should you always wear waders on the jetties?

[porgy75]

I was on the way home from work Friday and stopped at some jetties to check out if there were fish there. There were a lot of guys who looked like they had all the cool gear. I noticed a lot of the guys wearing korkers. They also were wearing breathable waders too, a lot of them. Now forgive me for asking this, but I am not made of money. It seems to me those jetties have some pretty sharp rocks on them. Unless you are part mountain goat, you are likely to fall, at least once a season. So why would you wear breathable waders on the jetties?

If you fall you will rip them up and they are useless, no? You can't tape them with duct tape. The reason I am asking this is that I was sweating in a sauna wearing my neoprene waders at sandy hook last night and am looking for some breathable ones. At prices from $150-350, why would you chance going out on the sharp slippery rocks with sharp barnacles on them with these expensive waders? Aren't there more reasonable alternatives? Thanks in advance for your advice, fellas.

[dogfish]

I never wear waders on jetties. Grundens or rain pants, boots, korkers, and maybe a dry top if the water si cold. Safest way to go.

[finchaser]

Never unless you have a death wish

knee high boots ,korkers and bib pant if it's cold or nasty (Grundens or Helly Hansen)

[storminsteve]

Lately I have been wearing korkers and steel toe work boots, and shorts. But if you fall you will gash up pretty bad. I don't go out as far as some of you hard core guys, try to cast from the sides at high tide. Good advice finchaser.

[DarkSkies]

Never unless you have a death wish

knee high boots ,korkers and bib pant if it's cold or nasty (Grundens or Helly Hansen)

Fin knows from whence he speaks.

He used to live on the jetties for 3 nights at a time, only leaving for a bathroom break or to be the designated driver in case someone fell off the rocks and needed a ride to the hospital....





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Here's a pic of my friend Andy's jetty gear - he's old skool,, white boots and korkers, obviously only when the ocean water is warmer:

[baitstealer]

I thought that if you wear waders on the Jetty and fall in your a dead man. I would think the waders would fill up with water and pull you down. Then I came across this article. Does anyone believe it?

There are basically 2 types of waders.

PVC - The less expensive ones !

Neoprene - The nice warm stretchy ones - that cost more !

The neoprene ones cling to your body a bit like a wet suit and they have air trapped into the fabric and will in fact aid your flotation as they offer POSITIVE BUOYANCY.

The PVC ones are really not much different.

Firstly if you dunk yourself in water, the water pressure, pushes the waders to your body.

I have personally tried to drown myself in the shallow end of a swimming pool. Try it yourself ! - It will give you allot of confidence as to what to expect if and when you find yourself in the water.

After about 10 minutes I exited the pool and the water had only penetrated down between the wader through my shirt to the level of my pants. Below that I was still dry.

It took me a further 15 odd minutes to lie in the water and while pulling the waders away from my body and scooping water, to try and fill them up. I looked a bit like the Michelin Man but Did I sink? - No!

Yes, it was bulky and cumbersome - but I could swim around without any real difficulty as the water inside my waders essentially interacted with the surrounding water - thus cancelling each other out.

Add to this a PFD (Personal Flotation Device) and what is your worry?

The only cause for concern you have is: Panic and hypothermia.

[vpass]

About 15 years ago I was wading off of Staten Island Greatkills Park. I fell in a steep hole. I was an *** for not wearing my belt. I did fill up with water to past my knees. I was exhausted dragging the water weight that was in my waders out of the water. I was ok in the water, but as soon as the water in my wader went above the water line it became hard to deal with.


If you are planning to fish jetty only and not wading at all, then as Fin Said is all you need and floatation device would be a good idea too. A few jetty jock lost there lives over the years. I would fish jetty, but have bad knees, and afraid they will give out when needed the most.