Been feeshin' nigh on to 52 years and fly feeshin' for 44 of them. I still wet wade, did so just this past Saturday. It seems that during warm weather I've been wet wading almost as long as I've been fishing. I cannot stand the gravel that gets in tennis shoes or sandals so I cut the feet out of an old pair of stocking foot waders and use them as socks and my wading boots and gravel guards. Works great too! I almost always wear shorts. The only body of stillwater I fish is a neighbors lake and there I use my kayak or canoe. Never did wade ponds or lakes when I was a kid, just our Ozark creeks and streams.