Hats

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Ron Mc
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Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

this is Texas, where we're smart enough to wear brimmed hats in the sun and weather.
Busting brush, you just look down and keep walking, etc.
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My buddy Ewell tying on a fly down from Center Point Lion's Park
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Last decade, took my Milano to Alaska for a work/play summer trip, and 3 times it was made fun of from the Anchorage airport to the Russian River.
It served me well again on a December North Slope work trip, and back to 20' of sloppy wet snow in Anchorage.
Alaska is the biggest small town on the planet and things must not go unnoticed, because my next summer trip, it seemed everybody in Alaska was wearing cowboy hats.
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Since the 80s, this canvas Aussie style snap-up has been my coast fishing hat.
ImageThe hat's already 10-y-o in this photo.
The real advantage is driving a power boat - the snap up keeps the induced wind from getting under the brim, the hat stays planted, and the chinstrap never garrotes you.
this day, we were running the grass line up SP, watching for feeding pelicans on the bare sand, making a donut out and back, staking the boat and wading for big specs
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It was loaded with karma, but April was its last trip - after this trip, the crown/brim seam finally split - after 35 years
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This Akubra hemp is a great kayaking hat, with an added metal-wire-pin-in afterthought chin strap that Akubra offers.
But this hat is the wrong choice for riding in a power boat - see the garroting thing above.
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Been searching the internet to replace my canvas Aussie snap-up, and just don't like the expensive Akubra kangaroo felt, which is the Real mil-spec Aussie slouch hat.
But I finally found the exact canvas hat from Conner hats in Tampa.
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I'm thinking it will also bring its own karma.
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I have this good photo of Neumie in his kayking sun hat
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Any volunteers?
Last edited by Ron Mc on Fri Sep 13, 2019 1:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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karstopo
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Re: Hats

Post by karstopo »

ImageImageImage

I like brimmed fishing hats. The dark one has a strap for boat rides.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

thanks - nice hats - just like the fish
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Neumie
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Re: Hats

Post by Neumie »

Used a cheapy from Walmart for several years before getting a Hemlock. The brim on the Hemlock is stiffer than the cheap one, so it doesn't fold on itself when paddling in the winds at the coast. It's also just about as big a brim as I'd like without interfering with my fishing (rod will occasionally hit it when working soft plastics). I prefer straw hats due their lightness and breath-ability. As Ron said, they're no good on a powerboat when underway.

Cheapy at Palo Duro Canyo SP
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Nueces River
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Last edited by Neumie on Fri Sep 13, 2019 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

thanks Josh, I love the Nueces.
We've fished Vance to Barksdale and also in the fingers below Chalk Bluff.
In the upper river, shade over the river is so rare, you can work the crowded bass into feeding frenzies under bridges and trees that make shade.
One tree we caught 50 bass - started with 7-8", worked up to over 20", then back down to the small fish.

Also have to be very careful wading the Nueces - the water is so clear, it's easy to step in over your head, plus there's white chalk quicksand that looks just like flagstone.
Here's a blue hole to the aquifer in the Chalk Bluff fingers
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Last edited by Ron Mc on Tue Sep 17, 2019 11:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Chubs
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Re: Hats

Post by Chubs »

Ron, I've got a leather hat just like the one you have that clips to the side of the top.
https://www.henschelhats.com/

The hat is very comfortable and they make my size.
I'd figure they have cloth versions of your style as well.
I use the leather hat for winter.

In summer time I use the Columbia Bora bora boonie hat:
https://www.columbia.com/bora-bora-ii-b ... U9107.html

Lightweight and breathable. Drawback is it's not a boat hat at all, it's not stiff and the brim will bend in a strong wind. Can't beat how cool it keeps you though.

I also use their PFG ball cap in the largest size they have - but unfortunately I have a 7 3/4 heat which is too big (lot of hot air up there) so I start to get a headache after wearing even their largest ball cap for an hour. I use this when there might be rain in the forcast (the brim shields my glasses very well). When I get a headache I just lift the hat up a bit so it sits high while my headache subsides.

