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Comfortable Wet Wading (Guest Article)
by Randy S. Breth

During the summer months, many wading fishermen want to ditch their hot, bulky waders and go wet. But many times wet wading can be as uncomfortable as hot, sweaty waders if you aren't prepared with the right gear. So, starting at the top, here is a selection of clothing and gear that will keep you cool and more focused to catch more fish in the heat.

Hats
Many fishermen wear simple baseball style caps that perform well, but they don't keep the sun off of the back of the neck. The flats style cap, with the fold down sun flap in the rear is a much better choice, as is any style of full brim hat, from the “boonie” jungle type to the Stetson. A hat that blocks the sun and is lightweight can keep you much cooler. A darker color under the brim keeps sunlight reflected off the water from, in turn, reflecting off the underside of the brim into your eyes. For the past few seasons I've been wearing a Stetson style hat with a ventilated crown. It's cooler than the cotton baseball caps I used to wear. Looks better, too! If you fish in windy conditions, try to find a hat with a chinstrap. This sounds and looks a little funny until the wind blows your favorite hat off your head and into the main current of the river never to be seen again! One trick I learned is to spray insect repellant on your hat. This keeps insects away and repellant off your fly line when you wipe sweat off your brow and then touch your line again.

Shirts
Most people wear T-shirts in warm weather, period. But if you wear a fishing vest on over a shirt with no collar it can rub the back of your neck or pull your shirt back, leaving you with a nice sunburned area at the end of the day. A collared shirt that is lightweight is not hard to come by, either polo style or button down. My favorite material is good old Madras cotton, but many new “technical” breathable fabrics, such as Supplex, are available. Short sleeves are very comfortable, but sunscreen is messy and I prefer to roll sleeves up or down as the day goes on. Sometimes long sleeves with a breathable fabric can be cooler than letting the sun bake your skin, not to mention avoiding the risks of long term sun exposure. Whatever you choose, it should be light colored, like khaki.

Vests
Most of the time a vest is a necessity to carry all the gear us fishermen will use (or think we will), but anything extra you wear when it is 95 degrees out is going to make you suffer. A small fanny pack or similar tackle bag will keep you much cooler. Remember that something in a tackle bag around your waist will get wet when in an upper pocket of a vest it would not. (Unless you take a spill!) In other words, don't carry gear you don't want wet, where it will get wet. A small waterproof zip-lock bag will keep your wallet dry. I suffer a little, but still wear a vest, but it is a lightweight, mesh vest. No matter what method you choose to carry your gear, pack a good amount of water in it to last the day. Dying of thirst is distracting!

Pants or Shorts
O.K., I'll admit I am not really a shorts person, but when it's really baking outside, even the lightest pants feel hot. So, on some rivers I know well, I'll show some leg. The disadvantage of shorts is that if you have any amount of bank side scrambling to do, you can get insect covered and scratched from vegetation easily. Can you say "poison ivy"? Even light, Supplex pants will protect you from that. So, on rivers that are not really familiar, I stick to pants. If I do walk the banks for a short time and get right back in the water, it seems that the ticks and other insects don't have a chance to take hold. Old blue jeans sound good, but when wet are heavy enough to sink the Titanic, and uncomfortable to boot. Light weight khaki's are pretty good, and poplin or other light common fabrics hold up well, but none are as light weight and comfortable as Supplex. Some pants have zip off legs that convert them to shorts. My thoughts are that some people will lose one leg, or if you are like me a zipper will stick on you at the worst time. Pick one or the other. Pants that have regular waistbands tend to stretch when wet. A little elastic help keep them up, and keep your shirt tucked in, too.

Underwear
Yes, I am really going to talk about this. Regular cotton underwear stretches when wet and holds moisture near your skin. It can be aggravating. Some shorts and pants that are meant for wet wading have a built in brief. Columbia and Cabela's Guidewear line are my favorites. I like these a lot, it would depend on if they were comfortable to you. If you like “boxers”, probably not. Underwear that is made for high performance athletes, such as triathlon competitors, that get really wet and sweaty, may be an answer. Whatever you do, don't deal with irritating and uncomfortable underwear. Find something else.

Wading shoes
The wading shoes you have now may be all you need. But if you have shoes sized to go over heavy waders, they are probably too big. A separate pair may be the only answer. I have worn many pairs of old hikers as wading shoes and this worked because the rivers I fish mostly have mixed gravel bottoms, not solid rock. If you need a felt sole you will have to go the regular wading shoe route. I have tried the wading sandals but found them really painful when small rocks get trapped between your foot and the sandals foot bed. This seems to happen every other step! If your rivers have no small rocks you may find them perfect. If your wet wading also involves lots of hiking, you will want more support than the typical wading shoe, and more dry land traction. L.L. Bean offers a line of shoes with a new type of rubber sole that grips well on slick rocks, but also allows a better grip on slick grass and leaves on the trail. I have not worn these, but reports from friends are promising. These might give me an excuse to leave my old hikers on dry land. I think socks are expendable. This is where the ones you are going to toss in the rag pile come in handy. If you use new ones, by the end of the day, they will be shot anyway.

As with all fishing, there are other things to consider and all are common sense. Keep drinking water at regular intervals. Usually you don't get thirsty until you are a little dehydrated. Take some dry clothing to change into for the ride home. Even in the heat dry clothes really make you feel refreshed. Some people simply cannot take the heat. If you are one, you may find that only going out early or late in the evening is bearable. Most of the best fishing is early or late in summer anyway. You don't have to flog the water at noon on a day that's 100 degrees. If you want to, well, fine. Usually during that time of day, even I take a break.