So, what I have been wearing for some years have been various waterproof walking boots. Not all are equal though. For a fishing boot I would suggest looking for a few features. First of all it must be high enough at the ankle for the legs of your waterproofs to cover the top of the boot when you sit down. I learned this the hard way when sitting in an open boat with the pouring rain running off my overtrousers and into my boots! The tongue of the boot should also be waterproof, preferably with a gusset that runs right to the top. Tongues that are not waterproof not only let water in when you paddle, but they soak up water when it rains or even when walking through wet grass.

I had tried a few makes of boot, learning from my mistakes as I went, and decided to look around for a boot that met more of my requirements. Knowing that Pete Wadeson gets to review clothing and boots for shooting magazines I asked his advice and he instantly recommended I get a pair of Chiruca Trekking boots. That he hadn't recommended a more expensive boot was interesting. I headed for my local gun shop to look at them. While I was there another customer said they were a good buy, and was actually wearing a pair himself. That seemed like a good endorsement, so I handed over my cash. At around £80 they weren't cheap, but they weren't expensive either. That was in October 2001 and I have worn them on every fishing session since then - until they finally gave up the ghost in early December 2004!

In that time they proved to be both comfortable and dry. My one minor complaint with the boots was that the tongue was only gusseted about half way up. I have done some long walks in them, scrabbled about on rocky reservoir banks, waded through mud, paddled in numerous lakes and rivers, fought my way through bramble patches and sat or stood in boats in the rain and snow. Through all that I have shown them the dubbin tin about three times! Considering the neglect and abuse they have suffered I'm not complaining. I was so impressed by these boots that I went back to the gun shop to get a replacement pair. But it was in vain, they no longer stocked them. I was scuppered - or I would have been in the days before the Internet!

Thanks to good old Google I managed to find the Chiruca website (Chiruca is a brand name of the Spanish footwear company FAL), only to discover that the precise boot I had is no longer available - although it might well have been renamed. However, this actually proved to be beneficial. I kept searching and found a very similar looking boot - the Canada in their Top Hunter range. This  range of boots is designed for the European hunting market - chasing wild boar through forests and that kind of thing! A little more Googling and I tracked down a UK stockist with on-line ordering, so I took a chance and ordered a pair, even though the price tag was £119.00 plus postage. When they arrived I was pleased to see that they are very similar to my original boots, including the contoured insole and Gore-Tex lining, but they also have a fully gusseted, padded leather tongue which wasn't obvious in the specifications or on-line pictures.

Wearing them around the house for a day they felt pretty comfortable, so I took them fishing. The first session involved a twenty minute trudge through muddy fields, a walk that had left me limping after five minutes a few weeks earlier after buying a pair of Wychwood Lunker boots! The Canadas were as comfortable as my old pair of Chirucas from the off, and my feet were just as dry.

Having worn these boots for two years now they have fully lived up to expectations and proved equally as hard wearing as the previous pair. They are still waterproof and comfortable despite having been neglected.

Check out the Chiruca website www.chiruca.com and you'll see they produce some pretty impressive looking boots for wearing in rough terrain and harsh environments in their Top Hunter range. It's a pity this range of footwear seems only to be stocked by hunting and shooting shops in the UK. If you can't find a local stockist of the Canada boot try www.scottcountry.co.uk, which is where I bought mine from.

Dave Lumb

Posted January 2007