Fly Fishing in West Virginia

Ask any honest angler what’s the most important element of his fishing gear and he’ll likely mention the obvious – his rod/reel rig and his tackle. Ask him to go one step beyond the obvious and he’ll probably name his waders. Sometimes it’s just impossible to cast the perfect fly without walking right on into the water,sometimes chest deep. And, when fly fishing in West Virginia, that water is often freshly melted snow.

It’s the cold water that makes waders so important to sport fishermen and women. There is no sport in being cold and wet all day long and the colder and wetter the angler, the shorter the fishing trip, catch or no. Waders serve two main functions – to keep the angler warm and dry – so they’re an instrumental part of a well-stocked angler’s equipment supply.

The deeper into the water an angler goes, the longer his waders need to be.Some wading boots go as high as the thigh but one-piece waders can be long enough to almost reach the shoulders. Some anglers choose to keep an assortment of waders with them so they’ll have what they need as the need arises.

One-piece waders are available as boot foot waders, which are worn instead of regular boots. Their soles are made with metal studs or rubber treads designed to be slip resistant even on wet, slippery rocks. Wool felt was once used as fishing boot soles but the wool has been replaced with synthetic materials; the
wool is a vector, bringing diseases and parasites to the water that may endanger the ecosystem of a favored fishing hole.

Stocking foot waders are worn like socks tucked inside boots. The stocking, or sock, part of the wader is often neoprene about 3 millimeters thick to help keep feet warm and dry.

These one-piece waders are big and can fill up quickly with cold, heavy water if a leak develops or the angler falls into the water. A surprise step into deep waters can land an angler in water quite literally over his head, a spill that allows water to overflow the top of the wader and into it.

The sheer weight of the water can drag the angler under water and weigh him or her down enough to jeopardize safety. To minimize danger in such events, some waders have flotation devices built into them. Anglers often wear life vests or inflatable personal flotation devices when fishing deep waters wearing waders without built-in flotation capabilities.

Grab the rod, grab the reel and the tackle box but grab the waders, too. No self-respecting angler wants to find himself up the creek without waders.