AIS Test – It might have been my idea!

This was an idea that I proposed in a meeting with the Commissioner last year. I but can’t take credit for it, since there are many precedents for this type of training. My idea was based on the Bow Hunting archery online course, water safety online course and loosely on the Firearm Safety course.

The reason this came up, was that all the anglers in these AIS meetings (including myself) were sick and tired of being beaten over the head by all the talk about how bad AIS education worked. No matter what we stress about education being the key to this to prevention, we got shot down. The amount of money the legislature is giving the DNR to do AIS education is the equivalent to a kindergarteners lunch money.

When I first got involved with being part of the DNR AIS Stakeholders group, I feared that it would result in loss of access (like Xmas Lake) or really cause folks to lose interest in something I love- fishing. I’m less concerned about both. Folks who love fishing, boating, the Outdoors have shown many times over that they are at heart-true conservationists and given the opportunity they will rise to the challenge and tasks at hand.

Once the course is taken, you will get as many stickers as trailers you have registered. There will likely be many ways to take the course: online, mailed in, at Deputy Registrars.

It very much a hitting folks over the head approach, but it may be one of the only ways to get 100% compliance. Maybe someone would like to write a cell phone app and sell it to the DNR (LOL)

So what do you think of that??????

Buzz

Give me that lunch money and I’ll retire…and take up gardening.

Over the last weekend I’ve listen to three, what I would call “fair weather” anglers threatening to give up fishing because of the new proposed rule(s).

This site has many hard core fishermen and I doubt many will toss in the towel. Keep it up and we’ll be wondering why license sales are declining….more.

There is life after Zebs!!

My cell phone reminder just went off…

What’s being done about the introduction of the “end of the world as we know it”?

We need the Coast Guard blocking the ships entering Lake Superior.

The Hi Way Patrol on each Interstate coming into the state…close off the back roads and build an electrified fence!

Armed Border Patrol!!

MN the AIS free Island!! All because of a sticker and a test.

Don’t forget about the “fee” that will be attached to the test.

You know it’s coming.

it will probably take a citation and fine for me to go through the hassle of this AIS testing.

until then, they can try to catch me at the ramps.

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It very much a hitting folks over the head approach, but it may be one of the only ways to get 100% compliance.

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When did hitting a grown man over the head ever get him to comply with anything? When did somebody get the bright idea that 100% of any group of people will comply with anything? That’s just dumb. Maybe, Buzz, you should suggest that the DNR wash every single boat at every boat launch in the state. Also, they must kill any bird that leaves the lake it is on before it gets a chance to fly to another. Migrating birds must be stopped and checked at the canadian border every year. Come on, lets get serious about this.

Maybe a dumb question, but why don’t they check your boat at the landing BEFORE you unlaod? That way you could save your fish in the livewell, bait, etc until you got home and then drain things out.
At the LPO weigh-in on Sat., there was a guy ( with his game face on ) telling us to dump our bait wells, livewells, and pull the bilge plug. Well I wasn’t going to drain water off of $50 worth of minnows, chubs, leeches, and willow cats for the ride home, just to have to buy more for day 2.
WKW

Some times it seems to me, the ones that think everyone else needs to be educated. Are truly the ones without a clue!

Somehow if we got 100% compliance,….. the AIS will still be spread – and here is the kicker…..NEW AIS WILL BE STILL BE INTRODUCED. As long as ships are entering the USA from overseas, it will continue.

Like I mentioned before – the inside of trailers are hollow containers containing wire harnesses and many points that will trap an invasive as they drain. You can pressure wash everything you own including your own balls if you took a swim, and the inside of your trailer can still transport a zeeb…….

T

I got it! Lets do a daily fishing license, so everyday you fish during the season you’ll have to pay 20 bucks. that money could be used to pay people to wash boats and hand out stickers

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My cell phone reminder just went off…

What’s being done about the introduction of the “end of the world as we know it”?

