[Mike Barrio]

Decided to get myself a wading stick for this season, I'm not as nimble as I used to be and it just feels like a good idea.

I've ordered one like this with a hazel wood shaft.

Do you use one all the time - how do you get on with them?

[Hamish Young]

I use a wading stick (staff) all the time and have done so ever since I first attended a course in water rescue with my previous role in HM Coastguard.
The benefits far outweigh the negatives, particularly on rivers with 'complicated' bottoms, when you have more 'wading ballast' than you ought to have, if you are unsteady on your feet and - well, everyone
I have used and tested a number of wading sticks including collapsible ones and ones made of wood etc. I have discarded all in favour of the heavy weight Sharpes of Aberdeen 'Spey' wading staff https://sharpesofaberdeen.co.uk/sharpes-of-aberdeen-spey-wading-staff-231-p.asp Quite a few people I have lent mine to have gone on to buy one of those wading staffs themselves. I'm not saying that other products are inferior, but the Sharpes product is by far and away the most robust, resilient and reliable wading staff I have come across bar none. It's got me out of a couple of scrapes.

H

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Hamish

I had a Sharpes wading staff back in the 80s, got it from Sloans I think. I ended up giving it to somebody that clearly needed it more than I did, and I never replaced it.

Here's a question:
I'm right handed, cast with my right hand, carry my rod with my right hand, and that would also be the stronger arm to support any weight with - so do you wade with your staff in your right hand and keep swapping your rod between hands, or do you try to get used to wading with your staff in your left hand from day one?

From memory, I think my old staff always found its way into my right hand, both for walking and wading.

Cheers
Mike

[Sandy Nelson]

Here's a question:
I'm right handed, cast with my right hand, carry my rod with my right hand, and that would also be the stronger arm to support any weight with - so do you wade with your staff in your right hand

Yes. I tend to have the rod in a clip on my chest too. Right hand on staff and the other arm free for balance.
My wooden one gave up on me last year( 10 years though)  and was replaced with a Snowbee extending one. Seems to work fine and the end sinks better than the wooden one which tended to float a bit in the current and get in the way of the line.
I actually got a vision lumbar support last season to help with my Back and the interesting side effect I noticed was it dramatically increased my core strength and I was a lot more stable wading. Hardly slipped and never fell in during 2022. That’s a first 
I had it under my waders all season and I will not be without it now.

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Sandy

That might sound like a pretty mundane question, but it's just me 'thinking out loud' as I dream about the approaching new season - which is a good thing, as it means I'm keen to get going!

At this stage of the year, I'm usually thinking about keeping things simple and reducing the load - so adding what could possibly be a cumbersome bit of kit to the game kind of goes against the grain, and raises questions.

Thinking about it a bit more, I'm usually fishing the left hand bank and wading in a diagonal and upstream direction, so it makes sense that a staff would be in my right hand so that I can lean into the current rather than away from it.

It's always good to chat about this stuff, even though it does naturally fall into place once you're back on the water.

[Steven Sinclair]

I've always favoured the wooden stick route.

I was gifted a couple of sticks from a pal last year and gifted one if them to my father (complete with some additional embellishments 😅)

There's an awful lot of weight been added to the base of it as I detest sticks that float as they always inevitably end up wrapped up in my running line when salmon fishing.

The paracord hand grip was my first attempt at that but it seems to work well. I guess I'll wait for seniors feedback at the end of this season 👍

Cheers,

Steven.

[Mike Barrio]

Looks great Steven, I'm sure Eddie will be chuffed with that 

[Eddie Sinclair]

Mike,

I like a good stick (thanks Steven) and I always use it in my left hand and the rod in my right, I am right handed and find it easier casting with the big rod with the stick on my left out of the way.

Eddie

[Steven Sinclair]

Mike,

I'm with Dad on that. I've always held the stick in my left with the rod in my right. 

Tbh I use the stick more as a depth gauge before taking the next step in unknown pools than to actually save me from falling in.

Speaking of falling in. I've done it a bunch of times 😅 and whilst i really should wear a life jacket ill be honest in saying that I don't. I do however ensure that my wading belt is on and tightly fitted 👍

I conducted a bunch of testing in the swimming pool at my house in Singapore and its surprising just how much you can thrash about without drowning provided that you have the belt well fastened 👍

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff guys 

Might be different with a salmon rod, or depending which bank you're fishing, but I guess it will always be what comes naturally and offers you the best support on the day.

Water is probably a bit warmer in Singapore Steven 

Cheers
Mike

[Eddie Sinclair]

Mike,

I am assuming from the lack of comment that you have not zoomed in on the adornment/name tag that Steven attached to my stick along with the instruction that I can only keep the stick if I don’t remove it.

[Hamish Young]

..... I always use it in my left hand and the rod in my right, I am right handed and find it easier casting with the big rod with the stick on my left out of the way.