I always also wear a sun mullet (buy them at Bucee's)
https://www.sunmullet.com/

The mullet keeps me from getting a red neck and is nice and long, and also cool if you leave it unbuttoned. But it doesn't cover the front of the neck while open which has lead me to also add a Simms Sun Gaiter draped loosely around the neck. It keeps my neck and anything not covered by the Sun Mullet from getting burned since it tucks into my shirt.
Seems like it would be too much heat but it's really not bad at all.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

way cool - I definitely looked at the Henschell hats over the last few months of searching.
Somebody will bring up Tilley - ok - I will, here's Stevo
and some leftover homemade pizza with a Corpus-brewed Ephyra IPA - Talley Island lunch break.
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I did buy a Tilley hemp once, but never wore it - my daughter took it over.
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and I still haven't figured out how to work Tilley's chinstrap
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Re: Hats

Post by Neumie »

Ron Mc wrote:thanks Josh, I love the Nueces.
We've fished Vance to Barksdale and also in the fingers below Chalk Bluff.
In the upper river, shade over the river is so rare, you can work the crowded bass into feeding frenzies under bridges and trees that make shade.
One tree we caught 50 bass - started with 7-8", worked up to over 20", then back down to the small fish.]
Yeah, barely any shade on the river. My wife and I go to a spot from CR412. We can find a shady spot to setup a picnic area adjacent to deeper water for her to float and me to fish.

The fishing on the river has been devastated though from a good flood event in the middle of August then two bigger flood events in October a week apart from each other last fall. Most fish I see and catch are 12" more or less; lots of small bass. Still though, one of my favorite places to fish especially when my wife and dog come as there's lots of public stream beds to set up on.
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Re: Hats

Post by bones72 »

Usually wear a Sunbody palm hat for fishing. Like the palm as it doesn't die after getting soaked like many of the "straw" hats. Reminds me I should order a new one; can't stand the pencil role on the current one. Dove hunting it is usually one of my old army "boonie" hats. And as much as I love a wide brim hat, I love my Stormy Kromer for winter hunting and fishing.

Neumie is killing me with the Lonestar, I thought one of my old army buddies from Cut and Shoot was the only person keeping that beer on the shelves.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

the beauty of hemp hats is they hold up really well to weather, though my old canvas hat rode 35 years through everything the coast can deliver.
don't try riding a gale unless your trolley is deployed at your stern
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Hemp straw also breathes really well, and if gets wet, acts like a swamp cooler on your head.
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Re: Hats

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bones72 wrote:Neumie is killing me with the Lonestar, I thought one of my old army buddies from Cut and Shoot was the only person keeping that beer on the shelves.
My grandpa was a lone star beer distributor for 50+ years; literally grew up drinking it.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

my grandpa was never outside without a Stetson, but he said if it was raining money he'd be locked inside, and if it was raining scat, he'd be locked outside without a hat.
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Re: Hats

Post by karstopo »

My dad is a hat lover. He just gave me this Overland brand hat. It will be my I'm on vacation hat. Not sure what it is made from. Comfortable for sureImage
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Ron Mc
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Re: Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

That's a beauty hat - congrats
My traveling hat is a Panama
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Re: Hats

Post by TroutSupport.com »

Nice Hats!!! mine have all since blown away... :lol:
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Ron Mc
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Re: Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

that's why you need a chinstrap - coast wind is enough to blow your hat away without one, and it's a pain in the butt to turn your kayak around and chase your hat.
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Re: Hats

Post by WC53 »

Shelta, Justin or usually a straw lifeguard/ fruitpicker hat after I found one with a brim that didn’t fold.

For brush busting, I just don’t like it when a big banana spider swings under the brim!
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Re: Hats

Post by YakRunabout »

I agree on the wide brimmed hat selection - that is the style I usually have on. Some nice looking hats in the notes above!

