Ken wades all over the place; he's part mountain goat, part Lewis and Clark fearless scout. To do what he does, let's consider:

Title: It ain’t just the Fish.
Sub-Title: Wading Safety makes Fishing Fun Too

“Where else can I go? I’m a little afraid to fly fish and wade the Fox as the water is dirty and I can’t see the bottom.” ~ Skunked. Read on one of our local fishing sites.

A bit of a problem in much of the Midwest when it comes our rivers. They aren’t that clear and it can be uncomfortable wading in waters where you can’t see your feet or where the holes might be. Fishing isn’t quite as much fun when you are worried about falling down, getting hurt, losing your equipment or, possibly, drowning.

Well, my written advice to Skunked was, “don't be afraid, but do be cautious.” Both the Fox and the K3 are excellent fly fishing rivers. So is the Dupage, the Kishwaukee (but much smaller). And too, the Milwaukee in Milwaukee, Wi., as are many other smallmouth rivers throughout the Midwest.

Here are some suggestions that can make wading safer and more productive for you.

1. Invest in lightweight stocking-foot waders. Then invest in wading shoes with metal spikes or studs on the soles (Korkers are what I use). Spiked wading shoes often great support on mud, slime, algae, rocks. Spiked shoes will increase your confidence factor by a great deal.
The waders keep you dry and help cushion the effects of rocks, pebbles and sand on your feet. When your feet are uncomfortable, you are uncomfortable. When you are uncomfortable, you lose concentration and accidents can happen more easily. If you get boot-foot waders, try to get some spiked, slip on cleats used by ice fishermen.

2. Please get a Folstaff (or comparable) collapsible wading staff. Having this third leg is essential to providing balance while walking up and down hills, negotiating rocks and currents. In addition to maintaining balance, the staff will allow you to probe the water in front of and to the sides of you. It doesn't eliminate holes, but does give a wee touch of warning. You will love it. Tie it to your waist belt and wade on.

3. Get a wide, back support belt. It is not really for your back, but for your back and stomach muscles. While many of us are in good shape, in our daily lives, we are not accustomed to wading rivers - negotiating wildly uneven terrain, unseen, in current. . Heck, even our own homes – hallways, stairs, tables, etc - can become evil dangerous strangers in the dark of night during power outage. It’s worse in a river you don’t know well.

This is stressful and we will stumble a lot. As we stumble, our back and stomach muscles come under enormous pressure to keep us upright and from falling. This leads to muscle injuries. Having support for the back and stomach muscles helps to PREVENT injuries when our bodies violently jerk when we do stumble around, and/or fall.

4. Polarized glasses: Must haves and another safety/confidence item. To help you see as much beneath the surface as possible, even when the water has only 6 - 12 inches of viz, like the Fox. A little bit is better than no bit.

5. Learning to read the surface water. Learn small, grow big. Pick a small section of the K3 or Fox, say 100 yards by 100 yards. Wade it slowly, multiple times. Watch the water's surface more than the fish. Don't worry about your casting. Please note what the surface looks like as the water rises or gets deeper (even inches of change count here). I wish for you to understand that the water's surface activity (riffles, boils, haystacks, current edges, bubble lines, glides, color change of water, speed of flow) provide meaningful clues as to depth, changes in depth, bottom structure, and changes in bottom structure, and the type of in water structure: rock, wood, weed, mud, sand, gravel, etc. These provide clues as to where the fish are/should be. And, perhaps, where YOU should and shouldn't be too.

6. Once you start to ID the surface, you'll find that the subsurface clues provided will be rather consistent indicators as to sub-surface structure on the K3, Fox, Dupage, Milwaukee , Kishwaukee, etc. They are consistent clues you will find on many of our Midwestern, limestone bottomed, flowing waters.

7. Please realize you are going to take a plunge. Get used to the idea. Don't carry anything with you that you don't wish to get wet. Carry valuables in a small, ziplock baggy (cameras, keys, etc). Use a low profile, inflatable C02 vest until you get comfy with your environment. Even, then it isn’t bad to wear period as a low-profile, upper body cushion for when your do fall.

