Booked a trip with Mark Standridge/ Three Nails Guide a couple months back and finally got to go fishing with him yesterday on Lake Fork.

It was supposed to be a Livescope Learning Trip on our boat originally when I booked it. Last week my mom fell and tore her rotator cuff and had to have surgery. My Dad has his hands full while she mends her arm at the moment. They both miss being on the water and my mom is in good spirits.

My older son was able to make some changes with his work schedule that allowed him and my grandson to go out with me on Mark's boat.

It was a truly great day other than at about 11:45am the wind quit and it got so hot in a short amount of time that it truly became unbearable. I did not have my cooling vest because I had to take my cold packs out of the freezer to stock some food. They are back in the freezer and will be going next trip. That cooling vest is a game changer for me.

It was so hot we all decided to call it just before noon.

I learned some new Techniques from Mark yesterday and he was showing me some stuff with the Livescope. I got to watch several fish hit our jigs.

I helped my Grandson put a whopping on some Crappie while Mark was helping my son. We had one over 2 pounds.

We kept 22.

All of us had an extremely great time on the water.

I've been out with Mark Standridge, Cameron Burnett, and Jerry Hancock so far and enjoyed my trips with all of them.

I want to get out with Tommy Ezell, and Slewfoot sometime as well.

We happened to roll up behind Jerry Hancock at Whataburger yesterday morning and I hollered his name a few times but he couldn't hear me. Saw him on the water about 40 yards from us later in the day. We saw Cameron as well.

Just an overall Great Day in good company.

Nice post as always Hogon!

Way to Go big G! EXCELLENT post! wishing speedy recovery for your mother

Tell us more about your Cooling Vest?

How does it work?

How many ice packs?

How long does it last in the temperatures we are having now?

Which brand did you buy, where and approximately how much did it cost?

Yeah, I'm just full of questions today!

You are picking all the great ones brains,.....

Hey Spiderman.

This is the cooling vest I went with due to the fact I can customize the fit to any body type. I'm a big guy.

It's called the premium STACool vest and it's $265.

https://stacoolvest.com/stacool-premium-industrial-vest/

The initial purchase comes with 2 sets of cooling packs. (There are 6 in a set).

I had a chance to use the vest on Fork last year with Dad I got him one as well. It was a game changer for us.

How long they last depends on so many factors from how hot it is, humidity, the individual wearing it, what your doing while wearing it.

I would say like on a day that we had yesterday with high searing heat and high humidity you get a good solid 2.5 hours out of the vest possibly 3 hours. Then you take a 5 minute break and slap in some new packs out of the cooler. You get another good 2.5 hours of use easily. That's 5 hours easy possibly more. This is on a brutal day with a big guy like myself. I bought 2 additional sets of cooling packs. $45 a set. That would get me to a full 10 hours in the most extreme heat and if I was guiding it would be mandatory as a boat and fishing pole.

https://stacoolvest.com/thermopacks-for-stacool-vests/

You have to have a dedicated cooler for the vest cooling packs. You need to keep them cool with frozen ice packs instead of ice. I guess the ice causes them to use energy.

These cooler shock is what I went with for my cooler to keep my vest cooling packs cold:

https://smile.amazon.com/Cooler-Sho...1-1-191b1ae3-0539-4250-ad39-b698e0b800f6

I know they aren't for everyone and many just fish mornings and evenings and take midday off.

What got me to buy a cooling vest was I got introduced to an episode of heat exhaustion while fishing Lake Tawokini at 10:30am last summer and it scared me good. Luckily I was fishing with Dad and he raced me back to the ramp.

My wife who is a paramedic schooled me on the subject that I thought I understood and obviously had no clue about it or the dangers of it. It was an eye opener to me. It can kill you. Now that I've had it I'm more susceptible to it again.

We only got to use the vests one trip at Fork and summer was over, but after the one trip Dad and I both agreed the vests were game changers for us. We fished that trip until 2pm on Fork and there is no way we could have made it that long without the vests.

We only had one cooling pack change at the time on that trip. Now we have 3 changes after the initial set is used. Enough for a solid 10 hours of use possibly longer.

I know Buff2 bought one I'm anxious to hear how it has helped him.

My wife had stocked the freezer with some food and I went to load my cooling packs up and found them in a bag next to the freezer yesterday.



Anyway, that problem is solved they are going out next trip.

I'll report more after my next trip with it and see if my initial observations hold.

Hope that helps.

I do not regret the purchase and wish I had it 10 years ago.

Thank You for the detailed information! I too had heat exhaustion myself about 4 years ago.

Ended up in the emergency room the 2nd day and they gave me 3 liters of saline solution. I couldn't recover just drinking Gatorade and water.

After that I can't take the heat all day in the summer. I usually fished early and come in around lunch.

With July and August right around the corner I may give the Cooling vest a try.

Thanks again for the info!

Heck yeah. Good stuff right there. Mark looks more homeless than me!!

Slew

Lifetime Memories. Also nice slabs.

Wow! Great catch! Looks like a whole lot of fun. Those are some nice slabs.

Looks like the 2946 bridge behind you. Great memories and good fishing. Hope your mom gets better soon.

Memories being made. Wtg Mark!!!!

Great post HOGON! Hope your momma gets well soon!

Thank you guys again! It was good to finally meet you and family in person. Glad you guys enjoyed our trip and got to hook a few Lake Fork slabs.

Hey Hogon, you've been a busy man eh? Handsome looking group you're with. I hope everything works out for the best with your Mom & Dad. They do love to crappie fish. Please tell them I said hello. So, I guess the guy with the beard is the infamous Mark Standridge? You never see him on any of his posts. Just the party he has out with him that day and their catch. Hope to hear from you soon, Asa