[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t is that time of year again for all the new products for kayak fishing to hit the marketplace. I know this month I will spend some time in convention centers soaking up all the cool new stuff that is getting ready to drop into the market. There is one new product that came out just over a year ago that I have just fallen in love with, when Astral the makers of great Personal Flotation Devices (PFD’s) came out with a line of water shoes.
Well, we all know there are a lot of shoe manufacturers that make water shoes. but Astral decided to take it one step further. Astral has created a full line of men’s and women’s shoes. On the
market now are the Porter, Brewer, Brewess (for the ladies) and the Rassler, which is a high top shoe, and finally. the Baker, which is a more casual slip-on. Their concept is a shoe you can wear from the water to out on the town. These are more than just a water shoe, they are a shoe you’ll find yourself wearing every day. Comfortable and rugged, their shoes have a drain hole built in to let water escape, as well as non-marking soles and an incredible grip.
So far, I’m sure this has sounded like a product review, but I just wanted to lay the groundwork for why I am head-over-heels (no pun intended) about these shoes! Kayak fishing here along the southern coast of North Carolina and even down in to South Carolina and Georgia we have the opportunity to get out of our kayaks and wade to fish some great flats. If you have done this before, you know that our flats can be littered with oyster beds. One wrong step out there with the wrong type of shoe and it’s time to break out the first aid kit.
I have been fishing with the Astral Porter now for almost a year and I am still loving them. I do get out and wade flats, I have walked over oyster beds and my feet are cut-free at the end of the day. Our fishing kayaks get us into so many cool places as it is, but wading across flats or up into a flooded grass line, looking for tailing reds is just as thrilling as a hook-up to one in your yak and getting towed around the marsh! A good reliable and comfortable shoe will allow you to do that with no problem.
The best part is once you are home you can clean them up with the garden hose, air dry them in the sun and you have a great-looking pair of shoes again. Then head out into the world with a great comfortable pair of shoes for run- ning errands or enjoying a summer evening at a BBQ, all with happy cut-free feet. Oh, and one last thing, Astral shoes are de- signed in North Carolina, so you can keep your feet local!