We need the Coast Guard blocking the ships entering Lake Superior.

The Hi Way Patrol on each Interstate coming into the state…close off the back roads and build an electrified fence!

Armed Border Patrol!!

MN the AIS free Island!! All because of a sticker and a test.

Don’t forget about the “fee” that will be attached to the test.

You know it’s coming.

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Our own AIS with its own genetic signature all to ourselves. Farm raised by means of mechanical devices and that of the winged and crawly creatures and walkable just for you and I in the land of 10,000 or more rules on just the wild life. Tourism will sky rocket just to see our own infestation and to see stickers on the buts of ducks.

Sadly, the sticker that was placed on the ducks obstructed the flow of the digestive track.

They just popped in the sky a witness described. It was like the Hindenburg all over but on a much more broader scale times a 1000.

Buzz,

I know a lot of people are concerned about AIS, and I’m glad that we’ll be trying this relatively cheap and relative unintrusive route before something else

John

Yes, there will be a fee. And hold on to your shorts! Next year we will likely see an increase in the Boat registration fees. Currently there is a $3 AIS surcharge on each registration. I’m thinking this surcharge will also go up.

Another hot topic next year will be $$$grants$$$ to Lake Associations for plant management of milfoil, curley leaf and other AIS.

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Maybe a dumb question, but why don’t they check your boat at the landing BEFORE you unlaod? That way you could save your fish in the livewell, bait, etc until you got home and then drain things out.

At the LPO weigh-in on Sat., there was a guy ( with his game face on ) telling us to dump our bait wells, livewells, and pull the bilge plug. Well I wasn’t going to drain water off of $50 worth of minnows, chubs, leeches, and willow cats for the ride home, just to have to buy more for day 2.

WKW

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The reason that doesn’t work is because they don’t want you taking infested water from that body of water. That’s the best way to prohibit transport of infested water.

Now because you didn’t think ahead and bring extra water for your precious minnows so you can compete in a tournament is reason enough for you to be above the law?

Now I agree that all of this AIS stuff is starting to get out of hand but us as fishermen need to be a little more open and a little more intelligent when we speak.

For anyone who argues that invasives are more easily spread by natural causes like waterfowl, needs to explain to me why the lakes with the highest traffic always sees the invasives first.

Bottom line is that the focus is in totally the wrong area.

Just poison off all the plant and animal life in every contaminated lake. Got to be cheaper than this plan. Total annihilation.

thats what we need. give money to the already wealthy lake associations so they can make “their” lakes less accesible to the public. this type of stuff normally doesn’t bother me too much, but these ideas are all just horrible. You don’t agree with grants to lake associations do you buzz?

I don’t know where I stand on these types of grants. Many of these folks are the same ones who destroyed most of the aquatic plants on their shorelines to make their golf course lawns and “weed” free beaches and then put out 500sf of dock to park their 50K boats. Then they turn around and hyperventilate about needing to fork over some big bucks for AIS plant management. But then there are tons of Mom and Pop cabins with plenty of retired Joe Sixpacks. So, like most problems they need complex solutions. I’d feel better about it if we could finally get the Shoreline Rules passed and signed. Too much of our shoreline is put into the hands of developers with County Boards giving them card blanche.

That is the problem…there isn’t a problem.

…and not everything needs to be fixed with another law, rule or whatever.

I believe everyone on this site is totally on board, for preventing, or curing this problem. Fact is no matter what sticker you put on, whether its on their boat, or these idiots foreheads. Prevention is long over there are too many people out there that just don’t care, so lets save all this wasted money and put it towards researching some cures. Lets face it, these things are all here to stay, and there are too many people using the resource to even slow it down!? Not too mention like above that it is impossible to get it out of all our trailer frames!!? I do agree with doing everything we can to prevent it, but it is just too late for prevention.

