Weeds - Exotics on trailer, who is to blame?

[wormdunker]

Fishermen get a bad rap when it comes to the transportation of exotics. Lets face it we go to many different types of waters so we are easy targets. However, most of us are educated and know what we are supposed to do prior to leaving a ramp. I have no problem taking a couple of extra minutes to clean the boat off and remove the plug. LEss to do when I get home.

I cant count how many times I have been driving down the road and saw weeds dangling from trailers. I see the biggest gobs hanging from runabouts. The kind of boat that sees water 5 times a year. Sunday I pulled up behind a runabout at a red light....perfect. Smart phone in hand the attached picture was taken.

The boat came out of a lake that does have milfoil. Do you see any fishing poles hanging over board?

[bobbymalone]

i think you are giving fisherman too much credit and maybe not enough to to pleasure crafters.

[FM_Mike]

i think you are giving fisherman too much credit and maybe not enough to to pleasure crafters.

Please explain your quote. This was not a picture of a fishing boat. It looks to be setup up for skiing or tubing. I think based on the picture the OP gave credit where credit was do.

Mike

[mrklean]

i put blame on both

[wormdunker]

You all missed my point, the loons pass it around! Kidding. Blame does go on everyone. Invasives will inevitably be transported lake to lake and river to river. However, WE (anglers) absolutley get more blame than other user groups.

All you have to do is spend a little time at a lakehome owners association meeting. They rarely say antying about runabouts and the like. Fishermen get hammered.

There are anglers and pleasure boaters alike that are inconsiderate or ignorant to the laws. You cannot see in the picture but the trailer is coated with weeds as well.

I guess my point by posting the picture is maybe we need to start policing this ourselves. Our lakes are our most precisous natural resource. The invasive battle will only get worse.

Here is a perfect example of a person in violation. Should he get a fine based on the picture?

[TruthWalleyes]

Plug in, Weeds on trailer and boat...I think he needs a sticker to remind him to take the weeds off and pull the plug

And a ticket

[polarsusd81]

There is more than one violation in the photo. Where are the transom tie downs or straps. The right gust of wind on the highway and that boat is sitting on top of the car next to it.

Ignorance is bliss.

[candiru]

You have his license plate number, turn the info and photo over to the DNR.

[LightningBG]

All you have to do is spend a little time at a lakehome owners association meeting. They rarely say antying about runabouts and the like. Fishermen get hammered.

Could be because many (but not all, or even a majority) are kept in slips on the lake. Could also be because many (but not all) pleasure boaters often use the same body of water and don't hop from lake to lake. If all your doing is laying in the sun or pulling a tube, there isn't much point in hitting a dozen lakes in a month.

Also, most pleasure boats don't have live wells or bait buckets.

Just putting up possibilities as to why the focus may be directed more towards fisherman.

I have no personal opinion, I do both.

[Slabasaurus]

All you have to do is spend a little time at a lakehome owners association meeting. They rarely say antying about runabouts and the like. Fishermen get hammered.

I dunno, the one I belong to is the opposite. More issues with the pleasure boaters than the anglers... I imagine there are examples of associations on both sides.

[bobbymalone]

Please explain your quote. This was not a picture of a fishing boat. It looks to be setup up for skiing or tubing. I think based on the picture the OP gave credit where credit was do.

Mike

[wormdunker]

Picture and casual observations over the years. Dont get me wrong I have seen fishing boats with weeds as well. I just happened to be in a convenient location to grab the phone and snap a picture this time. Are my statements broad sweeping? perhaps.

I made this an us vs them situation and I should not have. It is more an ignorant versus educated argument. The people towing this rig were young.

Maybe the answer is better education? We have driving tests for cars why not boats. One sticker needed not 3, I took the test, I know the rules? Everyone could be held accountable.

By the way, equal numbers if not more runabouts are sold to trailering owners as lake homeowners. When mentioning 5 time a year users that same statement could be applied to fishermen as well. MANY fishermen use their boat 1 -2 times a year. The first time they take it out to find something not working and the second time to see if they fixed the problem from the first trip.

[bobbymalone]

Picture and casual observations over the years. Dont get me wrong I have seen fishing boats with weeds as well. I just happened to be in a convenient location to grab the phone and snap a picture this time. Are my statements broad sweeping? perhaps.

I made this an us vs them situation and I should not have. It is more an ignorant versus educated argument. The people towing this rig were young.

Maybe the answer is better education? We have driving tests for cars why not boats. One sticker needed not 3, I took the test, I know the rules? Everyone could be held accountable.

By the way, equal numbers if not more runabouts are sold to trailering owners as lake homeowners. When mentioning 5 time a year users that same statement could be applied to fishermen as well. MANY fishermen use their boat 1 -2 times a year. The first time they take it out to find something not working and the second time to see if they fixed the problem from the first trip.

This I agree with.

[reinhard1]

i dont know if it's the type of boat you have, i think it's more the type of ethics you have. as far as picking up trash on ice or elsewhere i see it also. i also take along a trash bag whether its on boat landings or ice. dont make a big project out of it. put the cans in one bag [worth some cash] and the rest go in garbage cans provided at the landing or i take it home for disposal.

i dont think the state will come up with a sticker program to put on 12 pacs so hopefully everyone does a little to clean up after the slobs. i still think there are only a few that dont check their boats or leave trash on the lakes. normaly what you see is a build up of uncollected garbage over time. like to see more enforcement of this but there is not enough CO's for everything. good luck.

[TooTallTom]

i dont think the state will come up with a sticker program to put on 12 pacs...

I don't know reinhard1, you might be on to something with this.

