Stoopid is Worse than Stupid

[Lake Trout]

Just got back from Rainy yesterday after a week camping west and then east of the Brule Narrows. Other than the wind, which was constant, it was a relaxing trip with a few fish thrown in for good measure. However, while at my first campsite, I was fishing within view of it, I watched a boat load of people land at my campsite. I zoomed over and they said they were going to use the bathroom but "Wouldn't touch any of my stuff." I thought this was pretty rude and poor etiquette. I stayed with them but they took their time. I moved later in the day to a new campsite in disgust. Then at the new site, the park service stapled a "Warning, recent bear activity at this site..." notice. I stayed anyway, but saw why. People some time before had thrown a few beer cans in the water by the dock, crushed a couple in between the dock boards, and a dog raw hide thing was floating in the water by the dock. To top it off, they had cleaned fish right on the dock! All I could think of was "Stupid." I cleaned up the mess, cleaned up the campsite and enjoyed the rest of the day. Then that night, a bunch of drunken bozos in a houseboat across the bay proceeded to howl at the moon until two a.m. Disgusted again, I moved to a new campsite and again, the bear warning sign was posted. Once again, some bozos cleaned fish on a log at the boat landing. Stoopid is worse than stupid... It seems when no one is watching, a lot (most?) people feel they can throw away rules of common sense. I have been camping in the BWCAW and Rainy for almost forty years and have always lived by the motto "Leave No Trace, Respect Others, and Leave It Cleaner Than You Found It." It's obvious in our "Throw Away" society that there are fewer and fewer of us around anymore.

[uffdapete]

Yes there are slobs out there. I pick up garbage every time I'm at the public accesses and it's amazing not only at how much there can be in just a few days, but also at what I've found, which is probably more than you need to know.

The park cleans these campsites frequently and I would guess catches up with the offenders through the permit system.

Hopefully Fish & Fowl will jump on here and clarify that.

[Lake Trout]

uffdapete, I read where you are a creel census taker. Maybe that was you checking me at the park landing Friday morning. If you were, I was just coming off the lake around nine a.m. after a week. I was all by myself in a 14' Gray Alumacraft and Honda 20 hp. You asked if I was after Walleyes, and I said no because they are too boring compared to pike and bass. Just wondering if this was you out of curiosity...

[Steelehead]

"You asked if I was after Walleyes, and I said no because they are too boring compared to pike and bass."

This statement tells me you havn't caught a Rainy Lake walleye....these fish are anything but boring. I believe they're fighting ability is equal to a bass or pike.

[uffdapete]

Quote:

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uffdapete, Just wondering if this was you out of curiosity...

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..... Yes it was.

As for walleyes vs bass and pike - walleyes on cranks hit and fight quite well but inch for inch nothing in Rainy outfights smallmouth.

[brketo]

I know where your coming from, I was along in Sheriff Patrol boad last evenning and we docked at Little American Island to get out and walk the paths , as we climed out onto the dock there was fish carcuises and the skin that had been filet and left laying all over the dock. It is realy discusting "brketo"

[Lake Trout]

Steelehead, I've caught many, many Rainy Lake Walleyes and I agree they are fantastic fighters. What I meant was the fishing methods typically used are boring compared to topwater or shoreline casting for bass and northerns. In fact, on this trip I had a first. A Walleye in 4 feet of water in a mucky, shallow, weedy bay caught on a top water lure. It smashed that lure like a bass. That was a first for me and fun!

P.S. Back to my original thought: Let's all be role models for friends and family and be the first to start cleaning up a new or old campsite. If a food wrapper blows away go get it. If there's garbage in the fire pit, clean it up and pack it out. Let's all start thinking beyond the moment and looking at the big picture as stewards of the land and of our actions and how they might impact others.

[duckster]

Lake,

I like your way of thinking. Let me add a couple of my pet peeves. Do not cut down live trees for firewood or whatever people cut them down for.

If you have to use the bathroom go away from the site and bury it if there isn't a toilet. I don't know if there is anything worse than going into a site and finding human waste scattered everywhere. If everyone would just clean up after themselves the campsites would always be ready for the next guy. My two cents.

-duckster

[protiller]

L.T. are you talking about the houseboat with the blue flashing light and a bunch of drunks singing and dancing. They ticked our group off too.

My pet peeve is when you pull into a tent sight and there's a houseboat parked there who's not willing to move.

[brketo]

What is wrong when you can not even be safe in the remote island, I say hang there you know what No formal charges have been filed against any of the suspects in an Aug. 7 incident on Basswood Lake, the Lake County Attorney’s office said Monday.

The case is under review by County Attorney Russ Conrow and charges could be leveled later this week, the office said.

Campers in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness used cell phones to call authorities on the night of Aug. 7, saying they were terrorized by men firing shots from motorboats. Some told officers they feared for their lives and hid in the woods.

Six suspects in two boats were apparently involved in the incident.

Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded with law enforcement officers from the U.S. Forest Service and Ely Police Department. Two men were arrested and taken into custody at the Fall Lake boat landing north of Ely as officers waited in the dark for the suspects to leave the wilderness. They were released within 36 hours.

Two firearms were taken as evidence.

Four other people, including a juvenile, also are expected to be charged. All were Ely-area residents. The investigation and prosecution are being handled by Lake County.

One of the suspects arrested told the News Tribune today that his attorney advised him not to comment on the case. The News Tribune generally doesn’t name suspects until they have been formally charged.

[let it snow]

RE: You asked if I was after Walleyes, and I said no because they are too boring compared to pike and bass.

A Rainy Lake 17"+ walleye will give you a heck of a battle. The Smallies are awesome too....but don't under estimate the power of the walleye, thanks to the slot limit, IMO. Maybe the Smallies and Pike are a little easier to entice to bite...but the Rainy Walleyes...strong fish!

