Keep 'em dry!

During the summer, it can be quite pleasant to wet wade. Fishing under the burning hot New Zealand sun, it can almost be a relief to get in the water for a bit of splash. By personal favourite would be the full head submerge after a few beers the night before in order to truly wake you up. Instant hangover cure!

Then winter rolls round. Wet wading in small streams in May and June can often be fine as well but as soon as the cooler water jumps up into the nether regions, it's game over for wet wading. This natural indicator for wader use has already happened to me this season and with the water getting rapidly colder, its time to jump into some Gore Tex enjoy dry family jewels for the winter.

Jokes aside, the importance of a good pair of waders cannot be overstated. I believe that neoprene waders still have a place among the modern breathables available these days. I will still use my neoprene waders for night time lake fishing, as it generally requires less effort than layering up and putting boots on, particularly if I want to take them on and off when changing spots.

However, if you are going to spend any length of time on the water and if you are going to be doing any walking, then breathable waders are the way forward. Simms Fishing Products make a variety of different waders in different price ranges. The most cost effective ones are the Freestone wader, made out of Toray fabric and price that rivals neoprene waders. With anything in the fly fishing game, the sky is the limit in terms of price. I (and Josh too) have recently bought myself a pair of Simms G3 Waders. These are made from highly breathable, multi layer Gore Tex fabric and are incredibly comfortable. They are also quite rugged and able to withstand a fair bit of punishment which I certainly need.

Bottom line is, don't let your little fellas suffer the cold this winter, get some decent waders that will last multiple seasons. Preferably do this at Fish City and help pay mine and Josh's wages! Check out the Simms range of waders here.

In order to further distract from the lack of fishing I have been doing, here is a sweet video I managed to dredge up when procrastinating from my Uni assignments.

This video is from the guys at Montana Wild and was their first decent crack at a mini film project, something that Josh and I are currently scheming up. Watch this space...