Dry suits for fly fishing

[jeffnles1]

Let me start by saying I'm primarily a warm water species fisherman (bass, bluegill, crappie, etc.). I do fish for trout when the opportunity presents itself but 80% of my fishing is in warm water in warm months.

However, I've taken a bath a few times after losing my footing.

I've never gone in in water that was over my head and most of my falls have involved a simple slip on a rock and a landing on my butt in water that was waist deep at most. These are "quick dunks" but what seems like a gallon of water will soak my shirt down to where the wading belt more or less stopped the flow.

On many of the days I have fallen, the rush of cool water was a welcome thing as the days are warm and the sun is hot.

Now, if I translate this to winter fishing or cold water fishing, I have to imagine most of the falls would be about the same, a quick slip, a landing on the backside, a quick glance to be sure nobody saw you and if they did, that they're not laughing too hard, and then a quick return to the vertical feet down, head up position.

In a case like this, any type of waterproof shirt or jacket worn over the waders would have prevented the spillage of water into the waders. I don't think it would have to be cinched tight enough to trap air in the waders or hinder movmemtn, just a layer overtop of the waders to stop the rush of water on the fall should do.

Now, if you take a serious dunking that involves a slide down the stream, a more robust solution would be called for. On the other hand, if it were really cold out and I went in over my head or fell hard enough to go completely under, having dry clothing in the car or in a zip lock bag in my backpack (if I were a couple miles from my car) would be in order.

I think keeping dry clothing in a water proof bag should be required equipment when winter fishing.

There's no reason to die out there.

Jeff

[pharper]

Just remember if you seal the top of your waders, when you fall the air can't escape, which will make your feet want to float to the surface. This may keep your upper body below the surface, creating a potentially dangerous situation. I myself would rather be wet.

v/r

Bill

I would rather be dry and warm. You won't bob upside down if you have air in you waders... in fact, if anything, it helps you float, feet up/first if you do head downstream.
Just don't panic.

Dry and warm is the key, hypothermia is a big risk that can be easily prevented.

On occasion when on a mountain creek in the winter, I have a friend that wears a fully submersible dry suit. I wore neoprenes and my wet arms suffered... which ment chills at the end of the day. That should have been prevented and could have been dangerous as we were 10 km (quad) to the trucks.

[John Rhoades]

My take on this is 180 degrees from the others, but here goes: I've spent many days steelhead fishing in water temps at 33 degrees and air temps as low as 18 below zero -- and stayed outside from before daylight to after dark, except for an hour or so break at lunch. I've fallen in on a number of these days, sometimes getting wet from head to toe, yet I rarely had to go inside immediately for a change of clothes, yet still stayed relatively comfortable.

The reason? I wear a couple layers of wicking undergarments and fleece from head to feet to fingers, and cover this (except for my gloves) with a material that is both wind and waterproof. I wear a Gore Tex fleece lined hat, and my under pants, shirts and socks are covered with waterproof, breathable waders (Simms) and rain jacket (Patagonia SST).

So, in the unfortunate (but regular) cases where I fall in, my body temperature warms the water in the fleece, but no further air comes in, and I continue to stay reasonably warm. The rainjacket also has an attached hood, which I put up to keep the wind off my neck, which is also very important in keeping warm. If I so feel I'm getting cold, I just have to walk a bit to warm up again, and then I'm okay.

There've been many times when I've gone inside at the end of the day, and the outside of my waders, rain jacket, or the shoestrings on my Korkers are frozen so solid, that I have to have assistance getting my clothing off, while I'm still toasty warm inside the ice.

In conclusion, I don't think you'd be spending your money wisely for what you're suggesting, if you are properly dressed in the first place. However, that's just me.

John