Fly Fishing 101

Felt vs Rubber Wading Boots for North Georgia: Is Felt Banned, and Which to Buy

Daniel Bowman Updated November 4, 2026 11 min read

Felt versus rubber is one of the oldest arguments in fly fishing. Most of it is about grip, and most of what you'll read is opinion. The part that actually has answers is the legal side: where felt is banned, why, and what the agencies that manage our rivers want you to do about it. That's what this guide covers, with a link to every agency page we used.

If you're shopping, the cost and grip sections near the end will help. If you're just coming fishing with a guide, you don't need to buy boots at all: waders and boots come with every guided trip we run.

Is felt banned in Georgia?

No rule we could find bans it. We searched all 14 sections of Georgia's 2026 fishing regulations, including the general regulations and the trout rules, on November 4, 2026. None mentions felt soles, wading boots or footwear of any kind. Georgia DNR's aquatic nuisance species page doesn't ban felt either. It asks anglers to clean, drain and dry their gear, which we cover below.

That's a careful answer on purpose. Rules change, and a national forest or a park can set its own. Each year, check Georgia DNR's current regulations, and read any posted signs at a trailhead.

So in North Georgia, we found no rule that makes felt a legal question. The questions that remain are the ones that matter on the water: which sole holds better on wet stream rock, how each one dries, and how you keep from carrying something from one river to the next.

Is felt banned in North Carolina or the Smokies?

Not on the agency pages we checked. North Carolina's aquatic nuisance species page has no felt ban, but it lists "boots/shoes/waders" and wading gear as fishing equipment that should be cleaned. Great Smoky Mountains National Park's fishing page has no felt rule either. Its one gear line asks anglers to "help prevent the spread of invasive species by cleaning your fishing gear before use in a new waterway." If you fish the park and Georgia on one trip, our Smokies vs North Georgia guide covers the park's didymo warning and cleaning gear between the two.

This matters to a North Georgia angler because the Tuckasegee and the Smokies are a short drive north. Our own Tuckasegee floats run from October 1 to the first Saturday in June, and plenty of anglers fish Georgia one weekend and North Carolina the next. We found no felt rule in either state, but both agencies point you to the same habit: clean the gear between rivers.

Where are felt-soled boots banned?

In a handful of places, and the list online is often wrong. Here's what the agencies themselves say:

Sources: the Maryland regulation, Alaska Fish and Game's felt-sole FAQ (dated April 2012), Yellowstone's fishing rules, Missouri Conservation's porous-sole rule and Vermont DEC's repeal notice.

A few notes on that table:

• Missouri's four trout parks are Maramec Spring, Bennett Spring, Montauk and Roaring River. The ban also covers named waters such as the Current River, the Eleven Point River and Lake Taneycomo.
• Vermont is the one that most blog lists get wrong. Its environmental agency says the ban was repealed "due to changes in the science behind Didymo."
• Other states show up on blog lists, but we didn't find an agency page for them, so we've left them off. If you're traveling, check that state's fish and wildlife agency directly.

Why do some places ban felt?

Because wet felt holds onto living things longer than other boot materials do. Alaska's fish and game department puts the case most clearly in its FAQ: "Research has shown that felt and fibrous materials trap and transfer a variety of harmful organisms, including pathogens and invasive species, more efficiently than other commonly used materials." It adds that "the fibrous materials remain damp for days after use allowing these organisms to remain viable longer."

The three hitchhikers the agencies name most often:

1. Didymo, which North Carolina's wildlife agency calls "a nuisance algae." Alaska says New Zealand's didymo invasion led to the first felt ban, in 2008.
2. The whirling disease parasite, which attacks young trout. Alaska says one life stage "easily embeds into felt soles more readily than other wading equipment materials."
3. New Zealand mudsnails, tiny snails that USGS says are moved "by angler's or paddler's equipment."

There's another side, and a fair page should say it. Vermont repealed its ban after the science on didymo changed, and even Alaska's FAQ says "banning felt soles is not the silver bullet." The Smokies' didymo page says didymo spreads on waders, boots and fishing line, whatever the sole. Felt is one way these spread, not the only one. The cleaning habit matters whichever sole you wear.

What do Georgia and North Carolina say about whirling disease and didymo?

Both are on our agencies' radar, and one is already in a river close to home. Georgia DNR says whirling disease was "first documented in Georgia in 2021" and "can cause 90 percent or greater mortality of young rainbow trout." That first case was in hatchery-raised trout at the Buford and Summerville hatcheries, per DNR's trout disease notice. We found no DNR report of whirling disease in a wild Georgia stream, so we won't say it's there.

On didymo, Georgia DNR says it was "recently found in North Carolina for the first time" and calls it "a threat to Georgia streams and rivers." North Carolina's agency is more specific:

• "Didymo, a nuisance algae, has been seen in the Tuckasegee River in Jackson County."
• Researchers found it there in late 2015, "the first time the organism has been documented in North Carolina."
• "Whirling disease and gill lice have been found in trout in western North Carolina."

