A little Heads Up for fellow Boaters comin' to the 1000 Islands this season,.....

[Bondo]

Things are gettin' a little wonky on the mighty St. Lawrence this season,.....

The Canadians are demandin' a call-in check-in, whenever ya cross over the imaginary line out there somewhere,....
'course, once ya call in to Canadian Customs, ya gotta call the US Customs to return,....

No more passin' through, without landfall,... cross the line, Call in,...

If yer stopped, 'n boarded, yer subject to arrest, 'n the seizure of yer boat, 'n everything in it,....

They actually did that to a fisherman a couple years ago,.....

Here's a couple local links of interest 'bout the issue,.... Local News,... Local News,....

Don't be the folks I'll be readin' 'bout,.....

 

[JimS123]

Ontario fishing licences are cost prohibitive, besides the fishing is better in NY. So, the only reason for going there is to get to a US spot. All the US spots I go to are accessible from the south. I can live without the Rift.

We usually drive over the bridge for a day or 2 to visit Kingston or Gananoque. Screw them, they won't get my dollars now.

 

[Bondo]

We usually drive over the bridge for a day or 2 to visit Kingston or Gananoque. Screw them, they won't get my dollars now.

Ayuh,..... That's the opinion of the locals as well,....

I used to buy the Ontario fishin' licence, just because the border isn't well defined, 'n the Canucks Will in fact take yer boat, 'n everything in it, for Any violations of Ontario law,....

The rift, 'n Lake of the Isles is expected to be the major battlegrounds, as ya can't get to Lake of the Isles without bein' on, or over the line that can't be seen,....
'n if ya go to Potter's beach, be sure to hug the cans at the head end of Grindstone, or you'll be in Trouble there too,....

I'm just Soooo Glad I bought a house on the Lake, 'n Not on the river now,....

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Serious Canada is getting edgy with the US...what is going on in this world.

 

[Bondo]

Serious Canada is getting edgy with the US...what is going on in this world.

Ayuh,.... Unfortunately, I can't answer that question, without breakin' the iboats forum rules against talkin' Politics,.......

 

[WIMUSKY]

So how are you supposed to know where this "line" is if it isn't marked? GPS?

Edit: Deleted. Pushing the political line w/o a GPS......:laugh:

 

[Bondo]

So how are you supposed to know where this "line" is if it isn't marked? GPS?

Edit: Deleted. Pushing the political line w/o a GPS......:laugh:

Ayuh,.... Fortunately, or Unfortunately, the line is much easier to define here at iboats, vs. somewhere on the river, 'n it ain't anywhere near the center of the river,....

 

[GA_Boater]

This worse than the rules for fishing common water bordering GA. Except for Florida, basically don't touch the shore or dock and you're fine. I won't talk about FL.

So when you cross a line you can't see, you are supposed to call and check in with Canada and the same when coming back to US waters over the invisible line. Is a boater supposed to check in every time they cross the line since it is an international border? I'd rather deal with the FL rangers - Maybe!

 

[roffey]

I have boated on St. Lawrence and always thought the line was smack dab in the center, good thing I've moved further north, all Canadian now, lol. You would think if you are sport fishing you would be ok as long as you have a licence Canadian or American but I guess that makes to much sense.

 

[NYBo]

Didn't they paint a bright yellow line on the border recently?

 

[GA_Boater]

Didn't they paint a bright yellow line on the border recently?

Double yellow - No crossing allowed. LOL

 

[JimS123]

Our vacations are on the St. Lawrence, but we boat on the Niagara the rest of the time. I've been asking around and nobody down here has heard of this. Its the Province of Ontario here as well!

 

[smokeonthewater]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOR38552MJA

 

[hostage]

The big question can you sit next to the boarder and catch fish from across the boarder? =)

These issues have also complicated scuba diving, I wish we didn't have boarders and customs between Canada and the US, we would go to Canada more often, though 30-60 minute wait decreases my interest in going to Canada. The odd thing is the Canadian boarder crossing guys seem more strict then the Americans. The Americans seem more small talkish and welcoming, than they were years ago.

