My NEW Wading boots are slippery as ...... in the mud

[splashhopper]

I bought a new pair of waders and wading boots at the end of last spring and have just started using them the last few weeks.

 

Well yesterday I was out fishing with Twocoda, and a 100 other guys for a few minutes , where we had to walk through some areas with heavy clay.

 

Also had to climb back up the slippery slope to get back to the vehicles too

 

My new wading boots don't do very well in that stuff.... unlike the rubber soled ones I had in my cheap neoprene crappy tire specials !

 

These boots have felt on the bottom. ( supposed to be better for ice in the rivers?)

 

I slipped yesterday and landed on my hip and wrist.... luckily I wasn't hurt..... but a few more unexpected falls like that and I will be getting hurt.

 

 

 

What can I add to these new boots to improve traction?

 

 

Thanks

 

Splashhopper

 

 

PS... I guess the good thing from yesterdays adventure is that the boots now look like I actually have fished in them

Edited November 30, 2009 by splashhopper

[Burtess]

Add some cleats. You can buy them especially for wading shoes or you can just buy 1/2" (measure sole thickness first!!) sheet metal screws as well.

 

Burt

[bigfish1965]

The slip-over cleats might be a good idea!

[dave524]

These boots have felt on the bottom. ( supposed to be better for ice in the rivers?)

 

I've used felts and they have the tungsten studs, they are good on smooth rocks even with some algae covering, what they are not good for is sub freezing weather. Step out of the water and the waterlogged felt freezes then you are in even more trouble. I don't wear them in the cold any more, getting too old to take a header.

[DRIFTER_016]

A pair of Stabilicers will help in the mud and also stop you from gaining height when there is snow on the ground.

 

Stabilicers

 

[BillM]

sheet metal screws work great and they are cheap.

 

Unless you wanna spend $20 on the Simms wading boot studs.

[KelfuN]

seriously, nothing helps in the slippery mud...

 

what I have done is buy the HEX shape bolts from home depot (they are like $6 for 100). and put about 8-12 on each boot, they help during the winter months..

 

like bill said, why spend $20 on simms ones

[craigdritchie]

Felt soles are just about useless.

 

Yes, they provide a decent grip on wet rock. But that's about it. Most rivers in southern Ontario have some amount of mud or clay along the banks, so they're really not the best choice for this area. If you think they're slippery now, just wait till it gets colder, and the wet felt starts to freeze. Fun times all the way!

[BillM]

Felt soles are just about useless.

 

Yes, they provide a decent grip on wet rock. But that's about it. Most rivers in southern Ontario have some amount of mud or clay along the banks, so they're really not the best choice for this area. If you think they're slippery now, just wait till it gets colder, and the wet felt starts to freeze. Fun times all the way!

 

 

You also get taller and taller as the day goes by!!!

[splashhopper]

You also get taller and taller as the day goes by!!!

 

BEAUTIFUL.... i will be 5'7" with a cracked skulll .. but hey... i will be waaay taller than my wife then

[frozen-fire]

I'm currently using a pair of boots with studded felt soles, and have almost done several face plants into slippery mud. I'm going to have a fun time this winter when the snow hits.

[JohnF]

Felt soles are just about useless.

 

Yes, they provide a decent grip on wet rock. But that's about it. Most rivers in southern Ontario have some amount of mud or clay along the banks, so they're really not the best choice for this area. If you think they're slippery now, just wait till it gets colder, and the wet felt starts to freeze. Fun times all the way!

 

I've got both kinds and the lug soles stay in the back of the car for most of the season. I spend a lot of time wading rocky slimey creeks and felt is the only way to go. Granted I have to pick my spots to exit the water and they're awful for climbing grassy or muddy banks but for the 3 or 4 hours I'm rockin' & rollin' in the creek the felt rox.

 

They'd have been worse than useless where we were today though. Today the lugs ruled.

 

JF

[JohnF]

Here's a thought. Instead of blowing $200 on the top of the line felt soled boots why not back off a few and get a second pair with lugs for those times when you find yourself in ice or muck. Or if you do the bulk of your wading in muck and slime or ice then blow the bigger share on lugs and get a cheap pair of felts. My felts cost me something like 40 bux and have done yeoman service for over 2 years now. Even if they didn't stand up I can attest to their comfort. I've spent as much as 4 to 5 hours stumbling around in a very rocky creek and had no discomfort issues at all.

 

Mebbe if I was spending 5 days a week in the water (I wish) I would spend more but as much of a fan of quality stuff as I am, I just can't see spending the whole bank account on wading boots. And my breathable waders cost $40 and over two years later are still going strong and no leaks at all.

 

JF

[[email protected]]

I had the exact same problem this weekend.

 

I bought a pair of boots with the felt bottom and they work awesome for rocks, but walking on the clay at Bronte... I almost died... lol...

[Twocoda]

You can always go and buy a pair of hiking boots (Plastic toe as opposed to steel) at a non unionized Wallymart cost is aboot 59 bones and your good to go climbing ...

 

Good seeing ya again sliphopper

 

 

how did you make out Sunday?

