Ingenuity And PVC Pipe

Some years ago, Jim made me a couple of rod holders. Fishing at New Melones, they worked great. Soft ground, stick them in and your rods are angled in the right up and down direction. 

Then you take Lake Camanche North Shore or Upper Blue Lake and it's nothing but rocks. Impossible to stick those rod holders in the ground without using a hammer, but they aren't designed to be slammed into the ground.   

Enter PVC pipe. I made a couple, four legged rod holders out of PVC pipe. Worked great holding the rods and left my tackle box available if I needed something out of it. I know you've seen my rods leaning on one of my tackle boxes in a past post. I know I have a picture of them somewhere in the 10,000 photos or so that I've taken since about 2008, but you'll have to use your imagination. Only problem was that I got skunked EVERY TIME I used them. Fishermen are superstitious. They ended up in the trash and I went back to leaning my rods on a tacklebox and catching fish again. 

Then the arthritis started and it took this indestructible and bulletproof guy to his knees. Started with the replacement of the fence after it blew down in a storm. Every time I pushed the wheelbarrow full of fence boards, I could feel my back giving away. Then the left hip gave out followed by, well everything from the L3/L4 vertebrae in the back down to the neuropathy in my feet. Thus the name of this blog now "The Wandering Gimp". 

I found out that float tubing was out. I found out walking the streams was out. I even have trouble negotiating the rocky shore of North Shore Camanche and there I can park right by where fish. I even had trouble getting in and out of the kayak. 

His and hers matching kayaks. 

Once again, enter PVC pipe. Created a rack that I could use to gracefully allow me to get into and out of my kayak. 2" PVC pipe with a couple O rings. A ratchet strap with carabiners through a metal post hammered into the ground with sledge hammer and via two 1/2" holes in the top, fill with water so it sinks in about 18" of water. Voila! Easy ingress and egress to my kayak. No problem paddling. No problem fishing.  

Now we come to the problem of bending over to do a simple things like put on your sock. I can't touch my toes, have to make adjustments just to pick something up off the floor. I walk with a cane in case my hip or knees give out so I don't end up on the floor. See what happens because you were indestructible and bulletproof in your youth. 

Again, PVC comes to the rescue. Using 1/2" PVC pipe I made the gizmo below. Slip a sock over it, stick your foot in and it puts the sock far enough on you foot to pull it on. 

PVC pipe saves the day. 

All it take is a little ingenuity and a bit of PVC pipe.