I went boating on the river with my 19ft cuddy and I will never do it again. Talk about being rocked the hell out of, it was worst than anything on Lake Ontario I have been out on. All the fast boats wakes going out hitting the walls and coming back, make for a less than enjoyable ride.

 

[cdnNick]

... The odd thing is the Canadian boarder crossing guys seem more strict then the Americans. The Americans seem more small talkish and welcoming, than they were years ago.

I find the exact opposite thing, I'm Canadian going into the US and certainly get asked more questions by the US side and not very friendly. I've been through Canadian customs where they didn't ask me even one question, just said have a nice day lol.

I wonder if this will really be enforced or are they just trying to deter people from fishing in Canadian waters without a license? Just seems like it would be very hard to enforce.

 

[JimS123]

I find the exact opposite thing, I'm Canadian going into the US and certainly get asked more questions by the US side and not very friendly. I've been through Canadian customs where they didn't ask me even one question, just said have a nice day lol.

I wonder if this will really be enforced or are they just trying to deter people from fishing in Canadian waters without a license? Just seems like it would be very hard to enforce.

+1

I'm American and always get a friendly greeting by the Canadian Officers, but receive a grumpy greeting on the way home.

I also wonder about the fishing license thing, though I have never been stopped by a CDN Game Warden. The NYSDEC stop us all the time.

My biggest wonder is why NOW? Been researching this and find that the regs went into effect at least 3 or 4 years ago.

In my 37 years of vacationing in the islands I think I've only seen a CDN Patrol boat twice. The last time was 2 years ago when he caught me on my jetski going 30 in a 5 zone. All he did was yell at me and say slow down. In my defense, only moments before a CDN registered jetski came toward me in the same spot doing 30, so I thought it was OK.

 

[Outsider]

Good post, Bondo. I always thought it a good idea to ascertain the exact location of a sovereign border so as to avoid the hassles of illegal entry ...

 

[JimS123]

Good post, Bondo. I always thought it a good idea to ascertain the exact location of a sovereign border so as to avoid the hassles of illegal entry ...

Those of us that are consummate boaters use a chart. This is particularly important in the "River" because of the numerous reefs and shoals. Thus, we all know where the border is.

The issue isn't not knowing, its that in the past passage without landing was permitted.

 

[Chinewalker]

The "why now" aspect relates to the Canadians having a lag time between when the regulations were enacted and when they could be reasonably enforced. Making a law of this breadth takes time to implement. The 800 number needs a call center to handle the calls. They need people and boats to patrol the areas involved. They need to train those people to handle those boats in the areas they'll be patrolling. It all takes time. And money. It just happens that this year most of that infrastructure is in place and active...

At the symposium I went to, one Canadian official did make one very important distinction... If you are "in transit", .ie going from Point A to Point B within the United States and your route happens to take you, unavoidably, into Canadian waters, then you do not need to phone in. So, if you are going from the backside of Grindstone Island to Alexandria Bay via the backside of Wellesley/Lake of the Isles/International Rift route, you may, at times, cross that invisible line. I believe that as long as you're not dilly dallying, and they don't find you over by the Gananoque Narrows, you should be okay. If you are "cruising", .ie going from Point A to Point A within the United States and cross the border, and you cross the border, then you MUST check in.

 

[JimS123]

... If you are "in transit", .ie going from Point A to Point B within the United States and your route happens to take you, unavoidably, into Canadian waters, then you do not need to phone in. So, if you are going from the backside of Grindstone Island to Alexandria Bay via the backside of Wellesley/Lake of the Isles/International Rift route, you may, at times, cross that invisible line. I believe that as long as you're not dilly dallying, and they don't find you over by the Gananoque Narrows, you should be okay. If you are "cruising", .ie going from Point A to Point A within the United States and cross the border, and you cross the border, then you MUST check in.

If you read the fine print in the CDN regs, that's exactly correct. Its the "in transit" vs. "cruising" that makes no sense.

What if you go from point A in the US to point B in the US (across the line and then land in the US) and then stop (land), and then 2 hours later go from Point B back around the other way (across the line again) back to to Point A? Is that A to A (cruising) or A to B and B to A (in transit)?

I realize this is a rhetorical question...