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September 30, 2009
**Note - All Links will open in new windows Felt in the news The debate about eliminating felt from waders continues to heat up. In the past month a number of interesting articles have appeared that continue to bring new views to the issue. John Merwin takes on felt several times in his excellent Field & Stream Blog. First, he discusses how studs increase traction in felt free boots in a piece that also discusses the attention paid to felt free boots at the 2009 Fly Fishing Retailer Show. Two days later he writes an excellent post about why we should all be willing to pay the required price to protect our environment. It is great to see a respected columnist advance the opinion that the monetary cost of protecting our waters is a small price that every angler should be willing to pay. Cloudveil is one of the leading high end wader companies and their National Sales Manager explains why Cloudveil will continue to offer felt soled waders. They offer the opinion that the most important factor is careful cleaning and strongly support the Clean Angling Pledge, however, they believe that felt is not the main problem and offer their explanation of why they will continue to produce felt soled boots. In Oregon a skeptical angler finally tested a non felt solution to wading shoes and was very surprised to discover that Simms Star Cleats for Vibram sole wading boots solve traction problems. The pace of development in ribber soled boots has been astounding and I think we will all see felt replaced by better alternatives in the coming years. In fact, one boot manufacturer recently told me that nothing has brought more innovative energy to the boot market in many years. Zebra Mussel Flies? Our Clean Angling Pledge partner, Jean-Paul Lipton, at Roughfisher.com has an interesting story about his attempt to create new flies that imitate zebra and quagga mussels. The patterns he has developed are good looking flies and if I dined on these mussels I would be tempted. I am not sure exactly what fishing methods would be most productive with these flies as I think you would need to fish them very slow to imitate the naturals. Jean-Paul has identified a number of fish species know to eat these mussels and I look forward to finding out if he has any success fishing with his Zebra Mussel Fly Patterns Mapping Weeds This past summer professional fishing guides and recreational anglers donated their time to help in a large scale weed mapping project on Montana's Yellowstone River. Working through a program of the Center for Aquatic Nuisance Species coordinated, they they floated the river while carefully watching for noxious weeds. When weeds were spotted the location was recorded on a GPS and the data was added.to a master map. You can see the summer mapping results at www.stopans.org/Weeds/Y_river_2009.htm. Members of the Joe Brooks Chapter of Trout Unlimited provided most of the workers and TU is to be commended for their support. The Yellowstone River effort is a pilot program and plans are currently being made to expand the program to all areas of Montana in the coming year. Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks documented part of this project and they have put out a short video about the project. You can go to the FWP site to watch the weed mapping video. It is important for us all to understand that terrestrial weeds are a problem for all of us. We often fail to realize that the weeds on shore can have an impact on our waters and fishes. However, there is nothing good about these invaders and we all need to do our part to reduce weed spread and to protect our environment. For more information contact CANS using the contact info listed below. Quick Hits - Stories of interest Red Tag Blue Tag is the title of an article that proposes a new way of protecting our waters from contaminated boats. Under this approach, ever boat owner must decide if they will use their boat on infested or uninfested waters. This is an interesting new concept that deserves consideration. Spiny Water Fleas are spreading. Minnesota's Lake Mille Lacs is one of the finest walleye fisheries in the state and the recent discovery of Invasive Spiny Water Fleas represents bad news for anglers. these tiny crustaceans are a real annoyance that can ruin a fishing trip. On Wisconsin's Lake Mendota a college zoology class was conducting routine experiments when the students discover invasive water fleas. Their professor was stunned by the discovery because they had never been found in the lake before. California officials report a "99 percent probability" that the San Justo Reservoir will remain closed for at least another year to prevent the spread of zebra mussels. The popular fishing and boating lake has been close for a year and a half already in an effort to contain the mussels that have been found in the lake. Judge Lawrence K. Karlton of the U.S. District Court in Sacramento CA has granted a preliminary injunction banning the Construction of new piers and other shoreline structures at Lake Tahoe until a legal challenge against recently approved shoreline regulations is resolved. Under the injunction, all new dock and pier construction is banned to protect the lake against invasive species and other conservation threats. In Minnesota, A local resident found a zebra mussel attached to a native mussel in Pelican Lake in Otter Tail County. This was the first discovery of zebra mussels in the area and represents bad news as the area is a hot spot for multi-lake fishing trips and is in the Red River drainage which means that downstream movement will bring the mussels to many currently uninfested waters. Didymo hits West Virginia Following angler reports of heavy mats of algae on the Elk River near Webster Springs, state officials visited the area and confirmed that the algae is Didymo. The state will monitor the algae, telling the public “We encourage anglers to take precautions against moving Didymo and other potential invasive species from one waterbody to another.” Battle against Asian carp leaves boaters fuming This story discusses the Army Corps of Engineers electric barrier that is designed to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. The barrier is now in full operation and some recreational boaters believe that they should not be inconvenienced at all in the effort to protect the Lakes. Of course, this is an unacceptable attitude and officials are not allowing any complaints to stop them from doing the right thing. Officials stunned at size of Tahoe clam invasion Many people do not understand the true problem with invasive species until they get exposed to an infested water body. This is certainly true for the politicians who recently toured Lake Tahoe. They were shocked to see the expansion of the clam problem there. North Dakota to set up zebra mussel check stations North Dakota wildlife officials plan to set up check stations in popular duck hunting sites during the waterfowl hunting season to help guard against zebra mussels. This is one of the first efforts I have seen that targets recreationists besides anglers and recreational boaters. Anyone who interacts with our waters is potentially spreading invasives and we need more of these types of programs that reach out to a broader audience. Visit the Clean Angling Store Be sure to visit the Clean Angling Store and see the products we have that let you show your support. When you buy something from the store you show others that you have committed to doing your best to protect our waters from invaders and we will make a small profit that will help us to continue to do our work. The
Clean Angling News is regularly produced by the Center for Aquatic
Nuisance Species. If you have questions,
suggestions or would like to learn
more about ANS please contact us:
Center
for Aquatic Nuisance
Species
P.O. Box 1429 Livingston, MT 59047 406-220-2059 info@stopans.org |