States start banning felt-sole waders

[The Straight Story]

States start banning felt-sole waders


Felt-soled waders, long a mainstay piece of gear for fishing in rushing rivers and streams, are facing statewide bans because of the environmental problems they can cause.

Maryland became the first state to ban them as of March 21. They became illegal in Vermont April 1 and will be prohibited in Alaska next Jan. 1.

The soles, valued by anglers as sure-footed protection in slippery places, can trap spores and larvae of non-native plants and animals, allowing the invaders to hitchhike by shoe from one stream to another.

That's what's believed to have happened in Vermont, where felt-soled footwear is suspected in the spread of didymo, a slimy algae also called rock snot, says Shawn Good, a fisheries biologist with the state Fish and Wildlife Department.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2011-04-28-rock-snot-felt-sole-wader-ban_n.htm

[MineralMan]

1. Wow! That's gonna hurt the fly fishing purists.

It makes sense, though, and I hate didymo the worst.

I've quit wading. I'm too damn old to take the tumbles any more. My fly fishing is all from my boat now.

[Cleita]

2. My husband refused to take a boat even when he

was too old to wade out into a stream. :-( At least you have the sense to and now an environmental reason to.

[MineralMan]

8. I don't know about sense, but it's sure easier to cast from a boat.

I can't tell you how many flies I've lost in some bush over the years. No more of that for me. :rofl:

In reality, I'm not much of a fly fisherman, but I do it a couple of times a year, just so I won't embarrass myself if I fish with someone who won't fish any other way. Pride is important to anglers.

[Jackpine Radical]

9. My old stand-by is to fly fish from a canoe.

I have a square-sterned Coleman canoe that I mounted oarlocks on so I can load, unload and row it around alone. I don't bother much with trout anymore. I fly fish for bluegills with light tackle. It's a blast in the lily pads.

[MineralMan]

12. Most of my fly fishing is for bluegill and crappies, with the odd

bass being fooled. It is a blast, for sure, especially with really light fly tackle.

This year, though, I'm going to go for a muskie. I got a new 8 wt. rod, etc,. Oddly enough, the muskies are in the lily pads, too.

[Jackpine Radical]

17. I grew up on a lake near Hayward. Muskies are not fish. They're gods.

And you're right, they like shallow structure--lily pads, sand bars, etc. I know a guy (brother of an old girlfriend from up there) who specializes in fly fishing for muskies.

And yeah, bass on a fly rod. I generally use a fairly large popper. There are a lot of little lakes & potholes around here with 10-12" smallmouth. Not legal to keep (but who cares? They're BASS, not walleyes fer Chrissake!), but great for catch & release.

[MineralMan]

18. The muskies I've caught so far were more or less accidents.

Mainly, I fish for largemouth and northern pike. But, the muskies hang out in the same bars, so you do deal with them from time to time. My largest, just a youngster at 37" and about 12 pounds, took a 3/16 oz. spinnerbait I was casting along the edge of a favorite line of water lilies. I had seen it roll, and cast directly to it, thinking it was another northern about 24" long. There are tons of those in my favorite lake.

As usual, I was fishing with light tackle...just 6 lb. test line, with a 6" thin braided wire leader to keep the pike from running off with my lures. Well, this time, it was that muskie. I managed to keep it out of the weeds and got it to the boat, then released it without ever touching it. Fun times.

The funniest thing, though, was this guy in a fully-rigged-out muskie boat who was sitting out in deeper water making long casts toward the weedline a few hundred yards down the shore. After I released the muskie, he gave me the finger, fired up his boat and sped away in disgust. His problem was that he couldn't come in and fish the shallow weeds where the muskie actually were. My little 12' aluminum boat, on the other hand, can go anywhere, so I got the fish and he got pissed.

I love fishing. Soon, the season begins again.

[Jackpine Radical]

21. That's the nicest thing about that Coleman Scanoe.

You can put it into the water just about anywhere & the draft is nothing.

Your boat reminds m of my old 14' Alumacraft and equally ancient 15 hp Evinrude.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. Self-delete.

DU Hiccup.

[Enrique]

3. it's Obama's doing

the first thing dictators do is come after your felt-sole waders.

[MineralMan]

5. Indeed. After that they come for your expensive bamboo fly rod.

They'll never get me, though...this year I go for a muskie on a fly. I know where they live. I know what they eat. I will deceive them and bring them to the boat, where I will guffaw at their weakness for artificial food on a string. After I release them, they'll know humiliation. Bwahahaha....

[DonP]

11. Done that a few times in NW Ontario and the Boundary Waters from my Canoe

Eagle Lake to be specific. Big Dahlberg Divers and Mouse imitations are a lot of fun to cast into the pads and reeds. You have to decide if you want to use a small wire leader ion the very end of double up some heavier mono leader and hope for the best. The Dahlbergs are "sort of" weedproof but the first time you get a follow, all you see is that big hump in the water, that looks as big as a U Boat, chasing your fly and your heart races and oyu start to wonder do I really want to hook something that big?

A friend who teaches fly fishing for Orvis and is a hard core purist laughed at me, "Do you know what we call guys like you who fly fish for Muskie in a canoe?" "No, what?" - "A Bobber."

[MineralMan]

13. Yes, I have some Dahlbergs, plus some other big flashy

sparkly flies. I probably will use a fine wire leader. Those flies are darned expensive. The big plus is that the muskies and pike are in the same general area, and the pike are a lot more numerous, so I'll probably catch a few of those, too. Should be fun.

[Turbineguy]

7. I'm glad I never

registered mine!

[mike_c]

4. I wade a lot, not to fish, but to study benthic insects....

I'm not certain that any other sole wouldn't transfer propagules, especially in mud and whatnot. A better solution might be to educate waders to clean the soles of their boots with a bleach solution or something similar to prevent contamination. We have problems with Phytophthora transmission here, which causes Port Orford cedar root disease, but we routinely disinfect gear and vehicle wheels to kill the spores.

[Cleita]

6. A sensible solution, but often people won't disinfect

when they should. Maybe a different kind of rule that ensures it will be done should be in order.

[EstimatedProphet]

20. Not only that, but aquatic oligochaetes that carry myxozoans can be carried on wader soles

Then surprise surprise - whirling disease.

[Fla_Democrat]

14. Rec for the use of the phrase.... "rock snot"

:headbang:




:smoke:

[The Wielding Truth]

15. Article about the didymo problem.

Many sporting goods manufacturers are producing quality and affordable alternatives to felt soles, said Erin Mooney, national press secretary for Trout Unlimited, which is urging states to adopt regulations banning felt.http://www.rgj.com/article/20110501/NEWS/105010342/Should-felt-soled-waders-banned-Nevada-?odyssey=nav pg.2

[La Lioness Priyanka]

16. tragic. oh wait, not it's not. nt

[EstimatedProphet]

19. They also can carry tubifex spp.worms, which can carry whirling disease