Also, I agree with cleaning up after yourself in any regard whether it's human waste or garbage. And cleaning fish at a campsite and not cleaning up...wow. Trouble with bears? duh.

This is an awesome area we have up here...it is also in the 10/90 rule like many things. 10% of the users will screw it up for the other 90%. Don't blame all houseboaters/campers/boaters/snowmobilers/atvs/canoes/kayaks/what have you...it's that 10% that gives each group a bad name and get areas closed and tick people off.

As far as garbage and campsites - another 10% rule and a big duh. Police what you can i.e. pick up after yourself and iditos that trash a site, destroy a trail; do your part to take care of things - we can lose all this in a stroke of a pen.

LIS

[Black_Bay]

Quote:

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What is wrong when you can not even be safe in the remote island, I say hang there you know what No formal charges have been filed against any of the suspects in an Aug. 7 incident on Basswood Lake, the Lake County Attorney’s office said Monday.

The case is under review by County Attorney Russ Conrow and charges could be leveled later this week, the office said.

Campers in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness used cell phones to call authorities on the night of Aug. 7, saying they were terrorized by men firing shots from motorboats. Some told officers they feared for their lives and hid in the woods.

Six suspects in two boats were apparently involved in the incident.

Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded with law enforcement officers from the U.S. Forest Service and Ely Police Department. Two men were arrested and taken into custody at the Fall Lake boat landing north of Ely as officers waited in the dark for the suspects to leave the wilderness. They were released within 36 hours.

Two firearms were taken as evidence.

Four other people, including a juvenile, also are expected to be charged. All were Ely-area residents. The investigation and prosecution are being handled by Lake County.

One of the suspects arrested told the News Tribune today that his attorney advised him not to comment on the case. The News Tribune generally doesn’t name suspects until they have been formally charged.

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Did I miss something??

[ikatcher]

i've only camped out on rainy lake once, the first night we cleaned 3 walleyes and we buried them in the woods a short walk behind our site. the next day we had a few more and when we went to bury them a bear had been there so we took them out in the lake and dumped them. i know your not supposed to do that. we now stay at a resort east of I.F. and there the cleaning station is down by the lake and everyone throws the remains on the rocks and the gulls pretty much make short work of them. i know thats not legal. my question is what is the proper way to get rid of fish guts especially when you are out camping?

[protiller]

On the VNP campsite map under the Bears & Wildlife section it states..."clean fish away from the site ~ cut up fish entrails into small pieces and dispose of them in deep water"....I guess if the park is advising this it's legal. I thought it was illegal too.

[Fish&Fowl]

Quote:

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Yes there are slobs out there. I pick up garbage every time I'm at the public accesses and it's amazing not only at how much there can be in just a few days, but also at what I've found, which is probably more than you need to know.

The park cleans these campsites frequently and I would guess catches up with the offenders through the permit system.

Hopefully Fish & Fowl will jump on here and clarify that.

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Ahh if you only knew the stuff we find when we get to some sites...pretty disgusting. About a week or two ago we pulled into a houseboat site on Big Island to find broken glass and 3 live trees hacked down and half burnt on the beach, a burnt chainsaw in the fire ring-which we later found out was stolen, and a melted piece of aluminum stuck in the top of the sign-post that used to be our sign-which we have replaced twice already at that site.

We try to get into all the sites AT LEAST once every two weeks if possible, but sometimes things come up and we can't. I feel bad for people coming out if we haven't been to the site for a while because more than likely the place is a mess. I know it's disgusting coming up to a place like Rainy to camp and enjoy everything it has to offer, only to come upon a spot where a group of pigs just left. That's why we're out there every week, and hopefully help keep instances like this to a minimum.

[Black_Bay]

Quote:

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On the VNP campsite map under the Bears & Wildlife section it states..."clean fish away from the site ~ cut up fish entrails into small pieces and dispose of them in deep water"....I guess if the park is advising this it's legal. I thought it was illegal too.

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On page 13 of the Minnesota fishing regs it says: "Depositing fish entrails or fish parts into public waters or onto lake or stream shores is prohibited."

The park or who ever made that brochure should know better, especially in this day and age of exotic species, VHS, spring viremia (sp), and other fish diseases.

[ikatcher]

so what is the correct way to get rid of them?

[Black_Bay]

Quote:

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so what is the correct way to get rid of them?

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Personally I would take the guts to an island or walk them back into the woods well away from the camping site and dump them or even bury them.

[irvingdog]

We always take ours out to an off-shore rock away from the our camp and put them there for the gulls.

They're cleaned up in minutes.....

[vister]

As did we. Just set them on a rock in "birds eye view", and the gulls will have at them, weather permitting.

[Rainydaze]

Growing up camping in the BWCA I was always instructed to place fish entrails on a rock away from camp. I make the assumption that this holds true on Rainy as well. Seagulls take care of the mess in minutes.

[Black_Bay]

At the bottom of the Living with Black Bears pamphlet that the park has was published by

Lake States Interpretive Association

3131 Highway 53

International Falls

I'm wondering if someone is asleep at the switch over there and not aware of state laws.

[Lake Trout]

Regarding what to do with fish remains: I suppose since VNP is federally operated, they make their own rules and the state makes theirs. It would be nice to have regulations consistent with each other, however. Maybe they should talk to each other. In the BWCAW years ago we placed them on the rocks for the Herring Gulls. In the past few years, however, this has changed. Apparently the gulls would search the shorelines for fish remains having been trained by fishermen, and happened upon Common Loon nests. The Herring Gulls would eat loon eggs and any chicks still in the nest. Therefore, the state disallowed this practice and instructed campers to dispose of the remains well back in the woods to rot but not attracting the gulls. BUT NOT in a campsite-duh!