Wearing a Wetsuit, Before and After Immersion

I bought a Farmer John wetsuit for winter fishing. Most of the time I am in the delta and only a short swim to shore if I was to fall in and be unable to self rescue. Still I figured it would be a good idea to wear one when it is cold. After fishing the Port O Sac tourney with my feet freezing in dive boots, I am wondering what to expect from my wetsuit. I understand the wetsuit will be helpful while in the water. I wonder how warm it will be while fishing in general, and how warm it will be after a self rescue. Will I need the seven layers I wore when it was freezing at the port? If I self rescue, will I need to head home because a wetsuit is designed to work in the water? Since the dive boots and a wetsuit are pretty similar I am guessing they have similar performance. How do they work on the kayak during cold winter weather, either before or after taking a swim?

Dry Suit for the cold Delta/freshwater.
Or breathable Waders with fleece and appropriate tops - just don't fall in

Dry Suit for the cold Delta/freshwater.
Or breathable Waders with fleece and appropriate tops - just don't fall in

+1

If only... I already have the wetsuit and I don't think I am going to convince my wife I should spend that much on a dry suit. So I am stuck with the wetsuit. I hope to go out this weekend and I am hoping to get experienced opinions on how to dress with a wetsuit in winter. 

I only wear waders in the winter in fresh water. Dress underneath for how cold it will be. Feet stay dry, body stays dry, I stay warm. Wet suit will be cold most likely. When in the salt in cold weather I wear my FJ with paddle pants over it, and then layer on top. I had splash pants with no feet in them and wore my 5 mil dive boots before. Now I have the Kokatat Tempest pants to wear over the FJ and they have attached socks. I can wear wool socks under the socks and my crocs outside. I have not tried putting my dive boots over the socks yet. Those boots I've seen look nice, but I have never tried them. Couple companies make them.

If only... I already have the wetsuit and I don't think I am going to convince my wife I should spend that much on a dry suit. So I am stuck with the wetsuit. I hope to go out this weekend and I am hoping to get experienced opinions on how to dress with a wetsuit in winter. 

A farmer john alone would not keep you warm. In the winter I wear at least a wetsuit jacket over my farmer john, and splash jacket and pants over that. And that is just to stay warm when dry. Whatever you wear, make sure your clothing will not become a sponge in the water, and affect your ability to self rescue or swim to shore.

If you do go into the drink, it is game over for the day. A wet farmer john will get cold fast, especially with the wind blowing. And you will need to change into dry clothe fast!

Check into the Mysterioso  garments (or other base layers) as a base layer under the neoprene. I get cold pretty easily and my mysterioso shirt & pants made a huge difference. I wear them xc skiing too.
In addition,  splashwear (jacket & pants) over the neoprene FJ will be a major improvement. Neoprene doesn't help much once it is wet and you are out of the water. The evaporative cooling will make it tough to stay comfortable once you get wet.

Or breathable Waders with fleece and appropriate tops - just don't fall in

+1 I prefer hip waders, don't hold as much water if you fall in, guy I know died because waders filled and he couldn't pull himself out.

Make sure PDF can keep you afloat if waders fill with water. Why I only wear hip waders, less water, easy to slip off if needed.

Or breathable Waders with fleece and appropriate tops - just don't fall in

+1 I prefer hip waders, don't hold as much water if you fall in, guy I know died because waders filled and he couldn't pull himself out.

Make sure PDF can keep you afloat if waders fill with water. Why I only wear hip waders, less water, easy to slip off if needed.

Once you snug up your PFD over the waders they're aren't going to fill with water (acts as a mega-wading belt).

If your waders fill with water, then it becomes water-on-water & all you are addind, as far as what your PFD is supporting, is the dry weight of the waders.  Now if you try to remove yourself from the water (such as reboarding your yak) THEN you will feel the weight of the water.

As Piscean mentioned it's the evaporative cooling that makes a wetsuit so cold above the water, and with paddle drips and spray having a wet wetsuit is quite likely.  I add a pair of paddling pants and jacket over my wetsuit when I expect it to be cold or windy, works for me. I also wear at least a 5mm or 7mm FJ with a 2mm jacket. A 3mm FJ doesn't do much for me. I thought about adding a thermal layer between the wetsuit and paddle gear for really cold days but I hate the cold and never tried it, I just don't go if it's too cold.

If only... I already have the wetsuit and I don't think I am going to convince my wife I should spend that much on a dry suit. So I am stuck with the wetsuit. I hope to go out this weekend and I am hoping to get experienced opinions on how to dress with a wetsuit in winter. 

Remember the old adage "when i die, i hope my wife doesnt sell all my toys for what i told her i payed for them."

Dry suit is absolutely worth the investment in the cold. Used whitewater mountain streams while snowing and stayed warm.

If your waders fill with water, then it becomes water-on-water & all you are addind, as far as what your PFD is supporting, is the dry weight of the waders.  Now if you try to remove yourself from the water (such as reboarding your yak) THEN you will feel the weight of the water.

Agree, kind of, after 23 years working on the ocean and 3-4 times a year discussing man overboard and hypothermia, chest waders are my last choice to wear in a kayak. 

Yes, eventually you may reach equilibrium with the water filling the waders and the water around you but in the mean time your PFD can be pushed up around your neck and if you are a large person you can move right past the point of equilibrium.

Pulling yourself back into the kayak will be very difficult with waders full of water. 

I have decided to buy some Muk Luks for my feet. They come up high enough that I should be able to enter my kayak and hang my feet over the side without getting water in them. Then at the least, I will wear rain gear over my wetsuit which will keep splash off of me so I don't get wet. It will also work as a good wind break. What other layers I might use I haven't decided yet. I need to suit up and go outside when it is cold to see how cold I get and go from there. I'll have to start with this and upgrade in the future. Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

You are on the right track with the mukluks and the rain suit to cover the wet suit.  You may want to consider the kokqtat tempest pants and tempest jacket, ( or some other paddle top)  if that doesn' work out.  My experience with the wetsuit came at GS 6.  I was fine until a fog bank came in and then it was shiver time. My dry suit was back at the Motel because the weather "Had Been" so warm!