Do i need waders?

[Freefall]

I'll be down by Bennett Springs and Niangua next month.  I've never fished there before, but I'm assuming without waders, I would get pretty cold pretty quick even in the summer due to the water temp from the spring?  Do I need to get some waders or will I be ok fly fishing from the shore?

 

[Bnorm]

What type of fishing are you planning on doing? When at Bennett, if you are bait fishing in Zone 3 You don't need waders at all, there are plenty of places to fish that are shore based to fish from. Zone 2 has some pretty good bank access by the Dam and further down by the Whistle Bridge. The Fly water in Zone 1 is a little more limited in terms of bank fishing but it is possible.

The spots in Zone 2 also for the most part aren't very deep in the wading areas so thigh deep at the worst is all you would be in.

Zone 1 is much trickier wading is is considerably deeper in most stretches of when moving around the stream.

I am not too familiar with the River access so I don't want to spread any wrong information about that but you can post in the Niangua section and I am sure OneShot or someone will help you out.

[Krazo]

Agree with bnorm about Bennett. Can def do without, zone they can help but not necessary depending on where you fish. In the niangua I'd think you could wet wade if temps are hot but they can be handy to have. A lot depends on your tolerance for cold water temps.