Any advice on a good pair of wading boots for the fisherman on a budget? I’ve been hearing a lot lately about how you should no longer use felt due to the possibility of contaminating streams with non-native organisms.
Any thoughts?
I just bought a pair of Korkers. They have several models with interchangable soles at different price points. Check them out.
I’m another fan of Korkers. You can have soles for literally every condition/requirement.
Mike
While it is tempting to get a cheap pair of boots, you might want to consider that a pair from one of the major brands is likely to last longer than a bargain brand. For example, I started with a pair of Hodgman’s, and they did not last a season. While I personally favor non-felt studded boots, if you shop around a bit you are likely to be able to find a good deal on felt boots considering that they are being discountinued by most manufacturers. I’d recommend studded felt if you can find them. If you are conscientious about your wading and care for your equipment properly, no reason why you can’t take advantage of the closeouts today with an eye toward upgrading in the future.
Luck.
I agree with Whatfly. Don’t skimp on your boots. When I bought my first pair of boots, a standard inexpensive brand, I found that they really hurt my feet even though I bought one size larger to allow for the foot of the wader. So I bought a different ‘standard inexpensive brand’ and had the same problem. That made me decide that maybe I needed to buy a quality boot, and at the time Orvis had a pair on sale that allowed you to change the soles from felt to studded felt to studded hard sole, so I bought those and have worn them ever since, that would be at least 8 years now. They feel great on my feet and I can wear them all day with no foot pain. Orvis stopepd selling that particular style, but as others have mentioned, Korkers has a style that allows you to change the soles. If you end up wading in a creek which has slime covered rocks, the studded felt is the only thing to wear. If you are in someones rigid framed raft or wooden boat, the owner will not want you to wear studs, so the ability to change bottoms is great.
Larry —sagefisher—
Thanks for the replies. I want to get a pair that won’t fall apart in one season, but also don’t cost me an arm and a leg. The Korkers look nice. How do they fit in regards to the size? Do they fit relatively true to size, or do they run big/small?
I took advantage of the sale that Orvis had last month and bought a pair of their new River Guard Side Zip Brogues. I’ve worn them a few times now and love them. They are comfortable and with the zippers are very easy to get on and off. Even with the 25% off they were the most expensive wading boots that I have purchased to date. They are head and shoulders above the $50 Cabelas felt soled boots that I wore for years.
Dave
i’ve had a pair of the korkers for 3 yrs now and i’m hard on them. the korkers run small go up 2 sizes to allow for bootie and socks. take your waders and heavy socks with you when trying them on.
I’m a fan of the ‘don’t skimp’ contingent, but I know the reality of maintaining life on a budget. I have been doing this for years now and am in a position to get some of the better equipment, but it wasn’t always that way. I currently own the newest model of the Simms Guide Boot with the Vibram rubber sole - definitely not meant for the budget minded, but I fully expect them to last for many years and they give me the ankle support I need. I recently purchased some extremely nice felt-soles for my wife and son from Cabela’s. They are well thought out, and show quality construction and I got them for $29 and $39 respectively. For the amount of fishing they do and the waters we fish as a family they are more than adequate. My advice - get the best you can afford and then start saving now for when they wear out and then you can afford the best there is.
Kelly.
Just bought a pair of Chota Abrams Creek boots for my son and after several outings, have been impressed with them. The plan is when his foot grows more (15 years old and the way he’s growing it should be by end of summer) the boots will be mine. right now we wear the same size shoe. My old Orvis Brogues are starting to show their age so the Chota’s will be mine.
These boots still have felt (black felt) soles.
Call me a traditionalist, but I intend to stick with felt as long as the laws will allow.
Jeff
On the invasive species issue, the first question I would ask is are you planning on travelling to different waters? If you plan on fishing the same waters I don’t think you have a lot to worry about. If you plan on travelling from everything I have read you are better off freezing your boots for a day or two prior to use.
In my personal opinion, felt gets a bad rap. Just because the soles are rubber does not mean you don’t have hitchhikers on your footwear. What about the seams where your laces fold over, underneath your insole, etc…
I also have the Chota Abrams Creek, love them - best lacing system ever!
For freezing purposes, you’d probably need to freeze them for a month or longer according to most studies.
Paul
if it’s not too much of a bother could you point me in the direction of those studies?
Whirling Disease: http://whirlingdisease.montana.edu/pdfs/TU_Report_99.pdf
Also if you google Freezing Whirling disease you can see summaries of several reports. I can probably get some of them through my employer’s library if you wish.
Wikipedia (i know not the best source in the world): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myxobolus_cerebralis
“Myxospores are extremely tough: “it was shown that Myxobolus cerebralis spores can tolerate freezing at −20?C for at least 3 months, aging in mud at 13?C for at least 5 months, and passage through the guts of northern pike Esox lucius or mallards Anas platyrhynchos without loss of infectivity” to worms.[9] Triactinomyxons are much shorter lived, surviving 34 days or less, depending on temperature.[10]”
Source: El-Matbouli, M., and Hoffmann, R.W. (1991). Effects of freezing, aging, and passage through the alimentary canal of predatory animals on the viability of Myxobolus cerebralis spores. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health 3: 260–262.
Overnight freezing is effective on Didymo. However, here in Wyoming our main issue is Whirling disease and not Didymo. Here is a good link for reading up on Didymo: http://www.stopans.org/Science_of_felt.php
Thank you very much for the links, I appreciate the time you put into that!
Whirling disease was the one thing I didn’t factor into my response, thanks for setting me straight.
No problem. If it makes you feel any better, I was thinking of Didymo at first as well when one of my search results cross referenced Whirling disease which put me on to those additional links.
Paul