What’s Up With That?

It started out quite innocently. Joyce asked me what I wanted for my birthday. This is an annual exercise for Father’s Day, my birthday, and Christmas. Joyce asks what I want, and I reply, “Nothing.”

You see, I have everything I need. Not a lot of stuff, since what I need is limited. I have my library of books, backpacking and camping gear. I don’t need anything else, and I don’t need any new books or gear. My life is “dialed in.” 

So she pressed the issue and I finally came up with an idea – new fishing rods and reels for both of us. But I didn’t tell her exactly what rod and reel. So my birthday passed. Prior to Christmas, she again wanted to know what specific rod and reel. So I picked out a few items on Amazon that would meet our needs.

I would like to tell you I am some sort of fishing guru or expert. But I’m not. Fishing itself isn’t that important, although we do go trout fishing every year in the high Sierra Nevada Mountains. There isn’t any mystical experience for me in fishing. I don’t use a “fly rod.” It is pretty simple – I fish to eat them and the only fish I like are trout. I started fishing with a friend of mine when I was in high school. I couldn’t afford a rod and reel, but found a beat up set in a trash can. The tip of the pole was broken, so I repaired it. After several fishing trips in the mountains, we decided the fishing would be better if we backpacked to more remote places, so we acquired used gear at a swap meet and started backpacking. After a while, the hiking became more rewarding than fishing and I stopped fishing on backpacking trips. It has been over 40 years since I fished on a backpacking trip.

About 15 years ago, Joyce wanted to learn to fish. I bought a couple inexpensive rods and reels. Joyce enjoys fishing more than me and it is part of our camping trips in the Sierra.

For her it is about fishing, for me I enjoy her excitement every time she catches a fish – she’s like a kid.

For more of thoughts on fishing, scroll towards the bottom of this post. So my Christmas gift for us would be an upgrade in quality, not to mention the old rods and reels were getting worn out.

Quantum Drive

The reels I picked are made by Quantum, the same brand as our old reels, but a step up in quality. Still they were fairly inexpensive at under $40 each. 

From Quantum’s website is this description…

The new Quantum Drive™ spinning reel is highly affordable and built from the same uni-body construction as the popular Quantum Throttle™ with precisely aligned gears for the sort of smoothness found in much pricier reels. Quantum’s exclusive Reel Engine Design™ means the graphite body used to build Drive™ is all one gear box, compared to the 2-piece construction found in lesser quality, looser-feeling, reels at even higher prices.

Opening the boxes, the reels seem well made and light. Just what I expected. But then, I started to read all the documentation, including the box itself. On the bottom of the box was this ominous warning:

OMG! What does this mean? Will I get cancer by fishing with this reel? Would it be safe if I use it in another state, such as Montana or Idaho, given the warning is just for residents of California? How will this chemical get into my body? Perhaps, I thought, if I disassemble the reel and eat the grease and oil used to lubricate it that would cause cancer.

What a dilemma!!

Reel Cleaner, Oil, and Grease

Joyce also bought a maintenance kit for the reels – yes one has to perform periodic maintenance on fishing reels.

Reading all the fine print, there is no warning that the products can cause cancer or reproductive harm. However, there is a warning on each bottle that the product is not for human consumption. Duh!! Are people so stupid that they would eat the grease or drink the oil? Anyway, it appears the products are not known to the People’s Republic of California to cause cancer, so I shall assume that eating the factory applied grease and oil in the reels will not cause cancer either.

So how will these reels cause cancer?

Oh well, next package.

Ugly Stik

Exactly what I asked Joyce to buy. 

A pair of Ugly Stik Elite Spinning Rods, 2 piece units, 6.5 feet in total length. Made from graphite and fiber glass, cork handles, stainless steel guides, and a plastic reel mount.

Surely these can’t cause cancer or reproductive harm. Oh, Oh. There on the attached label was this gloomy warning.

Now I was wondering why on earth the People’s Republic of California is allowing evil companies to sell products that are going to give me cancer and cause reproductive harm. What is going on here? So, I moved on and opened the next present.

Flambeau IKE 400 Tackle Bag

Yep, this was also on my gift list. 

The Flambeau Tackle Bag is constructed mostly of nylon. A mesh pocket is rubber coated and there are four sturdy plastic organizers inside although I only need one organizer.

Nylon – I have been using nylon products all my life, especially in clothing and backpacking gear. Never had any ill effects in my 69 years on the planet. Sadly, this product appears to be just as dangerous as the rods and reels. This warning should give a person pause:

 Holy Moly. What to do? Am I screwed? Ah, I just went on to open the next present.

Stetson Bozeman Hat

This Stetson was a wonderful surprise. Joyce did well. It is a wool hat, so what could go wrong. 

Nothing you might think – then you would be wrong. The hat is a potential killer:

What the heck? A wool hat is going to give me cancer? 

Apparently the hat has a Dri-Lex sweatband. Dri-Lex is a fabric that wicks moisture and allows it to evaporate. Should I cut out the sweatband to save my life? I don’t know. The labels and packaging do not indicate this is the cancer causing fabric. Maybe wool kills.

Proposition 65

Supposedly there is product information on the People’s Republic of California website, and of course, none of my products are listed anywhere with more information. Pretty much the site tells us that everything in life causes cancer and reproductive harm. Gosh, is life no longer worth living, given the state must want us to be in constant fear of the evil corporations that are going to kill us all? The website states:

Proposition 65 requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer , birth defects or other reproductive harm. These chemicals can be in the products that Californians purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. By requiring that this information be provided, Proposition 65 enables Californians to make informed decisions about their exposures to these chemicals.

Checkmate! I can’t make an informed decision about my fishing gear because there is no information available on the website about my products, nor is there information on the individual manufacturers’ websites.

Now what do I do?

Give Up Fishing and Go to Disneyland Instead?

Perhaps this should be my solution.

Oh, No! Say it ain’t so.

Well, I might as well move to Arizona, New Mexico, or Utah. Lots of nice deserts and apparently they don’t have these cancer causing products — unless the other 49 states aren’t as progressive and well-informed as the bureaucrats in the People’s Republic of California.

I’ll just keep the gifts and use them, throwing caution to the wind

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