Old School Boots

It took me 35 years to listen to all the people (fellow fishermen, construction workers, my father-in-law who worked outside all his life, etc) who told me that Mickey Mouse (MM) boots were the warmest boots I’d ever find.
No way, I thought. All those cool boots in the Cabelas catalog with thinsulate and gore-tex and other space-age materials must be better. The technology has to be better than anything produced for the Korean War, right?

I have Sorrel, Lacrosse, Cabelas, and more Cabelas. Boots endorsed by the Iditarod participants. All kinds of socks, insoles, boot liners and still …. cold feet.

So I gave in, threw down my $58 (less than half of what I paid for other boots) at Fleet Farm in Germantown and got myself a pair of good old G.I. Mickey Mouse Boots.

They got their nick name from soldiers who thought they looked like Mickey Mouse in them, but no one complained because frozen feet were a thing of the past with them. They are big and fat. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to drive in them. I thought I may press the gas and the brake at the same time.

They have instructions printed on the side like a car tire. An air valve too. Oh, and open the valve if you are jumping out of an airplane. Hey, you never know. This isn’t printed on the side, but I wouldn’t wear them through airport security either.

Oh, and they stink like rubber. Goodyear tire plant level rubber stink. Did you ever walk into Fleet farm and smell the rubber smell and figure it was from the tire department? Nope, I think it’s the pile of MM boots. I don’t know how you would deer hunt in them. You deer hunters are worried that the deer may smell the Olive Garden salad dressing you had two weeks ago. I guess the deer may just think he is getting close to Fleet Farm if he gets close to you in these boots
They are heavy. I wouldn’t want to walk 5 miles in them. Luckily, for fishing I don’t have to. It’s a nice workout. I figure I’ll have calves and thighs like Lou Ferrigno by March 1st.

OK, that all said. I have had them for a month. I have fished in the teens and one morning that was 9 or 10 degrees. And the verdict is…… I haven’t felt even a twinge of cold! Warm toasty feet! The warmest boots I have ever found. Just like everyone said.

I guess they have layers of wool and felt. But the real difference is an air bladder surrounding your foot. You can actually add a little air into them (Air Mickey). It’s like a thermos for your foot. So the weight and size and smell and the fact that you look like Herman Munster are all worth it. Finally, warm feet!

A Brief Report

The harbor was hot for Browns, but it has cooled off. There are fish out there but scattered. Some of the inner-harbor spots have started to produce.

To everyone who reads this, thank you and have a great New Year. Let’s make it a great fishing season.

Tight lines and smooth drags,
Marc