Lewis' Question:

Mark,
I just took up fly fishing this summer (I hate to admit that fact since I grew up in Montanta) and I don't swim. Can I be good fly fisherman without wading? Do you have any tips for non-swimming waders?
Thanks

Lewis Crouch

Mark's Answer:

Lewis,

I don't swim well myself and as such, I rarely put myself in position to have to swim. I rarely wear waders, instead choosing to wear wading boots with neoprene socks with my shorts.

Sometimes I wear hip waders — they are inexpensive, most have felt soles (which you will want), and because you don't want to fill them with water, you aren't tempted to wade out too far.

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Incidentally, most trout anglers wade incorrectly, choosing to wade through all those deeper sections where the fish are holding. I fish mostly from the bank, choosing to enter the water only in canyon sections or stretches where the riparian habitat make fishing from the bank impossible.

When you get in the water, just like passing the football, too many bad things can happen. You spook fish close and far from you. You kick up silt and can damage habitat, especially the spawning beds during spawning season.

You can get in trouble if you are a brave wader. And you don't gain all that much from wading in most places. So buy a pair of wading boots, a pair of stocking foot hip waders and you'll be in the wading business, not the swimming business.