Felt sole ban in RI
 

1.17 It is prohibited that any person use foot gear with external felt soles in any state
waters, inclusive of freshwater, tidal, or marine. This shall include any waters
shared with adjacent states in which any Rhode Island Fishing Regulations apply.

Taken from the RI DEM website. Is this a new rule for this season? Just when we thought Korkers were on their way out... I will stick to my felts and wearbars. How many times have you seen a green cop after dark?

Considering there's a legitimate reason for it, not cool.

Does the algae/rocksnot live in saltwater? Ive only hear of there being issues in freshwater where i don't fish in waders.

Somehow I would tend to think it would only apply to fresh water only. On LI, there is now a ban on felt soles on the Connetquot River to stop the spread of whirling disease (?). Only applies there.
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This is about the fear of spreading rocksnot in fresh water, but laws are not always written by the most informed individuals, so they just assume apply it to ALL water while they are at it... But then again, when it comes to rock snot and what makes it tick, I'll admit I am not the most informed individual either...

i never heard of this one.
this fall i tallked to two different dem people on the beach. both times wearing felt soles and they never said a word.
maybe just fresh??????

Will they take your waders, or just the felts? Sometimes I wear snugly fitting long-john bottoms. Don't want to be forced to walk back to me truck shoeless, with me kibbles-and-bits and buttocks clearly outlined.

I was never aware of this and I have not seen this and have started looking through my various notes.

Not seen in any of the RISAA discussions either.

Definitely worth looking into.

Not sure if they are still doing it but last year LLBean was giving a discount on new wading shoes if you turned in a felt pair. Bean was no longer going to sell felt sole waders. I think this trend is going to happen, at least in the northern part of the country.

Where on the RI DEM site did you find this? Looked around and came up empty.

So what creative ways do you have for replacing felt soles on existing boots?



http://www.dem.ri.gov/pubs/regs/regs...d/fish1213.pdf

Boy they snuck that rule in without any warning.

Maybe just call them synthetic soles when asked?

I'll continue to use my Cabelas Ultralites in the surf until I hear someone getting warned.

This impacts a lot of people - wonder if you could write it off as a loss.

DZ

Yeh - I heard ZERO scuttlebutt on this.

Got your license? Let me see the bottom of your shoes. Let's put a tape measure on that fillet you have in the cooler. Where's your car parked?
Land of the free - what bull_hit this is turning into. Just another opportunity to interact with the douche bags from D.E.M. enforcement. Why don't they go stake out the back doors of restaurants serving fresh striped bass out of season, and leave us alone.

I'm sure there is a legitimate and documented reason for this in FRESHWATER (zebra mussels) - but in the MARINE environment I've seen nothing about felt soles transmitting invasive species. If there is please enlighten me? Anyone? Maybe I'll shoot an email to the marine division of Fish & Wildlife.

DZ

They are worried about rock snot.......but this should not be a problem in a marine setting......I mean felt soles are a life/ broken bone saver for goodness sake's..........

For saltwater, this is serious BS- I've been wearing studded felts for years now, they're the only thing I've been confident in for a long time as I have a bad back and a slip can put me out for a week.
I fish freshwater in two entirely different set of waders- one for home waters and one for traveling and the traveling pair I soak the boots in bleach and use disinfectant on the uppers.
IMO, its the traveling guides that spread most of the crap, they bypass alot of the regs because waders- as well as rods, reels, lines and nets- are a business tool instead of recreational gear and it gets shipped to where they're going freight and does not get inspected.

Has anyone actually called the DEM for clarification?
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Spence,
I have the deputy chief of RI F&W looking into this now. Will advise when he gets back to me.

DZ

This. I like the fact that there's concern about the spread of didymo, but this reminds me of the circle hook discussion... Banning felt soles is like putting a band-aid on a severed arm. If you walk in that crap it gets everywhere on your boots, not just the soles. The ONLY way to stop it is by using a bleach solution after every trip.

And banning it in marine settings is just moronic... But I guess they just want to make it a blanket ban so that people won't be tempted to use their SW felt soles in the fresh.

Guess I'll be returning my boots...I rinse the crap outta my gear every trip (boots included) and still this rock snot spreads? and in the salt??? Hmmm

Rock Snot cannot live in salt water. The cited passage is part of the FRESHWATER FISHING REGULATIONS and should have no effect in salt water.

