06-06-2006, 02:20 AM
I concur with Tubedude. Don't blame the waders. You have a much different situation when fishing a swift and powerful river than you do in placid lake waters. For one thing, in a lake you are not swept up off your feet by any current. That alone could cause person to slip under - waders or not. For another, speaking from experience, most wading river fishermen wear bulky (sometimes heavy) wading boots which offer little or no opportunity to kick so as to propel oneself to the surface. Even bare feet provide better propulsion than boots. Given the fact, again from experience, that river fishermen who slip in usually grip their expensive rods so as not to lose them, there may not be much upward thrust coming from hands, either. Tubers and tuners wear flippers which offer the opportunity to propel oneself upward. And yet another point is that many river fishermen wear quite a bit of gear on their persons in the form of a stuffed vest, net, wading staff, etc. Tubers and tuners usually carry most of their gear in pockets on their craft.
If someone's waders filled up with rocks or lead he/she would be "dragged under by their waders." That is because what is inside the waders has greater density than the water. Waders filled with water provide a density which is equal to the water around them which, accept for the density of the fisherman's legs, which is probably negligable, amounts to neutral density. There isn't going to be any "pulling down" to be blamed on the waders. Current, yes. Waders full of water, no.
I feel perfectly safe in my tube in my waders. For good measure though, I wear an inflatable PFD at all times. If I leave my wife a widow I don't expect it to be because I slipped into the lake with my waders on. Ditto for fishing a river because I wear the PFD there, too. Wear one of those thin, comfortable, inflatable PFDs. Even if you don't get "pulled under by your waders" you can still drown - from stupidity if nothing else.
zonker
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If someone's waders filled up with rocks or lead he/she would be "dragged under by their waders." That is because what is inside the waders has greater density than the water. Waders filled with water provide a density which is equal to the water around them which, accept for the density of the fisherman's legs, which is probably negligable, amounts to neutral density. There isn't going to be any "pulling down" to be blamed on the waders. Current, yes. Waders full of water, no.
I feel perfectly safe in my tube in my waders. For good measure though, I wear an inflatable PFD at all times. If I leave my wife a widow I don't expect it to be because I slipped into the lake with my waders on. Ditto for fishing a river because I wear the PFD there, too. Wear one of those thin, comfortable, inflatable PFDs. Even if you don't get "pulled under by your waders" you can still drown - from stupidity if nothing else.
zonker
[signature]