Clean Gear Means Clear Fishing
Dick Kennedy, Conservation Chairman

Much has been said about the need to clean your felt bottom wading shoes
when leaving streams or rivers infested with whirling disease. Bright Water
is a product you can purchase but one must go to the right store or online
to acquire the item. Some have suggested a 5 percent bleach solution but
many see this as a very harmful solution especially for breathable waders.
If you pay that much for waders, you don’t want to ruin them up with bleach.

Now here is something that shows great promise and can be purchased at
your local grocery or hardware store. 409 Antibacterial (All Purpose or
Kitchen—the Kitchen blend contains a lemon scent and is probably not desirable
due to this agent) has the a chemical that has been shown effective in
killing the whirling disease spores but in a lower concentration than some
suggest and is generally sold and used by consumers. The chemical is
dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride. 409 Antibacterial has a 0.3% concentration
of this chemical. Fantastic has the same chemical at a concentration
of 0.11%. Regardless whether you make the choice to use any of these
products, you should follow manufactures directions. You need to be extremely
careful to avoid eye contact and never take it internally. You should
also fully rinse your boots after using a chemical such as this. These products
are designed to be an antibacterial and will kill organisms.

So here’s your order of business no matter what product you choose to
disinfect your gear. First, clean off all the mud, old water, algae, etc. Next,
disinfect using the product you selected, leave on for several minutes. Finally,
rinse your equipment thoroughly with clear water after disinfecting so
that you are not introducing a toxic chemical to your favorite fishing stream
or lake.