Felt Soles Revisited

[akruss]

I sorely miss felt soles and have found everything else to be a bit slippery. I have a pair of Korkers wading shoes with interchangable soles. What do you think of using a separate set of felt soles for different streams/rivers? I'd think it would greatly reduce the chance of spreading invasives. Living in Florida, where I don't wade at all except for sandy beaches, I don't get all that much chance to fish freestone streams and wouldn't really need all that many soles. I take the threat of invasives seriously but wonder if this would work. What say ye?

 

[wtl]

The problem is one of convenience. Ultimately, we are all capable of ridding our current felts of hitchikers. But it takes time and or effort.

Having different felts for different streams (IE, labeling one set of boots "Deschutes" and another "Umpqua" and another "Mcleod" would solve the problem...if we could have enough for each unconnected water. But soles cost money, and you have to keep track, and we cant get the less concerned anglers to go through the trouble.

So the search for a silver bullet continues.

 

[Ard]

Hi Akruss,

Do you have a wading staff? I have been using the rubber with studs since orvis introduced the Henry's Fork boot with the studded rubber sole in the early 90's. Although I don't have major problems with the grip that the Simms Rivershed with cleated rubber I'm wearing now provides I do put a Folstaff on my belt if I intend to get risky in where I tread. The folding shock corded aluminum staff's are light and stay out of the way when you don't need them but give you added security when it matters. I really like mine,

Ard

 

[turbineblade]

I don't fish cold waters often, and plan to start using my korkers felt inserts in any rocky waters since I've come to realize that the rubber soles are nearly useless -- I don't care what the marketing people spout. It's BS.

I don't care what anyone says or thinks -- it's not illegal to use felt soles in Virginia, and my wife and I are not risking our safety out there any more.

 

[bugslinger]

Stopping these invasive life forms is impossible . We can wear the latest foot wear , wash everything in a antibacterial solution but animals will still spread these buggers. All that we can do is use common sense when we wade a new body of water and hope what we are carrying doesnt kill the thing we love.

 

[turbineblade]

I think maybe my previous post is a little too strong. I am concerned about spreading invasives -- but it hacks me off that a good, safe tool for wading is replaced with worthless vibram **** that is not even 1/3 as effective. The only thing I think vibram works well for is the heavily silted urban streams here in town. Anywhere else they almost worse than nothing.

From what I've read, the metal studded rubber soles are about equal to the felt soles....but (what a surprise) you have to purchase them separately, unlike the felt soles. If that's the case, make these standard issue and quit nickel and diming the only people who support your fisheries! (anglers and hunters by far contribute more to protecting these resources than any other demographic).

 

[bugslinger]

Please dont misunderstand my statement. I have 6 pairs of wading boots and 6 pair of waders that are matched to the waders and I wear them in the same water so I dont spread snail snot,whirling , and God knows what else. My statement is an honest one if you think it through. Many animals use water for food,cover,and transportation. If you think they stay in the same creek,run,river and dont cross over into others (if available) you are fooling yourself. We can only slow down the progression of these organisims, not stop what is already here.

 

[wt bash]

I've been using the Korker's baseline rubber sole, ustudded, for a solid year now wading shale, cobble, and the mix you find on mountain streams and find I have better grip than felt. The rubber cuts through the snott better and doesn't get all torn up on the trail in or on roads. I feel better with rubber soled boots and if it helps in any way to curb the spread of invasives then its bonus.

 

[gutz1]

I just tried out the patagucci aluminum bar wading boots and they are incredibly sticky. I've read a couple of websites where people are making their own bar boots from 1/8 x 3/4 aluminum bar stock screwed into their wading soles.

If you're that unhappy with your rubber soled boots, you should try making your own- If you're going to buy some felts anyway, why not give it a go?

 

[fredaevans]

Please dont misunderstand my statement. I have 6 pairs of wading boots and 6 pair of waders that are matched to the waders and I wear them in the same water so I dont spread snail snot,whirling , and God knows what else. My statement is an honest one if you think it through. Many animals use water for food,cover,and transportation. If you think they stay in the same creek,run,river and dont cross over into others (if available) you are fooling yourself. We can only slow down the progression of these organisims, not stop what is already here.

With Korker's a different bottom (set) will run you forty bucks? Why not ... save for the rest of the boot has been where its been.

fae

 

[akruss]

Replacement felt soles for the interchangable Korkers system are $30 a pair. They also have a new sole they call Svelte 1 and 2 that they claim sticks better than felt or rubber and is stream friendly. I may have to look into these.

 

[Guest1]

My first thought was to give this one of these;

Buuuuuut, splain me dis sveldt stuff.

 

[akruss]

Diver Dan, Quit beating that dead horse, LOL. I bought the Korkers because I didn't know what to get under the circumstances. I don't mean this to sound like an advertisement. I just saw the Svelte soles on their website - Soles & Accessories | Korkers - scroll down to the bottom of the page. Sounds interesting.

 

[silver creek]

There is another felt sole discussion on another BB. Here is a post I made about wading boots and waders.

One of the best methods of reducing invasives is one that is rarely mentioned. That is the boot foot waders that completely eliminate the wading boot. It eliminates the possibility of getting invasives into the innards of a separate wading boot.