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At the LPO weigh-in on Sat., there was a guy ( with his game face on ) telling us to dump our bait wells, livewells, and pull the bilge plug. Well I wasn’t going to drain water off of $50 worth of minnows, chubs, leeches, and willow cats for the ride home, just to have to buy more for day 2.

WKW

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Shame on you Wayne!!! And shame on me too I guess!

Management of weeds, invasive or not, is a complete and utter waste of money. Those dumb weed mowers they use on Harriet and Calhoun do nothing but destroy fish habitat, spread the weeds to other parts of the lake and are non-discriminatory toward native plants. Any money spent in this area is a complete waste at best, destructive at worst.

With bait that you want to save after a day on the water, drain the water from the bait and replace it with water you brought with you, spring water, well water but not lake water. Guides are using a cooler with aeration systems in them.

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Those dumb weed mowers they use on Harriet and Calhoun do nothing but destroy fish habitat, spread the weeds to other parts of the lake and are non-discriminatory toward native plants.

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thanks for bringing these up. They use these on bald eagle as well. after they are done the lake is left with floating weeds everywhere. weeds floating everywhere means more weeds stuck to your boat, which obviously increases the risk of spreading them. absolute stupidest idea ever.

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With bait that you want to save after a day on the water, drain the water from the bait and replace it with water you brought with you, spring water, well water but not lake water. Guides are using a cooler with aeration systems in them

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The issue is that most residents living within the Twin Cities do not have regular access to well water.

My question is if transporting bait is such a concern, why can’t these AIS inspectors or the launch sites provide anglers with clean water once they leave the lake?

Seems like a logical solution to the problem by utilizing a FREE resource, i.e. water…

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Those dumb weed mowers they use on Harriet and Calhoun do nothing but destroy fish habitat, spread the weeds to other parts of the lake and are non-discriminatory toward native plants.

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Forgot to add that they clear out some of the weeds and the milfoil grows more aggressively than natives, so guess what fills the void?

thanks for bringing these up. They use these on bald eagle as well. after they are done the lake is left with floating weeds everywhere. weeds floating everywhere means more weeds stuck to your boat, which obviously increases the risk of spreading them. absolute stupidest idea ever.

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This isn’t a new issue, Bait buckets used on infested waters had the same rules previously. I’m hearing that folks are getting extra water at the bait shops they buy the minnows from. The hassle is bringing an extra empty jug or two.

You never know with bringing your own water. You might kill all your bait with some bad PH levels. Plus, is it something you can really do? If a CO “catches” you after swapping water, is he really going to believe you just put them in some tap water? And even if you swap out the water, isn’t their still a remote chance a zeb larvae could have attached itself to a minnow or the baitwell?

I came up with this idea 2 years ago….

Oh wait, maybe I am confused. So people grab extra bait water and swap that out at the end of the day? Still, how do you get around the burden of proof.

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This isn’t a new issue, Bait buckets used on infested waters had the same rules previously. I’m hearing that folks are getting extra water at the bait shops they buy the minnows from. The hassle is bringing an extra empty jug or two.

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No it’s not a new issue. When the cat fisherman found out about this (after the fact) they were/are less than happy. It was the straw that broke the camels back in starting to push for a catfish advisory board like all the rest of the special species interest groups.

I’ll use myself for an example.

My bait is held in a bait tank that uses well water…or whatever a bait dealer uses. I’ll take out 24-30 ($30-$45) in my 28 quart cooler using the same water.

While fishing the cooler sits in my boat. Noting enters the cooler, only bullheads exit.

Now it’s time to go home and I need 7 gallons of water to refill my cooler. OK, honestly most times I have less bullheads on the way home but I’ll still need 5 gallons of water.

For what reason? Because a CO doesn’t know if the water in the cooler is or is not contaminated.

Guilty ’till proven innocent.

The law is the hassle. It assumes we are guilty.

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Oh wait, maybe I am confused. So people grab extra bait water and swap that out at the end of the day? Still, how do you get around the burden of proof.

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I bet you could get a sticker that says fresh water.