Has anyone tried the new style of wading boot sole that helps to stop the transfer of disease from one stream to another? Do they slip on rocks?
I fish many different streams. One of which, the Battenkill, is known to have that frog snot stuff or whatever it’s called. The next day I might fish a small mountain stream.
I do rinse my boots but apparently the diseases get into the felt sole and are very hard to kill/remove.
I feel we should all do our part to reduce the spread of infections but… taking a spill because your boots don’t grip really isn’t an option either.
There is an article in this months TU magazine about the subject.
If you do use felt sole, you should dip your felt soles in salt water for 60 seconds each and step in it to get the salt water all in there. That kills it. That or bleach, but that may be extreme.
The lower gunpowder has salt water stations like that.
if all we need is salt water, life just got a whole lot simpler! up to now it’s been 409 cleaner and bleach and sunshine–really hard on the boots…
the new soles are not as yet available on boots which will fit milady’s dainty feet (sorry, Simms, yours are just too wide! and Bean had to pull theirs because they were sized like hiking boots with no room for wader booties.). loose boots are not a good idea, so i went with felt again. (thank you, Dan Bailey, for a true lady’s boot)
I have heard both good and so-so reviews on the latest Vibram sole offering. I also heard screw-in studs help but studs aren’t always the best option either. Aquastealth has been available for many years and is pretty good with studs but tricky in many places without studs.
So unfortunately the end result is it will depend on where you fish which may mean you could be delighted or disappointed.
Multiple pairs of shoes while an expensive option, is really the best way to have multiple sole options AND a clean shoe to use when one pair has just been used elsewhere.
I have had a pair of the new Simms StreamTread boots for about a month. I have worn them twice and I am pretty pleased so far. If I had studs in them, I sure I could wade about anywhere. Also they provide a heck of a lot better traction on wet grass and mud around the stream than felt.
Although felt soles, because of their material, (very few, are “real felt” anymore), are of course a great place for Dymethalgradue to hide and be transported from one body of water to the next.
But, while “basting your boots in salt water”, don’t forget that your waders, (cuffs, gators, neoprene booties, etc.), as well as your net fabric, the cuffs on your shirt/coat (if you got either wet, perhaps landing a fish), even something as simple and small as a braided loop connector… can ALL carry unwanted debris from one stream/lake to the next.
It’s not only the felt soles, that are transporting these water problems. The “crud” can hide and adhere to almost any surface so while salt dipping, or bleaching, your felt soles also don’t forget to give the same treatment to the “last” on your boots, the tongues, the laces and if you have “vents” on your boots as most of us do, also include the INsoles as well.
Andrew - The best wading boots I’ve ever used are my LL Bean studded Aquastealth. The grip provided by these things is unbelievable - gzacckey from this board has seen mine in action up in ice and snow in Erie while steelhead fishing. They’ve improved them for this year, and the price is better than most other studded Aquastealth.
Casey - The West Branch women’s boots with the Aquastealth soles are still available this year. Whether they’ve figured out the sizing issues is an unknown to me. I’d never buy a pair of boots without trying them on anyway, but I can’t believe the Bean couldn’t come up with a pair of boots to fit you. Sorry it didn’t work out for you. If you DO change your mind, they’re still an option, though studded Aquastealth would be my first choice (not available in the women’s sizes).
After about two seasons now in Aquastealth I can say it is bloody fantastic. Maybe not quite as good as felt in some situations, but you won’t notice any difference. Mine have tungsten studs too. Don’t hesitate to get aquastealth, and do whatever else you can to avoid transferring didymo to another area, it is seriously evil stuff and will totally destroy a streams fishability in no time. You will need much more than salt water, IMHO.
I can back Heritage up on his claims about the traction of his studded aquastealth.
We were in mud, snow and some of the slimiest rocks you’ll ever encounter and he didn’t miss a step. He walked as if he was on dry pavement while I was struggling with felt even with my wading staff. I added studs to my felt and that was excellent for traction except for the inevitable build up of snow on your soles which doesn’t happen with aquastealth.
Now I haven’t actually worn the Bean boots myself but I wouldn’t hesistate to get studded aquastealth. I will be looking to pruchase either studded aquastealth or vibram boots this year. My wide feet fell in love with the fit of Simms Rivershed boots last year so I may have to stay with that model in vibram or the inevitable discounted aquastealth version but that’s just a personal fit/preference issue.
My previous experiences with (non-studded) Aquastealth soles have have been remarkably bad. I feel that I would have had as much stability with a pair of old-fasioned rubber lug-soles. I’m acquiring a number of pairs of the new rubber-soled boots for a series of product reviews and a comparison article in F&TJ later this year. So far I have a pair of Chota Rocklocs and a pair of Patagonia Riverwalkers. The first opportunity I had to try either of them was yesterday on the Skykomish River. I only had time to wear the Chotas and was favorably impressed. Of course, at this time of the year, when winter’s cold, high flows have scrubbed away most of the algae and other slick stuff, the rocky substrate is at its least slippery so it’s going to a take more time and experience to come to any significant conclusions. Most of these new boots have only become readily available since the beginning of the new year so don’t expect much in the way of significant and judicious reviews any time soon.
I think they work great, provided you use the studs with them. I’ll echo Heritage Anglers, sentiments. I do a lot of steelhead fishing and we have a lot of slate bottomed streams, where a perticular algae grows, later in the fall. It’s worse than walking on ice! The studded soles work very well on it and everything else I encounter. However, take away the studs and they’re no better than a basic rubber bottom shoe.
I sterilize my boots, waders, and equipment with a 10% solution of color-fast chlorine and filtered water. Leave it on for 30 seconds, then rinse thoroughly. I do this to my gear as well.
I didn’t realize this was a problem. Most biotics cannot survive long out of the water, and are sensitive to sudden temperature changes. The exceptions would be viruses, which can survive just about anything.
I guess the major concern right now is the spread of Whirling Disease, which affects trout and salmon. (Brown trout can carry it, but are immune to the disease itself). It is a parasite that was introduced to the US from Europe in the 1950s. It breeds in tubiflex worms, and spreads by spores in the water, and by direct contact with other infected fish. It is mainly transmitted by direct fish-to-fish contact, but is is possible that the spores could be transferred by equipment, however slight. The chlorine treatment I described above will eliminate the threat. Quaternary ammonium compounds such as ‘Bright Water’, ‘Roccal-D’, and ‘Parvosol’ are also effective treatments for your gear. They are available at most Veternarian supply stores, and some Feed Stores.
This will kill Mud Snaills, Didymo, hydrilla, milfoil, ich, finrot spores, Whirling Disease spores, most parasites, amoebas, euglenas, paramecia, quagga, and most bacteriums, and make life hard on some viruses. You can follow up with a phenol spray and rinse to kill remaining viral agents.
As long as you rinse your gear after treatment, there is little danger of putting chemicals into a new stream.
