Waders or Not

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mayhap5150

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Jun 21, 2010
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I just started fly fishing last summer and not confident on the most of the ethics. Is wet wading frowned upon?
 
Paging JayL!
 
i know some people have extra toes from wet wading. you have to be careful of all the pollutants in the water..


serious note.

i wet wade pretty much all summer. most times i have a pair of cargo shorts i wear. the old timers really give me looks when i wear basketball type shorts. of coarse they might be looking at the tail i started to grew from wet wading polluted water..
 
mayhap5150 wrote:
I just started fly fishing last summer and not confident on the most of the ethics. Is wet wading frowned upon?


Wet-wading is ethical, as long as you don't pee in the water..:oops:


I'm sure Jay has a comment/story to add about wet-wading.
 
Wet wading is perfectly ethical and, in my opinion, reasonably safe (been doing it all my life with no trouble). Make sure you have good footwear and some sort of long pants. I like the nylon zipper leg pants popular with tropical flats fishermen. I would be careful if you have a significant wound that is not entirely healed.
 
Yeah, the debate is not whether its ethical or not, it's whether we like it or not. It is perfectly ethical from other fishermen's point of view.

For us, though, there are advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of course are when its hot out, the cool water feels nice. And its less to carry, makes you feel lighter.

Disadvantages are that you get scratched up in brush (if you do that type of fishing). And it can be dangerous, for you. That's why they're paging JayL. Water is full of bacteria that can be dangerous.
 
I used to do it all the time in the Potomac and Susquehanna. I must admit that since the decline in the bass population in the Susky, and the intersexed bass in the Potomac, I am less enamored of doing it.

Seeing photos of the the gaping-still not healed after many months- wound in JayL's leg didn't help, either.
 
I wet wade in the summer time on the waterways I'm familiar with. Most of the water I fish on I see people tube'n and float'n along, swimming and having a good time. I guess that there's bad stuff for you in the water but I've never seen kids grow'n a 3rd leg or anything like that. Now I'm talking the tailwater outta Raystown, The Juanita, the Little J, Spruce and other mountain streams. Yes, if I ever saw a need to fish the Schuylkill down off the blue route. Yes I'd be wearing waders.

There is no ethical question with wet wading. Take all the facts in to consideration and do what you wanna do. If your ever out fishing and someone say's something to you about you wet wading just tell him to go talk to the half dozen kids 4 holes down swim'n in the crick.
 
5wt,

No ethical issues w/ wet wading??? What if I have very pale legs that spook all of the fish in the pool ruining it for the other anglers?

Seriously, I'll wet wade in the summer. I do wear long pants though. Ticks, poison ivy and smashing my shins on rocks over the years has gotten me to wear old cargo pants when wet wading.
 
sight_nymph_17109 wrote:
5wt,

No ethical issues w/ wet wading??? What if I have very pale legs that spook all of the fish in the pool ruining it for the other anglers?

Seriously, I'll wet wade in the summer. I do wear long pants though. Ticks, poison ivy and smashing my shins on rocks over the years has gotten me to wear old cargo pants when wet wading.

I think the pale legs wouldn't be the problem..... If your wearing a picture of your avatar around your neck, now that would spook the fish! Gary, Gary, Gary. Last I saw of that guy, he was look'n pretty sad. I always did like him though. It's a shame. Ah well, just don't carry the picture around with you.... You'll do fine.
 
Thanks everyone for the insight. Bacteria never crossed my mind. Glad I posted. It'll make me think before diving in next time.
 
OK maybe i am missing something in JayL's thread and why people say not to wet wade......
He states he had waders ON. not wet wading.

so the way i see it. if he was wet wading he would have seen the cut as soon as he got it and cleaned it up faster...

~Redsun

PS i don't get poison, or ticks. i don't think they like my skin.
 
PS i don't get poison, or ticks. i don't think they like my skin.

But have your testicles dropped back down yet from wet wading Pohopoco today? LOL.

Sight_nymph told me about a dude wet wading the east branch D near the dam release. That is crazy cold.
 
