WTH? Check this out:
The president of the NY BASS Chapter Federation (Mike Cusano, good guy) said today his group has changed the rules of its July 23 fishing tournament on the St. Lawrence River.
The announcement comes…in the wake of May 30 incident on the river when Roy Andersen, 22, of Baldwinsville, was threatened by Canadian customs officials with having his boat seized after being stopped while drift fishing with a friend on the river. He ended up paying $1,000 on the spot with his credit card to keep his boat.
A thousand frickin’ dollars just for fishing?! WTH happened to our formerly polite neighbors to the north! More:
The Andersen incident sparked a quick and negative reaction on the American side. Many American boaters for years on the St. Lawrence have acted under the belief that anglers and recreational boaters weren’t required to report their presence in Canadian waters unless they anchored or set foot on Canadian soil.
Canadian customs officials countered that they’ve had a “long-standing written” policy requiring all non-Canadian boaters to alert custom officials to their presence in Canadian waters. The rules state that they must do that by landing at a designated “port of entry” on the Canadian side and calling customs.
Last week, an official from the Canadian Border Service Agency conceded, though, that there are logistical problems with following the policy strictly, and that for years the Canadians have displayed an “administrative tolerance” for those boaters and anglers who did not check in.
He promised a statement would be coming out soon “making things crystal clear” how the border policy on the popular waterway would be enforced in the future.
You do that, Mr. Canuck. And how ’bout a heads up next time you evil Canadians decide to hit fishermen up with shakedowns.
The NY Fed is limiting practice to the US side. Mike said: “It’s too bad for the Canadians, because they’ll lose on the Canadian fishing licenses participants would have bought.
He added that the tournament usually draws about 200 anglers, but this year after this bullcrap, only about 160 anglers are expected to show.
Props to David Figura of The Post-Standard newspaper for covering the issue.
Why Nicaragua?
Because I got invited to fish Costa Rica a long time ago, and when we were out in the jungle fishing for snook were approached by a Nicaraguan boat with two no-way-are-they-gonna-smile guys with AK-47s in bow and stern, and a bunch of unhappy-looking folks in the middle.
Can you say, pucker?
Looked at our passports, took some cash and went on their way. I think I’m still puckered from that one….
Sounds like the new Canada to me.
Let’s embarrass the Canadians into being rational. Spread this post as far and wide as you can, border-state bassers!
13 Comments
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5bites
June 29, 2011 at 11:38 am
You didn’t ask how much they took?
Hopefully something can be resolved between the individual who got $1000 stolen from him and the bullies that took it. What if he didn’t have the money? Would he have seen his gear again?
Joe
June 29, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Haven’t stepped foot in Quebec, or bought a Qubec license, since we had trucks and trailers towed by the QPP without warning. We launched from an unimproved ramp above a hydro dam on the Riviere Noir that we had used for years. It happened that we had a larger group than normal and took 4 boats instead of two.
We saw the QPP drive up and down the road once, only to come back at the end of a day that dipped into the 50s and spit rain in late July (It was freaking cold for a day forecast around 80) to find two of the 4 tow vehicles had been towed.
Fortunately, we made it to the impound yard, 60+ miles away, before they closed and managed to get the vehicles out for only about $90 Canadian per vehicle. They said the logging company complained about having trouble passing, though all vehicles were completely off of the road.
A simple “Hey, if you don’t move those vehicles, they will be towed,” warning from the QPP would have been nice.
Chad Keogh
June 29, 2011 at 1:45 pm
No sympathy here. I fish a lake in the southern Okanagan Valley in BC that is shared with Washington state. We (Canadians) are not allowed to boat across and fish the US side… period. We have to pull our boats out, and drive across the border check, then put back in.
Would I get fined if I pushed it and boated across the border? Probably that and the rubber glove search…
I think we need to loosen up and let boaters cross over as long as they don’t come on land and if border officials want to check them out on the water, I think that should be perfectly reasonable. That’s up to the officials though and they BOTH have to agree on both sides of the line.
Flip 'N' Pitch
June 29, 2011 at 9:49 pm
The only problem with loosening up on our part (and I’m not saying it’s right or fair) is that no one is declaring jihad on the “Great Satan” of Canada, just the U.S. Sovereign borders deserve to be guarded uniformly on both sides. If it had always been “crystal clear” what the Canadian border policy and procedures were then yeah I wouldn’t have any sympathy for the interloping drifters either. However, arbitrary and harsh enforcement is indefensible on Canadian Customs’ part as it would be for their U. S. counterparts. As for Nicaragua, that’s just the way things work in most of the relatively uncivilized world.
Chad Keogh
June 30, 2011 at 1:01 pm
I think how we defend our border is defensible, and I don’t think we need to ask the USA for permission. It’s the angler’s responsibilty to know the rules, regs, and requirements, so he has noone to blame but himself.
admin (mostly Jay)
June 30, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Agree w/ You Chad, but i think the point in this incident was that the way things had always been done suddenly changed with no warning…. Btw, is Canuck a dirty word up there? If so, not intended that way….
Chad Keogh
June 30, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Canuck is OK as far as I know. We Canadians are pretty hard to offend. I laugh like crazy when I hear Weird Al’s Canadian Idiot, and when South Park makes fun of Canada (ie – Christmas in Canada episode, or the Royal Pudding).
As for the law not being enforced before, I speed all the time when driving and don’t get pulled over, the one time I do get pulled over I can’t get away with saying “Hey you never caught me before, that’s not fair!”.
Flip 'N' Pitch
June 30, 2011 at 10:35 pm
Yeah, how you defend your border is totally you and your government’s decision. All I meant to say was that you just need to enforce that policy consistently day to day unless something fishy is going on (Ha!).
Ronald J. Lindner
June 29, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Living in Minnesota we are in and out of Canada constantly…the check in has always been the rules.if we are going to cross border waters (and we do all the time) we check in…thus…no problem never had any..
admin (mostly Jay)
June 30, 2011 at 2:46 pm
I thought MN was part of Canada?!
Jared
June 30, 2011 at 4:33 pm
$1000 is a helluva warning – not Canucks…just plain crooks!
so “took some cash”…i think we need to hear the rest of the costa rico story…
Carl
July 14, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Wow, way to blow it out of proportion, Nicaragua ?, evil Canadians ? seriously? I guess no one would read it with out some sort sensationalism. To set the record straight nothing has changed, and the guy was refunded his money probably a mix up, the border guys were bored or the fishing guy was a mouthy punk. Anyway we still love Americans up here despite your tirad, no worries, just a little sad how fast you jump all over us for one little incident, that was corrected promptly. You should save your name calling for your real enemies, and be nice to your friends
Gary Cossaboom
May 9, 2012 at 2:47 pm
I’m from the Ottawa, ON area, living in PA at the moment, and fish the St. Lawrence quite often. If a Canadian is going to fish US waters on the St. Lawrence, they are required to have a passport and Form 68 with them. Form 68 is the Canadian Border Boat Landing form that the US Dept. of Homeland Security requires should you want to boat in US waters. You can go without form 68 if you wish, but must then land and call into US customs.
Basically, the rules are just as strict, and ridiculous IMHO, on both sides. I think this was a case of a particular agent having a bad day and being a bit more strict than was necessary.