
We spent the day taking in the beauty of the river and  laughed as we tried to outfish each other. A day that I enjoyed  and  will always remember because you never get it back.

11 straight days.........................

Of work, makes me want to get out on the water....and I did.
After sending and replying to e-mails I loaded up the Coosa and drove the twenty minutes to the Guadalupe River. Unloaded and drug the kayak over the grass and down the hill to the water, after wading upstream against the swift current I lifted the kayak on top of the dam and then climbed over and entered the river. Paddling like crazy so the current didn't sweep me back over the dam I was able to break loose and get into some calmer water. This would be a new section of the river for me so my plan was to work my way up one side the hit the other side on the way back. Tying on a popper it didn't take long to find the first hungry bass of the day. I wasn't sure what kind of quality this section would hold but as the day wore on the size kept growing with the largest being a solid four pounder who let me get her next to the kayak but wouldn't come onboard for a photo op. It was a great day to relax and clear my head as well as catch a lot of fish. Ended up catching and releasing around 13 bass as well as not landing a good 5-6 that jumped their way off the hook. Looking forward to hitting this stretch of water again.

Muddy Water Mystery

The Guadalupe River was calling my name today as I sat catching up on some paperwork this morning. After working all weekend, who was I to say no to the river.
We had close to 4 inches of rain last week and the river showed it as I was greeted with a nice flow and some off colored water. Beside taking the TFO fly rod, I took two bait casters knowing that the flow and debris would affect the fly fishing and they might come in handy. After launching I worked hard with the fly rod and a wooly bugger trying to entice a bite but none came. It seems that it would take some commotion to stir these fish up, a few casts later with a Pop-R and the dinner bell had been rung as a nice three pound largemouth smashed the topwater as it deflected off the root of the Cypress tree. As the day wore on I was able to produce the same result many times with quite a few fiesty bass coming off as they exploded into the air trying to get rid of what they mistook for a meal. The weather was great and the fishing better.

The last three times that I came up to this tree, there has been a very large watersnake hanging out and he was there again. I named him Fred.....