By Aaron Motley
With wet wading season upon us, it seems only appropriate to think about your current setup, or maybe a new one. If you are unfamiliar with wet wading, it is wading in a creek with wading boots and neoprene socks, or maybe a sandal type shoe, and generally synthetic shorts or pants are worn, too. Most will prefer this wading style during the warmer months of the year.
One company that is giving Western North Carolina anglers many wet wading options is SIMMS. SIMMS is introducing a new wet wading shoe with portholes for drainage, or a fully enclosed rugged low top wading shoe. This product comes in two sole styles, Vibram or felt.
The Vibram sole is a high carbon rubber designed for coldwater fisheries and can be outfitted with carbide steel cleats or aluminum. The felt version offers a center pad of felt that is stitched to the sole, at the edges of the shoe anglers will notice there is some rubber too, this offers additional traction in mud, silt, or steep stream banks. On the felt version of this product, an angler may add carbide steel cleats for even more added traction.
Another wet wading product for SIMMS is the Intruder boot ($179), introduced in 2016. This product also comes in both Vibram and felt options. Users will have ankle support and protection with the Intruder boot, along with a built in gravel guard to keep annoying pebbles and debris out. With the three products mentioned, a user would find these are the lightest of your wet wading options. The most conventional option is buying a wading boot that will accommodate thick neoprene in the stocking foot on your breathable waders. However, to counteract the space needed in cold times verse the space need in summer without waders, anglers may find the need to use a wading sock and additionally, a neoprene guard sock to fill the void space in the wading boot. This will be the heaviest of wet wading options, so if you are trying to be more remote and hiking long distances, this may be a con for you to consider.
Which wet wading option is best for you?
Weigh the pros and cons for your angling style. As for me, I like hiking into the backcountry and wild water streams, so I have chosen the Intruder Vibram sole and added 5 studs to each shoe. This sole provides terrific performance of traction on rocks (both wet and dry), sand, and mud, while climbing in and out of the streambed, hiking on trails, and covering 8-10 miles of hiking and fishing in a day. This wet wading boot kicks butt! Also, I have found that I prefer to wear a lightweight wool blend sock with my Intruder boots.
If you have questions about wet wading or wish to see these boots in person, please stop by Hunter Banks Fly Shop in Asheville, NC or Waynesville, NC. Shop staff can help you and make sure you are well prepared for a day of wet wading in Western North Carolina while seeking trout or smallmouth bass.
Aaron is Operations Manager at the Waynesville Hunter Banks. His waterfowl hunting addiction supports his fly tying addiction. He learned his fly-fishing craft from “fishy” people and pursues large trout, bass and musky on a daily basis. He teaches others to do the same.