Before I buy some Chacos...

[dfinn]

Is there a better option for summer wet wading? It was damn nice to not have my waders on but these flops aren't gonna cut it. Something else I should consider or just grab a pair of Chacos?

[mnflyfish]

I have a pair of the Simms wading sandals, closed toe. I really appreciate the toe when I jam my foot into an unseen rock.

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[brice618]

Chacos are completely serviceable, and nice to be able to just wear them all the time, but if you're fishing a bunch I'd look into a shoe that was closed off from getting shit in them.

http://www.simmsfishing.com/shop/foo...prap-shoe.html


I saw those the other day, and they look pretty cool. Nice to not have to bother with getting rocks out of your chacos all day. Which you will do a lot of.

[Underoos]

Chacos are completely serviceable

Not if you want to keep your toenails, they aren't.
Wait, was that a double negative? I'm trying to say don't wear Chacos. Because they suck.


Just get the Simms neoprene socks for $30 and you're all set.

[thin cover]

Wet Wading socks and your boots, hate to sacrifice grip. But small stream I just use keens. Closed toe, not the open foot bed of chacos and they stay on your foot much better. I picked up their new model this year. Super nice and grippy so far.

[schwerty]

Not if you want to keep your toenails, they aren't.
Wait, was that a double negative? I'm trying to say don't wear Chacos. Because they suck.


Just get the Simms neoprene socks for $30 and you're all set.

I'm not gonna get behind wading in chacos either.

Buy some Simms neoprene!!! Great to add to your wading boot for hikes too. There are a few sandal companies that have covered toes. Simms socks plus those would be a solid route. I wear the Simms socks with my wading boots even in the heat of the summer when wading. I get some shit sometimes out of the truck by people who don't get it but when I'm hoofing it across shitty bottoms , awkward rocks and gravel bars, and through nasty brush, folks then tend to get it....Neoprene plus boots is the way to go if you are moving around on most western streams. I do wish I had a set of some slick covered toe sandals for the boat though.

[skibum220]

Sorry to spam. Sounds like chacos aren't your best bet here, but I've got a size 11 pair w the toe loop, new, if you want a pair anyway. $60+ship

[snapt]

+7 for neoprene socks and wading boots

[BS720]

I've noticed that sandals in general suck for wading. Depends on the river bottom, but gravel gets sucked in between the foot and the sandal. Maybe the Vibram 5?

For me, fishing without waders or boots is like having sex without a condom, or surfing without a wetsuit.

[Harry]

Like multiple others above ^^ I have Simms wading sandels plus Simms neoprene socks if the water is chilly. Highly recommend.

[skifishbum]

keen trumps chacos hands down unless your a river rat lookiin for the chaco tan to impress cube monkies
i sure wish simms would bring back their keen built felt soled sandles
now that the whole demise of trout because whirling disease hype has subsided

[Hugh Conway]

you can buy neoprene socks from diveshops/ebay/whatever the fuck for <$10

[Underoos]

you can buy neoprene socks from diveshops/ebay/whatever the fuck for <$10

But they wouldn't say Simms on them!

Come on, Hugh. We're fly fishermen, and as such it is our duty to let everyone know that.


But for real, the socks made for fishermen (Simms, Chota, probably some others) are taller so you can fold them down over your laces. I like that feature, YMMV. And like Schwery said, they are quite comfy and nice for hiking.

And they say Simms on them!

[dfinn]

For me, fishing without waders or boots is like having sex without a condom

Yeah, it was nice. I plan to keep doing both of those things.

I knew I could count on you guys to keep me from making a dumb purchase. If only you were there with me that time I bought the street food in thailand and it still had hair on it.

I got some simms neoprene wading socks on the way. Stupid question: do you still wear normal socks under these?

[Underoos]

Absolutely. You'll get some serious stink if you don't.

[brice618]

Yeah, it was nice. I plan to keep doing both of those things.

I knew I could count on you guys to keep me from making a dumb purchase. If only you were there with me that time I bought the street food in thailand and it still had hair on it.

I got some simms neoprene wading socks on the way. Stupid question: do you still wear normal socks under these?

No, unless you want them to get wet.

[DeathVan]

What are Chacos?

[neckdeep]

Stupid question: do you still wear normal socks under these?