But it would probably make more sense to require a sticker on each can, while in use. I mean, most guys probably finish a can and give it a toss, right? Then, when they go to get a new can out of the pack, it's already too late for the sticker to remind them not to litter.

A more effective proposal might be, if the cans are still in the original sales container (box, rings, etc.) a sticker wouldn't be required. But, once they're "in use" then a sticker must be applied to the individual can, preferably right on top, so it can be read while the owner is drinking from it.

And, obviously, there should be a separate sticker (that looks very similar, but isn't the same) to put on the EMPTY sales container, to remind us to not throw that out.

[reinhard1]

my next prediction: "free stickers" for portables and permanant shelters. must be one placed outside the entrance of the shelter or house and one inside the entrance of the shelter or house. if not using a shelter there must be one on the means of transportation used to get on state waters or if walking on your sled and auger. sounds crazy but could be reality out of a stuffed shirt near you. good luck.

[bobbymalone]

off topic, but the sticker thing is to increase education and serve as a reminder. I'd say it's actually doing it's job pretty well even before it is required since it has become a favorite thing to complain about.

[Scott K]

But think of it this way, the stickers are free! Although the program and labor hours wasted is in the millions.

[reinhard1]

we have had stickers for at least a decade that i know of and warnings in the regs for at least that long or longer that have every aspect of invasives written on them with warnings of everything except the bait bucket. boat landings also have invasive species warnings along with vegitation requirments for the trailer for a long time. what's next neon lights flashing? there are people who fish in boats, on shore, on ice, or rivers that could be bubble wrapped in stickers and notices and it wont make a difference, however a big fine would be a wake up call to double at every offense after that. that would make a difference. good luck.

[TruthWalleyes]

off topic, but the sticker thing is to increase education and serve as a reminder. I'd say it's actually doing it's job pretty well even before it is required since it has become a favorite thing to complain about.

Maybe educating this crowd, but the crowd who is transporting invasive water and weeds isn't on this forum, and ignores any signs at landings, and common sense is absent. You might have a small fraction of watercraft users on this forum. Popularity of a topic on this site is not a direct relation to the popularity of the same topic with the general public.

All others have either read it in the paper, or not... but this sticker is no where to be found, and not presently educating anyone.

[TooTallTom]

I think the sticker is good and useful as a REMINDER. I think it's total PoorWordUsage as an EDUCATION PROGRAM.

People that are likely to have learned, and adopted good practice, from a sticker on their boat, shack, bait bucket, beer can, or forehead probably already read the info in the sources mentioned above, because they care enough to read them and digest the information.

[pikeguy2003]

While it is enticing to jump on the bandwagon, take a side, and point a finger and play the blame game. The simple answer to this question is that if you take your boat in and out of the lake on a regular basis and fish or pleasure boat more than one lake there is a chance that you may have spread invasive species if any of the lakes you were on were infected. I honestly feel that I do a great job at checking my boat and maybe people look at me like I am crazy, but I always find it strange when I am at the gray's bay access on lake minnetonka and when I pull my boat out of the water and proceed up to where the garden hose is and pull weeds off the boat and trailer, and then proceed to rinse my boat down with a hose that has at least 50 holes in it from being run over time after time after time, how come I never see anyone else rinsing their boat down? In my last 6 times out I have not seen another person do it. I'm not saying I'm perfect or anything, I feel I do a good job, but even with everything I do, how can I make the claim that I am not responsible for accidentally spreading something? I hope that I never have, but there will always be that possibility. The only thing I think I can take away that is positive is that at least I feel good for trying my best. From my observations it appears that most people just don't care. I wish I had the answer as it appears that most of us on this HSOforum do care an awful lot and we wish that everyone else did too?

[Mid-Lake Rock]

Anyone can be at fault for spreading invasive species. At the launch I use on my favorite lake we have some summer interns from the DNR that inspect and spread the message. There is one kid that is awesome and climbs under the boat trailers if he sees weeds. He's been under my boat before I could get out of the truck. Anyway, I always do a walk around with him, pull weeds, pull the plug and drain water from the outboard. (As a side note, I think they should ask people to lower outboards and drain the water). I don't use my livewells, but I still check. Although I take all the steps, when I get home I usually clean the boat or do it some time before I hit the water again. One thing I notice is that I almost always find a very, very small piece of vegetation in some nook or cranny. Sometimes it's a small piece of milfoil between the rods and carpet or a chunk stuck to the black fuel line. I've come to the realization this stuff travels easily even if you think you've got everything.

[reinhard1]

one of my favorite lakes has no invasive species. i fish the lake a lot and therefore i take extra care if i go to a lake that has some in and come home. rinsing is a must for me. but you guys are right. cant be sure you got everything but you do the best you can. it's no longer a prevention problem but a control problem unfortunatly. good luck.

[GlassEyeangler]

nice pic! i've been looking for a boat like that to take a pic of, and the only one i found was a sheriff's boat at lake marion two years ago. don't want to start that discussion again, nor did i get a pic of it either. the landing was way too busy, and wanted to get my boat out of the way. i agree it's the people who only fish/pleasure cruise a handful of times a year, and not the avid fishermen. reasoning? we'd be broke from all of the tickets written! even a complete moron would break a bad habit if it hits their wallet hard enough. coincidentally, that's my problem with the whole weeds/drain plug thing to start with.....$$$$$$$$$$$. the sticker does nothing, although i have three years worth on my trailer!?! i have always cleaned off my boat and trailer because i don't like the smell in my garage. if it happens to help the spread of invasive species - great! now let's focus on birds...wind...bears...otters...muskrats...kinda impossible isn't it?

the littering thing is another topic and i agree with bobbymalone - it's both fishermen and pleasure boaters who just don't care.