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  #1  
Old 08-25-2017, 10:48 AM
rena0040 rena0040 is offline
 
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Default felt soles in BC?

Anyone know off hand if we can still wear felt sole wading boots in BC. Heading out in a few weeks and was gonna lend out my old backups.
Thanks
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  #2  
Old 08-25-2017, 11:20 AM
professori professori is offline
 
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Yes you can. No restrictions here.
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  #3  
Old 08-25-2017, 12:06 PM
normstad normstad is offline
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Sorry for my ignorance, but why are felt soles an issue anywhere?
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Old 08-25-2017, 12:14 PM
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mgvande mgvande is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by normstad View Post
Sorry for my ignorance, but why are felt soles an issue anywhere?
They could hold critters or plant life in them
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  #5  
Old 08-25-2017, 12:48 PM
professori professori is offline
 
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Originally Posted by mgvande View Post
They could hold critters or plant life in them
Felts absorb water and the micro organisms that live there. It can take weeks for felts to completely dry and thus organisms from one water system, whirling disease is of particular note and its spread from system to system is a driving impetus for many jurisdictions in the US banning the use of felt soled wading boots. There is an interesting read here. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/felt.html
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Old 08-25-2017, 01:47 PM
normstad normstad is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mgvande View Post
They could hold critters or plant life in them
Quote:
Originally Posted by professori View Post
Felts absorb water and the micro organisms that live there. It can take weeks for felts to completely dry and thus organisms from one water system, whirling disease is of particular note and its spread from system to system is a driving impetus for many jurisdictions in the US banning the use of felt soled wading boots. There is an interesting read here. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/felt.html

I should have thought about that! It makes sense, and yes, I can see it being a real issue. Think zebra mussels.
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  #7  
Old 08-25-2017, 01:58 PM
FishALotNot FishALotNot is offline
 
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Originally Posted by professori View Post
...whirling disease is of particular note and its spread from system to system is a driving impetus for many jurisdictions in the US banning the use of felt soled wading boots.
Not just in the US - Parks Canada has banned the use of felt-soled wading boots in all mountain parks now, in reaction to whirling disease.
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/wat...gulations#2017
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Old 08-25-2017, 02:55 PM
professori professori is offline
 
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Originally Posted by FishALotNot View Post
Not just in the US - Parks Canada has banned the use of felt-soled wading boots in all mountain parks now, in reaction to whirling disease.
https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/wat...gulations#2017
Good to know.
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  #9  
Old 08-25-2017, 03:30 PM
Runewolf1973 Runewolf1973 is offline
 
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I get the logic behind this however... It can take a long enough time just for wading boots to dry out and if they can hold water, then they too can harbor organisms from that water. Saw this one fishing show where the group fishing traveled to 3 or 4 different streams in a one week adventure. I guarantee their boots were still wet from the previous streams they fished. That said, do you guys soak your wading boots in some kind of disinfectant after use?

Last edited by Runewolf1973; 08-25-2017 at 03:37 PM.
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Old 08-25-2017, 04:31 PM
Runewolf1973 Runewolf1973 is offline
 
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Here's a solution...

http://www.rockymtnflycasters.org/ar.../disinfect.php
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  #11  
Old 08-25-2017, 10:12 PM
FishALotNot FishALotNot is offline
 
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I have switched to studded rubber soles. They aren't as good as felt soles, but much better than I had anticipated.
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  #12  
Old 08-26-2017, 06:51 AM
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Myles Myles is offline
 
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Stopping the spread of whirling disease is important but I also think angler safety needs to be considered. Current vibram technology is nowhere near as good as felt even with studded soles. Patagonia's aluminum bars are a step in the right direction but more needs to be done. I predict boots will go through the same kind of technological revolution as waders did when we leaped from neoprene to gore tex. Necessity is the mother of invention.
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Old 08-26-2017, 06:25 PM
FishALotNot FishALotNot is offline
 
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Originally Posted by Myles View Post
Stopping the spread of whirling disease is important but I also think angler safety needs to be considered.
Perhaps. I am just glad they didn't close those waters entirely. I heard from Parks staff that it was considered.

