Felt Sole Boots

[jononfire]

Hey a co worker had told me that Alberta has recently ban felt sole boot. Just wondering if anyone had heard or know it to be true or not.

[ÜberFly]

Maybe he meant Alaska?!

 

P

 

Hey a co worker had told me that Alberta has recently ban felt sole boot. Just wondering if anyone had heard or know it to be true or not.

 

[SilverDoctor]

Haven't heard anything about it yet this season although I believe it is way overdue.

[DaveJensen]

The issue isn't felt, rubber, teflon, etc soles of footwear. Again, as all things to do with fisheries management, it comes down to human management. The issue is angler awareness, education, and action as to whether we care enough about our resource to ensure our impact is checked. You can go barefoot wading in any river you want, but if you don't wash your feet and scrub between your toes, didymo/wd/etc is going to come along for the ride. Again, our fish and our rivers would do very well without us.

Happy almost spring.

[jononfire]

Thanks to all for your help i was looking ant getting another pair of korkers anyway so i will just get rubber and felt soles hahaha........ and keep the clean as i can

[seanbritt]

It will likely be eons before AB does anything like ban felt soles.

[Nick0Danger]

The issue isn't felt, rubber, teflon, etc soles of footwear. Again, as all things to do with fisheries management, it comes down to human management. The issue is angler awareness, education, and action as to whether we care enough about our resource to ensure our impact is checked. You can go barefoot wading in any river you want, but if you don't wash your feet and scrub between your toes, didymo/wd/etc is going to come along for the ride. Again, our fish and our rivers would do very well without us.

Happy almost spring.

 

 

100% agreed, most of those rubber soled boots still have laces a great place for invaders to hitch a ride to new waters.

[Der]

What is the best method to clean,sterilise your boots,will a dip in bleach and water work,if so what concentration is needed? will bleach eat the boots. Can any one suggest a site that explains how to best clean boots. Thanks in advance. Daryl

[DaveJensen]

What is the best method to clean,sterilise your boots,will a dip in bleach and water work,if so what concentration is needed? will bleach eat the boots. Can any one suggest a site that explains how to best clean boots. Thanks in advance. Daryl

Two pages that essentially cover the current threats:

http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/didymo

http://whirlingdisease.montana.edu/about/anglers.htm

 

Also, here's the Orvis position on the rubber vs felt issue:

The Orvis stand on felt vs. rubber soles

1.No rubber soles yet developed are as good as felt on slippery rocks.

1.In order to be as effective as felt on slippery rocks, rubber soles must be studded. Our new cross-shaped tungsten-carbide studs provide much better traction and more secure surface area than traditional studs.

1.For anglers that are not strong waders, a properly constructed wading staff is always recommended.

1.In sand, mud, clay, gravel, snow, and ice, rubber soles are superior to felt.

1.Rubber soles should not give the angler a false sense of security regarding invasive species. All wading shoes and waders should be cleaned, inspected, and dried prior to using them in a different watershed. Rubber soles are not a panacea; they are merely easier to clean than felt. Fabric, laces, and gravel guards can still harbor invasive species and their spores.

1.Mud and debris should be rinsed and brushed from wading shoes prior to leaving the river. After returning from a trip, wading shoes and waders should be washed in hot water (greater than 104 degrees F), inspected for any debris (remove with a hard bristle brush), and dried until they are completely dry. Felt can take up to 3 days to dry; most rubber-soled wading shoes are completely dry in 24 hours.

1.At this point there is no known chemical treatment for wading shoes that will kill all spores. For instance, didymo can be killed with a 5% salt solution but whirling disease spores cannot be killed with any chemical treatment that won’t destroy the wading shoes. Again, to avoid a false sense of security, and because we don’t even know about all the aquatic invasives that might be present, we don’t recommend any chemical treatment. Besides, the introduction of cleaning solutions or bleach into an ecosystem can be more damaging than what you set out to cure.

1.Felt soles still have their place for anglers who always fish the same watershed.

 

Cheers.

[Brookie2]

100% agreed, most of those rubber soled boots still have laces a great place for invaders to hitch a ride to new waters.

I agree, rubber soles don't solve the problem.

[monger]

http://www.fish.state.pa.us/water/habitat/.../faq_didymo.htm

[Der]

Thanks for the links Dave. Looks like I need at least 2 pair of boots to fish in different waters as takes at least a day for felt to dry out. I suppose that is an advantage to new rubber soled boots as laces will dry faster than felt soles. No mention of any cleaner or steriliser other than using dish soap which is fine too,drying time is the weak link. I really don,t want to spread anything. Daryl

[adams]

"1.Mud and debris should be rinsed and brushed from wading shoes prior to leaving the river. After returning from a trip, wading shoes and waders should be washed in hot water (greater than 104 degrees F), inspected for any debris (remove with a hard bristle brush), and dried until they are completely dry. Felt can take up to 3 days to dry; most rubber-soled wading shoes are completely dry in 24 hours."

 

So, are you saying once they are completely dry, all the potentially dangerous substances are dead?

 

Adams

[SilverDoctor]

I usually hit my with the power washer, splash of bleach solution then sun dry. Have two pairs of boots that I cycle if one pair is not dry.

[Harps]

We have a few things to worry about.

Didymo is dead if dry. Laces, pants things like that dry fast, much faster than felt. Plus people used to leave their boots wet from river to river (I used to)... not good. Also dy your neoprene booties (although they have less space for the nasties to hide in).

Hot water will kill the nasties, but how many people wash (long soak) their gear in water that stays above 45deg? Freezing solid is great and works on most winter nights... not so great in the summer.

 

Take home message: Dry your gear completely before switching rivers.

Now we already have didymo here, so it is more important if you are taking your gear to a different watershed.

 

But

You could also bring nasties here.

Montana (and Van Is.) has New Zealand Mudsnails which would wreak havoc on the ecosystem. The bugers would eat everything and coiat the bottom.

Same cleaning methods apply. Completely dry your gear... (in the sun if you can) and/or wash (and soak) in hot water.

 

There is also Whirling Disease in Montana.

Drying works, as well as wash and soak.

 

Zebra mussels will clog intakes fro water at powerplants, irrigation turnouts, city water supplies, etc. If they end up here it could be devastating to sectors of the economy. You should see the damage they've done on the Great Lakes and more recently some of the big desert reservoirs in the SW States.

 

And last:

Never transport fish (and bait) between rivers.

Of course, Crayfish are making there own way, and they will eat all thos pretty mayflies and caddis that we love to fish. Carp would change the ecosystem and be direct competition for other aquatic invert eating fish (like all of them).

 

The FFF has a program aimed at educating anglers about invasive species.

Check it out: http://www.fedflyfishers.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4379

 

And don't forget to clean out those jet boat intakes...

Honestly--> Jet boat grate: Manually remove visible clumps of algae from the grate and flush the system with a decontamination solution.

Jet unit: Open ball value at bottom of sand trap, remove any residue and flush system with a decontamination solution.