How to you guys carry and fish while using wading staff? 8)
I made a staff from the butt of an old broken fiberglass rod with a foot from a heavy steel punch. I tethered it to my wading belt with a six foot dog leash. I carried it twice and found that it was always tangled in my legs or my fly line. Now I carry a folstaff collapsed in its holster on my belt. It still tangles the line once in while but I can live with it.
I carry a Folstaff in a holster while walking. I extend the Folstaff and use a magnetic net holder to keep the handle attached to my wading belt while fishing. That way I can grab and use the staff rapidly if needed. I have permanently numb feet and need a wading staff more than most, so this fast deployment is important to me.
I would either tether it as proposed in the previous answer or, you could put a strap on it and sling it over your shoulder while fishing, like a sling pack.
I have a staff made from a golf ball go getter. I left it long enough to handle any water I was likely to encounter and attach it with a curly cord and made a big clip like on a ballpoint pen that I put on my wader belt. Seems to work pretty good.
I use one of these
http://www.fishusa.com/Pro-Line-Collapsible-Wading-Staff_p.html
I wear it in the holster to the river but when in the river I leave it hang but I have it attached to a larger Key Zinger
http://www.das.com.au/en-au/Products/access-control/id-cards/retractable-holders/zinger-retractable-key-holder-ch
I am tall (and wide) and have a large wading staff that is big enough to have a crutch rubber foot on the bottom. The solution I found was to create a shoulder strap and carry it across my back when i am wading to the fishing spot. If i need a wading staff while fishing I should not be standing where I’m standing.
I loved my folding staff until the bungee started going out…then I hated it with an undying passion…funny, I don’t have that problem with my solid staff.
I carry it on a SCUBA retractor…heavier duty cord and spring. I switch it to my downstream side as necessary, at wading belt level.
Whatever the staff, the current vibration is annoying
Mine has a weighted end that sinks and keeps the staff pretty much where I put it; I loop the cord around my body or over my shoulder; seems to work for me.
I use a 30 yo Folstaf. The end of the Folstaf cord is attached to a french clip
I also have a dual D ring that is a part of a velcro hook and loop system. The upper D ring is on the hook portion and can be removed and the lower D ring is integrated into the loop section. This is sewn on the lower left side of my fishing vest.
When I deploy my Folstaff I clip the end of it to the permanent D ring with the french clip so I can let the staff go. It will remain attached to my vest. I release the staff if I want to tie on a fly or use my landing net, etc.
The other D ring is attached to the handle of my net by a coiled net holder. The top of my net is attached to the by a magnetic net release to the D ring on the top rear of my vest.
This double D ring system allows me to drop either my net or my wading staff and they will remain attached to my vest. I can never lose my net if it gets hung up by a tree branch and falls off while walking to or along the river. Yet I can use the Velcro release to free it from my vest if I want to let my fishing partner use it.
I bought this Double D ring system at a fly shop but it has been years since I have seen it for sale. It can be easily made with plastic D rings and velcro webbing.
In the photo below you can see the two D rings. The net is attached to the up one that is attached by velcro and the lower on is the one that is permanent and used for the wading staff.
Thanks for the replies. I tend to be a minimalist, I must admit i would rather not carry a wading staff. I have used a folstaff knock off a few times on a tether which was ok for river crossing but a nuisance while fishing( I was not smart enough to put it over my shoulder). I may try using a zinger of some sort. I may also try a different wading staff becase the bottom section of my folding staff sticks together if i lean on it even after using candle wax on the connection
I am committed to using a wading after a week long trip in late august during which I fell twice on the white river in Arkansas. I just want to find the most effective & least bothersome way to do it
Ski pole tethered to wading belt. I weighted the tip and that made all the difference keeping it out of the way…see #9 above by [b]Prairieschooner[/b].
a staff made out of a broomstick floats out of the way on big streams, is light, and strong enough for most of us. small streams (yes, i don’t leave home without it) it’s easier to have a folding one. every time i try a Folstaff in the store, an employee has to break it down, so i haven’t bothered with that brand.
I have a Simms wading staff that comes with a cabled line-zinger. For the most part I leave it on the holster when not in use as it easily brakes down.
Lay a big stick down on both sides of the crossing…Cool thing is the sticks are free and theres thousands of em. Down side? They dont look real cool.
I’ve had some of the folding staffs get the tip stuck in mud and come apart, followed quickly by a splash. I like the solid oak with a crutch tip for wading. The idea of weighting it to keep the tip down sounds like an improvement. I do carry a folding model in float tube to make it easier to stand after kicking for hours. Also handy for pushing tube around rocks near shore.
I have the same thought of this thread and like the trains of thought - now - what to do, what to do.
Thanks all.
Mike
I’ve been reading this thread with interest and hoping to find a miracle solution but haven’t seen one yet!
I fish mostly small streams and don’t regularly use a staff. However, I do use one on larger streams and find that I need it more often as I get older. When I do use one, I use a telescopic aluminum hiking pole. It’s no longer telescopic – too much exposure to grit and water – so it stays in wading use position now. It has a carbide tip which bites bottom pretty well. There’s a nylon wrist strap to which I attach a carabiner which attaches to a D ring on my wading / hip pack belt when I’m fishing. It doesn’t float and I push the staff behind him a bit when not in use. The large spring loaded carabiner is easy to unclip from the D ring on my right hip when I want to use it.
I am surprised at the number of people who will use a wading staff on larger streams but not small streams. All it takes is one round rock that turns under your weight. If you fall in knee deep water, you get wet. If you fall in ankle deep water you break bones. I always have a staff - and not one of the ones that is useless when folded in a holster. Solid wood, whether broomstick, rake handle, shovel handle, hoe handle. I’ve used 'em all because it is cheaper make a new one (roughly $10) than to check one as luggage ($25). Strong enough to pry my boot out from between rocks (twice) or put my full weight on if I lose my balance, and it never comes apart when the tip is in rocks or mud. I use a Gear Keeper to tether it to a belt loop. The Gear Keeper is essentially a big zinger which has enough reach so I can use the staff, is strong enough to keep it from floating away, but not so strong that it’s hard to pull against. Gear Keeper
Whatever staff you use, and whatever tethering method you use, I would highly recommend using a staff all the time when in any stream.
I agree totally. Even shore fishing some of the 1,000s of small lakes here in the Uinta’s. I was wishing I had brought my wading staff Sat. As for the Zinger, I had a nice one but alas, it was made of plastic…Plastic breaks! Now I use metal although, there can be a rust issue if you don’t shop around. Really bummed mine broke!