So a wading angler who fishes the Tuckasegee on Saturday and a Georgia creek on Sunday is exactly the traveler these agencies are talking to. The Smokies' didymo page adds one more reason to take it seriously: didymo cells "can remain alive for several days in a moist environment. Only one cell is needed to invade park streams."

How should you clean wading boots between rivers?

Clean, drain and dry, and follow the agency for the water you're going to. Each agency gives its own numbers, so here they are side by side rather than blended into one rule:

Sources: Georgia DNR's aquatic nuisance species page and trout disease notice, the Smokies' didymo page and Alaska's felt-sole FAQ.

The simple version for a North Georgia angler:

• Knock the mud and plant bits off before you leave the river.
• Drain water out of your boots and waders.
• Let them dry completely before the next river. Georgia's number is five days.
• If you're fishing a different river tomorrow, use a separate set of gear, boots and waders both, or follow that agency's bleach wash for everything that got wet.
• Report sick-looking trout to Georgia DNR at trout@dnr.ga.gov.

That five-day drying rule is where the sole matters most. Alaska's FAQ says felt and fibrous soles "remain damp for days after use." One maker, Korkers, says its fast-drying design means "faster dry times lessen the chance of spreading invasive species." If you fish several rivers in a week, the dependable fix is a separate set of gear, boots and waders both, or the bleach wash for everything that got wet.

Felt or rubber: which grips better?

Makers make grip claims for their rubber soles, but none we found compares rubber to felt, and nobody we found has tested it independently. We looked for a lab or field study comparing felt, rubber and studded rubber on wet stream rock and found only fly shop and forum opinion. So here's what the makers claim, in their own words, with the caveat that these are their numbers:

• Simms says its Vibram rubber sole "offers 20% better wet-slip resistance than standard Idrogrip," which is another Vibram rubber, not felt.
• Orvis says the Michelin sole on its PRO BOA boot gives "a resounding 43% improvement in wet-rubber traction over the competition." Orvis doesn't name the competition, so it isn't a felt-versus-rubber result either.
• Korkers sells boots with swappable soles, felt and its Kling-On rubber, so you can change based on the water.

Neither number compares rubber to felt directly. On studs, Simms says studs "are recommended for slippery moss, algae, or slime as they penetrate the material to grip the substrate beneath," and that studs "are also the only option for felt outsoles." Simms says its cleats suit Vibram or rubber soles, so rubber can take studs or cleats.

What we can say about our part of Georgia: the New Georgia Encyclopedia says the common rock types in the Blue Ridge include gneiss, quartzite and schist, and that many areas average more than 60 inches of rain a year. That's the setting your boots will meet, whichever sole you pick.

What do felt and rubber wading boots cost right now?

About the same. Makers price felt and rubber versions of the same boot alike, so cost isn't a reason to pick one. These are the makers' own prices on November 4, 2026, and several were on sale:

Sources: the Simms G3 Guide pages in Vibram rubber and felt, the Simms Freestone page and wading boot collection, the Orvis PRO BOA page and the Korkers Devil's Canyon page. Prices move often, so check before you buy.

Trout Unlimited asked makers back in 2008 to stop making felt by 2011. That didn't end felt sales: Simms still offers its G3 Guide and Freestone boots in felt today.

Which wading boot should you buy for North Georgia?

Either sole is legal here, as far as we found, so buy for how you fish. A simple way to decide:

• You travel to fish: buy rubber. It's legal everywhere on the table above, including Yellowstone, Alaska and Maryland.
• You fish several rivers in a week: plan on a separate set of gear for each river, or a bleach wash, since Georgia asks you to dry everything five days.
• You fish one home river and clean your gear well: we found no Georgia rule against felt, and plenty of anglers still like it.
• You can't decide: a boot with swappable soles lets you change your mind later.
• Whatever you choose: consider studs, which Simms recommends for slippery moss, algae or slime, and pick a boot that fits over your wader's neoprene foot.

For waders, sizing and how boots fit with stockingfoot waders, our North Georgia wader guide goes through it. That guide recommends rubber with studs for our water; this one is about the rules behind the choice.

Do you need your own wading boots for a guided trip?

No. We provide all fishing gear, waders and boots for anyone who needs them. All of our trips include gear, instruction, and everything you need for a great day on the water. On the Etowah, where trips are wade only: "No waders? No problem."

If you have your own rod and reel or waders, we encourage you to bring them. Floats are different again: no waders are needed on a float trip unless you want to get out and fish on foot on the way down. Our guide to what's included on a guided trip lists the rest.

The private water we wade, on the Etowah and the Soque, is beginner friendly, with even first-timers catching both quantity and big fish. If you'd like to try wading before you buy a pair of boots, our trip finder will match you to the right water.

Daniel Bowman

Owner & Head Guide · Bowman Fly Fishing

Daniel has guided fly fishing trips in North Georgia for more than 10 years. He runs Bowman Fly Fishing with a team of 10 guides on the Toccoa, Soque, Etowah, Noontootla, and Tuckasegee — including private water access most anglers never get to fish.