I do more wading than I care to think about, especially in the winter.

For safety and comfort reasons, I highly recommend stocking foot waders and some academy sports $20 wading boots.

Even though I don't use a wading stick normally, I do use a long wood handle net as a wading stick and net combo. I duck taped some foam noodle to it so it won't sink, and it works great.

Anything I can do to minimize bulk while wading is worthwhile. If a net can double as a wading stick, then great...more room for jigs and such!