Here in Ohio, it’s been a very hot summer & many are wet wading. Hot as it may be, I am NOT one of those. As a kid (50-55 years ago) I did, but no more. In my opinion, there are just too many potential hazards, including bacteria & debris to take that chance. I guess I look at it like carrying a wading staff or wearing a good hat…It only takes ONE time of needing that protection & not having it available to result in illness, injury, or possibly even death.
Just curious as to others practices.
Another interesting side of this is how many years you have fished (ANY type fishing) along with your opinion about wet wading.
I have avidly fished for over 55 years…wet wading?..No.
Mike
I have fished for over 55 years, but have fly fished for only about a dozen years. I fish moving waters exclusively and they never get warm in Colorado.
I have a strong preference for wet wading whenever that is an option. I wear nylon pants, wading boots, and heavy synthetic socks to wet wade. I’m in no danger of cuts or punctures, and the cold water does not bother me at all. It feels a lot more natural and I avoid the hassles of putting on and taking off waders or hippers. Hiking in and out becomes no problem. Wet wading in hopper season is a true joy!
When there is snow on the banks I wear hippers or waders.
I live in Indiana so share the same warm water weather as Ohio. I’m closing in on 60 so I agree with Ohiotuber. Wet wading is for kids. Scrambling over rocks, fence rolls, and sunken corn cultivators (for real) requires as much protection as possible. I refer you to the fellow member who contracted giardia by simply touching his mouth after releasing a fish. (And, I’m not interested in messing with brown water snakes while wearing shorts…)
I wet wade whenever feasable in moving waters. I don’t go wet in my tube in warmwater haunts…too many critters.
Mike I have fished over 56 years. Started fly fishing when I was 15. And I still wet wade the local rivers. Even though I have breathable waders, it is still too hot to wear them. I seldom wet wade in shorts but prefer to wear quick drying nylon fishing pants. I also have a pair of Hodgman canvas lug sole wading boots that I wear.
I’m 40 (still a kid). I grew up on a slow, muddy river and have been fishing with my family since before I can remember. I started fly fishing in my mid 20s. I wet fish all the time for trout and a lot of the time for bass. I just can’t seem to stay out of the water. It drives my dad crazy because he has to get wet to keep up. I wear shorts and usually go barefoot in the cool, fast waters. I might throw on a pair of sneakers if I plan on mucking in warmer waters. Might wear jeans if there are a lot of leaches or other stuff. I try to be careful about getting stuck in mud but it happens. I have lost a few sneakers but otherwise have stayed out of trouble.
I wet wade when the air temperature is above 90. When I do wet wade I don’t wade as agressively. I don’t wade in ponds I will usually have a kayak under me.
I usually stream fish for trout in the fall through early summer so waders are appropriate. Occationally I need a trout fix in summer but I can not wear waders when it is 106.
I’m only 48, but all of this right down to the location!
Brown Watersnakes? EEEwwww. Bacteria? No thanks. Thank the Maker I live in CA where the waters I fish are cleaner than that. When the temp gets hot, wet wading is the only way to fish…keeps me a lot cooler than “breathable” waders. I wear wading boots with neoprene booties under. I wade just as agressively, maybe moreso, as I don’t have to worry about the water slopping over the wader tops. The only change I sometimes make is to leave the vest at home, wear a fishing shirt and put a box of flies in the pocket.
Most of my wading is done in northern Illinois. Just about every river that I fish has water treatment plants that output treated water into the rivers. Some rivers have cows that like to wade in the rivers. I know a couple of people that have picked up skin infections after wading in these rivers. Consequently, I wear waders when I fish these rivers because it is not worth the risk of getting an infection. In hot weather, I wear waist high waders. In clean north woods rivers or on trout streams, I will wet wade.
I am fortunate to be in No California so have some very clean rivers. Just turned 50 this year so do not have near the experience of may of you. been fly fishing almost 20 years and early on never would wade wet back then it was in neoprenes. Now more often than not it is wet wading but always with good wading boots or wading shoes and long pants. I can see if I were scrambling about on junk iron or dealing with snakes thaking that extra layer for good measure and peace of mind but in my environment the risk/reward seems to favor the wet.
Just depends on the water and the season. At my tender age (I was born in 1934), if it’s deep enough for waders I now try to use a canoe. Otherwise hip boots, or if I trust the water I’ll wet wade while wearing shorts and sneakers (of course) … although there was a time I would have done so bare foot!
Unfortunately no nowadays. Nevertheless, I fall in enough that it probably doesn’t matter anyway…:lol:
Kelly.
I wet wade a lot, all over, been doing it forever. If the water is so badly screwed up that I would have to worry about mysterious bacteria or “skin infections” I certainly wouldn’t want to be fishing there to begin with. I too have heard, always second or third hand info, about people getting bad skin infections “after wading in the river”… of course we don’t know what the heck else they’ve been doing. I’m going to come out and say you aren’t going to contract a giardia infestation by touching a wet tippet to your lips, unless you’re standing in the middle of a herd of beavers, in their own pond. Again, we don’t know what else that person might have done to contract something causing intestinal distress— absense of giardia AFTER treatment doesn’t in any way prove it was there BEFORE treatment.
If the water is that toxic or hazardous, you don’t want to be taking the risk of falling in while wearing your waders.
I’ve lost count of the water snakes which have swam around my feet and between my legs, and have never, not once, been bothered by them. Moccasins are a different story, but regular old water snakes are totally harmless.
I will be wet wading this Sunday possibly in the Adirondacks. It might be a little cold (air 80s, water 60s) but why not. Its still summer. Im 25 and been fishing for well, 20 years! I guess it counts when I was that young but i never remember not fishing.
Nothing beats wet wading a cool mountain freestone in August with a little box of hopper patterns in your pocket.
Curse you young Ben, curse you! 
Kelly.
You mean kinda like so …
Dale,
Feel free to submit that hopper as a Fly of the Week. It’s a fine-looking fly.
I don’t wet wade much anymore. After I got old enough to learn about leeches, I quit wading in shorts. I’ve done a fair amount of wading in old jeans and old combat boots. The jeans were tucked in and there were two wraps of bootlace around my ankle. (You can do that with 72" boot laces.) Combat boots lasted for a year or two of wading if the leather has been fully saturated with polish. (Burning it in with alcohol is good, if you know how.) In fact, the boots I waded in failed at the thread that held the sole to the uppers. The leather was still in pretty good shape. I wore boots to keep out gravel. The jeans were to keep out leaches. Snakes are always a potenetial issue down here. I usually have more respect for my upholstry now and try not to soak it with river drippings. I consider a towel in my truck as standard equipment.
Ed
I fish mostly trout streams with relatively clean, moving water and if it’s warm enough, I have no problem leaving the waders in the truck. Just got back from MT/YNP and, except for 3 days on the Lamar, I wet waded the entire time; the Lamar wasn’t warm but the the biting flies were as much an issue. Same with the Gardner, although if the cactus there were any higher, I’d want to consider gaters or something (same thing if there were any buzzworms around). I’m 56 and don’t mind scrambling around on rocks (it’s like hiking, with benefits), although wading waist deep will sometimes remind me just how cold 65 degree water can feel!
Regards,
Scott