And to be fair - have you actually compared Vibram vs. felt soles? If you haven't, you might find the difference less than you imagined. Hard to build a legitimate safety concern around a surprisingly small difference.
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  #14  
Old 08-27-2017, 11:44 PM
scel scel is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Runewolf1973 View Post
I get the logic behind this however... It can take a long enough time just for wading boots to dry out and if they can hold water, then they too can harbor organisms from that water. Saw this one fishing show where the group fishing traveled to 3 or 4 different streams in a one week adventure. I guarantee their boots were still wet from the previous streams they fished. That said, do you guys soak your wading boots in some kind of disinfectant after use?
The primary concern is mud/silt from the riverbed---that is where the organism lives. Rinsing any physical contaminants is the most important thing you can do, followed by thoroughly drying the gear.

This is why felt is the worst offender: the mud/silt can be driven deeply into the felt and it can retain the water to keep the organism alive. Because of the high pressure due to walking driving the mud and water into the sole, even disinfecting cannot penetrate the depth of the felt without using something like a pressure washer.
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  #15  
Old 08-28-2017, 11:32 AM
Runewolf1973 Runewolf1973 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scel View Post
The primary concern is mud/silt from the riverbed---that is where the organism lives. Rinsing any physical contaminants is the most important thing you can do, followed by thoroughly drying the gear.

This is why felt is the worst offender: the mud/silt can be driven deeply into the felt and it can retain the water to keep the organism alive. Because of the high pressure due to walking driving the mud and water into the sole, even disinfecting cannot penetrate the depth of the felt without using something like a pressure washer.

I agree the felt poses the greatest risk because that stuff probably takes weeks to dry out completely, but wading boots without felt still pose a risk. There are probably some people who think that just because they don't have felt bottomed boots that they don't need to worry about anything, but that's not true. The organism can harbor in mud, aquatic plants and standing water, so if your boots retain water, they should be cleaned and dried thoroughly before entering another body of water whether you have felt soles or not.

Last edited by Runewolf1973; 08-28-2017 at 11:45 AM.
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  #16  
Old 09-18-2017, 06:29 PM
Wapiabi Wapiabi is offline
 
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Default Felt

What about people washing quads in the streams, pounds of silt from the previous streams they sullied. A fellow walking in felt soles vs. a creep doing donuts in the river with his quad? They have the wrong target.

Wap
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  #17  
Old 09-20-2017, 01:25 PM
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millsboy79 millsboy79 is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wapiabi View Post
What about people washing quads in the streams, pounds of silt from the previous streams they sullied. A fellow walking in felt soles vs. a creep doing donuts in the river with his quad? They have the wrong target.

Wap
Riding your quad in the river to get it full of silt and washing it in the river is just as illegal as wearing felt soled waders ... although I trust the fine is probably higher for the quad.
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  #18  
Old 09-20-2017, 02:37 PM
Spooner Spooner is offline
 
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All responsible anglers wash their waders and boots with a bleach solution when moving between water bodies.
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  #19  
Old 09-21-2017, 08:10 AM
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Sundancefisher Sundancefisher is online now
 
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Default When is BC going to announce whirling disease in the Elk River watershed?

Should be shortly.
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It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself. Charles Darwin
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  #20  
Old 09-21-2017, 10:29 AM
professori professori is offline
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spooner View Post
All responsible anglers should wash their waders and boots with a bleach solution when moving between water bodies.
There, fixed it for you.
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  #21  
Old 11-13-2017, 12:11 AM
Bjay Bjay is offline
 
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Don't forget your fly lines and flies. In B.C. there is didamo ,a nasty algee in most waters. So you need to use new flies or wash your lines and flies with at least soap before leaving or entering B.C.And get you boats and trailers steam cleaned. Your boots need to be left in a weak bleach solution for a few hours to make sure algee and bacteria are dead if you have felts.
Bjay
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