Pondering of a fishing guide
I guess I’m getting older, but I don’t wade fish much anymore. When I was younger, I used to surf and wade fish all the time. Sometimes, I would do both activities on the same day.
I heard on the radio about a man from Ingleside contracting the Vibrio bacteria while wade fishing. While I do know at least three cases of people that got infections who never left their boat, I figure a person’s chances are higher if you are in the water.
It’s a good idea to keep small bottles of bleach in the boat for any wounds that occur. If you fish as often as I do, these wounds include line cuts, hook punctures and small fin pricks from fish. If you wade fish you can add oysters and barnacles to that list.
If you own a boat and can afford a trolling motor and power pole there is no reason to wade. With a power pole and trolling motor, it is easier to move along a shore line with several people than it is wading.
Waders must carry stringers, bait buckets, nets, pliers and an assortment of gear that is often a duplication of what is already in the boat.
I’ve had stringers of trout and reds stripped by sharks while wading several times. I once had to fight a shark for my bait bucket! I’ve stepped on several stingrays, without wounds…knock on wood!
At this point in my life I’m much more concerned about the Vibrio bacteria. I do have some very fond memories of wade fishing and I have done some this year in Cedar Bayou.
But, day in and day out, with my customers who vary in age from 5 to 87 years old, I just can’t plan on wading.
Tight lines,
Captain Robert Hamilton, Board Chairman of CBGA
My Coastal World 
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