04-06-2009, 08:32 PM
My own solution is to stay no more than 10 minutes of swimming time from the shore line in very cold water. I do not wear waders for that reason.
Despite the age-old and ongoing belief that waders increase the risk of drowning, it's not appreciatively more difficult to swim while wearing them than it is to swim in regular clothes.
Furthermore, the notion that trapped air can elevate your feet and force your head underwater appears to have little basis in fact. As long as 60 years ago, legendary fly-fishing pioneer Lee Wulff set out to debunk the air pocket theory by jumping off a bridge in February in a full set of waders. His feet did not become unduly elevated. Nor did the waders act as a drift sock, washing him helplessly and uncontrollably downriver. He simply swam to shore, climbed out and, presumably, changed into a dry set of clothes.
[signature]