Which is what I do, I actually use the wading staff to loop running line around - which works for me. Mostly 

Having rescued (and trained people to undertake the rescue of)  anglers on the Ness and other Highland rivers over the past 14 years,  I have discovered a common thread based around testosterone and arrogance. What some anglers need to consider is that a wading stick and other stuff characterised as life saving appliances, are not some sort of exotic device that will somehow change the law of physics and hydrodynamics, but instead is an aid to their safety/stability when used properly.

If I am relying on the wading stick/staff alone for stability in fast water, I am in shit creek.

That brings me to Stevens observation about lifejackets.

whilst i really should wear a life jacket ill be honest in saying that I don't. I do however ensure that my wading belt is on and tightly fitted 👍

There are many 'holier than thou' people who will always tell you that a lifejacket is always the answer. Bollocks.
Lifejackets are not always the answer for the wading angler. The best place to be wearing lifejackets is when afloat in a boat or a float tube, and certainly when at sea.  But there are complications in moving  water/river environments. I am in a similar position to Steven, I could perhaps wear a lifejacket more often - but I do not.  I seldom wear a lifejacket (not a buoyancy aid, but a lifejacket) unless the water where I am fishing demands it. There a many reasons for this, and it's a big tangent away from the core topic of wading sticks here, but a lifejacket - like a wading stick - isn't always the answer.

Knowing what to do if you should end in the water and having the presence of mind to act on that knowledge would save the lives of river anglers every year. Of course, so would lifejackets, but only if correctly fitted, suitably serviced, fit for purpose and so on.

I will not go on and on - I promise - but this is where work and play come to an interesting position for me.

Love the tag on the wading stick you have Eddie 

[Mike Barrio]

Eddie, I'll quote Sergeant Schultz ..... "I saw nothing, nothing!" 

[Eddie Sinclair]

Eddie, I'll quote Sergeant Schultz ..... "I saw nothing, nothing!" 

Cheers Mike,

I am certain Steven will expand on his choice of adornment at some point

[Steven Sinclair]

H thank you for (in a round about kind of way) reminding me of another point that I feel is worth sharing!

What I haven't shown in those pictures (as they hadn't arrived yet) is that I added a carabiner between the stick and the lanyard. Having been the 11 year old lad that got stuck  burling round and round  a wading stick that I'd managed to wedge in between rocks after losing my footing. I decided that being firmly attached to the stick with the lanyard over my shoulder was perhaps not the best of ideas! Had my dad and the ghillie not been within shouting distance i could have easily become another statistic! So I now add a carabiner so that if your stick does get stuck and your drifting down stream. Instead of eventually being pulled under. You can unclip from the stick and paddle your way towards the bank 👍

Cheers,

Steven.

[Mark Dimeck]

Bought one a couple of years ago after one too many trips over surprise boulders. Ended up with the rather expensive Patagonia collapsible model as I wanted something light and quickly packable and really pleased with it.
Since, I have spotted some very similar looking carbon hiking poles on ebay which I will try if the Patagonia ever breaks.
I’m right handed but keep it on my right side and hold rod in left hand or tuck it down my waders when moving.
Find the pole great when exploring new sections of river in coloured conditions.

[Will Shaw]

I have the Sharpes one-piece which I use on big fast rivers.
I also have a light collapsable (Vision) one which I carry for smaller rivers if I don't think I'll be using it all day. It's very good, and I'll usually take it with me on occasions when the one-piece feels like a faff if I'm not using it all the time.

I try to always wear mine on the downstream side of me. So I switch it around if I change banks. This means when I let go of the stick it is always out of the way below me. I don't have the stick lying across my legs where I may trip over it, or where it will tangle the line. I have it on one of those hammerhead retractors which works well, and gives me enough leeway to switch hands if I need to (hardly ever).

I really like Hamish's point about not relying solely on the stick.  For me a stick is for stability when taking a step. If I need my hand on the stick while I'm casting, I've gone too far
Similarly, I don't really want to have to put all my weight on the stick, for same reason I don't want to stand on one leg in the middle of the river.

As I get older, the stick seems more and more useful when I'm climbing out up high banks.

W.

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Will/Mark 

I don't usually wade very deep at all, I'm just thinking the stick should help me out a bit when moving around on the slippery stones/rocks that we often come across on the Don.

Agreed Will, I'm mainly looking to improve stability.

Cheers
Mike

[James Laraway]

Like Hamish I also have the Sharpes of Aberdeen one.
It's heavy yes but due to that its totally bombproof - and there is no change of it floating away....
I have it on a retractor so that it stays close to me, although a few people have pointed out to me that having a retractor with a steel cable may not be the best of idea should things go wrong.

I don't wade much and certainly not deeply but its good to have. 

I've only had a couple of scares when wading (without a stick) so consider myself lucky.