Delaware River DIDYMO

[Hllywd76]

Questions for some the experts on this subject.

1) Yes I could understand about felt boots, but isn't didymo also spread with contact on waders, neoprene and any other material that it could stick to.

2) didymo is also spread by water fowl and can spread easily from stream to stream. So what's the game plan here?

3) Yes using bleach will kill the virus, but over prolonged period of time and numerous fisherman doing this, what is the ramafication if any of bleach now being introduced into the stream? How many fisherman due you know are going to rinse there boots off or even try and clean there boots at all.

So these are just a few questions from an angler. What do the biologist have to say on this subject?

I clean my boots in a bleach solution when in affected areas or moving state to state, and will be buying a set of corkers soon so I will be able to have two sets of boots for trying to help stop the spread. You know iv'e done the bleach to one pair of waders as they are lighter from the knees down.


Hllywd

[Andy B]

Corkers is not the solution here for this issue. Didymo will cling to leaders, waders, boots and so on. So you change out the bottoms for one stream and go into another river with new bottoms. But the boots land laces themselves have come in contact as well. Again I feel we need to hear from Biologist and hear what these professionals have to say. Lastly what do you due if you fly line comes in contact with didymo, throw the fly line out? clean it with bleach and maybe affect the floatability or destroy the fly over a short period of time.

[onemorecast]

Corkers is not the solution here for this issue. Didymo will cling to leaders, waders, boots and so on. So you change out the bottoms for one stream and go into another river with new bottoms. But the boots land laces themselves have come in contact as well. Again I feel we need to hear from Biologist and hear what these professionals have to say. Lastly what do you due if you fly line comes in contact with didymo, throw the fly line out? clean it with bleach and maybe affect the floatability or destroy the fly over a short period of time.

Here is the best source of disinfection info that I've personally come across. I may have posted it here before. It's labeled as pertaining to mudsnails but covers didymo also. Check out the links to the New Zealand sites, too.

Sanitizing Wading Equipment - WDTU

Pg 73 and 74 of this file contains a comparison table for many cleaning methods which I found pretty helpful.

http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files...rev-may-07.pdf

[Bamboozle]

When my fishing buddy and I stopped off at the Delaware last
year on our way from the Salmon River to fish his club waters in PA,
after I saw the sign we decided not to even fish the river and got
back in the car and left.

Nice looking water, but not worth the risk.

Welcome to the 100% club!!

Even though I have about 6 pairs of wading shoes and wet wade 90% of the time, I know it is wishful thinking to think that banning felts or just disinfecting wading shoes is the answer. Everything including Neoprene booties, waders and even furled leaders can act as a vector to carry the microscopic Didymo diatom.

I have taken the Delaware, and Gunpowder off my list of destinations and will add any others that make the "infected" list as well. It sucks but it is the only way I can be sure I'm not contributing.

[Hllywd76]

Corkers is not the solution here for this issue. Didymo will cling to leaders, waders, boots and so on. So you change out the bottoms for one stream and go into another river with new bottoms. But the boots land laces themselves have come in contact as well. Again I feel we need to hear from Biologist and hear what these professionals have to say. Lastly what do you due if you fly line comes in contact with didymo, throw the fly line out? clean it with bleach and maybe affect the floatability or destroy the fly over a short period of time.

Not saying that. Two pair of boots. one NJ one NY. One infected one not. Clean after use. this is what I meant. Also have two pair of waders. Freezing works also from what I understand.

Hllywd

[Corndog]

Welcome to the 100% club!!

Even though I have about 6 pairs of wading shoes and wet wade 90% of the time, I know it is wishful thinking to think that banning felts or just disinfecting wading shoes is the answer. Everything including Neoprene booties, waders and even furled leaders can act as a vector to carry the microscopic Didymo diatom.

I have taken the Delaware, and Gunpowder off my list of destinations and will add any others that make the "infected" list as well. It sucks but it is the only way I can be sure I'm not contributing.

I agree with you Bam. If you don't fish them you don't spread the .

But what about the guy who doesn't give a damn. He's gonna spread it for us.

Cdog

[gadfly]

I agree with you Bam. If you don't fish them you don't spread the .

But what about the guy who doesn't give a damn. He's gonna spread it for us.

Cdog

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that you can disinfect your gear just by letting it dry out completely for more than two days. The problem with felt is that the interior doesn't dry out for a long time, so drying is not a reliable disinfectant. Rubber soled boots make that part easier.

