Keeping Your Feet Warm
Keeping your feet warm during winter fly fishing can be the most important thing you can do to catch fish. Once your feet get cold then it’s as good as over for you. When you can’t feel your toes anymore then it’s time to go home. You can and should enjoy fly fishing during the winter. When your feet get cold your whole body begins to get cold. You can enjoy the winter months just as much as the summer months by just keeping your feet warm. There are many ways you can do this but none better than electric socks. Hunters have for years used these types of socks to keep their feet warm and anglers in the know do the same.
These socks use rechargeable batteries, one battery per sock to keep a heating element down at your toes warm thus keeping your feet warm. When I hear almost daily what fly fishers spend on their equipment it’s almost crazy to think that these anglers will pass up anywhere between $30 and $50 on a tool that will keep their feet dry for most of the day. Let’s face it, the job at hand is always performed best if you are comfortable. The key to fly fishing in the winter is to stay comfortable with warm feet.
I have used more traditional ways to keep my feet warm other than electric socks. Using two pair of socks works well in the fall. One sock is a thin poly breathable sock that goes on first followed by a heavy pair of wool socks. My feet will still get cold but they normally don’t freeze. The worst case scenario is when your waders leak. A leaky wader can easily be fixed using Aqua Seal. If you have leaky waders then no remedy will work for you. An almost full proof method for having dry waders is to have 2 pairs. One for general season usage and the other for winter. If you do get a leak in your winter waders you have a spare to go to. This system also allows you time to really make sure your winter waders are full proof when you have a little spare time during the summer.
