Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

we fought the law and the law won


Recommended Posts

Well now i can tell you first hand that they do enforce that canadian border pretty well. We got nailed yesterday, the fine started at 1,500$ and went down to 600$. i dont know where they get their numbers from, but he said we were lucky that they werent the opp cause then it woulda gotten really ugly.i dont know how they picked us out either cause there was a bunch of guys around us with minnesota boats, they were nowhere to be found about 30 seconds after we got nailed....

as for the fishing report, we did really well on friday with a 30" and a 28" and boated around 100, and saturday and yesterday sucked. I think we only got about 30-40 on saturday and about 10 yesterday, they were there but for whatever reason we couldnt get em to bite! fished everywhere from up near frontier all the way to the ice!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 114
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • PerchJrkr

    36

  • The Hammer

    11

  • CANOPY SAM

    5

  • Vexipro

    5

ohh ya, we went dukes of hazzard on a chunk of ice about a mile from the ice front on saturday. Full plane, it was pretty exciting. kicked the motor out of the water and didnt even slow us down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you got it. i made the mistake of letting my buddy run the trolling motor, told him to get back over about a dozen times, waay too nice a day, and they are gonna be out.... he tried to bribe them with 31$. NICE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems like $31 is never enough. I gotta a good laugh out of that. Maybe because I lived in Russia for a year and Bribing was the prefered means to just about any transaction. Sorry about your bad luck at the river. When I was up there on the 5th it seemed like half of the boats were over the line, but no one got busted that I saw.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Originally Posted By: PerchJrkr
i know, why is that?

They probably had the proper paperwork (RABC pass) and Ontario fishing license.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i mean why is it that 31$ isnt enough. lol. i know none of the people around us had the paper work, cause like i said- they were nowhere to be found when the smoke cleared

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So the fine was $600 for being over the line? I'm guessing you had live bait, beer, etc., all the stuff that you can't have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had them buzz by us Sunday too, we were pretty much smack dab in the middle but there were boats further over then us, they didnt even bother to check them. We were about 1.5 miles downriver from Vidas. Where were you when you got checked?

By the way congrats on fighting through Fridays weather, that was brutal. We were there from 5am till 5pm, it was tough for us but we caught around 30 fish (2 guys). Sunday was unreal for us, we broke 100 with 6 over 22".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

nope it was 600$ JUST for being over the line, pay now or we take your boat by the sound of it. we did have bait, no beer, but he didnt even care about that, it was just being in the country without checking in. we were a couple miles upriver from vidas. i cant beleive you got that many fish on sunday! i dont know what we were doing wrong but we couldnt hardly buy bites! i found some really good lookin spots and the fish were just stacked up in there on the vexi, but just couldnt get em to bite. The very few we caught, we never felt, it was like sturgeon- no bite just pull up and they're there.

i did catch about a 10" sturgeon, i think it was my favorite one. real spiny and armored up. very cool lookin fish!

ohh ya, i also got a sucker with a 9" lamprey on it on saturday. that was my highlight for the day

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was it $31.00 in US or Can currency? Perhaps that offended 'em. We were up a few yrs. back and had the drift sock wrapped around the prop, floated over the "line" while trying to fix the problem and got rousted by the mounties. Absolutely no sense of humor, asked me "how I cleared customs today". Boy, did some great one liners run through my head but I knew they would not find any of 'em funny. Fortunately one of the patrol had a level head and told his partner to let us go,figured we were having a bad enough day I suppose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was up there with my kids and BIL and we took great pains to be on the right side of the river. There ain't no yellow line on the river like on Google Earth, so I erred on the side of caution. Never saw any Canadian Border patrol or CO boats(whatever they are called). Saw lots of people on the Canadian side and wondered how many were legal or not. A guy at the lodge we stayed at said a friend of his got nailed for over $3000 for being in the wrong country. At $600, you were probably pretty lucky!

We didn't have to worry about getting checked by Canada, but got checked by MN DNR. I had heard about guys from southern MN coming up and dinging you for the least infraction. These guys were from St. Cloud and I didn't even notice them until they were almost beside us. I was a bit nervous but thought I had everything in order.

My 11 year old ended up catching a fish just as we were pulling our licenses and they said to forget about the licenses and take care of the fish. I felt a little better after that. We had one that was 19" by my measurement(just the taped on ruler) and it ended up being 19 3/8". They mentioned getting a measuring device like the one they had. I was pretty nervous as I saw it lay towards the 1/2"!

We had everything until he asked for the extinguisher and throwable PFD. I didn't have them(shame on me). Figured I was getting a ticket(it was my fault). Since we had everything else, they wrote me a warning. We talked about farming a bit and the snow melt and then they left. They also gave my boys Dairy Queen coupons for having their life vests on. Nicest guys I have dealt with as far as CO officers are concerned. Seemed like regular people!

