Wet wading

[Dave_W]

cl3 wrote:
I wet wade in swim trunks & sandals in the Susquehanna in the summer.

While I'm a wet wader too, I strongly recommend wearing tough footwear when you're in the Susky. Your feet need to be completely covered with strong ankle support and protection.

The sections I fish around H-burg are brutal on feet: sharp edged ledge rock, steep sloping slab, algea covered boulders, knee deep crevices...really treacherous stuff. I wear my Korkers wading boots with cleated over-soles and always have a wading staff, moving very carefully.
Fishing where I fish on that river in sandals will put you in the hospital.

It's worth remembering that the big infection threat to wet wading is getting water into cuts and injuries. Protect your feet with good footwear and keep a tube of Neosporin and a bottle of Hydrogen peroxide in your first aid kit. Any cuts or injuries I get while fishing, even little nicks, get a big dose of this stuff and I stay out of the water until healed.

 

[3oh4]

Cl3 - Simms just showed off a new lightweight wading boot at ICast this week. May be something to look out for next year.

 

[Bamboozle]

I haven't worn chest waders in more than 10 years, I wear hip boots in the dead of winter and come mid April or so I am in quick drying nylon LONG pants and my regular wading shoes (never understood the need for special wet wading footwear).

As far as ticks go, all of my clothing is permethrin treated and I use my wading staff to beat back any nettle I see. So far other than a few nettle encounters which hurt for less than time than getting skunked...

...so good.

Heck I once wet waded the Codorus when it was so cold my legs were numb, my voice went up two octaves and I had to sit to pee for an hour afterwards. ;-)

Bottom line, I'd rather shiver than sweat any day!

 

[cl3]

3oh4 wrote:
Cl3 - Simms just showed off a new lightweight wading boot at ICast this week. May be something to look out for next year.

I'll look out for it, but I am in the market now! int:

 

[cl3]

Dave_W wrote:

cl3 wrote:
I wet wade in swim trunks & sandals in the Susquehanna in the summer.

While I'm a wet wader too, I strongly recommend wearing tough footwear when you're in the Susky. Your feet need to be completely covered with strong ankle support and protection.

The sections I fish around H-burg are brutal on feet: sharp edged ledge rock, steep sloping slab, algea covered boulders, knee deep crevices...really treacherous stuff. I wear my Korkers wading boots with cleated over-soles and always have a wading staff, moving very carefully.
Fishing where I fish on that river in sandals will put you in the hospital.

It's worth remembering that the big infection threat to wet wading is getting water into cuts and injuries. Protect your feet with good footwear and keep a tube of Neosporin and a bottle of Hydrogen peroxide in your first aid kit. Any cuts or injuries I get while fishing, even little nicks, get a big dose of this stuff and I stay out of the water until healed.

Fair enough, and I agree. I should say the sandals are closed-toe "water shoes," or something. I am in the market for something more appropriate, but not heavy either.

My Susky wading is not treacherous (yet!)... I'm in NEPA.

First aid kit in the truck.

int:

 

[JohnPowers]

We are talking apples and pears. SGL on the WB in August. The air can be hot and humid while the release is barely 60 degrees. Fog so thick I can just see my pards rod tip. Sure you can wet wade but how do you enjoy that.

 

[Canoetripper]

I waded the Frying Pan River in Colorado(Father's Day Sunday) wearing the Sims Waders and Wading boots provided by Taylor Creek Fly Shop and the guide I fished with, and my feet got numb from the bottom release from Reudi Reservoir. I should have brought wool socks with me or bought them at the fly shop.

I was too excited to fish and forgot just how cold that water can get.

Good luck trying to wet wade in those bottom release cold temperatures.

Trout thrive there but I doubt that wet waders would last very long. I am not a very big guy @ 6' 170 lbs. but my feet sweat and once my feet get cold, I really suffer.

I've never been a very good deer hunter. Once my feet get cold, I don't care about seeing deer anymore. The deer win and I lost. I can live with that.

Same thing with wading. Sometimes I can only last so long with the most expensive wool socks. My feet always sweat and get cold.

 

[afishinado]

There have been a lot of guys on here that have had infections from wet wading. I'm one of them. I posted a couple of threads from the past about it.

My 2 on wet wading is probably is not an issue on a trout stream, but if the water is in the 50's or low 60's when trout fishing, wearing waders is comfortable.

Wet wading seems to be more of an issue in the summer, in warm water when wet wading would be more comfortable.

I wet waded for years in the summer, mostly in the Susky when fishing for smallies and never had an issue, but had an issue twice in the last few years. I now wear lightweight breathable waders when fishing for smallies.

Here are past threads to show it's not so uncommon for people to have issues wet wading, but many guys never have a issue.

Wet Wading 1

Wet Wading 2

Wet Wading 3

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

I had something worse happen to me decade or so ago.

Timeline:

Brown recluse gets in waders.

Fish in waders and get bit.

Waders break while fishing, bit leg rubs waders near bite site
leaving a sore.

Water gets in sore.

Next day I have tons of blisters and a odd mark.

Go to doctor and informed I have a brown recluse bite and staph infection. Given horse size antibotics

Next few weeks is extreme pain

Now I only wet wade in the summer. Screw waders

Stream I was fishing was Clarks creek


My advice if you wear waders is beat them out before use. While my situation was not the norm it was extremely painful. Picture 2 holes in your leg with staph leaking out. Not cool.

