Are felt boots history?

[Brook]

[font "Garamond"][#008000][size 4]"I think on whole the fly fishing community is dedicated to protecting our water ways and wildlife and will do whatever it takes to conform "[/size][/#008000][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][#000000][size 4]There's no question, DR, that flyfishers, as a class, have always had more of a conservation ethic than other outdoor users. It's almost the nature of the beast. [/size][/#000000][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]Take "catch & release," for instance. When the concept first emerged (pushed by flyfishers) it was an attempt to preserve and protect the fishery. Back then it was the only way we knew to accomplish that. [/size][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]Now "catch & release" is used as a public relations banner by people who's idea of releasing a fish, particularly an undersized one, is to rip it off the hook and toss it as far from the boat as they can. [/size][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]But TU, like every other conservation organization, isn't above playing politics with the resource if it accomplishes its goal. One of several reasons I dropped my membership a more than 15 years ago; after having been an active member all my adult life---including being co-founder and president of the only chapter with the balls to use Lee Wulff's name as part of its own.[/size][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]One way it does that is to overplay the effects of a cause, ignoring all other realities in the process. People have gotten tired of that, and have, as a result, stopped supporting conservation organizations. Membership in all such groups has been steadily declining long before our current economic hard times. [/size][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]There's a problem with forums like this, in that they attract people who are more serious about the topic, whatever it happens to be. So, in the case of flyfishing, members here tend to be more aware of what's going on, more likely to support conservation projects, more likely to invest in top quality equipment, however that's defined, more likely to be members of TU.[/size][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]But we are a subset within the general population "flyfishers." The vast bulk of flyfishermen are not members of TU, for instance; they do not replace gear every two years of so, they do not participate in flyfishing forums, do not belong to flyfishing clubs, etc.[/size][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]I submit to you that that group, which might include as many as 70% of those who fish with a long rod, will not buy-in to the idea that they are to blame for the transmittal of stream diseases. And they are not going to drop several hundred dollars on new waders because of that.[/size][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]I'll make a prediction. If felt becomes unavailable as an OEM and replacement sole, those people will go back to using homemade materials before they replace perfectly good waders. They'll do things like cut pieces of carpet to fit their boots and attach them with adhesives that leech solvents into the water. [/size][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]That, too, is one of the realities being ignored.[/size][/font]
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[font "Garamond"][size 4]Brook[/size][/font]
[font "Garamond"][size 4]http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com[/size][/font]
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