Waders for surf fishing

Recently moved walking distance to Ocean Beach and have been doing some surf fishing (and will be crab snaring come fall).  Been contemplating buying some waders as it seems like every fisherman I see uses them.

I've never worn waders, is it worth it?  Is it more comfortable than a wetsuit?  Easier to clean afterwards?

In the past for surf fishing/crabbing I've always worn a wetsuit with the top half down and surf booties (I also wear this when poke poling).  Always worked just fine for me. 

But now that I'll be out there more I'm wondering if it's better to get the wader set up.

Another idea I had was getting some 3mm wetsuit pants with a solid windbreaker jacket.

Wetsuit hydrodynamic in water. Some benefit of breathable waders.. have less stank and give your junk more room to move and be free. Maybe some folks prefer the mighty fashion.

I find waders to be very comfortable for surf fishing.

Make sure you pick some footwear that won’t get destroyed by the sand and salt water. Zippers? Sand will destroy them. Metal eyelets will rust out of lace holes in boots.

I don't surf fish much, but I find waders to be way, way more comfortable than anything else that I've tried.

Waders has its pros/cons but I do wear them when surf fishing. Quite important to wear a wader belt along with it. But I’ve heard stories of people getting dragged into the surf wearing them.


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Waders are convenient, but over the last ten years I had tripped and felt three times while surf casting. Lost three iphones due to getting wet all over. The problem with waders are they're more bulky. When a wave hits you, it pushes you a lot harder than if you were wearing a wetsuit. I usually go thigh deep. It's easy to lose balance like that, especially if you're using a bootfoot wader. They tend to get sucked in to the sand. I don't know why.

I basically just go in shorts and barefoot.  For perch you don't need to cast all that far, so mostly I'm not standing in the cold water.  Might be different for striper at a beach with such a long / wide surf zone like OB? Around Santa Cruz even if I want to wade to cast I wade back out to reel mostly, so my legs aren't in the water much. 

If the weather is cold I just load up my torso and head with layers and it works for me, but I'm pretty cold tolerant.  And most days it's not that cold until it's so windy I don't wanna fish anyway.

No shade on waders (or a wetsuit, I wear them all the time for kayaking and surfing), wear them if they make it more fun and comfortable. But when I have tried waders for surf fishing they feel bulky and like more trouble than they are worth for me.  And the safety factor of flooding them is real.  Give shorts a try if you have been going the wetsuit route, you may find it's the way to go for you too.

Yeah I crab snare too at OB, and wouldn't think of not going in the water without waders. Figure your casting and waiting, and not moving around all that much to keep the body heat up, then you got to retrieve your gear. Definitely nice to stay warm and dry. I also fly fish the surf and wearing just a wetsuit is really nice since it gives you great mobility and gives you a bit more wading depth. Of course if it's warm enough, just going in shorts is the best!!

Safety is a factor too when wearing waders, cause you never want to somehow fill your waders with water. If you get waders, you'll have a choice of boot foot or stocking foot. Boots seam to leak over time, and have had good success with stocking foot and wearing Shimano Fishing Shoes.

https://www.amazon.com/SHIMANO-Evair-Marine-Fishing-Shoes/dp/B001DTCQF4/ref=asc_df_B001DTCQF4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=193133192523&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3967331578084440738&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9061254&hvtargid=pla-314969078761&psc=1

Welcome to the hood! I don't fish the beach often, but tend to use a pair of high-waist wetsuit bottoms with a neoprene jacket -- basically my kayaking outfit before I got a drysuit. I've used waders in the past but felt they are clumsy to walk in and was always concerned about flooding them if I fell.

Cheers,
Brad