I urge you to contact RIDEM...my letter as follows:

December 22, 2011


Janet Coit, Director
RI Dept. of Environmental Management
235 Promenade St.
Providence, RI 02908

RE: RIDEM Fisheries regulation 1.17

Dear Director Coit:

I wish to express my concern with the implementation of the above regulation prohibiting the use of felt soled wading shoes in RI waters, effective January 1, 2012.

There seems to have been little or no advance notice of this regulation which affects a large segment of the licensed fishermen and women who wade in Rhode Island waters. In fact, leaders of some of RI’s largest groups representing sport fishermen, when contacted, knew nothing about the regulation scheduled to go into effect in a week’s time.

In researching this issue, only three states, as of this date, have implemented such a ban. In those cases, confirmation of aquatic invasives, namely didymo, have been confirmed in their waters. I’m not aware of any confirmation of same in RI waters, certainly not in saltwater. Many of these states took a pro-active approach to educating and advising their fishing public before implementing their regulations as did Maryland:

" Back in 2009, the Department started placing Wader Washer Stations around areas where they had located Didymo in state waters. After further monitoring and concern of spreading Didymo and other invasive organisms and diseases, the Department began scoping the idea of a felt-soled wader/boot ban in March 2010. The Department discussed this at its non-tidal public meetings throughout the spring of 2010 and scoped the idea at its May 2010 Fisheries Service regulatory scoping meeting. Additionally, the Department posted this idea up on its draft regulations webpage in May 2010 and took emailed comments on this idea until it was proposed in December 2010. The idea was scoped a second time at the September 2010 Fisheries Service regulatory scoping meeting. Throughout the summer and fall of 2010, the Department sent information about the idea of a ban to stakeholders, put posters at sporting shows and fairs and worked with the media to get out information. Once the regulation was proposed, the Department held a public hearing in Cumberland, Maryland in January 2011 and took nearly 44 days worth of public comment (approximately 2 weeks longer than required by law). During the public comment time period, the Department again reached out to the media to help disseminate information. The Department will also be handing out information cards throughout 2011."

I’m not aware of a public comment period on the RI regulation, nor any serious effort to educate the fishing public about the spread of invasives, aside from posters directed to the boating public at state boat ramps.

As an individual, concerned about these environmental issues, I and others have taken steps through my blogsite, team7x.com, to make fishermen aware of the need to properly care for wading gear by placing signage at popular locations in the Eastern Connecticut area, where I am also licensed. Nothing that I can immediately reference on the RIDEM website seems to be directed toward this education effort.

Further, the ban on felt in saltwater cannot be supported by any reasonable means. The state of Missouri for instance recommends cleaning of wading gear by using salt water as follows:

"So the conservation department built wash stations at four of the trout parks in Missouri, so anglers can wash off before and after fishing to make sure no algae is on their waders.
"You just simply step down into the salt water solution. There is a brush that's attached to the hand rails that you can scrub your waders down with. You should also check to make sure you don't have any vegetation, algae, or whatever on your waders,” Van Patten said. “If you do just remove it in the cleaning station."

The large majority of anglers who wade in RI waters with any frequency own and rely on felt soled wading shoes for safety. If properly disinfected, which I find many of my fishing acquaintances do after leaving the water, the spread of any KNOWN aquatic invasive is minimized. Again, to my knowledge no KNOWN invasive has been identified in our waters.
To require many of our licensed anglers to now purchase wading boots without felt to comply with what is to become a regulation in a few days, is financially burdensome.

I would respectfully ask that you suspend implementation of this regulation until the fishing public and stakeholders have an opportunity to become aware of the issue of aquatic invasives and the pros and cons of this issue can be weighed in public.

All that letter will prove is that you cannot read! :) Read my post above, its part of the freshwater regs and doesn't apply to waters in the marine district.

That may be Mike, but the wording does say MARINE.

regardless, this needs to be resolved, but DEM... good luck finding me at night to check my boots :biglaugh:

Read the regulation as cited by the original post. It clearly says "any state waters...tidal, or marine."

http://www.dem.ri.gov/pubs/regs/regs...d/fish1213.pdf

Should or doesn't?

I emailed her as well a couple of days ago, i hope to get a response. If i do i will post it on here. I dont have an issue with the ban in fresh water, i support it. But in salt water it is not needed. Especially when salt was is used to disinfect gear in some places.

I have six pairs of studded felt soles saved for myself.

Ok then, everyone relax until Dennis gets back to us with the real skinny.