Wet wade the Main Branch (Au Sable) and hippers on the North. Don't have to bushwhack to either. Now the Manistee I've had to bushwhack a few times, usually at night with no moon and forgot my big light. (had a clip-on hat light) That was a different kind of fun.
Not recently, but I have wet waded the Bitterroot in summer, wading boots with socks and lightweight flats-type pants. I use to fish the main stream of the Au Sable the same way. I've always wondered if flats booties would work - anyone try them?
Bamboozle, Whats nettle? I'm wondering beause a few years back the bro in-law and I were fishing the Susquhanna right were the Penns enters it, In fact we crossed the Penns entering... We got into what his doctor told him, Was some kind of bacterial infection..He got the worst of it... Well My sister did atually through...ummm... Association shall we say.... Upon getting home I thought the itching was from poison, So I tossed a cup of clorox in the bath water!. Nipped it in the bud with almost no discomfort! I still wade in shorts in cooler waters. Buy if I'm hitting water that resembles bath water temps..some sort of lightweight pants tucked into the socks/boots is a good idea!
Wish ya great fishing,Bill
Bill:
Nettle or stinging nettle is a nasty little plant that has really fine needles on the leaves that inject substances in your skin that give a stinging or burning sensation. It feels like your skin is on fire when you come in contact with it and it leaves a rash.
Even though I wear long Supplex nylon pants when wet wading, it doesn't keep the nettle from stinging you but it's DEFINITELY better than shorts! I once had to walk though 200 yards of the stuff to get to a wadable section of the Brandywine Creek and I thought I was going to burst into flames. Getting into the water helped sooth my pain literally & figuratively.!
johnstoeckel..........these pants are are nylon and very tough and fairly quick drying http://www.lapolicegear.com/5tanypa.html
GM
Once the water gets warm enough for it, I love to wet-wade. In fact, if I do go that route, my whole approach to the fishing changes. I go from waders, full vest, etc. To a t-shirt, shorts, one fly box, one spool of tippet, floatant, hemos, and nippers. On my feet I also go minimalist, donning my Vibrams and "barefooting" the streams.
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/pro...ucts_KSO_m.cfm
It doesn't take much cold to getting my old joints aching nowadays. To many rough parachute landings I guess. I usually wear waders with fleece pants under them, even in summer. Though wading glacier fed streams does get real chilly even during a heat wave.
REE
Happiness is wading boots that never have a chance to dry out.
Did it for the first time in years last season. Felt great, but sure enough, somewhere along the line my left leg got into some kind of poisonous plant. Terrible itching, then scabbing, and now scarring. Never had anything like it before.
Thankfully, my daughter didn't get in it. Had she, I never would have heard then end of it from her mom and stepmother.
Ah yes, the poison ivy. I get it pretty easily. Every time I use the weed-whacker, some times that I just mow the lawn, even once (on my legs) while wearing waders (explain that one!). I've had poison ivy in mid-February with 8" of snow on the ground, got it during a week of vacation at the beach, with no poison ivy in sight, and even on a ski trip. I get it so easily that I've pretty much given up on trying to avoid it, and just kind of accept it as a necessary evil of having fun in the outdoors. A new spot of it showed up on my right forearm a few days ago...the 4th or 5th case of it this summer. Oh well. Stinging nettle is some nasty stuff too. If I'm bare-legged, I will reroute my path to the stream to avoid a thick patch.
Bamboozle & others: if you run afoul of stinging nettle, look around for some jewelweed. Crush up the stems of the plant and rub it on the affected area. It will temporarily help relieve the pain, itch, and burn of nettle...usually long enough for you to get in the water.
with the tempature over 90 for the last 4 days, I went to our beach yesterday and proceded to catch a few bass while soaking at waist level. problem is the water is very warm and feels more like bath water.
-Jeff
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