Belts and suspenders are a must. Water must never get into a wader from the top, especially in faster current because buoyancy will be lost and the waders plus water will act as a lead weight. Because of a small amount of trapped air, the lower body is more buoyant and your legs feel twice as light when walking. A chest belt must be pulled snug to prevent water from coming in for safety as well as comfort. Suspenders keep everything from falling down when shore-walking.

Moss and other slippery algae make slipping and sliding a challenge to stay upright, so the addition of a few things prevents spills. One is a walking stick. Three legs are better than one, so for that unexpected boulder at knee level, it pays to always use a pole or stick to navigate around obstructions and to feel for the five-foot holes that occasionally present themselves. The stick or pole also stabilizes the body as it begins to fall.

Another trick-of-traction is to glue thick felt to the boot or sandal bottoms. Sometimes it makes a difference but at other times is seems it adds to instability. An important note to the pole is to always add a two or three foot bungee cord and clip, so that if it gets away from your hand, it doesn’t get lost downstream or underwater but remains attached to a vest or wader loop.

Since rubbing is the bane of wading, it pays to find a way to pad the ankles because sweat and wet socks don’t mix and turn cotton into sandpaper. Usually a padded ankle support does wonders. If your sweat pants are wet, it’s not usually a leak, but only unevaporated perspiration. This is another reason to have a change of pants and underwear before driving home for over and hour.

Vests can be worn to hold lures, snacks in waterproof containers, fishing licenses, id and a host of other useful things. One very useful attachment is a rod holder Velcro loop in front of the chest, above the top pocket. It helps when carrying two rods, with one in one hand and the wading stick in another or when changing lures or unhooking flopping fish. Waders commonly also have them to allow a hand or hands to be free. The vest may be worn inside the waders or outside. It depends on how much access you need to the lower pockets and whether the items need to be kept dry.

If a small tackle box is toted, it pays to make sure it’s watertight and that a strap and clip attaches it to your vest or waders. Again, the rod holder allows you to open the box and fumble around for tackle with two hands.

The nice thing about yaking or canoeing is that you can carry far more stuff when accessing or traversing deepwater areas but which allows you to wade shallow stretches once you get there. The canoe also acts as a buoy for holding onto when negotiating rocks and faster, shallow riffs that have to be portaged.

One most important rule of wading is to never wade in high, fast water where one slip will pull you in and under. Some anglers wear CO2 – inflatable, fishing-life vests for emergencies, but if one is careful and mindful of current and depth, the life vest isn’t necessary. Water temperature should always be approximated and respected as the life-threatening element it is, due to fast, heart-slowing hypothermia. The author of this essay learned the hard way and almost drowned trying to swim to a snagged lure in 50-degree water. Another thing to remember, besides using the pole’s end to feel what is ahead of you, is to shuffle or slide your feet for firm footings and to avoid knee knocks on rocks. Do this at all times to avoid spills!

Wading can get you to areas not accessible by boaters and to pools that few ever fish. With the right equipment and with safety and caution always in mind, wading can be the vehicle of choice to great fishing, especially since you’re level with the fish.

By: Frank Manuele, Published: 3-14-2004