It sure sold alot of new boots and waders. And made the green folks feel all warm-and-fuzzy about themselves. :)
It sure sold alot of new boots and waders. And made the green folks feel all warm-and-fuzzy about themselves. :)
I'm always leery of reports & "studies", especially of environmental matters. Not to say that a red flag cannot be raised on an issue, but there are those who can make a profit from some bogus claim. There's also some pseudo intellectual who might get a paper published for some far reaching claim that might enhance him/her getting tenure at some "higher learning" institution.
Quite often the culprits for the spread of aquatic vegetation and micro organisms are birds (not to mention species of fish!) - from ducks to blue Heron.
"That" water in SD has the beginning of another bloom of dydimo, as recently as three weeks ago. Other waters will follow suit. Birds? Sure, there's ducks and herons, and osprey ... but there's also idiots who won't follow "suggestions" about controlling the spread, and tramp right in to every water source they can find, with no regard to where they've been, what's in the water, and how much of that cr*p they have on their boots/waters/laces/gloves/lines.
Some people will say absolutely anything to not have to accept the blame for the damage they've done.
All due respect....and no disrespect to anybody intended.....in reality, there has never been a single study done that I have seen that has shown proof of Dydimo being spread by felt-soled boots, or any other boots for that matter. Nobody knows how it is spread. There are alot of WAG's flying around out there.....from boots, to canoe paddles and wildlife. But no proof. When in fact the study pointed out could be spot-on. Maybe it's an organism that is in most waters, but one that needs a specific water condition in which to bloom? Maybe it's spread by goose crap? Maybe muskrats? Can't say no....because "nobody" knows. So why is everybody so certain that felt-soles are to blame? It's always easier to blame somoebody for something that they can't "prove" they didn't do. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by NJTroutbum
Right on the mark. It's the time-honored "We must do SOMETHING, even if it won't make any difference" approach taken by folks who don't want to be bothered by facts, but only want to FEEL better.Quote:
Originally Posted by NJTroutbum
BTW I've only ever owned one set of felt-soles in my life, and I hated them.
I am one who believes we should take any reasonable precaution we can so as not to do damage to the streams we love.
If you don't believe the studies that say boots help spread a stream disease, why would you believe a study that says it doesn't?
Why not play it safe if is easy to do so rather than being sorry later?
Uhhhhhhhh, What study?
If there has been a 'scientific study' conducted as such and published, please identify. Let's see if anyone can.
Allan
Because IMHO, studded felt boots are safer...and I can't afford to buy new onesQuote:
Originally Posted by Byron haugh
I have the rubber!plastic? boots with studs. I believe they are the safest I have ever used for wading........
This article references a study which could perhaps be found;
http://goldstrikecoloradoprospecting...ning-your.html
Thinking you have very limited wading experience. When we went to non-felt last year the ADF&G thought they would be exempt. For some reason they are not "hip" on breaking legs, ankles, wrists, and more. They were told emphatically they would NOT be exempt. It did not make them happy. I am beyond disgusted with the latest and greatest rubber soles. For rocky, cobble type streams anything will work. I have only found a few of those in my time in AK. The rest have been killers in those useless rubber-soled boots! -------------------------------- For some reason my enter key has stopped working on FAOL only so I am trying to break things into paragraphs in spite of the glitch. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I met a fellow last year that was putting on felt soles at about the most popular stream in AK. I politely informed him (yeah, I can be that way sometimes!) they were illegal. He lit into me like a rented mule! He was tired of falling; down, in, and about any way you can imagine and he welcomed the chance to go to court and tear them a new one! He was already looking at filing a suit for damages he suffered as a result of the ban. Compared to the rubber, felt allows one to walk up underwater walls. Felt sucks on snow and mud. I tend to avoid fishing those areas...Quote:
Originally Posted by Byron haugh