- Last Cast Alan
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
Several weeks ago, I wrote about a harrowing experience where I was caught off-guard by an unscheduled water release on my local tailwater. Ultimately, I was able to make it to a bank and was no worse for wear than a long walk back to the car. Looking back, a lot of things lined up in my favor. The biggest one was my decision to ditch my sling in favor of an older piece of gear that I'd shelved: the Fishpond Switchback Wading System.
Product Summary
I'm not going to go into every excruciating detail about the Switchback because (1) I have the older version, and (2) if you're here, you already know what the product is.
The Switchback is a carry system that revolves around a thick, sturdy wading belt that has a reinforced nylon rail upon which packs and accessories can be mounted and slid from front to back. On the side without the rail, there are attachment points where you can mount other accessories that you don't want to slide around. On the back, there is a net holster with attachment loops for a magnet, if you so choose.
Along with the belt, the system comes with a hip pack that has enough room for your streamside essentials and a shoulder strap with attachment points for your tools. Additionally, Fishpond sells a wide range of packs and accessories to add to the system, such as waterproof packs and pouches, rod holsters, and water bottle holders. That's in addition to all the cool streamside tools and other knickknacks that Fishpond designs to attach to all of their equipment.
I did take the time to reach out to Fishpond to learn more about the changes that have been made with the second iteration of the Switchback Wading System. The 2.0 version has a speed clip incorporated into the sliding rail, which makes adding and removing those accessories more easy. The hip pouch was also redesigned to simplify the internal compartments.
The use case for the new Switchback is unchanged from the original. As Blake from Fishpond puts it, “[o]ur goal with the Switchback system has always been to prioritize both safety and efficiency on the water. By keeping essential gear accessible and secure, anglers can focus on fishing while being better prepared for changing conditions.”
On top of all that, Fishpond's prices for the Switchback are incredible for the value you get. Now, let's get into why I think it's a no-brainer for anybody looking to build out a kit that will fit them like a second skin (and save that skin in the process).
The Wading Belt
As I mentioned above, the wading belt is the star of the show here. This isn't the cheap, flimsy, flexible (often elastic) wading belt that comes with your waders. Those belts are borderline worthless, and anglers are told that they're essential because "they'll keep your waders from flooding."
Nah. Anyone who's fallen (or jumped) into fast currents over the top of their waders knows that once the chest portion of your waders start to fill with water, it's going to push past that flimsy belt almost immediately. Remember, one gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds. Unless you can do a handstand in the middle of the river, that water isn't coming out until you get to land, and once you take on water, it's almost impossible to stop taking on additional water. Add into the mix the powerful current threatening to sweep you off your feet and, well, it's bad news bears.
The wading belt that comes with the Switchback is wide, measuring nearly six inches top to bottom. It has straps you can actually yank and pull in front to cinch the belt down tight, as opposed other wading belts having a sliding belt tensioner that cannot be adjusted while worn. That width also makes it more comfortable to wear tightly by avoiding sharp pressure points that will cause discomfort and premature wear on your waders.
Lastly, because the wading belt is wide and rigid, it can also hold a lot of weight comfortably. That means you can bring more gear that can make you safer and more capable on the water. Which brings me to what I have attached to my Switchback.
The Accessories
On the right side of my Switchback, I have the hip pouch on a sliding rail. In here, I keep a variety of things that I might otherwise not bother taking because I don't have room in my vest. Garmin GPS, hand warmers (I like the big mamajammas), leader material, snacks, etc. On the left side of the belt, I have a carabiner with a Nalgene. I've replaced the cap with one that has a built-in water filter, so I can fill up as I need. I also have a wading staff with heavy-duty retractor so that I can reach back and grab it when I need it, and then let go of it and have it retract so it's out of the way when I don't need it.
How the Switchback Saved My Skin
I had scrambled onto a rock to get a vantage point at some of the water around me. After 2 or 3 casts, I hooked up and landed a fish. As I released the fish, I noticed that the rock I was on was no longer above water. I looked around and saw that the structure I had passed that was once above water was nowhere to be seen. Eight miles up river, the dam was churning out millions of gallons of water, raising the flows from 190cfs to over 3,000cfs. I knew, with the water rising this quickly, I had a couple minutes to move.
Being on the far side of the river, I first tried to make my way back to where I entered the water. Reaching back to where the retractor was on my Switchback wading belt, I grabbed the handle of my wading staff and began moving across the river, using the staff as a depth measure of the water in front of me. After a handful of steps, it was clear that the middle of the river was too deep to cross. As I turned around, I felt the increased push of the current as I exposed the widest part of my body to it. I could feel water beginning to splash over the top of my waders and my footing starting to slip backwards. I quickly angled my body perpendicular to the river's flow and planted my wading staff.
Knowing that the river had a bit more to rise, I began to worry that I might not make it to the close bank. Then, looking upstream, I saw the disturbance in the water's surface caused by a shoal of rocks protruding from the close bank. I thought maybe that shoal would provide enough shelter from the current to avoid gettin swept downstream, and then I could use the rocks as foot and hand holds to reach the near bank.
Gritting my teeth and stabbing my wading staff into whatever would take it, I pushed forward to the shoal, trying to keep my body at an angle as much as I could. More water spilled over the top of my waders, but I could not feel it below my belt. I was ten feet away from the shoal and could see the water continuing to rise. Mustering everything I had, I dug my feet in and took 2 or three more steps and reached for the closest shoal rock.
As I tried to climb up, the current immediately pushed me away from the shoal. More as a flinch reaction than a calculated movement, the hand holding my wading staff flung behind me with the current. I stabbed down and used the staff to push myself up onto the rock. With most of my body out of the water, I stopped to catch my breath, take a drink of water, then slowly crept along the shoal rocks to the far bank. I pulled out my phone, told my wife what happened, and began the long walk to the bridge on the horizon that would eventually lead me back to the side of the river where my car was parked.
As I walked back to my car, I realized that, if I had been using my usual sling pack, I would not have brought my wading staff, and I would have used the wading belt that came with my waders. Making it to that shoal was a close call. I shuddered at the thought of how it could have played out.
We fish for trout in beautiful, secluded, natural places, often in search of solitude. Danger can strike at any moment, and it's important to have the tools needed to deal with those situations as they arise. The Switchback system makes it easy to carry that extra gear that makes my time on the water safer and more enjoyable. And some day, I might upgrade the hip pouch to the new small Thunderhead submersible hip pouch.
