There are two types of anglers. Those who fish through the winter, and those who do not. Both are legitimate fly fishers. For the sake of today’s discussion, the only real difference is that one discovers a wader leak on a random day in January while the other has a nasty surprise in April. So while anglers come across unexpected wet spots throughout the year, there is a concentration of said incidents in the springtime.
It is worth mentioning that a lot of these leaks are the result of poor wader storage. Creases, critters, and collisions all destroy high-tech breathable fabric. Dry, off-the-ground organization is the key to avoiding passive wader damage. There is more to it (and you can read about that here), but those tips are a good start.
But whether it is some mouse nibbles, a barbed wire incident, or simply wear and tear, there is usually hope for damaged waders. Catastrophic incidents do happen, but they are rare. Also, diagnosis and remediation isn’t terribly complicated or expensive.