As far as fishing goes. We were rookies so we didn't do near as well as I have read on the forum. We caught about 50 total for Saturday and Sunday. Saturday morning sucked for weather. My boy caught a 36" sturgeon and can't talk about anything else. I hope we can do it next year. We were mainly fishing by the church East of Vidas. Seemed to be the place for the bigger fish for us. Biggest was 26.5".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31$ in US currency. yep. they asked if i had 600$ cash and then asked for a credit card. i dont think they were gonna let us go until they had a payment. i thought about asking if it was 600 us or canadian... that amounts to about 75$ in us right? lol

we were right by the white church so you probably saw us get nicked!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We get a remote border pass and a Canada license, we use to buy bait also,but the only legal way to say you purchased the bait in Canada is to leave it at the bait shop or dump it out. You can't bring live bait across the border. We use all plastics now anyway.It don,t make any sense in the case you are fishing the same water. Who cares where the minnows come from when it is the same water? I can only see that working when it isn't border waters.

We get checked every year for the border and this year we also got checked by the Canadian DNR. Like you said about the guys that disappeared. That happens whenever they are out. It SUCKS that they picked you out of the crowd.

Last year they said it went up to $1000.00 from $100.00 so you were lucky.I know the fine for having beer in the boat is very stiff, $175.00/can.

Now when we get checked they remember us from previous years, but they still check us. Did you have to give them a credit card number to pay the fine?

The DNR would be the one looking for bait and the O.P.P. would be the ones looking for the beer. We never get asked about bait from the border patrol.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ya that imaginary line down the river is as stupid as it can be. You never see the Mn. guys out busting the Canadaians balls over it. The pay now or lose your boat is a joke as well. I suppose its so they get their money.

If you were over pay the fine. If not mark your spot on the gps and fight it in court. I also find it funny how their line doesnt always go right down the center of the river. crazy.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ohh ya. i am paid in full. ya, they just mentioned that if they would of had an opp officer with them, we woulda really been screwed. No beer in the boat, but lots of minnows

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Originally Posted By: PerchJrkr
they asked if i had 600$ cash and then asked for a credit card. i dont think they were gonna let us go until they had a payment. i thought about asking if it was 600 us or canadian... that amounts to about 75$ in us right?

Well... the exchange rate is pretty much dollar for dollar right now so it wouldn't matter US$600 or Canadian $600.

The dollar bill doesn't buy what it used to up there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They could have just picked an OPP officer up. One lives in the house east of the church and the Canada boat landing in the house with the deck with a above ground pool next to it. He also has a smoker and 2 weekends he was smoking something all weekend.

Just thought I'd warn you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Originally Posted By: hanson
 Originally Posted By: PerchJrkr
they asked if i had 600$ cash and then asked for a credit card. i dont think they were gonna let us go until they had a payment. i thought about asking if it was 600 us or canadian... that amounts to about 75$ in us right?

Well... the exchange rate is pretty much dollar for dollar right now so it wouldn't matter US$600 or Canadian $600.

The dollar bill doesn't buy what it used to up there.

Actually, right now the Canadian $ is worth more than the U.S. When I was there a week or so ago, the U.S. $ was worth 97 cents Canadian. Sure was nice a few years ago when we would get $1.30 Canadian for every $1 U.S.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm. we were right in front of his house for awhile. maybe he allerted the proper authorities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I doubt it. It is my friends cousin and we fish in front of his house a lot. My buddy even told me if we saw him to go have a rye and coke with him, but you never know. Were the border guys in a small boat again this weekend? They usually launch right at that landing. We get checked right where you were every year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ya it was like a 14' red lund with a newer 25 hp tiller on it. sneaky sneaky

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We got caught "over the line" about 15 years ago. The opp asked us how we cleared customs as well. They found a case of beer and minnows.... when it was all said and done and the smoke cleared, it cost each guy in the boat about $280.00 a piece. There was 4 of us. I still get heartburn whenever I think about it when we fish up there. I do recall the guy telling us each can of beer cost us $25.00 even the empties.

24 x $25.00=$600.00 That was the most exspensive case of beer I didn't get to drink.

They told us if we didn't pay on the spot we would have to go to the station to make payment arrangements.

We never fish close to the line without the proper paperwork.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Paying on the spot just doesn't sit right with me. Something seems a bit fishy. Especially giving them cash.

Are they allowed to take cash?

Something I've wondered also, is what if a guy is fighting large sturgeon, pulls anchor and drifts over the line?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL i was banned from canada before. they said all i have to do is get a remote border crossing pass and a license and im golden. i said ya... pretty sure they wont let me into your country. 2 dui's in the last 2 years. no dang good. they say you play with fire and your gonna get burned, well it would seem that i dont figure it out until my fingers are charred and black! good thing it did work out that way, quit drinking completely since my last dui, and if i hadnt it wouldnt have been so easy getting off like we did i imagine beings we had no beer in the boat!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ohh ya. he also told us they usually go by a 2/3 rule, and just warn ya if your a little over. i thought about arguing it, but by the time you pay a lawyer to drive to canada and go to court and do everything, its gonna cost at least twice as much even if i get off so its really not worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.



  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.