The straw hat here is a Stetson that I got cause I like it but also because one of my Dad's long time fishing hats was a Stetson. Thought I would continue that tradition. It is not as crushable as some trips require and so I also have a similar shaped canvas hat that puts up with anything.

The other is my cold weather wool hat - I found this on Duluth Trading company. I was skeptical at first because it has got to be the floppiest hat that I have ever had, but boy is it warm! It has the fold down flap to cover the ears and back of my neck for when there is a bit of extra chill in the air. I really notice its impact when I take it off and feel the chill!
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Re: Hats

Post by TexasJim »

Re: Going back for lost hats: One of the day charter boats in St. Croix had an announcement they made before leaving the dock: "WE ONLY GO BACK FOR HATS IF THEY HAVE A HEAD IN THEM!" TexasJim
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Re: Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

great story Jim
nice hats YakRunabout
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Re: Hats

Post by imaoldmanyoungsalt »

I've always worn a ball cap for any outdoor activity, however, this thread has inspired me to finally break down and buy a straw hat.
I ordered a cheapy off Amazon to see what all the hubbub is about before making a substantial investment in a good one. I ordered this Image
just in time for a 3 day Brazos river trip my brother and I took (report coming soon).
All I can say is WOW! What a difference it makes to keep the glaring sun off your face, neck, and shoulders. With blue bird skies and temps in the mid nineties the first 2 days, I would have been seriously burdened by heat and sun exposure. I had tried a canvas type wide brim many years ago but found it too hot on the head (no breathability). Straw on the other hand is totally breathable and much cooler and the wide brim keeping the sun at bay is magnificent to say the least. Also nice to dunk it in the water on occasion for an air conditioned effect. This cheap straw hat probably won't hold up well to repeated dunking since I can already see some straw ends sticking out in places from wet/dry shrinkage but maybe a better quality hat will hold up better? Someone with knowledge in this area, please share.
I am seriously sold on wearing a wide bream straw in the hot sun from now on.

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Re: RE: Re: Hats

Post by imaoldmanyoungsalt »

imaoldmanyoungsalt wrote: I am seriously sold on wearing a wide bream straw in the hot sun from now on.

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Should read "wide brimmed straw", as I will not be wearing a small fish made of straw on my head... well...cause that would just be sillyImage

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Re: Hats

Post by Ron Mc »

good-looking hat - you look official now
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Re: Hats

Post by Neumie »

imaoldmanyoungsalt wrote:Also nice to dunk it in the water on occasion for an air conditioned effect. This cheap straw hat probably won't hold up well to repeated dunking since I can already see some straw ends sticking out in places from wet/dry shrinkage but maybe a better quality hat will hold up better? Someone with knowledge in this area, please share.
My cheapy from Walmart and my better quality Hemlock would not stand up to repeated dunking in water.
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Re: Hats

Post by TexasJim »

Being a musician and (hopefully), an entertainer, I wear cowboy hats when I play music. I have a couple of straw Stetsons, and an old cheapo K-Mart straw hat I bought about 15 years back. It finally got too bad to wear. I was in Progreso, MX, last year and shopped for a new straw hat. I found one I liked, and bought it for about $11.00. I was back in Rockport, when I figured out the brim as PLASTIC! I felt ripped off, but it works fine, and it doesn't get big sweat stains, like my Stetsons. AND, I bet it would be a great fishing hat! The plastic brim doesn't flex in the wind. The crown lets air pass thru and cool my bald pate. Next time I'm down there, I'm gonna shop for fishing hats!
My current kayaking hat is a camo hat with a full brim, mesh sides for ventilation, a neck and ear cover flap, that I bought for $5.00 at Rockport Market Days. It has the side snaps like Ron's, but they rusted in about a week! The guy has NEVER been back, or I would own five of them! I hate the camo, but love everything else about the hat.
Ain't life grand? TexasJim Caught two keeper trout today!
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