I'm heading south this spring and will be in a very wet area. What type of boots do you prefer and how do you tackle the water issue? Some seem to use knee high rubber and dump them out I guess, others seem to use regular boots and just get wet. Just wanting to get a feel for the most common approach. Thanks guys.
Lacrosse Grange
need to get your hands on some hip boots
I wear a rubber boot and if crossing something higher than the boot I take them and my socks off then roll up my pant legs and go. Sometimes a nice dip feels good down here.
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I prefer to wear snake boots during my season here in south GA. I just keep going! Invest in a boot dryer too.
Quote from: M Sharpe on January 23, 2017, 07:58:31 AM
I prefer to wear snake boots during my season here in south GA. I just keep going! Invest in a boot dryer too.
x10. your feet is gonna get wet. I guess we just are use to it down here. when you get back to camp , put them on a boot dryer and air out those puppies. you will be good to go the next morning.
Lacross Grange knee and hip boots...just got to be mindful of water level...how it can fluctuate and where you are going....
Grange boots are really good. Also carry a couple of black garbage bags in your pocket or vest. You can cross a creek just like you had on hip boots. Once across the water shake them off and you are ready to go.
I don't know if cottonmouths are a problem where you're going, but here in mid TN they are not common so if I'm going to a swampy area and it's not cold out, I sometimes just wear my crocs flip flops.
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If you're hunting a true swamp, it's likely that your feet are going to get wet no matter what. With that said, if you're not wearing snake boots then I'd advise wearing some earth tone color tennis shoes (I prefer low cut brown Skechers) and just embrace getting wet. Personally, I don't like lugging around the extra water in rubber boots.
If you do prefer wearing snake boots, be sure you invest in a boot dryer like others have suggested.
I wear Muck Fieldblazer Knee high boots. They grip your calves and won't automatically fill up with water if you step off into a deep spot. Ridiculously comfortable.
FC
Depends on how much water you're dealing with. In South Florida I normally where Crocs. I'm in and out of water so much I'd spend half the day putting bags over my legs or trying not to go over the rubber boots. If the water is very sporadic, I've taken the crocs in the back of my vest and just swapped over when I had to cross.
I learned many moons ago that when hunting around water I was spending WAY to much time trying to keep my feet dry especially when moving on a gobbling bird. I decided then I'd rather carry a turkey with wet feet than arrive home dry.
a pair of mucks and really light weight pair of rain pants with a good strap on the bottom cuff. You can get a pair of cabelas space rain paints they are like 8oz and the size of a beer can rolled up. full zips let you put them on quick with your boots on and velco cuff will let you get them tight. cross the deep water even if its above your boots the pants will hold the water out from a quick crossing.
Quote from: tha bugman on January 23, 2017, 10:50:45 AM
Lacross Grange knee and hip boots...just got to be mindful of water level...how it can fluctuate and where you are going....
X2.
I don't know if they still make them, but muck boots used to make a pair of knee high boots that has extra material that rolled up to about mid thigh level. It was the same material as canvas waders. After crossing it can be rolled back down and fastened. I had a pair that I used for duck hunting and they were pretty handy.
I wear my 18" LaCrosse rubber snake boots any where I can because I like dry feet, and most places I do fine but when I hunt real wet areas its best to just throw on some regular boots, jump in and go on with it. There's plenty of time to dry off after season. I do however have a pair of knee high snake chaps for when I leave the boots behind. I'll brave the water but I've had way to many close calls with snakes to go without protection.
I despise wet feet, but down here its a fact of life. This year will be my first season with rubber boots. Only thing left after that is waders.
Yup--18" Lacrosse boots--love them for the swamps!
I agree with the hip boots with the roll down upper portion if you will hunt somewhere you absolutely know you will be in water at some point, unless, of course, you intend to run and gun all day long. if there is just a chance of water, get some good snake boots for safety reasons and if the situation calls for you to get wet, well, then get wet.
I once was standing on a ridge and a bird was hammerin' on the adjacent ridge, about 75 yds across the swamp. As luck (or lack of) would have it, the swamp was just a shade higher than my snake boots. snuck my way across 80% of the swamp, with completely wet feet, with the bird still hammerin' and moving up and down the ridge. I was probably within 20 yds of the ridge and I got busted by a hen I never saw, started "putting" like crazy. birds-1, hunter-0, and wet feet to boot. just part of the game. good luck with your decision
Quote from: M Sharpe on January 23, 2017, 07:58:31 AM
I prefer to wear snake boots during my season here in south GA. I just keep going! Invest in a boot dryer too.
^^This works.
Where I hunt swamps down in Dixie, there's also lots of snakes. Cottonmouths, rattlers, pygmy rattlers, coral snakes, copperheards. So I use snake boots, and deal with it if they leak or the water goes over the top. Yes, boot dryers and sit them out in the sun!!
I hunt here in south Louisiana.... I wear Lacrosse Alphaburly..... I wear them year round.... we have all kinds of snakes... I'm just very mind full of where I step......
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Growing up and hunting in South Florida, we just wore some earth colored tennis/hunting type shoe with quick draining capabilities as the water was always going over boots. We never wore snake boots, but were very careful and had our eyes glued to the ground in front of us.....snake boots would be preferred, but they are a pain in the butt in the swamps. Up here in the mountains I do wear waterproof snake boots and they work perfect.
Wore regular rubber boots for years, then lace up knee high snake boots, but for the last few years I have been wearing neoprene/rubber boots. I love the ability to roll them up and down that makes on/off easy.