Im in the market for a second pair of boots, but in the mean time will continue to wash my gear with bleach solution.

[Corndog]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that you can disinfect your gear just by letting it dry out completely for more than two days. The problem with felt is that the interior doesn't dry out for a long time, so drying is not a reliable disinfectant. Rubber soled boots make that part easier.

Im in the market for a second pair of boots, but in the mean time will continue to wash my gear with bleach solution.

I honestly don't know how to best get the stuff off your gear. That's why I don't fish rivers that are known to be infected.

As for drying gear out...I've noticed many times that the leather part of my boots are still damp after sitting for few days.

As said before, we need some expert advice on this issue.

As for boots, check out Chota's Rocklocs.

Cdog

[Ryan R]

I agree with you Bam. If you don't fish them you don't spread the .

But what about the guy who doesn't give a damn. He's gonna spread it for us.

Cdog

How on earth would you know though? A stream can infected long before it is widely known. If you fish in a region (Catskills for example) where it has been found in even one river you unfortuanteyl also have a decent chance it may be present in others without wide knowledge yet. That's how it gets spread too, just shear angler ignorance and apathy. There is plenty of expert advice for disinfecting gear that has long been printed and is out there, I believe you can even find it on the NYSDEC site. If you look for it you should find the info rather easy but it's up to each angler to want to be informed.

I'm not checking rivers off my list but I am looking to take precautions each time I fish now. PIA definitely but it's the responsible thing for me to do as an angler, IMO.

[Andy B]

CDOG:

Your missing the point here. It's just not anglers that spread didymo. Birds/water Fowl also spread this as well from stream to stream and any other bodies of water that they may visit. It's more a bigger issue than just the anglers. Think of didymo like the flu. It does spread around and winds up in places that you least aspect it to. So anglers are only part of the equation. The only true answer I feel will come from Biologists. We can band this and band that, but how do you band Birds, Deer, Bear and raccoons. All this has to be part of the equation but we can't jump to conclusions that only represents half the issue. There is a lot more to this equation than most people think.

[AKSkim]

How on earth would you know though

Relax... take it easy... Exhale... breath in slowly...... HOLD IT.

I'll PM you when to let it out.

[Bamboozle]

How on earth would you know though? A stream can infected long before it is widely known. If you fish in a region (Catskills for example) where it has been found in even one river you unfortuanteyl also have a decent chance it may be present in others without wide knowledge yet. That's how it gets spread too, just shear angler ignorance and apathy. There is plenty of expert advice for disinfecting gear that has long been printed and is out there, I believe you can even find it on the NYSDEC site. If you look for it you should find the info rather easy but it's up to each angler to want to be informed.

I'm not checking rivers off my list but I am looking to take precautions each time I fish now. PIA definitely but it's the responsible thing for me to do as an angler, IMO.

Safe sex sometimes fails to prevent STD's, total abstinence while a miserable alternative, doesn't.

It's a pretty weak analogy comparing the spread of Didymo to condom use, but cleaning your gear is like wearing a rubber. It MIGHT work...

...or it might not.

I realize that taking KNOWN infected streams off my list is no guarantee that I might fish in infected waters that are NOT listed. That doesn't preclude me taking common sense precautions when I fish more than one not-known-to-be-infected stream in a day.

I believe that avoiding those that are listed, is a 100% better option for the resource than assuming you are doing an adequate job of cleaning your gear. I really doubt that anyone is doing a 100% thorough job of cleaning EVERYTHING after fishing or boating in infected waters if they are doing anything at all.

I think that fishing where Dydimo is known to be present only minimizes the threat, sends a signal to the uniformed that it's OK to fish and do as you please, and exacerbates the situation by in effect saying to the informed; "hey guys, it's business as usual, just wash your stuff when you are done".

It sort of sounds like the Administration talking about swine flu.

I realize that there no guarantees when it comes to this stuff and I have a feeling it would spread even if nobody was fishing, albeit taking a much longer time. However, I still think that staying away is a lot better choice than slogging along though the rock snot with rubber soled boots, a bottle of bleach and a TU cleaning guide. It just happens to be an unpopular and inconvenient option so most fishermen will continue to try and convince themselves that cleaning will work just as well.

It's funny, most guys will admonish someone wading or fishing during spawning time or targeting trout when the water hits 70 degrees, but they won't stay out of the water when it comes to Didymo.

Bottom line, it won't really matter in the long run. I just want to do as much as possible to keep myself from contributing. There are just too many other places to fish without taking that chance.