Is Angler Transport a Significant Contributor to the Spread of Didymo?

JackM

JackM

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This language is used on Orvis' site advertising the new rubber sole:

Felt-soled wading boots - one source of the spread of ANS

While birds, wildlife, and outdoor pursuits other than angling can carry ANS from watershed to watershed, we anglers play a part. Felt soles on wader boots are the primary concern of anglers, as they make the most contact with the river bottom where ANS live. Combine that with felt being absorbent and slow to dry, and they become the #1 carrier of ANS due to angling.

Read carefully, the above does not answer my question. All they are saying (and perhaps willing to say) is, essentially, that


IF ANGLERS PLAY ANY PART in the spread of Didymo, it would most likely be by transporting in the felt sole of their boots.


Did their lawyers stop them from claiming more? Why have some states banned felt, if this is the most you can say about its role in the spread of this invasive?
 
doesn't matter to me, my rubber soles with studs are light years ahead of any felts I have used.
that said, yes Jack, I'm sure their lawyers advised on the matter.
 
JackM wrote:
This language is used on Orvis' site advertising the new rubber sole:

Felt-soled wading boots - one source of the spread of ANS

While birds, wildlife, and outdoor pursuits other than angling can carry ANS from watershed to watershed, we anglers play a part. Felt soles on wader boots are the primary concern of anglers, as they make the most contact with the river bottom where ANS live. Combine that with felt being absorbent and slow to dry, and they become the #1 carrier of ANS due to angling.

Read carefully, the above does not answer my question. All they are saying (and perhaps willing to say) is, essentially, that


IF ANGLERS PLAY ANY PART in the spread of Didymo, it would most likely be by transporting in the felt sole of their boots.


Did their lawyers stop them from claiming more? Why have some states banned felt, if this is the most you can say about its role in the spread of this invasive?
Click to expand...


LOL....I doubt if the lawyers from the felt industry have put pressure on Orvis.

I don't believe anyone can know with any certainty that the use of felt soles have contributed to the spread of organisms from one waterway to another. As stated above, felt comes in direct contact with the river bottom where the invasives live, it is porous and is likely to capture and hold them, and felt remains moist for a long period of time, allowing these invasives to live long enough to be able to be transferred to another waterway.

I wear studded rubber boots now and would not trade them for any felt bottomed boot I have worn for the past 20+ years....ymmv.
 
Not Felt Industry lawyers, but Consumer Protection lawyers, perhaps.

I am looking at rubber and studs for my next pair of boots, but consider felt soles superior in the dry fly season.
 
JackM wrote:
Not Felt Industry lawyers, but Consumer Protection lawyers, perhaps.

I am looking at rubber and studs for my next pair of boots, but consider felt soles superior in the dry fly season.
Click to expand...


Don't get it? Dry fly season...wading boots? Ice and snow, maybe?
 
The legal angle regarding potential future liability hadn't occurred to me. As I've stated many times in past threads on this topic: I really like felt as I fish from canoes and kayaks but I'm also careful about drying them and rarely fish waters with didymo. Maryland has banned felt and so I use strap-on felt sandals now on my boot foot waders when fishing in PA.

Perhaps the company's sincere intent was to educate new FFers about the problem(?).
 
I think it is ironic that Didymo only thrives in the tailwaters. (artificial trout fisheries). It also is easily scoured with heavy flows and transported downstream to below where it can survive. And Tailwaters have the perfect toilet tank to flush the mess.

As for boots, when Didymo first became known I admit I was afraid of it. I stopped buying MD license because the Gunny was off limits to me being a felt guy. (personal choice before the ban). Now its a few years later and we don't see it in any traditional freestones or limestone creeks. Seems it has a very narrow window of temperature for survival.

But I have to admit, I have never seen it up close. Soooo......

KIMIHNIWIATA
 
Jack, don't be afraid of the rubber soles, just make sure you get studs with them as well. rubber alone can be slippery. the studded rubber soles are as good or better for wading, and WAY better for the hike in and out along muddy trails and such.

I'm orvis's lawyers had that statement worded so as not to imply that felt soles were without doubt the main contributor to invasives, but rather COULD be helpful in the spread of them and that rubber soles COULD help in stopping the spread of it.


 
I doubt that any lawyers were involved. Orvis was just striving for accuracy.

Rubber soles with spikes provide good traction and last many times longer than felt.
 
Maurice wrote:
I think it is ironic that Didymo only thrives in the tailwaters. (artificial trout fisheries). It also is easily scoured with heavy flows and transported downstream to below where it can survive. And Tailwaters have the perfect toilet tank to flush the mess.

As for boots, when Didymo first became known I admit I was afraid of it. I stopped buying MD license because the Gunny was off limits to me being a felt guy. (personal choice before the ban). Now its a few years later and we don't see it in any traditional freestones or limestone creeks. Seems it has a very narrow window of temperature for survival.

But I have to admit, I have never seen it up close. Soooo......

KIMIHNIWIATA
Click to expand...


Agreed. Not scientific evidence, just my opinion from observation and common sense. Didymo is native to colder waterways in the extreme northern states and Canada. I surmise that most freestones warm enough in the summer for the spores die off. Tailwaters remain cold, or at least cool throughout the warm season, allowing the spores to thrive. Limestone streams also remain cool all summer, but my guess is the water chemistry is not favorable for the growth of didymo. Again, all just a guess on my part.
 
troutbert, I'm sure that their lawyers were involved. a company the size of orvis doesn't operate without corporate lawyers checking every bit of advertising or information that goes out the door. orvis is no longer a mom and pop shop in vermont, they are a multi-million dollar corporation that operates just like every other multi-million dollar corporation.
 
I like Orvis and this was not a shot at them. Reading this just made me wonder if they want you to believe that felt soles are a major contributor to spread of invasives, why not just say so. I suspect "saying so" without scientific proof may be a bad idea-- either from legal or public relations standpoint.
 
They are walking a fine line between promoting non-felt boots and raising the idea that anglers are a prime cause of the spread of didymo. Maybe someone gets the idea that banning wading in those areas reduces the chances of spreading even further.

I am a felt fan but will consider a non-felt boot in the future if the reviews are good and the price reasonable.
 
Does Orvis still sell felt?
 
Yes:
95L9L5PB9.jpg



And also tweed

4R0TLIHK.jpg
 
Jack, will that be your evening attire at the next jam?
 
Only I could make that outfit look cool. :cool:
 
Latest that I read:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110603161819.htm
 
Two pair of felt boots for me. One with studs, one without. Too many mixed reviews on the rubber soles for me, and can't use studs in drift boats. I am not comfortable going with a straight rubber studless boot, so will continue to use felts in the boat.

My next pair (hopefully not for at least a year) will be studded rubber, but I'll continue to safely use studless felts for my second/boat pair as long as they are available.
 
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