Ya know…I was thinking today

I’m meeting with Commissioner Landwehr tomorrow on AIS issues. The Bills in the House and Senate still need to go through the Judaical Committees and I’m not optimistic that the penalties will fly. But we can at least expected increased fines and some sort of criminal penalty for egregious actions.

But the bigger picture for me is how to get anglers on-board that don’t pull, drain or dump water. What will it take for one of us, to actually say something in a polite way to someone not following the rules. I’m out-spoken, if someone is going to drive away with a bale of milfoil on their rig, I’m likely to say something like “Hi, can I give you a hand getting those weeds off”.

Are you willing to do this? How would you fell if someone approached you and said, ” hey I notice your drain plug is in” “Did you know you could get a fine for that” ?

Here is just a taste of what some folks out there really want:

In our assessment, here are some significant needs:
• Decontamination of all watercraft leaving infested waters with protocols appropriate for all AIS
• Definition of Decontamination – US Fish & Wildlife protocols in the Bill
• Containment of AIS to existing infested waters
• More attention to watercraft entering Minnesota
• More attention to the scheduling and regulation of angling tournaments
We, as well as many others we are associated with, have also raised related concerns dealing with
• Private/resort access
• Priority on retrofitting public accesses to facilitate/encourage AIS removal
• A sticker-type program
• Proposed fines for violations are not high enough to provide a deterrent

This is a concerning deal for me. I’ve had my boat since 2004 and I bet I’ve had the drain plug out less than 5 times. It is a b-i-t- you get the idea, to take in and out. Enough to keep me from coming over to MN.

Last fall I had to cross over to get on the St. Croix as Hudson was shut down due to flooding. Doing just that, if this law goes into effect, would put me in jail?

I pull all the weeds off the trailer before leaving the launch but my boat livewells drain without pulling the plug. We’ve got to have some common sense here.

ET

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I would guess there will be tickets written if any thing is in question about the boat.

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NOOPE!….. at least 5 boats that I observed at LillyDale, ALL with drain plugs still in there boat received warnings from multiple “different” CO’s……

So yes the CO’s and of course the Judges will use common sense when determining who does and who doesn’t go to JAIL!…

Not surprisingly I’m playing one of my remaining over-reaction card on this one….

I can not see why some one thinks pulling your drain plug each and every time is tough. Please wake me up if this is too hard, but how does a plug which screws in and tightens up from the outside warrant much discussion?

So as a RIVERWRAT i spend alot of time in the water all season wether it be fishing, waterfowl hunting or high water booze cruises So now i need to towel off my dog before i put him in his crate after a hunt WTF or how the wardens who are out in full force all over the bottoms on duck opener going from one water way to another are gonna DRY there boats out every time Doubt it i have had buddies checked on lake Bylsby on duck opener and it was the same warden who checked us that am over in P3 They need to worry about other things that can be stopped like over limits and double dippers Not drying there boats out and NEITHER do us Sportsmen and Women……

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Not surprisingly I’m playing one of my remaining over-reaction card on this one….

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Gary, you might want to read the proposed rules, which is what I’m talking about before you play your last card.

You nailed it

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This is a concerning deal for me. I’ve had my boat since 2004 and I bet I’ve had the drain plug out less than 5 times. It is a b-i-t- you get the idea, to take in and out. Enough to keep me from coming over to MN.

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CE, I have a 2005 Alumacraft and if yours is anything like mine I will agree that removing the plug from the inside is not a fun task. I switched to a plug that goes in from the outside. I have heard a few people question the integrity of these plugs while navigating debris filled waters. I have taken one of the plugs that I use and put it on an old duck boat my friend has. We then took a 21oz. framing hammer and hit the plug. The plug did not move until my buddy took a full hard as he could swing. And even then it did not fully come out of the plug hole. That and knowing my uncle uses the same plug on his 1850 YarCraft. He fishes many big waters like Mille Lacs, Devils Lake, and Lake Sakakwea and has never lost a plug.

Another plus for this plug is that it fits right in the drain hole for my splashwell. When I go back to take the straps off I just pull it out of the splashwell and put it in the drain hole. When I leave the lake I just switch it around. It becomes very routine after a few trips. Hope this helps.