Wading Staff Question

[add147 0]

Ok everyone I am slowly but surely getting my equipment so I can actually do some fly fishing in a river or stream. I ran across a GREAT deal on a set of Simms G4 waders and jacket. I have purchased some Chota wading boots and they will be arriving in a few days.

 

Now my question...I am looking at wading staffs. To be totally honest I do not see any reason on sending over a $100 on a stick. I've seen some around $30 - $40. Are these cheaper ones okay or am I just wasting my money on the cheaper ones? As always I value everyone's opinion as you have more experience and probably more knowledge than I do. Have a great weekend!

[mikechell 0]

If you look at the E-bay type sites, you should be able to find a cross-country ski pole for less than $20.00. I got mine for only $10.00. It's collapsible, so can be easily back packed or stored. When opened, it's got more than enough strength ... and it's very light.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ski-poles-Telescopic-adjustable-Collapsible-Adult-alpine-WSD-black-silver-99cent-/381975976608?hash=item58ef8adaa0:g:8jkAAOSwn7JYC4C9

[vicente 0]

I think you should be OK worn one of the 30$ ones add long as it is sturdy enough.

 

Mike I have been using a trekking pole/ collapsible ski pole, they are not the same no where near as stiff, not a big deal unless you are crossing in a current but if you do it's not fun.

[GC59 0]

You have already shown you have knowledge by stating there is no reason to spend $ on a stick, I agree, anyways there has always been drift wood along the banks somewhere that has done the job for me or sometimes I have brought an old ski pole with me. Now some would probably say you do need something formal to be safe and granted there is danger you can go down in a heartbeat. But I would say the tools I mention have served me well for over fifty years of fishing.

[Flat Rock native 0]

Ok everyone I am slowly but surely getting my equipment so I can actually do some fly fishing in a river or stream. I ran across a GREAT deal on a set of Simms G4 waders and jacket. I have purchased some Chota wading boots and they will be arriving in a few days.

Now my question...I am looking at wading staffs. To be totally honest I do not see any reason on sending over a $100 on a stick. I've seen some around $30 - $40. Are these cheaper ones okay or am I just wasting my money on the cheaper ones? As always I value everyone's opinion as you have more experience and probably more knowledge than I do. Have a great weekend!

add, Mikes comments are very good!

 

One other alternative is to get a piece of wooden, closest rod and use a crutch cap on the ends. It is easy to attach a net and lanyards, so you do not have string around your neck or slapping on your back. You can hook a camera boot on one end, too. It floats off to the downstream side if hooked on a wading belt. Safe wading enhances your fishing experience since you can concentrate on the water and casting. Highly recommend staff if water is more than knee deep, less if swift current. Good luck, catch a bunch...

[Bruce Norikane 0]

Thirty years ago, I got a Folstaff knockoff for around $25. I still use it. I can't find one like it anymore, but this one is close.

I like it because it's very quick to deploy and it collapses to a short package. Folstaff's are better, but they've gotten really pricey.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Hammers-Collapsible-Wading-Staff-Fishing/dp/B001C328YK

[Crackaig 0]

Just a couple of days ago I was looking at one in your price range. It looked perfectly sound to me. After all it is a stick to lean on, not rocket science. I like one that folds, as a staff floating behind me seems to attract loops of line like a magnet.

What I would like is a Falstaff 3/4" with the camera attachment on top. They are not available here. The UK dealership is, or was last time I checked, held by Orvis UK. Orvis sell their own here, and nothing else. It is typical of Orvis UK to do this kind of thing, I wonder though, why Falstaff put up with this.

 

Cheers,

C.

[Rocco 0]

For 30 plus years I have used bamboo ski poles with the basket removed as a wading staff. They are light, rugged, reliable, and cheap and ubiquitous at yard sales. .

 

I attach them with a loop over my neck and left shoulder with surgical tubing that is stretchy and easily replaced when it goes brittle.

 

I use them as a balance enhancer on steep inclines; third -- rrr fourth -- leg prop in heavy flows; and a go-no-go/backout probe in unfamiliar waters. My chest deep wading days are long gone.

 

Never saw the point in a collapsible staff when carrying a 9-10 ' rod!

 

Rocco

[Bugsy 0]

Two factors unaddressed: (1) Where you'll be fishing, and (2) your physical condition and wading skills.

 

If you're using the staff to prod the bottom of gentler streams to gauge the depth as you wade, then a flimsy pole can do.

 

If you're on rivers with a reputation for hazardous wading (e.g., N Umpqua, Pitt, Deschutes rivers), then you want something stout. There will be times you'll be leaning your weight heavily into the staff, and a less than adequate staff can snap between boulders in strong current.

 

I have a Folstaf that's over 20yrs old but prefer a one-piece, tubular glass staff my dad purchased many years before.

[Gene L 0]

I depend on my staff, and don't want one that may fold over on me. I use a used ski pole I got (a pair, actually) for maybe $6 bucks. It's solid fiberglass (reason it's cheap) and kinda heavy and doesn't float, which I like about it. Cut the basked off. It's also got a hardened tip on it that is good for gripping rocks. I got it at a used sporting goods store, "Play it Again". Because it's old and heavy and out of fashion, it was cheap and I think superior.

 

No way in hell would I spend $100 on a stick. One of the best fisherman I knew would find a dead stick on the riverbank. I don't know how he secured it, but somehow he did between catching fish.

[Poopdeck 0]

I use sticks, like real sticks. When I pick up sticks in the yard and find one that's the right size I throw it in the shed to dry for a year. I have two I've been using for a couple years, one that I started carving and another two in the shed waiting their turn. Then I'll peel the bark, shape it, sometimes carve something on the end, urethane if and the wrap the handle in 550 cord. I'm tall so I like my wading staffs solid and a good staff length of 4 to 5' in length. I use them hiking to the water, in the water. I float it behind me. Yes it sometimes gets in the way but I'm not really bothered by it. I started using them after a bad fall that ripped my knee open and screwed up my leg to the point where I could not put much weight on it and had to find a branch to help me make the long painful walk back to the truck. Now I do everything I can to prevent a fall and it starts with a long stout stick.

 

[Dave G. 0]

We haunted the rivers of Maine for 20 years using drift wood as a wading staff. Cut a notch in it and tie a boot lace to it, attach it to a loop on the vest, good to go. Cost 0 + the boot lace. A couple of us since went to using DSLR mono pods because they generally were with us too. My son had a drift wood stick he liked so much he sanded and spar varnished it. I had my first stick for 10 years and then mis placed it in the off season.. No stick since measured up to that first one, it was perfect. But they all worked. Most recently I don't wade far enough or deep enough to bother with a stick, maybe this year will be different with some surgery and health issues seemingly out of the way..

[heavynets 0]

Be aware that the staffs that are made in sections and held together with a bunge cord will pull apart if the tip section gets stuck in the mud or between rocks and you left up for the next step. Right when you need it most, it could be as useless for support as a chain. I use an aluminum walking staff purchased at Walmart for about $15. It has 3 sections that telescope together and lock at any desired length.

[Dave G. 0]

I use an aluminum walking staff purchased at Walmart for about $15. It has 3 sections that telescope together and lock at any desired length.

That's what my wife uses too.

[shoebop 0]

I have a homemade staff. Just a stick (several actually) I made from small ironwood trees. I didn't like using them at first. It was something I had to get used to using. The collapsible ones never made sense to me as I probably wouldn't collapse it while fishing as I am moving all the time. They would be nice for storage purposes but they aren't all that big to begin with so it is not an issue for me. Besides mine are really pretty!