Redsun wrote:
OK maybe i am missing something in JayL's thread and why people say not to wet wade......
He states he had waders ON. not wet wading.

so the way i see it. if he was wet wading he would have seen the cut as soon as he got it and cleaned it up faster...

~Redsun

PS i don't get poison, or ticks. i don't think they like my skin.

I discussed it with my doctor, and it would have been a "severe" injury if I was wet wading.

The waders effectively kept the wound a puncture, and not a fillet job. The wound was directly on the bone.

I have no idea if the bacteria situation was made worse by the waders or not, but I can't imagine that a large laceration would have helped my cause.

It was uncleanable anyway. It was bone-deep.

I guess you do have a point though, in that I would have ended up in the hospital, and probably on heavy antibiotics right away.

It was more a lesson learned in that a seemingly benign slip could turn into a horror. I'll take all the precautions I can from now on.
 
I wet wade, but I always wear my wading boots. I tried some types of sandals for a while, but they fill with gravel and that can get painful! got some neoprene socks for inside the wading boots.
yes, chance of infections if ya fall and get cut, but hell, kids run and swim in streams all summer. you just have to decide for yourself if the risk is worth it.
one benefit, minnows might come up and exfoliate your skin for you! folks pay big bucks at the spa for such treatment!!
 
Jay's story is frightening, but not enough for me to stop wet wading. I start earlier and end long after most.

don't take fly fishing so serious. I throw fliesin a pair of nike shorts, a cut-off t-shirt, etnies, a ball cap turned to the back, and a small Orvis fanny pack from 1980. First time I fish w. some I'm sure they're thinking, is this kid serious?

I love fishing behind a gear hog who can't even throw a loop.
 
Just use your head. My Mom used to put a lap belt around my waist in the front seat when I was little. I wear waders most of the time just because I like to kneel in the water which is just too tough on my knees. Kills my waders as well, but they are replaceable. Also add wild geranium to plants that aren't so pleasant to meet up with. Blisters everywhere!!!!!
 
I think for me there are a couple advantages to wet wading. One is that I'm a pretty aggressive wader and usually end up crossing ridiculous waters to get to the less fished areas. I end up taking a swim most of the times and probably would be dead as water would have filled my waders like air in a parachute and drug me over some pretty steep water falls. Fran betters said he would scope out some big boulders down stream before he entered fast water just in case something like that happened and admitted that practise saved his life more than once. I now wear swimming trunks and t-shirt and wear a fanny pack that I've learned can fill up with water in less than 5 seconds of being submerged (including fly boxes). Another advantage for me is that I usually walk long distances to get to my spots and not having to walk around in the extra gear gives me a little more reserved energy for the fishing and swimming. The disadvantage I found out this year is the poison ivy everyone is warning about. I had to walk through about 100 yards of the stuff and boy did I pay for it. Another advantage for me is that I'm able to feel if the temperature starts heating up. I often find areas where slicks of warm water run and will move up to where the water is cooler and I can tell when I'm coming up on a spring because the temps drop suddenly. I usually start fishing a little harder then. I never considered the ethics of it though and that nasty wound that JayL showed will make me think about packing a pair of waders for those "iffy" waters.
 
JayL showed will make me think about packing a pair of waders for those "iffy" waters

Define "iffy" waters. The bacteria may be worse in some streams than others, but I'm not sure its "pollution" related. I'm sure there are many types of bacteria that can cause infection, but many of them are naturally occurring and exist in even "pristine" waters.

Some waters may indeed be more prone to infection that others, but I think that factor takes a backseat to other factors, such as the nature/severity of the injury and immune system differences. For instance, in Jay's case, he didn't think the injury was that bad, but it went straight to the bone, so the bacteria penetrated past his best defensed area (the skin and flesh) and straight to where he had less defenses to fight it off. Had he fell slightly differently, it may still have punctured his skin and looked just as bad, but he may have fought it off it may have healed over quickly.

Bottom line: just fishing cleaner waters is not much of a protection. The best protection is not to fall and cut yourself!!!!
 
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