I don't. The Teton is so funky that nothing from my feet could make it worse. Both boots and neoprene socks, I just rinse them with a hose and leave them on the porch in the sun to cure. Works fine, but if you forget to do it the stink gets pretty bad. Once upon a time, Orvis and Redington made some nice felt soled wading shoes that were only half the weight of a wading boot and easier to put in a daypack but, honestly, neither model was as good at keeping out gravel as the traditional ankle high boot. I guess they never caught on and no company has anything like them these days. The Simms riprap shoe is pretty flimsy by comparison; its more of a boat angler option. Sandals?...Ha, I guarantee you, one streamside close encounter with a rattlesnake and exposed feet will never again feel like a wise option.

[Hugh Conway]

Come on, Hugh. We're fly fishermen, and as such it is our duty to let everyone know that.

Isn't that what the vest filled with crap and flies that never get used is for? and the big logo'd hat? and the extra large sticker in the rear window of the suby?

how much taller? the pair I got at some dive shop for a couple bucks is about "standard hiking sock tall" and they work ok enough, without socks, and they stink, but they were cheap. but I have to bear the not supporting the community cross with them and that adds a couple extra ounces every step. If I'd bought the Patagonia ones I'm sure my farts would smell like Chanel No 5, I'd piss Pliny the Elder and my bowel movements would be regular, perfectly cone shaped, and march themselves into the toilet.

[Underoos]

extra large sticker in the rear window of the suby?

how much taller?

Suby? You're kidding me, right? I can't pull my double drifter trailer shitshow without a fucking truck, dude. And the Suby wouldn't get enough looks when it's parked in front of the fly shop. But that's where the giant sticker comes in. Or even better, double Titan vaults. A must have for any "huge flyfisherman."

Sure, I do drive a Subaru, but I fish for bass and sometimes use bait. Cro-magnon, if you will.

Anyway, socks. Folded down, the Simms are an inch or two above my boot tops. Pulled up they come to just below my knee. I wear them down most of the time. If I'm post holing into early alpine lakes I pull them up so my delicate stems don't get wet. Pretty nice trick, actually. I have a few friends that fish in shorts and pull them up for skeeters or thorny stuff.

protip: the sticker doesn't mean I'm spancered. It means I paid $50 for a fucking sticker.
spancered pro tip: if you don't fold the socks down then no one can see the logo

[teleee]

This entire thread is full of win! Underoos for president and Hugh for press secretary!

[BS720]

Sandals?...Ha, I guarantee you, one streamside close encounter with a rattlesnake and exposed feet will never again feel like a wise option.

Eighty percent of the places I fish, snakes aren't a problem. Of the remaining twenty, boa's are more of a percentage than rattlers. I'll keep barebacking it.

[Harry]

What are Chacos?

a type of footwear that does not have a Simms label on them...

[skifishbum]

streamside rattlers encounters?
sounds boatless
aint nuthin a 9mm and a blood pressure cuff couldn't fix

[neckdeep]

streamside rattlers encounters?
sounds boatless
aint nuthin a 9mm and a blood pressure cuff couldn't fix

Oh, I've got boats. So do most anglers around here which is why I rarely float anymore. Victor, ID has less than a thousand people but it's got a Clackacraft dealership. You can't drive around a block in Driggs without passing half a dozen drift boats in driveways. Plus, there's probably about 200 guides around here and they almost exclusively float fish. So, when it comes to boat traffic, our famous floatable rivers are a total joke from the salmonfly hatch until after labor day weekend. Sloppy seconds doesn't do it for me. First tracks is where its at, imho, if you are looking to average 30-50 hookups a day. Same as morels; you don't look for a big bag full where everyone else is pickin!

As for the 9mm, that's pretty much useless. Either you see/hear the snake in time or its too late. Pressure cuffs are only recommended for neurotoxic bites when isolating the venom from the heart and diaphragm muscles is relevant. I believe only the mojave rattler has a significant neurotoxic element in its venom. The rest produce a nasty hemotoxin. The real risk of rattlesnake hemotoxin is tissue damage so severe that the envenomed limb has to be amputated. A pressure cuff does nothing to stop that and while anti-venom neutralizes venom it does nothing to reverse damage. The limb will be withered for life, at best.