Kuhl Renegade Pants and a tale of two fishing trips

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It was the coldest of fishing trips, it was the warmest of fishing trips. Either way, KÜHL Renegade Pants had me covered. The first trip was a three night cabin trip to the Northwoods. Manitowish Waters was the spot in northern Wisconsin for a trip looking for the lunker. Temperatures started with a brisk, chilly wind and temperatures in the upper 50s followed by some rain. This was followed by a fishing trip on Lake Delavan, Wisconsin where temps soared into the upper 80s with high humidity. KÜHL helped cool me down as I went into stealth mode and switched to shorts.

KÜHL Renegade Pants are the best of both worlds

Fortunately, the day in the 50s was the worst day as it got progressively better in the Wisconsin Northwoods while we canoed and fished the area. The trip started with early spring weather and ended with early summer weather. KÜHL Renegade Pants were the perfect addition to my outdoor adventure wardrobe in these conditions. Even though it got a bit warmer during the week, it never was warm enough to go into shorts mode. We finished the trip at Sylvania Wilderness in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and even though it got warmer, the wind became a problem.

KÜHL Renegade Pants pulls in a whopper

While I did not have the most success I have ever had on a fishing trip, I did have one bright moment. This was my first time fishing the lakes of northern Wisconsin, so it is always difficult to fish new waters. I was completely skunked the first day and a half of the trip, but that changed with one cast. I cast for a point in the river close to shore. After casting, I put the rod down and paddled away. When I retrieved my pole, I felt resistance, and I had a nice two pound smallmouth on the lure. There is nothing like battling a smallmouth bass. Thank you to my friend Marvin for the epic photo of me bare-handing the smallmouth while wearing my KÜHL Renegade Pants.

Related: Smallmouth bass fishing in the BWCA

Fit to perfection and soft feel

What really stood out to me about these pants were how comfortable they felt. When wearing clothes for outdoor adventure, you don’t want abrasive material as it could cause blistering or chaffing. When doing physical activities like canoeing, fishing, and hiking, one is constantly at motion, so it is crucial to have a comfortable pair of shorts or pants. KÜHL Renegade Pants felt so soft, comfortable, and light. At times, it felt like I was wearing nothing at all. Despite this feeling, the pants were suitably warm and durable. If you are interested in the same pair of pants, click on the link here.

Rained out on the Manitowish River

Day 2 of our Manitowish Waters Fishing trip took place on the Manitowish River. The weather seemed to improve a bit as it was a little warmer. Rain was in the forecast though and a few miles into the trip, it started to rain steadily. It never really poured, but it rained enough to drench us all. Fortunately, the KÜHL Renegade Pants are quick dry, so I was not concerned about my legs, however, I was only wearing the pants over my legs, not my torso. Since the temperature cooled, and we were wet, we decided to call it a day, and call our guy to pick us up halfway through the trip.

Sylvania must mean very windy

The last day in Manitowish Waters was spent heading to Sylvania Wilderness over the border in Michigan’s UP. We did not do any portages and just paddled and fished Crooked Lake. We paddled about two miles from the put-in, fishing the shoreline as we went. Russ and Marv caught a few, but I was shut out on this day. It was not due to effort as I relentlessly cast the shoreline for hours. When we decided to return, we had to contend with gusting winds until we entered a protected channel.

This added an another thirty minutes to our paddle and caused our muscles to really work. Whenever, I hear anything about Sylvania, people always say, “it is just like the Boundary Waters.” Well, I can attest to that now as the Boundary Waters is also noted for the possibility of strong headwinds. I know I have fought a few strong winds in the BWCA and even been grounded a few times.

Different world farther south

When I drove home, I had to get out of the car near Lake Geneva to tie down my canoe a little better. When I opened the door, I was immediately struck by how much hotter and how much more humid the conditions were just a few hours south. This did not bode well for the next day as I was scheduled to go fishing with a friend at Lake Delavan. I drove home to Chicago, went to a concert that night, then the next morning woke up at 5:00 a.m. to head to my friend’s place in Barrington, Illinois. From Barrington, we drove up to southern Wisconsin. We planned on getting an early start due to the weather conditions.

Related: Delavan Lake fishing and boating adventure

KÜHL Renegade Pants stealth mode

Despite the early start, it did not take long to get into stealth mode. I ditched the Renegade KÜHL Pants by zipping off the pant legs, and in less than two minutes, I was wearing shorts. We then concentrated on fishing the shoreline and the piers. A layer of algae along the shoreline made fishing a little difficult. Just about every cast required a cleaning of the jig, removing algae and plants that we dragged our hook through.

We did well though catching a few nice bass. Jim caught a walleye, and we also caught many nice bluegill, a few rock bass, and a couple perch. It always amazes me the array of fish one can catch on the southern Wisconsin Lake. We came in for lunch, had a few mango carts at a bar restaurant that we docked on from the lake. We fished for another hour or two after lunch and called it day as it was getting extremely hot.

Looking forward to many more adventures with KÜHL Renegade Pants

I look forward to many more adventures with KÜHL Renegade Pants. Coming up, I will be paddling the Wisconsin River, the Kickapoo River, and hope to get a few more paddles before winter somewhere. In October, there will definitely be a few hikes on the schedule. Perhaps a trip to northern Michigan is in order for a fall hike. Rest assured, wherever the adventure takes me, I will be taking my KÜHL Renegade Pants thanks to being the best of pants in multiple environments.

Disclaimer

I did receive a complimentary pair of pants from KÜHL. This did not impact my review as thoughts, opinions, and photographs are my own.

Adventure on!