Gearing up for cold weather

O

outsider

Active member
Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
1,538
Late last year I bought 2mm neoprene gloves with fleece liner. Cut just the tip off the thumb, index finger, and the middle finger. That worked out well, no more extremely cold fingers. Yesterday I went to Cabela's and bought waist high 5mm stocking foot neoprene waders. Hopefully I will be able to comfortably fish in cold weather. Anyone else getting geared up?
 
I got my smitty sled skis all waxed up, a new pair of wool liners for my mittens and a contractor pack of hot hands. Oh wait, wrong forum.
 
I use 5mm neoprene bootfoot waders for cold weather. Usually steelheading. Bootfoot are warmer for me, thrown on a second pair of socks with long underwear.

Gloves help but if your hands get wet they can really get cold- take a small towel so you dry them off.

 
Now that you already have stocking foot waders - it helps to wear wading boots that are a size larger than what you would usually wear.
That allows more room to wear a thicker sock - or even two pair.

I like to wear a polypropylene sock liner, with thick wool socks.
I've worn this setup while fishing in february and march - and my feet stay warm
 
I tried my waders with 2 pair of socks, and they fit fine with my wading boots. I don't like wading with boot foot waders, which is why I bought stocking foot waders.

 
^ and you will always be cold cause bootfooots with neoprene are the warmest. I fish a lot so I have several waders. Bootfoot are more clumsy and nay not be as comfortable but when it’s really cold (steelheading) I wont be walking that far.
 
acristickid wrote:
^ and you will always be cold cause bootfooots with neoprene are the warmest. I fish a lot so I have several waders. Bootfoot are more clumsy and nay not be as comfortable but when it’s really cold (steelheading) I wont be walking that far.
Click to expand...

We shall see. In the 80's I bought 5mm neoprene stocking foot waders. They kept my feet warm enough for winter fishing. However, my feet grew a full size larger in my adult years, so I could no longer wear them.
 
Its not that the boot foots are the warmest. Its that they work differently. They allow for better circulation. Neoprene is restrictive and makes it harder to keep good blood flow to your feet.

Boot foot waders also allow a nice warm air pocket to form to keep your feet drier and warmer.

You can keep your hands and feet warm by keeping your head and core warm first. A warm hat that covers your whole head and making sure you are plenty warm and layered from the waist to your neck will do wonders for feet and hands. Socks that wick. Also not using tobacco. Nicotine causes your capillaries to contract.

Your body cares less about your extremities. It knows to send warm blood to where its needed. If your core, where all your vital organs are, is warm, your feet and hands won't be deprived.

So you CAN keep warm in stocking foot waders. You just have to approach the problem differently.
 
Something I failed to say from the beginning. I owned boot foot neoprene chest waders in the past. I ended up selling them because I had a hard time wading with them. A lot having to do with ankle stability and rock bottom streams. I tried on different brands in the past, same issue. Maybe I'm not expressing this correctly.
 
The key to keeping your feet warm, is to NOT have tight fitting boots.
Boot foot waders certainly have a looser fit. But I don't really want to wear them while wading big streams in aprll, when the water can be quite cold.
I still prefer the support of stocking foot with wading boots.

I bought a new pair of waders a year ago. And instead of getting my usual size - large with size 9-11 booties - I got X large with 12-13 booties.
The extra room allows me to bulk up more in cold weather, while still being comfortable. And really made a big difference while fishing this past spring
 
X 2 on this one.
dryflyguy wrote:
Now that you already have stocking foot waders - it helps to wear wading boots that are a size larger than what you would usually wear.
That allows more room to wear a thicker sock - or even two pair.

I like to wear a polypropylene sock liner, with thick wool socks.
I've worn this setup while fishing in february and march - and my feet stay warm
Click to expand...
 
Back when i had a discount on Patagonia stuff i bought their baselayer bottoms and tops--capilene, almost couldnt remember the name--and the heaviest weight ones are incredible for how thin/light they are. These baselayers help you avoid too many layers. After about 3-4 you start looking and moving around like the kid from a Christmas Story. Another product plug is for these socks they made at one time. They had a stupid expensive retail price tag like $60-80 for a pair of socks, but they are the thickest socks ive ever seen. Nothing special about them,just really thick merino wool socks. Anyways, after buying the above items at a steep discount and wondering aloud, "who would pay full retail for this stuff?", i would pay full retail for the stuff now. Its something you need one of and not twelve, and I was glad to have the stuff for hiking trips out west, to iceland, and of course winter fishing.

I still need to figure out the hands stuff. I had full neoprene gloves, and they help a bit, but its really difficult to fish effectively without a decent level of dexterity. Wanna try some type of wool fingerless glove this winter.
 
The best setup for me has been using nitrile gloves like Dentists use and then a pair of base layer gloves with rubber pads on the fingers and palms. You can still tie flies on with the nitrile gloves and your hands stay dry which helps a ton. And it’s easy to slide the other gloves on and off. Once your hands get wet in the cold it’s tough getting them back to a manageable state. I’ve Been pretty happy with this setup as low as 18 degrees. The rubber pads on the fingers and palms make a big difference in holding a rod for me. Wool gloves on cork is just too slick imo.
 
Layering and gear choices are important, especially during fall fishing and colder weather. We recently posted about layering/clothing/cold weather gear on our blog. Some may find this post helpful when gearing up for cold weather outings. Remember, cold weather doesn't mean you won't sweat... proper layering means wicking water away from the skin efficiently and quickly so you don't freeze.
Find other insights from the blog post here: https://www.tridentflyfishing.com/blog/fall-fly-fishing-gear-guide/

Trident Fly Fishing
IG: tridentfly
https://www.tridentflyfishing.com/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages


Real Time Data From
the USGS Site

Share this page

Back
Top