Thread: Too windy to wade

Hmmm. My waders have a waist high belt, but I haven't been keeping it tight enough I guess. Last year, I stepped off into a creek and I was flooded from chest down. Two good things came out of it though. One, the older guys I was wading beside got a heck of laugh and invited me to keep fishing with them, so I eventually learned a little. Two, I discovered that my neoprene waders float when filled with water. The built-in boots were heavy, and I had to lay back to keep above the water. Still it was nice to know that it isn't an automatic death sentence if I step off into deep water.

Thinking about it...these are the only waders I have ever had on, so I wonder if other waders float. My wetsuit I had when I was wakeboarding was neoprene, and it aided in floating. I was thinking that the waders wouldn't because of the water being trapped inside them. Then again that would mean that the water inside was heavier than the water outside the waders. The only trouble I had after I slipped off into the creek was when I tried to stand up and get out of the shallow water.

Anybody ever been in such a situation? Ever just run a floatation test of your waders?

I stepped across a small ditch one time it only had 2-3 inches of water in it but I immediately sunk up to my armpits in nothing but mud!! Couldnt feel bottom, tried to walk out but sunk more. Water started filling my waders. Nobody around for miles! I thought I was a goner! Sat there for a bit it and then I remembered I saw on TV how to get out of quicksand using your forearms and shin of your leg. More surface area to press with...I tried it and climbed out...or rather I rolled out! Man, I was done! Wore slap out! just loaded up and went home. Didnt even fish!

Originally Posted by OleMiss

I stepped across a small ditch one time it only had 2-3 inches of water in it but I immediately sunk up to my armpits in nothing but mud!! Couldnt feel bottom, tried to walk out but sunk more. Water started filling my waders. Nobody around for miles! I thought I was a goner! Sat there for a bit it and then I remembered I saw on TV how to get out of quicksand using your forearms and shin of your leg. More surface area to press with...I tried it and climbed out...or rather I rolled out! Man, I was done! Wore slap out! just loaded up and went home. Didnt even fish!

I've never done that but I think about. I have my Moses stick I carry with me and I steadily poke the ground to make sure there is something to put pressure on. I have to admit that I don't check it in inches of water. After reading your story, I just might start poking the ground a little more frequently.

While we've all heard that the reason for a belt is to keep water out of your waders, a guy at Mack's showed me the REAL reason. Now, granted, he was fitting me with heavy duty cold weather waders, but he claimedthat the purpose is to take some pressure off your shoulders. The trick is to pull them up high in the crotch and buckle the belt...Then put the shoulder straps on. Use the belt to hold most of the load. I can say it works and I can hunt and fish longer without the shoulder and back fatigue I once experienced. Not much difference when I wear light weight trout waders though but I still do it with those too. Just food for thought.

Fellows, don't mean to intrude and I don't wear waders. Have friends that use to duck hunt with waders. The waders float when you have them on because they end up trapping air. One major advantage of the belt it that it helps trap air higher up in the waders as well as in the feet. This allows you to float in a more horizontal position if you do happen to fall. If by chance you don't use a belt and fall and for some reason loose all the air in the waders they will act as an anchor. Needless to say you will likely then meet your maker.

As an aside my dad was in the navy WWII. They taught them to use their pants in event of an unplanned trip overboard. Once the pants were wet you could remove them, tie the legs together in a knot swing them through the air while holding the waist open, then roll up them up waist end first and use them for flotation. Of course this procedure had to be repeated periodically. Pants were dungarees (heavy denim).

I learned the pants trick in Navy bootcamp........it works good too

Originally Posted by maylw

If by chance you don't use a belt and fall and for some reason loose all the air in the waders they will act as an anchor. Needless to say you will likely then meet your maker.

I ain't aiming to start an argument here, but in my one experience of filling my waders, you are incorrect. It is true that my boots acted as an anchor, but not the waders themselves. Also, it wasn't the water in the boots that made them an anchor; it was the rubber from which they were made. My waders float just like my wetsuit floated. Neoprene is neoprene and I have never owned anything made from neoprene that didn't float (I also have neoprene gloves). You only notice the weight of the water when you attempt to come out of the water. In other words, as long as there is water on both sides (inside and outside the waders) the weight of the water isn't a factor. Again, I have no idea if all waders do this or not, but mine do. By laying back as far as I could I was able to keep floating.

I carry the big stick with me now, and I have no intentions of stepping off in another creek or in the same creek a second time. If I were advising anyone, I'd say if you wade take a stick. I'd go without my fishing pole before I would without my stick.

I had my 7 ft stick when I sunk but didn't use it in 2-3 inches of water. I will next time.