Before I buy some Chacos...

[::: :::]

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

boatless here on the deschutes
gotta watch where you step at streamside grass
watch the ricochet too!

[skifishbum]

slc the opposite too many walk n wade guides on the provo not enough river miles not hard to push a bit or escape the 9-5ers which is 90% of the guides business
on the green seen 2 rattlers in 15 years both on the road
so wouldn't the 1st boat on the water get fresh tracks?
ive had 4 dudes willing to launch at 5:00 am and 2 of were mags

[stompinlines]

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.

Pretty sure the Minneapolis shop has carved this mantra into a sign in their front window.

[warthog]

MOJO makes a really nice water shoe. I wouldn't wade in them in a river, but they are great on the boat and for stringray foot shuffling the flats here. They drain really well, and don't take on the stink at all.

I got them in a cool fish blue and grey camo pattern, but I can't find a picture online.

[Sagamoron]

I just noticed that steepandcheap has gravel cuffs on sale if anyone is still looking

[that dude who did that thing]

slc the opposite too many walk n wade guides on the provo not enough river miles not hard to push a bit or escape the 9-5ers which is 90% of the guides business
on the green seen 2 rattlers in 15 years both on the road
so wouldn't the 1st boat on the water get fresh tracks?
ive had 4 dudes willing to launch at 5:00 am and 2 of were mags

That sounds nice, but up here the fish keep banker's hours, so your 5 a.m. launch doesn't do shit for you, unless you got 30 miles of river to run, and only the one put-in up high.

[Tye 1on]

it is important to note that while Chacos may not be the best wetwade footwear, they are mighty fine for drinking.

[sierraskier]

+1 for Simms neoprene socks. They are significantly more comfortable than the neoprene sock in my waders, have the lace hook and just work well. If you are covering a lot of rocky river/uneven ground you just aren't going to replicate the grip and support of your wading boots. I will however take the Chacos and the socks when backpacking to high alpine streams/lakes and looking to save weight, or Chacos only if it's super warm, mellow wading, fishing mostly from the bank, and/or a short session where I'm not covering a lot of ground (i.e., not very often). But they do have their purpose...

[skifishbum]

That sounds nice, but up here the fish keep banker's hours, so your 5 a.m. launch doesn't do shit for you, unless you got 30 miles of river to run, and only the one put-in up high.

not sure where up round here is
but big wary fish didn't get that way eatin durin bankers hours
they end when the bankers are starbuckin & boats start goin overhead and start again when them bankers laywers and river ran thru its are all tired from flailin the water 9-5 and wastin energy w/ shitty castin and number countin there experiences

5-9 - 9-5
do you ever fish those hours much?
[emotican inserted here]

[neckdeep]

Yeah. I'm with SFB on this one. During the back end of the runoff, the fishng is noticably slow before 10am until the pmds start moving up the water column and it tends to peak along with the pmd hatch. Whether you are fishing pmds, drakes, stoneflies...nymph or dry, sure, the action takes off around noon with that pmd emergence. But that's just a late june-mid july thing, imho, relevant to the colder rivers still drawing water out of snowfields. That's the only truth to the "gentlemen's hours" schtick that I ever observed. I think that myth started in the lodges, which have to sequence the guest's day according to the kitchen staff's hours not the fishing. Lodge guests don't get to see many magic hour spinner falls. They don't get to slap #4 salmonflies against the bank at 7am (which can be a lot more productive than tossing to the bank at 1pm with a convoy of boats running the banks). But once that water warms and the afternoon pmd hatches wane, midday can actually be the slowest fishing around here, regardless of whether you like boots or chacos.

[Crystal_Mt_Dreamin]

Anybody try those Columbia Drainmakers? I've had my eye on them as they'd be perfect for a local creek that I regularly fish that has a hike in and once you're at the creek you hike in it for miles on end over the weekend.

[steved]

What a friggin beast SFB....its fins are larger than any of my stream brookies so far...;-)

dfinn,
If it's shallow...go with the wading shoes...such great stuff these days. If deeper, again go with the breatheable waders with studded shoes.. the nicest things.... Both Redington's and Orvis's cheaper breatheables look good..and are sized well too.

[Orangutan Grabber]

http://www.astraldesigns.com/products/brewer.php

[neckdeep]

I've put 30-40 days on the Simms Rock Creek felt sole boots and can now give a review. They still perform well but are showing signs of falling apart soon. The toe rand is splitting and the webbing "eyelets" for the laces are breaking. Seems like this $99 model won't even last 99 days of use. Bottom line: well built but used lower durability material to hit price point - that makes this a one or two season boot, at best.

update: and at around 50 days, the Rock Creek boot becomes a floppy, disintegrating piece of shit with cracks in all the materials and blown out stitching. My first three pairs of Simms boots held up over two years each (usually the felt would wear down before the boot fell apart). Now 99$ to Simms doesn't even buy you a one season boot. These boots are good for casual use in a drift boat, they will not stand up to much serious wading. If you want an affordable boat boot these will do but otherwise, yet another big FAIL for Simms boot line.

[Hugh Conway]

are there any decent boots at a reasonable (before brodeals/sales/industry largesse) price?