When you fall down - relax, let yourself get wet (easier said than done, but try to keep it in mind). We often hurt ourselves more trying not to fall than we do in the fall. We also hurt ourselves trying to save our rods. Hey, it’s easier to replace a rod (cheaper too) than to fix a broken arm. Lay still for a moment. Get calm, find your feet and stand up. Check your pockets, check your equipment. Have a seat, catch your breath, assess your feelings (we try to ignore these and push through them, but we shouldn't. If you are upset about what just happened, and the day is over for you, let it be over. There is tomorrow. Trust your instincts), or continue fishing if all is well. Panic kills more than current does. We are designed to float.

8. Don't make long casts, or try to wade and cast too far if you don't know the water well. When we cast far, - trying to mend, get a drift, feel for hits, we end up paying attention to your fly "way over there" and not your feet “right down there” - below you. I see this too much. It is that in-attention to what is right in front of us that causes problems for waders.

OK, the lecture is over. Our smallmouth rivers are marvelous for fly fishing. Plus, they ain't that crowded and you can always find fresh new spots that ain't hit much. The fish aren’t all bunched up in just a few spots. It’s just fishermen unwilling to move from a spot that produced for them in the past that are bunched up.

Safety makes fishing more pleasant. Not worrying about falling into holes is far more relaxing than worrying about, and/or falling into holes. Kinda’ makes sense, I think. This won’t happen overnight - few good things do - but wading safely, as with any skill, will come if you work at it.

Got questions: bossbob50@sbcglobal.net

Bob Long, Jr., is the “Fishin’ Guy!” for Mayor Daley’s Fish`N Kids Program of the Chicago Park District. He’s also a long time smallmouth fly fisherman in our Midwestern rivers, creeks and streams.

From my stand point, it helps to not care whether you live or die while out fishing. Better to die on the river than sitting around at home.

The Kank still freaks me out and I'm a lot less careless on that river than on the Fox.

On the Fox, the first thing I looked up 12 years ago was the average depth of the river, which is 4 feet. Which means at least 50 percent of it is less than that and even lower when the river starts flowing at below normal levels.

This immediately told me, taking fast running chutes into account, I could go pretty much anywhere I wanted. Yes, the chutes are fun when you can't get out of one, but unless you hit your head on a rock during a fall in the river, drowning in the river when it's at normal flow would be pretty hard to do.

Just stand up.

In 40 miles of wading the Fox and it's creeks there are few spots that hit the 6 foot level. Three I know of because I'm 5 foot 9. Most deep areas on the Fox you can feel coming and unless you're caught up in a chute, can easily back out of.

I've only found 4 spots where you take a step and disappear under the water. St. Charles between the bridge and the dam. Geneva under the bridge, second pylon from the east. Aurora, west channel, 3rd bridge and Route 30 west side.

As I approach Bob's age I may invest in a wading staff. For now, there's a certain freedom in reckless abandon when it comes to wading.

At 52, reckless abandon while wading is pretty much all the reckless abandon I got left.

True dat to all you say, Ken. And funny stuff, as always.

I didn't know you were 52? I'm 58. You is/am/be getting up there.

As for the wading stick, well, Ken's got a lower center of gravity than I do. He's got "down lineman's legs," that plant and hold, while I've got those slender (sounds so much better than skinny) wideout/receiver legs. I've got speed, but not much stick-to-the-ground.

Plus, I think he actually likes taking a swim from time to time. He gets a strange gleam in his eyes as he recounts his various temptations with watery death.

And, yeah - not to make light of it at all - but you gotta, kinda work at drowning while wading in four feet of water (unless there's a knockout head blow).

Final thought, my friend. You still got some "abandon" left in you. I know I do. It's just the reckless part we've worked our way out of. "Conscious Abandon?"