Practice

[Flysmallie]

We have some big things lined up for 2026 that has required us to upgrade our gear. The three of us had recently bought new waders and boots and were anxious to get on the water and see how things performed. We also have added a bunch of new flies to our arsenal and wanted to see how they did as well. But as usual, all of that was just an excuse to get together and fish. The getting together was great. The fishing? Not so much.

We started at Barclay and covered a bunch of water. Then we went to the Gravel Bar to see how our waders and boots performd in a restaurant. And then we spent a couple hours in the park. Not a bunch of fish, but it was a bunch of fun.

 

[Quillback]

Great photos!

What did you get for waders and boots, and what did you think of them?  Might be getting some myself soon, so reviews appreciated.

[Flysmallie]

3 minutes ago, Quillback said:

Great photos!

What did you get for waders and boots, and what did you think of them?  Might be getting some myself soon, so reviews appreciated.

Thanks!

Waders we were all over the place with. Jeff works at Bass Pro so he went with one of their waders with a zipper. They seem nice. Aaron went with Simms Freestones with a zipper. He's happy with those. I almost went with Simms. Last two pairs have been Simms. But my last pair of Freestones sucked. I think they were made wrong. But I'm a big guy with meaty legs. After calling guys that see a lot of different waders I decided on Grunden Vectors. Nicest pair of waders I have ever had. And that includes the Simms G3s I had in the past. Very comfortable. Even have knee pads. I didn't get the zipper version but I'm very happy with these waders. 

On boots we all went with Korkers, just different styles. One with Greenbacks (laces), one with Darkhorse (BOA), and I went with River Ops (laces). I would say that I had the hardest time on deciding on boots. Two of us had Simms Freestones previously. Both pairs came apart. It was really weird, but I would stay away from those. One day my boots were in great shape and in one short trip they both came apart. But I had 4 different pairs of boots at my house at one time. I searched for places to try them all but that place doesn't exist so I bought the two I wanted to try in a couple of different sizes. I liked the Darkhorse but it's only available in the BOA system and that works great, but I have a bad ankle and I just couldn't get them adjusted correctly. The River Ops are amazing boots, but they are pricey. We covered 3.5 miles yesterday and they were very comfortable. 

 

[Quillback]

Appreciate the response.  Having comfy boots would be a priority for me as I would anticipate doing some hoofing.  

[Foghorn]

Water looks great and some good weather for November.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Thanks for the report!!   I love how our rivers look at this time of the year.  You captured it beautifully!