Wet Wading

I guess I've fished just about every way there is to approach a fish at one time or another. From little tiny hand made boats I built myself and paddled around small ponds to big factory made boats out on the ocean. Small wooden docks on stock tanks to mile long pay-your-way piers on the beach. From the bank, kayak, canoe, inflatable, pontoon, and various kinds of tubes and rigs. I've waded cold water in waders.

My all time favorite way to approach fish is wet wading in warm water. I don't know why really, it's not the most convenient way to fish. You have to carry everything on you when you wet wade, or drag a floating platform around behind you, which I don't but my wife does. It's difficult to have cold drinks handy or snack foods. Most of the time the water is waist deep making casting that much more difficult, and less leverage to fight the fish. Unless you know your spot real well there's always the chance of stepping off into a hole, or off a ledge and going down deep. Snakes can get just right up in your face and not much you can do about it too. Hard to move fast when you're deep in the water and the footing is a bit slippery or rocky. And snakes do like the kinds of places I like to fish. If it ain't snaky it probably isn't going to be real productive fishing either.

But it is my hands down, no holds barred, second place is very distant at best, favorite way to fish. I'll do it bare legged when the water is cold, cool, luke, warm, or hot. I like cool the best but will take what I can get. I stop when the water gets cold enough to make my feet go numb. I stop there because experience has shown me that these warm water fish just sull up and won't hardly bite then - and if you can get one on they "just lay there" as you bring them in, no fight to them.

I love the feel of water, the closeness of it when I'm in it. The startled feeling I get when something unseen brushes my leg. The smell of the water when it's warm. The little puffs of silt that kick up with each step. I like feeling the rocks move around under my feet or the snap of gravel, noises I try to minimize but still like the feel.

I love bringing in a fish that is nearly at eye level to me, watching a good bass jump higher than my head because my head is just above the water itself. I like it when I release a fish and as it darts away it splashes water in my face. I like the way the released fish will often think my legs are protective cover and bump against them a few times before figuring it out and jetting off.

I like the sense of buoyancy my body fat provides, reducing the strain of gravity when I'm chest deep. I like the way the current helps me move when I'm going with it, and I like the resistance when I'm going against it.

I don't get those things from a boat or a bank or a dock or a pier. I get good things from those dry places, yes, but not the really good things I get from the wet places. Snakes and all, I'll take wet wading any day over any other approach to the fish.

I couldn't agree any more! Wet wading is by far my favorite way to fish too! Heck, I don't even have a pair of waders I wet wade so much! It's by far the most soothing in the summer. I've even wet waded the LMF River during Thanksgiving Break in late November I love wet wading so much!

LMF during Thanksgiving would be a bit too cool for me - that's where I've worn the waders at.

It's only cold until your legs go numb.

Just don't take a hot shower after your legs go numb. That can be a rather needling experience.

More usefully -- wet wading a trout stream on a summer day is the bees knees. Just enough to stay cool even on a hot day. I find the water here to be too warm for my liking -- was wading on Sunday and it felt like tepid bathtub. Which would have been OK if it wasn't also 90 out.

On the other hand, I've never owned waders, so what do I know?

Lots of times in the summer I'll be up to my waist and sweating heavily above the water. A good hat helps a lot.

Nice post! Wading is also my favorite way to fish, especially in moving water.

I hate waders, don't like putting them on, don't like the heat they produce. I don't fly fish much in winter months just because I don't like to put waders on. Wet wading trout streams is definitely my favorite.

Wet wading/fly fishing is my favorite as well. I prefer the simplicity. Just me, my waders, fly rod, small fly box. Chasing trout is the best but since that is strictly a winter time option around here I'll fish for whatever is in the river.

I with you on this one. My son and I have a twice a week appointment to the johnson branch unit on Lake Ray Roberts. We go to the point and wade all over the place. The first time we visited that lake most of the picnic tables were under water. We waded out to one that was submerged just under the table top and dropped all our gear there. Lots of bass, catfish and drum. having to go back to the bank to get drinks and stuff is a drag. I saw a guy online that built a floating barge out of a wake board. It look pretty simple to build. I take a cooler out with me and use one of my anchors from my Kayak. A kayak is also a nice floating bar. I've seem some stubby ones at walmart for 80 bucks.

Lloyd5, you are correct, its my favorite type of fishing. Seems to help support my back. It also keeps my son engaged with the fishing. He will get bored and just swim around for a while, but when i start catching, he grabs his rod and starts fishing. If we were on shore he would be pulling grass and asking me if he could go back to the truck. So its a Win, Win for me.

Brad

I used to fish the trinity coming out of benbrook and always kept a pair of shorts in my truck so I could change as we closed down the shop at night. I've spent many hours wade fishing and do enjoy it. Now that I live in an are that has a lot more snakes and not a lot of running water I don't do it any more. After things get cool enough for the snakes to go to sleep I might just have to get in the water again. Thanks for reminding me of this pleasure.

I really enjoy wet wading, too. Son gave me a sling pack for my birthday. Best thing to improve wading I have seen.

Simpatioc. Every sentence of the article speaks to me. Snakes, rocks, cold, hot, etc. Some of my most memorable catches have come from wet wading the banks of Twok's Fish Point. The grandkids love it too. Now we are just waiting for the water to cool down enough for the fish to move up shallow and get in casting range.

When I was a kid during the summer my mom would drop me and a buddy off at the JFK causeway and we would fish the Packary channel. When there was a high tide we had to wade out 40yds or so to reach the edge of the channel. She'd be back to pick us up at lunch time. I learned to fly fish wading around the more gradual banks of Canyon Lake. Then I got a boat and bass fishing got serious. I think sometimes I should of stayed in the water. I spent this morning wading waist deep around a stock pond throwing deceivers for bass with my 7wgt. Most relaxing.

Heck yeah I wade wet. When we lived in Leslie, I was in the first grade and dad was the principal of the school. Our fly rods and chain stringers were in the trunk of the '56 Chevy. We'd go straight from school to the Little Red and come home to hot grease with full stringers. That I will never forget. Another wet wading memory is the bear in the trout stream.

One of my all time favorite experiences, and memory, is taking my two grandsons wet wading. This was a bunch of years ago, they were pretty young, about 5 and 7 years old or thereabouts.

We were in water that was a bit over their waists, around my knees. The younger one farted and was amazed at the bubbles that came up, and the delayed but potent smell. He got so tickled I though I was going to have to do CPR. His brother was laughing too and then squeezed one out and the laughing increased. I regret to inform that grandpa was complicit in this laughter.

I've never seen two kids so full of gas, they kept it up for the better part of an hour.

No fish were caught during this bubble phase, but what a great time. I'd like to think that grandma would have enjoyed it had she been there, but I suspect that only boys and men will understand.