Wading Staffs

[bspitt]

I like to use one. Mine too is a modified telescoping hiking pole from Target (el cheapo) but it works for me. I have considered purchaseing a new collasable one. But I have a few questions. 1st remember I am a big guy - pushing 300#.
What is the difference between a $40 off brand and a folstaff or simms for more than double that price?
I am aslo curious about your teathers for the telescoping ones. Do you leave the teather hooked too you while using the staff? If so how long is the teather? Reason I ask this is that I have issues with my telescoping one getting tangled in my fly line while it is drifting behind (or to the side of me). Thanks for any advice.
Brannon

[John_N]

I posted on the other thread before I saw this one, but like I said there, I was never anyone that saw a need for a wading staff and probably wouldn't have concluded as much even today - I'm young enough, agile enough, big and tall enough, etc. I got one many years back for Fathers Day from my wife and kids, not because I'd fallen or anything but probably just because it was one of the few FF-related things they could think of that I didn't have. I had little expectation of using it, but put it on my wading belt anyway. Once I finally took it out and used it, I quickly realized how much better (not just safer) I could get around, and now I wouldn't be without one. Don't use it anywhere near all the time, but there are times when it's night and day vs. wading without one.

As to which one or which type, I think this is one of those topics that frequently breaks down into two camps. I definitely prefer the collapsible type that many have mentioned. Light, compact, unobtrusive, but there when you need it. From there, it becomes an argument of the Simms (locking) type vs. the Folstaff (snap into place) type. The locking type requires a second hand to reach down there and push (lock) the top section into place, the other type is shock corded and requires only one hand to get the sections to snap together with a little bit of shake. It's a recurring debate and one that will never result in a clear consensus I suspect, but I strongly prefer the Simms/locking type. As I lived over and over again on a rock-strewn stream I waded just a week and a half ago, there are times when the bottom of your staff will wedge momentarily between rocks. The claim against the shock corded (non-locking) types is that such a situation will sometimes cause the sections to pull apart, and I'm not interested in discovering after the fact that the 56" staff that I thought I was leaning one was momentarily just a fraction of that!

[kimshew]

I had two major surgeries on my hip and ankle last year and would already have taken some bad spills since then if it hadn't been for my wading staff.

What works for you?

Kelly.

I, too, have bad ankles and knees and must use a staff, in some situations. I use a telescoping model and clip, at shortest setting possible, it to my vest high on my left shoulder area. It is virtually 100% out of my way, rigged like this. ( I don't have a picture of how I rig, but could take one, I guess ) I only need it in bad areas (ankle roll stuff ) or for big steps ( my knee won't bend very far ). When I need it I un-clip it, telescope it, unroll a tether cord and clip it to my wading belt so it drags along behind like a classic staff. I've tried several different telescoping staffs and that, in itself, reveals their main drawback ..... they don't last too well, the locking mechanisms fail over time. I've tried folding staffs ( gave one away to a stranger last year, hated it ) and sometimes still use a simple solid one on occassions where, either I know I'll use it all the time, or I know I ONLY need it for the big steps into and out of the river, in which case I leave it on the shore stuck into the bank

[oldfrat]

I really need my wading staff these days. I won't wade without it.

A fishing buddy and I have had a running debate on which is best--FolStaf or Simms. I was very partial to Folstaf at the start cuz I loved how you could grab it out of its holster with one hand and have it deploy automatically. My friend was partial to Simms cuz the sections lock in place. We finally just agreed to disagree. It became easier to agree once I reached the point where i needed to have the staff ready to grab in an instant. I now use a two-piece net magnet for this purpose. I have the staff already extended. The net magnet keeps the handle at my waist very close to hand, not floating downstream someplace. It is ready for a very fast grab if needed.

[herefishy]

I use the magnetic net holder for my staff, too, it's a folstaff knockoff and I just leave it extended. When I need it, I don't want to fumble around at all.
Another thing that has helped me is that the therapist when I was treating a back injury told me to stand on one leg and then the other to improve my balance. A big help to do this is to look at something only a foot or so away at first, then extend the distance as your balance improves.

[DaleW]

Getting to that age myself where that agility of picking my way around a rocky stream like I did years past seems to have waned!

I've tried a couple different collapsable ones that folded and carried on my wading belt, but my favorite is a straight cedar limb I cut from a tree behind the house. Drilled a hole through the handle end and strung a length of looped bungie cord so that it can attach to the same wading belt when not in use. What I like best about it is that it's quiet when working my way through the submerged rocks.

[Lotech]

My wading stinks at best so I always used one when I waded. I don't wade anymore but I still use the wading staff to walk from point A to point B on terra firma. Once I'm at streamside, I sit ln a portable bench.

[JohnScott]

....Another thing that has helped me is that the therapist when I was treating a back injury told me to stand on one leg and then the other to improve my balance. A big help to do this is to look at something only a foot or so away at first, then extend the distance as your balance improves.

Karen -

Thanks for posting this observation.

For years, my work out regime included an exercise of standing on one foot while swinging the other for a period of time, and then reversing the foot positions and repeating the exercise. I would do five sets of these warmup / balance exercises every work out session.

A year and a half or so ago, I changed my routine and stopped doing that particular exercise. Last summer, I started to question my balance, and decided to go back to that exercise to see if it would help.

It absolutely did. I have as much confidence in my balance now as I did a couple years ago. I would recommend that kind of exercise to anyone who is going to be wade fishing, whether they intend to use a wading staff or not.

John

Now back to your regularly threaded discussion .....

[Z Fisher]

....but my favorite is a straight cedar limb I cut from a tree behind the house. Drilled a hole through the handle end and strung a length of looped bungie cord so that it can attach to the same wading belt when not in use. What I like best about it is that it's quiet when working my way through the submerged rocks.

I used to use a nice wood one that I made myself until I started getting into pocket water fishing. The heavy current coupled with the wood's desire to float required just too much effort. I have since switched to a ski pole type and then to a folstaff style staff that has worked out quite well. I still like the wooden stick, but the metal ones seem to get the job done better.

[hungNtree]

I got one, and never wade without it. I was laid up for about 6 months a couple of years ago, but 3 knee surgeries later I am walking and wading again. I NEVER go without it.

hNt