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.

Canadian MNR Confiscated a boat on the Rainy


Recommended Posts

I spoke with some fellow fisherman Saturday evening at the motel in Baudette and they told me they got checked by the MNR and Border patrol in a blue lund, they were all good but asked if anyone has been cited for being across the border without a permit. The MNR and Border Patrol told them that they have confiscated a boat and fined an other guy $ 1,600.00. They did not say for what, but what a bummer!!!! I guess that is what you get for not playing by the rules!!! Anyone else hear anything on this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

being across the border without a permit.

Did he not have a passport? What kind of permit do you need? I would hate to make this same mistake this summer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As far as I know if you are fishing the rainy river you only need a remote border crossing permit. If you are going into canada you need a passport. But please check the canadian regulations to be sure.

Ripper!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just got back from 4 days on the Rainy. Talked with one boat that the Blue Lund caught up with and they were fined $600.00. Shortly after that we watched them get another boat and had them corraled for approximately 1 hour. Not sure of fine amount. Stay in the middle of the river.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From what I understand is that as long as you are fishing the Minnesota side, all you will need is your Mn. License. To fish on the Ontario side you not only need a remote border crossing pass, but the necessary license to fish Ontario waters. To step foot onto Canadian soil, you will need a remote border pass. If you don't plan on doing so, you won't need one. You can navigate up and down the main channel but cannot stop and drop anchor (or fish) on Canadian water without the proper paperwork in place. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here. As always, check with the MNR for proper guidelines.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The way I understand this is if you are fishing on the Canadian side you need a Canadian License and Remote Border water crossing permit. If you have minnows you need to have a receipt that they were bought in Canada. If you go to shore in Canada then you'll need the passport to come back to the US side. Also the things needed in your boat for Canada are different than the US. Fire extinguisher, anchor with 40 feet rope, etc. Check the regs. Proof of boat insurance may also be required.

I would also not have any alcohol or even empty beer cans, etc as you could get fined for those. You really need to be up on the Canadian regs if you are going to cross over and fish that side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Silver Scale is correct on all counts with exception to the required boating equipment portion. If you bring your boat or use your boat in Canada for a period of 45 days or less you need only provide what the state regs (in this case Minnesota)requires for your vessel and/or fed water regs (which apply in this case because it is a border water and thus considered a Fed water way).

Also, the more stringent of the two limits and allowable slot size would apply should you decide to fish both sides. IMHO there is plenty of productive water to fish on the USA side and having done both it isn't worth the hassle IMHO.

Our most productive spot this weekend was on the border, however well enough within the US boundaries that the boys in the Blue Lund waved at us as they drove by. We were all by ourselves and and surely would have been checked had they thought we were being blatant about pressing our luck. I believe if you stay reasonably within the "grey area" they will not harass you, but rather focus on the folks who really push the envelope. It can certainly be a challenge when the wind is blowing you over there and you're trying to land the fish of a lifetime, however worth the effort to stay "in bounds" to save yourself from a hefty fine....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lil Ripper it was a pleasure meeting you guys out there Friday. We had some pretty good laughs that day. Shoot me an email at([email protected]) and let's get out on Millacs sometime soon.

After the wind picked up Sat. we left there and went down river to Baudette and had a great evening bite with another 29-1/2" and 30-1/2" to top the day off. Wish I could have stayed another two days!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few years ago, I saw a couple of guys get checked on the Canada side and then get brought to shore. They were there for well over an hour. I later learned that they were fined for a whole bunch of things. No RABC. No Ontario Fishing License. Live Bait. Empty and full beer cans. etc. The fine was somewhere in the neighborhood of $4,000. Those were some very sorry dudes. That would not only ruin your trip, but likely your whole lifetime of fishing in Canada. It would be hard to go on a trip without thinking about that for a long long time. That same fine could well be close to double that now.

This year I witnessed the same blue Lund come sweeping into a "herd" of boats, and cut out the one closest to Canada - it was obviously over the line. All the other boats quick like moved back obviously to the Mn. side. These guys were taken to the Canada shore too, and detained for quite a while. Some of you probably witnessed this in the neighborhood of the church a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, I heard later that they were fined $25 per live minnow that they had onboard.

