Originally appeared in Florida Sportsman
Wearing a pair of boot-foot waders—the ones with rubber boots attached—my friend and fellow Florida Cracker, Robert Fischer, paddled a canoe in December’s cold water to get to an area of grass flats and mangroves he fishes in Tampa Bay. He got overboard to wade and caught the 6- lb. Sheepshead in the photograph. It was a catch of a lifetime on a 5-wt. fly rod.
Wearing a pair of boot-foot waders—the ones with rubber boots attached—my friend and fellow Florida Cracker, Robert Fischer, paddled a canoe in December’s cold water to get to an area of grass flats and mangroves he fishes in Tampa Bay. He got overboard to wade and caught the 6- lb. Sheepshead in the photograph. It was a catch of a lifetime on a 5-wt. fly rod.
I prefer stocking-foot waders. With ankle-high wading boots that lace up or neoprene wading shoes worn over my wader’s booties, they’re far trimmer and fit better. I look like a fisherman, not a farmer. If I’m fishing slippery rocks, as I did a few years ago Striper fishing in Maine, I can attach metal studs to my boots. In cold water, I wear a fleece jump suit and warm diving booties instead of socks.
I’ve made long hikes to lakes in Colorado, which I wouldn’t attempt in boot-foot waders. They’re too clumsy. Breathable fabric in the waders helps me keep cool, and I can fold the top down to my waist if I get hot. I can also loosen my belt to air things out as I walk. Polypropylene socks wick away moisture.
Fly fishing guides out West wear stocking-foot waders. They hike, climb through bushes along stream banks, and spend long days rowing drift boats, often climbing in and out to fish or position the boat. Good waders— the expensive ones—are comfortable, built to last. An easy to use repair kit comes with the waders.
It’s a myth that you’ll be pulled under the surface if you fall in. The belt that comes with the waders will keep most of the water out until you regain your footing. Any water that gets in simply displaces the water on the outside. You will look like a fool as you flounder to safety to dry out and get warm. I know from experience. Bless those water-tight, roll-down gear bags with an extra sweater, pants and small towel.
Stocking-foot waders run from $80 to more than $700, so consider how many days you’d use them in Florida. You can buy the boot-foot style for less than $50 if you’re not going far or will fish near your kayak. (Check Bass Pro Shops, etc.) Try on both types and stomp around the store for a while.
Why wear waders at all? We do have occasional reports of dangerous bacteria in salt and fresh water. I was wading in shorts once in the summer of 2005 with a friend who was attacked by an alligator at Lake Istokpoga. (He wasn’t badly hurt and waders wouldn’t have helped.) There are gators, snakes and turtles, stingrays, crabs and sharks in Florida waters, but so far they’ve left when they sensed my presence. You have the same incredible human power. I don’t worry about critters. At Lake Okeechobee I’ve been known, like many Floridians, to wade in shorts, barefooted. The danger’s at the beer joints.
Problems with waders can arise unexpectedly. I carefully hung up my expensive Simms waders to air dry after a November duck hunt, so I was surprised to find them smelling like a penguin cage last month when I was sorting gear for a Montana fly-fishing trip. A friend reminded me that after my spicy burrito breakfast in Okeechobee, I’d been breaking wind like a bucking horse, and could easily have ruined any pair of waders. (Can you believe that you can rent waders, like bowling shoes?) I discovered that someone—and I think I know who—had wedged a dead blue-winged teal in one of my stocking foot booties. Payback will be hell.