 

[springer1]

My advice if you wear waders is beat them out before use. While my situation was not the norm it was extremely painful. Picture 2 holes in your leg with staph leaking out. Not cool.

Thank you for that, I remember reading an account on the forum about your experience. I think I'll start tying shut the tops of my waders when I hang them to dry, I think they'll dry thru their membranes just fine.

 

[outsider]

Sal, do you not think this was a very isolated incident? Seriously, a tick could be inside your waders from a past fishing trip and you may not know it. They can live without a host for a very long time. Kind of the same thing with a different insect. I'm saying this from experience. Went to put on waders one time and there was a tick. Fortunately it was a dog tick which are easy to spot. Unlike a deer tick which are very minute.

With regard to tying up waders to prevent a spider from entering one? Make sure it is dam tight. Brown Recluse spiders are known for living in dark spaces. Like shoes. The thing about spider bites is you do not sense it when you are bitten.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Yes I think it was a very rare occurance.

Even still ,to this day, i now shake out my shoes, my shirt, my pants, my waders...
It was that bad

As you noted, I never felt to bite

 

[salmonoid]

salvelinusfontinalis wrote:
I had something worse happen to me decade or so ago.

Timeline:

Brown recluse gets in waders.

Fish in waders and get bit.

Waders break while fishing, bit leg rubs waders near bite site
leaving a sore.

Water gets in sore.

Next day I have tons of blisters and a odd mark.

Go to doctor and informed I have a brown recluse bite and staph infection. Given horse size antibotics

Next few weeks is extreme pain

Now I only wet wade in the summer. Screw waders

Stream I was fishing was Clarks creek


My advice if you wear waders is beat them out before use. While my situation was not the norm it was extremely painful. Picture 2 holes in your leg with staph leaking out. Not cool.

How did you ID the spider as a brown recluse? Brown recluse spiders are not native to PA; they can't survive temps below 40 degrees. Their range is the Midwest and states bordering Mexico.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

I didn't.
The doctor did.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/articles.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/07/brown_recluse_closes_school.amp

Brown recluse venom is skin toxic and destructive. A bite area can over the course of several days die (the skin) and develop an ulcer.

To which id say he was correct. In a few days I had a hole in my leg, which they tracked by outlining It in marker, as It healed they kept track of how much in how long to make sure treatment was working.

It happens....

 

[Dave_W]

It's always been unclear to me if BR spiders are in PA.

I've always thought no... and have never seen one here. I think there may be cases of them hitching rides in cars and luggage and winding up in homes however(?). I've met other folks in PA claiming to have been bitten by them.

I can attest that they're common in the South and I've had many buddies on Army bases get bit, often along the head as these critters take up residence in helmets at night. What Sal describes is eactly what I have seen and treated in those bitten by the darned critters. Alhtough rarely a show stopper, it's a locally serious and stubborn injury that necrotizes and takes time to heal.

 

[FarmerDave]

rrt wrote:
After a guy got an infection in his leg from wet wading the Little Juniata River a few years back that could not be cured and he lost his leg because of it, I have foregone wet wading. For you guys who still do it, be careful out there.

Awhile back, a guy on this board (JayL?) got a nasty infection when he fell and banged his shin. Only think is, he was wearing waders at the time. Whacked it hard enough to break the skin.

I've done this before, but never got an infection.

I'd argue that there is likely more nasty bacteria in the average well used waders than there is in the river.

Maybe I have better immunity than most, swimming in farm ponds, and drinking unpasteurized milk. Not at the same time though. ;-)

 

[Swattie87]

FarmerDave wrote:

swimming in farm ponds, and drinking unpasteurized milk. Not at the same time though. ;-)

Pretty sure that's illegal still in some Heartland states.

 

[FarmerDave]

Swattie87 wrote:

FarmerDave wrote:

swimming in farm ponds, and drinking unpasteurized milk. Not at the same time though. ;-)

Pretty sure that's illegal still in some Heartland states.

Do you mean illegal to do them at the same time? ;-)

Not illegal to drink, but is illegal to sell in many cases. I know what you meant.

Similar to prohibition law.

Federal law prohibits sale of raw milk across state lines.

Many states also forbid it's sale. Some still allow it's sale in retail stores, and PA is one of them. Ohio is not.

Ohio doesn't even allow it's sale direct from the farm, but there is a loophole. You can obtain it through cow-share agreements. Buy part of the cow, and you can obtain some of the milk.

Even I can't make that up.

 

[outsider]

When my son was 12 years old he was bitten by spider. He still has a scar on his upper arm. 20 or so years ago my ex brother in law stopped by my house. He was bitten on his thumb by a spider at the Tully. His thumb was gross looking, enlarged and purple.

By the way, both my son and brother in law saw a doctor who told them it was a spider bite.

 

[ebair25]

I had a similar experience with the spider bite/staph on my calf about 8 years ago. No idea when the bite happened, could have been in my waders for all I know.

I always wondered if there was a correlation between a BR bite and staph, as I was treated for both with steroids and antibiotics. When i first noticed an issue there was just 2 itchy spots and joints ached. By the time it was under control there was a crater an inch wide and 1/2" deep.

Also made the mistake of wet wading on the Codorus once, never again.