Wading Sticks

[garryh]

My local stream is full of boulders ,i have had a few close calls but luckily have yet to fall or take a ducking.i dont wade deep these days .it would mainly be for crossing the river which is a must to fish the stream properly.do many of you use them ? are the fold away ones reliable ? .any thoughts or opinions will be gladly received.

Garry

[loch coulter]

me the same, any help would be appreciated. :roll:

[Highlander]

I have the Sharpes one piece, it is a well made bit of kit. Folding ones are very popular though Snowbee & Orvis ones look ok. They are generally lighter than the one piece & for the angler that walks a lot of the bank would maybe find them more useful than the heavier, bit cumbersome one piece ones. They generally come with a scabbard which is again useful Some will suggest "walking/ski sticks" but they are not  not for me. They simply are not designed for wading. Not saying you could not use one but if my life is at stake I will feel safer with mine rather than a ski pole.
An ideal "stick should be strong, weighted at bottom preferably with a rubber foot, a good hand grip & a shoulder lanyard .
Tight Lines

[Billy]

Garry,

I use a telescopic Leki which I managed to get from Leckies in Falkirk. That was a few years ago and I have never seen them since although I pop in every time I pass. I think it was a tenner which was great value.
I must admit I only ever bought it for fishing the Don but I always use it on the troutstream. Some of those pools are lethal.

I did think about getting a one piece but the telescopic is handy for folding while fighting your way through the jungle on some of the banks.
I know Fred had a bad fall a couple of years ago which looked painful so he likes to use them as well now.

Billy

[bibio1]

I broke a wading stick  last year when I fell on top of it. It was a telescopic and had corroded ever so slightly at one of the joints.

Would I still use a telescopic? Yip. They're cheap and easy to carry which is worth the once in a 10 yr incident. I have a wooden one but that's a one piece and Cumbersome

[Wildfisher]

I have used a Leki telescopic pole, but it's a pain to carry when not in use. I got one of these.

[attachimg=1]

Tucks away in the back of the vest or hangs in its holster from your wading belt when not needed

[Tyro]

I have the Sharpes one piece wading staff. It's not cheap but neither is my life! Having said that I got it at a reasonable price from Garry Evans' website. I was fishing at Findyate on Monday. Very bouldery with sudden deep holes. Would not have risked wading without my staff. Still never even saw a salmon

Len

[burnie]

I use the Snowbee same as Freds, pole is still fine after about 5 years use but the handle is gubbed. There's a wee threaded bit that takes one of two attachments(one with a compass  in it), the thread is damaged so I just use it without the attachment. Also the elastic went a bit slack, so I tied a knot in it, works fine now.

[Wildfisher]

Same happened to mine, I epoxied it back into place

[garryh]

cheers folks ,i think i will go for a folding one .i was just needing a bit of assurance as to the reliability .it wont be heavily used ,but i reckon its time i invested.
Garry