vaal shuffle in wet socks?

[redhumpy]

Ok so I've tried old tekkies, strops, booties and rockys - they all worked fine except the booties as the rocks in the Vaal destroyed the tips of my toes. Anyways, I recently acquired a pair of propper wading boots with fur on the dash (sole) the works. Now, do you wear special socks with your Chota's or do you just gooi on your tennis socks and take them off everytime you come out of the water? Are there special socks that is less uncomfortable when wet or is it a quetion of going through a couple of pairs on a fishing trip and hanging them to dry between sessions?

And a second thing - you prefer to wade the vaal in shorts or long trousers? I personally prefer the type of trousers with the zip on/off legs. I fish with the "legs" zipped on and when I come out of the water unzip them and hanging them to dry. Any thoughts?

[dizzy]

Ok so I've tried old tekkies, strops, booties and rockys - they all worked fine except the booties as the rocks in the Vaal destroyed the tips of my toes. Anyways, I recently acquired a pair of propper wading boots with fur on the dash (sole) the works. Now, do you wear special socks with your Chota's or do you just gooi on your tennis socks and take them off everytime you come out of the water? Are there special socks that is less uncomfortable when wet or is it a quetion of going through a couple of pairs on a fishing trip and hanging them to dry between sessions?

And a second thing - you prefer to wade the vaal in shorts or long trousers? I personally prefer the type of trousers with the zip on/off legs. I fish with the "legs" zipped on and when I come out of the water unzip them and hanging them to dry. Any thoughts?

They make neoprene wading socks which I believe are more comfortable with wading boots.

[MaXiMuM]

You need a pair of neoprene sox, you can get them from most tackle shops, there are 2 types, Ones with built in Gravel Gard’s, and ones without. I always wear gravel gard’s, but they are not built in.

I always wear long pants, because if you need to bush-whack through an island or 2, your legs are a little better protected. I don’t wear the zip offs, as I find the zip retains water and creates a hula-hoop around my leg...

I would suggest you add a wading staff to your arsenal, you can make one by drilling a hole in the end of a broom stick and attaching it to you with a lanyard of some kind.

[pieterkriel]

Hi

IMHO, the best is to wear a decent pair of neoprene socks with your Chotas, there are several options as far as neoprene socks is concerned, Chota has a range of them but they are priced by name. There are also cheap alternatives at shops like Mias and Sollys. The only benefit of the more expensive ones are that they sometimes have a gravel guard which is intended to keep the gravel out of your shoes.

As far as what to wear is concerned, if I wade wet on the Vaal I wear a pair of quick dry trousers, don't like shorts cause you get burned badly. The trousers I wear dries in about ten minutes after leaving the river, but I prefer to wade with breathable waders, you keep dry, and it is probably safer than wet wading.

Hope this helps.

Regards

[Scythe]

I prefer neoprene booties with gravel guards. No gravel inside your shoe means great wading all day long, with socks only, you typiclly get gravel inside your shoes.

Any socks will do. The only reason to let them dry out between consecutive days of fishing is because it sucks sticking your warm toes into snotty cold socks.

As for pants, it's your preference really. I like getting a tan on my legs and with wading in shorts I believe there is a lot less drag on my legs than there would be with even thin material quick drying pants like the K-Way and the like.

The main benefit of longer pants is some protection against scrapes on submerged branches, rocks and when bushwacking.

[Yellowfever]

Neoprene with gravel guards are a must. I wear quick drying longs without cotton underpants (TMI I know) but you lose a lot of energy around the groin area if that area stays damp. IF you feel vulnerale wear a speedo :-0

Longs protect your legs esp. the back against sunburn. No SPF will last in the water all day.

[dizzy]

At the risk of sounding dumb, what is TMI?

OK, that was dumb - Too much info

[Scythe]

On the topic of TMI ...

... IF you feel vulnerale wear a speedo :-0 ...

I go commando during barbel spawning season while wearing shorts.

Purple headed Woollybugger == Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of grinning ... I mean ... takes.

[dizzy]

On the topic of TMI ...



I go commando during barbel spawning season while wearing shorts.

Purple headed Woollybugger == Lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of grinning ... I mean ... takes.

Eish, you letting us in on the Babich secret now?

I remember when I was much younger, we used to use a fillet of a muddy or yellow to catch huge barbel. They would first remove the scales of the fillet with their sand paper like teeth.

[Andre]

The Explorer neoprene socks are cheap, and they have the gravel guards attached. You just fold them over the boots and they have a clip which holds onto the boot laces. They work well. If your Chota boots are a perfect fit with socks, they may be too small with neoprene booties. I find that one size too large, fits perfectly with the neoprenes. But if you use breathable wadres, you would already know this.
I also find that wearing cycling shorts under trousers or waders, goes a long way to eliminating the Vaal chaffe. I once had to have an embarrassing examination after a few days on the Vaal where the chaffing got a little infected by the not so clean water. A course of cortesone cream did the trick, and all was well with no permanent damage thank heavens