Sometimes I wonder where they dream up these numbers? I heard they do a similar thing with beer cans or bottles, and it is more if they are empty. Overall, it is a much, much stiffer fine than the minnows!

Having said this, I will say I have fished the Canada side now for over 10 years. The people that have checked me have been very friendly and polite. Follow the rules and it is not really a big deal. But screw up, and they are going to make you pay for it.

I got checked one time this year in 16 days of fishing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We all know about the imaginary line down the middle of the river, but what's the story by Adrian's and Riverbend. is the line on the other side of the weed line? Last weekend many boats were within casting distance of the weeds and I was told they were all over the line. Anyone have an opinion/answer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The dividing line is shore to shore. Don't be fooled by the grassy bogs, ie. by Adrians. Years ago the dividing line was the channel and it was the "grey area". With the invention distance binoculars and GPS things have changed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you have a lakemaster LOTW chip? If so this will show you exactly were the dividing line is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually the dividing line is considered where the high warter marks are on each side. That is why the line seems so close to Canada in one place and not the other. Depends on the shoreline elevation for each side. That being said, I would not push that grey area too much. Better to error on the safe side as you never know what kind of mood the OPP and MNR are in on any given day. The Lakemaster is very close, however wouldn't trust that implicitly either......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last fall we got checked in that very spot. After coming in from the lake we decided to make one more stop before calling it a day. Had been fising that area for years on recommendation of a couple of the resorts. The blue Lund pulled in and stopped us. All the other boats were gone in a big hurry. We had no Ontario licenses, minnows not bought in Canada, fish in the livewell, and had all just opened a beer. As he was adding up the fines into the thousands of dollars, it started to rain pretty good. He told us he was cold and tired from a full day on the lake and really didn't want to be out in the rain so he let us off with a warning. We immediately put the boat on the trailer and headed straight to the bar. Talk about lucky. Purchased a Lake of the Woods Lakemaster chip and won't even attempt to fish anywhere near the line again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, a GPS and chip is good to have when fishing the border waters. It could easily pay for itself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Talked to Minnesota DNR and they told me as long as I fish on Minnesota side all I need is Minnesota license, to fish on Canadian side I need Canadian License and that I only need the Remote border crossing permit if I was going to dock on canadian side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bearfan you may want to double check that, you need it just to cross the border on the water, doesn't matter if you dock or not, if you dock then you have a whole other issue of checking back into the united states..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Muskiebait, I will definately get confirmation before I go on the river, I just know what they told me. I even emailed twice to verify and they said the same thing. If you need the RBCP, I don't see how anyone could fish the river without getting one as there is no possible way to boat up and down the river without crossing the border even if you didn't intend on fishing the Canadian side. Thanks for your concern, I like by boat, equipment and money too much so I would error on the side of caution.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I was told that if you are navigating the river, and have to go into Canada to stay in the channel, they won't NORMALLY bother you. For example, this past spring we were heading up river from Jevne several miles, and the deep channel skirts the Canadian side(on the MN side its only a couple feet deep), so before we kept going, I talked to a friend of mine who fishes the area alot and he said as long you are moving, the Canadian authorities won't usually stop you. Now if you stop and anchor, another story. But I'm sure they could ticket you if they wanted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You should check with Canadian Customs as to what you need. If you get stopped by Canadian Customs, it will be by what they say. If the MN DNR was wrong, it could be costly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree Superbee. They are the ones that will write the ticket. Its their law.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I really dont understand the minnow thing are US minnows to good for the canada side or do ares have diesases or do they just want american dollars. i wonder i bet they just want are money

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're worried about exotic species and disease being brought in but they want our money too. I dont ever remember being able to ever bring minnows in but we used to be able to bring leeches.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok think i got this all figured out going tomorrow to get my passcard rabc thing a ontario fishing lincense i think i need a sportsmans card thin to find out when i get there. leave the minnows at home need a whitsle and a fire exq in the boat ok hope it is worth the effort i just dont want to worry if i cross the line like to be legal one question if i do hapen to touch ground on the canada side do u have to check in with us customs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • 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
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
×
×
  • 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.