Felt Soles For Your Soul

[Greg]

Myself I only wear waders/felt sole boots on 4 Missouri streams, I only make it to Arkansas about once a year on average and I've pretty much quit fishing Taney completely (not that I don't like it, I do, but it's a haul for me and if I'm driving that far I'd just as soon go somewhere that horns don't blow and run me off the stream as soon as I get there.

I'm self employed and live a pretty simple life, I don't go traveling all over the darn country...unless it's a special occasion I fish fairly close to home, so I'm not gonna go out and buy new boots that are a hindrance and risk a fall just because some of you nation-wide travelers might bring something home from one of your spendy cross country jaunts.

Hell I can't afford health insurance and don't have much of a nest egg built up, so if I break a wrist, or worse, because of a bad step in a place where I'm used to being able to navigate without too much caution, it could put me in the poor house.

I don't know how financially secure everyone else here is, but loosing 4-6 weeks worth of work could have me wearing those Vibram boots to bed at night in a van down by the river eating hotdogs and instant potatoes.

I feel for you. I'm in healthcare and see people without insurance all the time. I'm extremely fortunate to have good health insurance and a good salary. But even for me a serious injury (like a broken hip or torn ACL) could be disastrous long term.

Good point about the wading staff. I've got to get one. Especially before I hit the NFOW again.

Greg

[Danoinark]

Good point about the wading staff. I've got to get one. Especially before I hit the NFOW again.

greg

The frugal fisherman here again. Walmart sells a metal hiking pole that collapses into itself. I have one and it works great. Around 10 bucks. I just clip it to my wading belt with a carribeaner attached to a stretch cord.

Dano

[patfish]

I'm in need of some new wading boots bad. I'm buying felt and no one can stop me. I'm pretty sure nothing will be able to live on/in them for the length of time they sit between fishing trips, except maybe a mouse or a spider.

[FishinCricket]

I'm in need of some new wading boots bad. I'm buying felt and no one can stop me. I'm pretty sure nothing will be able to live on/in them for the length of time they sit between fishing trips, except maybe a mouse or a spider.

I call you a big fat liar if you weren't so bloody small and skinny...

[patfish]

I call you a big fat liar if you weren't so bloody small and skinny...

If running your mouth led to weight loss you'd be far skinnier than I, my friend.

There's a campfire.

[Justin Spencer]

Rocks can be so slick that even felt won't help much

This is very true and after busting my butt in the same place 2 or 3 times I have finally realized maybe I should just leave those fish alone. I can always find fish in less slick areas and although it is tempting to try those slick areas (why do they always look so good?) sometimes it's best to move on and stay dry and unbruised, fish really aren't worth it.

[drew03cmc]

This is very true and after busting my butt in the same place 2 or 3 times I have finally realized maybe I should just leave those fish alone. I can always find fish in less slick areas and although it is tempting to try those slick areas (why do they always look so good?) sometimes it's best to move on and stay dry and unbruised, fish really aren't worth it.

Says the guy who didn't learn the first or even second time.

I can honestly say that I have only ate it one time while wading and it was last February at Bennett Spring. The water was up and I didn't see the log that I was about to step on until I went face first.

[ozark trout fisher]

We all know felt sole are not the best option available for those of us that wade. Personally I refuse to where them and won't fish with someone that does. Sims annouced clear back in 2008 they would stop producing them. I think that was a great step forward helping stop the spread of not only Didymo but, possibly other foreign invasive species and disease that can and will cause harm to our waters and the aquatic life within.

I hope that Missouri will follow in the footsteps of some other states and ban them. Which really if those that use them would care enough about the environment as much as they claim, they wouldn't use them in the first place. I don't and never have or will. If you slip and fall, you were wading too fast anyway. That is my thoughts on felt in a nut shell, what say you?

Chief, I think that's a pretty good idea. I do use felt soles for the simple reason that I've never wade fished anywhere that has Didymo with my felt soles, but I'd be willing to give them up if it could help prevent the spread of Didymo or other non-natives. Felt soles do give you an advantage of fast, rocky streams, but it's still probably not worth it. Didymo is pretty bad stuff.

[Outside Bend]

I'm with Chief on this one- people, anglers included, need to realize the choices they make can have a profound and sometimes detrimental impact on the resources they love.

Not to get to Python, but if birds were spreading these invasives to any appreciable extent, you'd expect to see them colonizing areas along major flight corridors. Instead, most of these invasives show up in high angler traffic waters. Bird feathers are designed to shed water, angler's boots are designed to absorb water. I've watched more waterfowl cleanse themselves after a day in the water than anglers. And regardless of whether birds are spreading it, that doesn't mean people aren't spreading it, too.

You guys seem to be attacking an argument no one is making- that if you switch to Vibram soles it will stop the spread of invasives. People want you cleaning everything- wading boots, shoelaces, waders, all of it. The felt ban is actually pretty logical- felt soles contain an enormous surface area (that's what makes them work), and they spend most of the day in contact with the stream bottom, where aquatic nasties like didymo grow. The pressure their under can force organisms deep inside the felt, where it's difficult to treat with disinfectants. You remove felt soles, you remove a lot of the nooks and crannies aquatic invasives can hide on an angler's person.

I'm not in love with the new Vibram soles, they don't work nearly as well as felt in some situtations. I'm not a big proponent of the ban either- I'd much rather seen anglers take responsibility for their actions. But I've also noticed many anglers are either oblivious or in denial that their activities can have an impact on the resource, so I'm not holding my breath. And while new boots or a bottle of bleach may be an impediment, the environmental damage, the cost of removing these organisms (if even possible), and the loss in recreation and tourism dollars I think would be far worse. If banning felt is what it takes to keep these things out of our streams, I'm open to discussing it. If anglers aren't going to police themselves, I think we ought to do something.

[eric1978]

Eric, FYI you have to take the boots off first. 3/4 inch, hmmmm?

Huh? You sure you're talking to me?