A Mix of DIY and Aftermarket Accessories Can Turn Your Full-Size Vehicle Into The Ultimate Fishing Rig

TEXT AND IMAGES BY RANDY HYNES

The sound of tree limbs clawing across paint and sheet metal filled the truck with a sound that was both deafening and nerve-racking. The overgrowth along the narrow trail slapped the windows with a vengeance. Mud splattered across the windshield as the tires spun their way through the soft earth.

Its rockers were rusted, the paint severely scratched. The windshield looked like a spider web, but when in 4WD, the truck never failed to travel where the air was fresh and the streams flowed clear. The state of Michigan would have said the boy driver was too young for such exploits and driving without a license was illegal, but the boy’s father thought it was important for his son to experience the outdoors—I followed my fatherly instinct.

Much like their father, my sons don’t remember their first fishing trip, neither can they recall the first time they slept in a tent, or cooked over an open fire—the outdoors has always been their way of life. Their mom and dad, on the other hand, vividly remember the first time they transported three little ones into the mountains. There were diapers, wet wipes, trinkets to keep them occupied and a plethora of snacks to keep them fed. With three kids in tow, the days when a solitary bag and a single cooler were all that was needed to make it through the weekend had disappeared.