It would get rid of laces, boot tongues, wader guards, and the inner boot. Invasives get between the stocking foot wader and the wading boot and between the wading boot footbed and inner boot. The felt is only one part of the wading boot/stocking foot wader system that is susceptible to hitch hikers.

The State of California* Department of Fish and Game did a study on "CONTROLLING THE SPREAD OF NEW ZEALAND MUD SNAILS ON WADING GEAR"

They found that the New Zealand Mud Snails work their way into locations well away from felt soles and into areas not normally inspected like under the insoles of wading boots.

"The majority of NZMS recovered were associated with wading boots. NZMS were observed on the tongue area of wading boots, associated with the laces or the area of the tongue that was tucked beneath the lacing eyelets. Large numbers of small NZMS were present inside of the boots, having worked down between the boot and the neoprene bootie of the wader. If the boots contained padded insole inserts, NZMS were also found underneath the inserts, associated with sand grains. NZMS were recovered from every treated set of wading gear. Numbers of NZMS per sample ranged from 1 to 227 with a mean of 33 (Appendix 2). Over 50% of NZMS recovered were < 1 mm in size (Table 4)."

http://tinyurl.com/cg73x43


Why don't manufacturer's tout boot foot waders? Could it be that they want to sell both boots and waders? If separate boots are a problem as well as the felt, get rid of the separate boot.

In fact, why not outlaw stocking foot waders and wading boots entirely? This would reduce the chance of transport as much as outlawing felt. It would provide a seamless connection to the boot section of a wader without all the need for drainage holes and crevices that that wading boots provide. The reason is $$$. Simms and the other manufacturers want to sell both a boot and a wader. When manufacturers say that eliminating felt soles is the best method of controlling invasives, I remain a sceptic.

The same California study found that chemical decontamination eventually destroyed the waders and boots. Bleach for example is an oxidizer and damages gear. Any spill or drips in your vehicle will damage upholstery and carpets. That is why manufacturers recommend rinsing and drying gear without the use of chemicals.

Here are some photos gear that has been chemically decontaminated.

Bleach

Pine Sol

Bezethonium Chloride

 

[Red Owl]

I've often thought whether there could be developed a dressing or insecticide/herbicide of some sort that could be applied to felt soles prior to (or after) wading which would kill any organisms. OR some type of felt like material to which any organism couldn't survive.

 

[trout trekker]

I've often thought whether there could be developed a dressing or insecticide/herbicide of some sort that could be applied to felt soles prior to (or after) wading which would kill any organisms. OR some type of felt like material to which any organism couldn't survive.

Back in the early nineties we were booking anglers onto the waters of a private ranch. Most of the angling was from float tubes. Before entering the water, every single angler, dressed in their waders & tuber booties along with their fins and float tubes, first had to take a few minutes to soak in a large galvanized tub ( Think Super-Sized hot tub. ) filled with a milky looking solution that was said to prevent the introduction of “ you name it “ to that fishery.

Some years later, one of the “ ______ologists “ out here said it was the same thing that they used in dairy’s for sterilization purposes. Don’t know if that’s true or not. But I do know that you weren't getting from the ranches parking area, to the water without first taking a soak in the dip tank.

Best, TT

 

[Red Owl]

I think the "dip" idea is good. The only trouble is that you need compliance from everyone- that's the trouble as I see it.

 

[silver creek]

There is no "safe" chemical treatment that will kill all invasives. Whatever was in the "dip," it was not the silver bullet.

Dydimo is actually the most fragile of the big 4 Aquatic invasives (Dydimo, NZ Mud Snails, Whirling Disease, and Zebra Mussels). Whirling Disease is the most difficult to kill with a myxospore stage that is resistant to chemicals, freezing, drying, aging, biodegradation, and digestion by gastric acid.

"The (Whirling Disease) myxospores can tolerate freezing at -20 centigrade for at least 3 months and are still viable after the passage through the guts of predators.... There have been reports from Europe of myxospores remaining viable in dry pond beds for 12 years(Bauer 1962)."

http://wildlife.utah.gov/fes/pdf_pubs/2002_06.pdf

In the second paper that is referenced on WD states, "The contents of the myxospore are sealed by a protective shell making the myxospore highly resistant to stresses such as smoking (Wolf and Markiw 1982), aging, freezing, chemical exposure, and digestion by fish-eating birds and fish (Hoffman and Putz 1969; El-Matbouli and Hoffmann 1991). The myxospore can withstand temperatures from -20° C to 60° C (Hoffman and Putz 1971; Hoffman and Markiw 1977) and can resist biodegradation for years while retaining its infectivity (Halliday 1976). These resilient features of the myxospore make it likely that it will persist in an environment until it is ingested by the oligochaete host."

http://etd.lib.montana.edu/etd/2007/gates/GatesK0507.pdf

Whirling Disease is the "Terminator" of invasive species. It'll always be back.

 

[wjc]

I bet I caught whirling disease from eating infected rainbows when I was in Colorado. I've been spending an awful lot of time going around in circles since then.

 

[irons]

Dry your gear. As i have read if your gear is allowed to dry nothing will live. After fishing a river i sit my boats outside for a few days till they are dry. Also hang my waders outside on the porch. I know this wont work if you fish more than one river in a day or two.