I've become a creature of habit, but I'm determined to change.

I've worn my boots in known whirling disease-infected waters in three different states. I've taken the recommended steps to stop spreading the trout disease - usually completely drying my waders and boots in direct sunlight once I return home because I rarely jump from one fishery to another - but I still have twinges of guilt because of the felt.

"Felt is basically a dirty sponge that is very difficult or impossible to disinfect," said Chris Wilson, director of the state's Fisheries Experiment Station and one of, if not the most, knowledgeable experts on whirling disease. "It is a great media for spreading a great number of things."

Those "things" include whirling disease and New Zealand mud snails, both of which can negatively impact trout fishing. Who knows what other diseases and exotic species are out there that could be transported by felt-bottomed boots.

One of the reasons anglers have avoided switching from felt that few other options provided as much traction on slippery rocks.

That has changed. Alternatives have been around for about a decade, and they offer footing on stream bottoms that is comparable to felt, says Steve Schmidt, owner of Western Rivers Flyfisher in Salt Lake City.

Feltless wading boots are available from a variety of companies. Patagonia (Sticky) and Simms (Aquastealth) seem to be ahead of the curve when it comes to footing and comfort, according to Schmidt.

You can expect pay between $125 to $200 for an alternative to felt boots, but knowing that you aren't harboring an alien life form capable of destroying your favorite fishing water, well that's, as they say, priceless.

You can rest assured that my next wading boots won't contain felt.

Schmidt says the boots are also a solid investment because they appear to be more durable than cheaper boots on the market. They also don't collect 5-inches of extra height in the snow like felt does, thus saving you from walking like Frankenstein during every winter outing.

Wilson says the vast majority of state fisheries biologists and hatchery workers have already made the change from felt to rubber.

Wilson says that while the rubber-soled boots will be a better choice for fisheries, the footwear still needs to be cleared of mud and the upper portion of the shoes treated with something like 409 cleaner or air-dried in sunlight to prevent spreading unwanted diseases or species.

"People ask me what the best chemical is to use and I tell them it is elbow grease. No amount of disinfectant will work if it can't get through the mud," Wilson said. "Cleaning off your fishing equipment is the best way to stop spreading these things."

Rest assured my next boot purchase will not include felt.

brettp@sltrib.com