Choosing Your Fly Fishing Waders

Fly fishing waders can be a very important piece of fishing gear if you plan to spend quite a bit of time fly fishing in cold temperatures – both climate-wise and water-wise. Waders perform two basic but very important functions for you – they keep you dry and warm whether you are wading in a deep pond with cold water in its depths or a shallow stream in freezing cold weather.

Thanks to technology, these days you have an abundant supply of fly fishing waders to choose from in a variety of materials from reliable nylon to neoprene to specially created compounds that allow your body to wick away sweat and excessive body heat while still keeping you dry and protected. Of course, choosing from the different fly fishing waders will largely depending on your needs and budget.

Evaluating your Needs

First of all, do you actually need fly fishing waders for your fishing excursions, especially if you are in a warm area which also has warm waters? The job of waders is to keep you both dry and warm so unless you have an aversion to being wet for any length of time, you may not need any fly fishing waders for the warmer climate and waters.

However, cooler climates and those bodies of water which have cold depths require fly fishing waders to protect you by retaining your body heat and repelling for a warm, dry, comfortable experience. Extreme fly fishing temperatures like fishing for trout in the midst of a Vermont winter or salmon in the icy streams of Alaska call for the best waders that you can afford.

Types to Choose from

There are three basic types of fly fishing waders to choose from and they often incorporate different materials in their core design. You can choose from stocking foot waders, boot foot waders or even hip waders for your fly fishing experience and each have their own quirks.

Boot foot waders expand out from your foot all the way up to your chest and the boot portion that covers the foot is permanently adhered to the wader. The best reason to choose the boot foot fly fishing waders is that you wouldn’t have to purchase wading boots separately. The stocking foot waders do not have the boot but are instead neoprene socks which must then be covered by wading boots that you purchase separately.

Hip waders are exactly as they sound – they extend up to the hips and are perfect for traversing in shallow waters with a slow current. Some types of these fly fishing waders have boots attached to them and some do not so it is all a matter of your comfort and needs as to which hip wader version to choose.

As you can see, there are a few variables to consider when shopping around for fly fishing waders so be sure you know exactly what you want. Try on different types of waders and examine the different materials before settling on one particular pair.