Edited November 29, 2009 by Twocoda

[DRIFTER_016]

I've got both kinds and the lug soles stay in the back of the car for most of the season. I spend a lot of time wading rocky slimey creeks and felt is the only way to go. Granted I have to pick my spots to exit the water and they're awful for climbing grassy or muddy banks but for the 3 or 4 hours I'm rockin' & rollin' in the creek the felt rox.

 

They'd have been worse than useless where we were today though. Today the lugs ruled.

 

JF

 

I have two pairs of studded felts that have been sitting idle since I bought a pair of Simms studded Aqua Stealth boots.

IMHO they are the only boots you will ever need!!!

I fish some of the slimeyest rivers you have ever seen in Alaska and they grip like glue + they get decent traction in mud and snow too!!!!

[craigdritchie]

You want to know the totally ghetto way to do it?

 

Buy stocking foot waders then go to Wal-Mart or Zellers or some other cheap store, and pick up two pairs of huge, oversized cheap hiking boots. I wear a size 10-1/2 shoe ..... so I buy size 12 hiking boots to allow for the extra volume of the waders. These cheapies should cost you no more than $40 a pair, or two pair for about $80.

 

Use one pair as-is with the normal rubber lug sole. That's what you use most of the time.

 

Take the second pair and glue strips of cheap indoor-outdoor carpeting to the soles with a good waterproof glue like Barge Cement (get it at Rona or Home Depot). Then use a drill to drive a few hex-head sheet metal screws in to make sure those carpet strips won't come off. Obviously, use short screws .... like 3/8 inch.

 

The end result looks like crap, and you'll still wipe out on mud or clay, but they stick to wet rocks like velcro. Yep - even better than felt.

 

Depending where you fish, you wear the boots that are most appropriate. And, you still didn't spend as much as you would buying one pair of crappy wading boots at a fishing store.

 

 

(quick edit - prices adjusted for inflation!)

Edited November 30, 2009 by Craig_Ritchie

[StoneFly]

A pair of Stabilicers will help in the mud and also stop you from gaining height when there is snow on the ground.

 

Stabilicers

 

 

Do those Stabilisers work on regular Boots without the felt bottoms,...I find mine are pretty slippy too

[StoneFly]

You want to know the totally ghetto way to do it?

 

Buy stocking foot waders then go to Wal-Mart or Zellers or some other cheap store, and pick up two pairs of huge, oversized cheap hiking boots. I wear a size 10-1/2 shoe ..... so I buy size 12 hiking boots to allow for the extra volume of the waders. These cheapies should cost you no more than $40 a pair, or two pair for about $80.

 

Use one pair as-is with the normal rubber lug sole. That's what you use most of the time.

 

Take the second pair and glue strips of cheap indoor-outdoor carpeting to the soles with a good waterproof glue like Barge Cement (get it at Rona or Home Depot). Then use a drill to drive a few hex-head sheet metal screws in to make sure those carpet strips won't come off. Obviously, use short screws .... like 3/8 inch.

 

The end result looks like crap, and you'll still wipe out on mud or clay, but they stick to wet rocks like velcro. Yep - even better than felt.

 

Depending where you fish, you wear the boots that are most appropriate. And, you still didn't spend as much as you would buying one pair of crappy wading boots at a fishing store.

 

 

(quick edit - prices adjusted for inflation!)

 

Lol,..that sounds ALOt like when my buddies and I invented our own snowboarding boots over 20 years ago,...we took some oversized sorels,...and took the liner out and then inserted front load skiboot liners,...at the time it was the only way to go as you couldnt buy snowboard boots back then in ON,..much less snowboards,...then again only one resort in Ontario allowed us rubes to contaminate their prestine skiing hills,...Lol,..look at them hills now...

[splashhopper]

how did you make out Sunday?

 

got skunked on the bass... but Chris got a nice pike

[splashhopper]

Felt soles are just about useless.

 

Yes, they provide a decent grip on wet rock. But that's about it. Most rivers in southern Ontario have some amount of mud or clay along the banks, so they're really not the best choice for this area. If you think they're slippery now, just wait till it gets colder, and the wet felt starts to freeze. Fun times all the way!

 

 

ok,,, so I KNOW the problem... do you have a SOLUTION

[BillM]

I already posted this... The shortest sheet metal screws you can find at crappy tire.

 

[DRIFTER_016]

Do those Stabilisers work on regular Boots without the felt bottoms,...I find mine are pretty slippy too

 

Yep!!!

Great for ice fishing too!!!!

[azebra]

try these for your winter outings.. www.simmsfishing.com/site/exstream_bootoots_08_lug.html#

if i had the money i would.

Edited November 30, 2009 by azebra

[troutologist]

The new Simms Aqua Stealth boots are really good. I've got them with and without studs.

 

In the St. Marys Rapids, you really need good traction....lots of flat algae covered rocks with very high flow. With the rubber soles and studs Im glued to the bottom. There is one wade that requires a tricky maneuver I like to call a rock bounce. One rock in a deep channel....you take a long stride to hit it and a long stride to the next shallows...these boots rule.

Edited November 30, 2009 by troutologist