Wading Upgrading

Time For New Boots


It was time for new wading boots this year.  I went all out and bought the Simms G4 Guide Boots.  I debated going with a different model that had the reintroduced felt soles as I still feel felt may be a little better on the large greasy boulders I sometimes fish.  There must be others that feel the same way as Simms has begun offering felt as an option on several of their popular wading boots.




The Invaders


The conservationist side of me won out and I went with the Vibram soles and added a set of AlumiBite Cleats for added traction.  I'd love to hear of a good link to the effects of felt on introducing invasive species if anybody knows of some solid recent research.  I know some have recently claimed felt is not the culprit it was made out to be.



Ankle Protection


The boots themselves are very well constructed and comfortable.  They also provide a lot more protection to your ankle bones when they bang between big boulders than the last pair of boots I wore.  Other people really like these boots--they're rated 5/5 by 11 reviewers on the Simms site and 5/5 by 2 reviewers on the Fishwest site as well.  If you do order over the internet, Fishwest seems to have awesome deals on shipping--free on domestic orders and free on international orders if they're over $300.  My buddy Rory has gone with the Simms Rivershed Wading Boots.  We'll give you a report on those when we get a few miles in.