It's not working!

[bowhunternw]

With the attitude of some the people on here you can see why it is not working. Fix it but I am not going to put the slightest effort into it, then I will tell you how dumb you are when it doesn't work. Is it really that hard to check things over?

[CaptainMusky]

With the attitude of some the people on here you can see why it is not working. Fix it but I am not going to put the slightest effort into it, then I will tell you how dumb you are when it doesn't work. Is it really that hard to check things over?

Yep, this is the problem.

I have always pulled my plug and removed weeds, sprayed livewell with bleach, etc etc before anything was "required". Why not?

Its like saying "I'm not going to recycle because one person doesnt make any difference". At least I will have the comfort in knowing I did my part however fruitless that may be.

[huskie0302]

I work in the park districts in the metro during the summer. We have stopped several people the last couple of years bringing zebra muscles into a lake thats not infested. The people at our parks do more than just check boats for ais though. I know the lake association is greatful we check boats! I can see how people get frustrated with the state spending so much money.

[huskie0302]

I work in the park districts in the metro during the summer. We have stopped several people the last couple of years bringing zebra muscles into a lake thats not infested. The people at our parks do more than just check boats for ais though. I know the lake association is greatful we check boats! I can see how people get frustrated with the state spending so much money.

[harvey lee]

"How on earth do you know that what they did was even causing a problem? Maybe that's the only lake the boat ever gets used on? Maybe there is no water in the bottom of the boat? My boat rarely has water in it and if it does it will be more likely rain water."

Big Dave, I do not know if they had any water in their boat or live well as I had stated. I do know this, they did not even take a second to even check or look when they pulled the boat out of the water.

They could have a smaller amount of water in the boat and they would not know it. They had water in the motor for sure but never dropped the motor to drain it, most motors all have water in them and when you tilt it down, it drains. I also said if they had water in the live well, they never emptied that either. Never looked for a weed under the trailer, fenders or motor as I watched them/.

I realize many do not like this law, there are some laws I do not care for either but I surely try to comply the best I can.

The point of the post was that some people don't even bother to try one thing to try and stop the spread of this.

No we may not be able to stop this but I am sure if all tried a little, we surely could slow it down and maybe one day, they could find a better way to stop it.

For many, it is not how much time it takes to do a few things to try and make sure you are not adding to the spread, it's more like, I don't have to.

Like anything else, whatever law it is, some people try to comply and many just say, it's not for me. Look at whatever law you want, many will always break that law and the majority will try to comply.

Yes, it will be next to impossible to stop this with many saying, it won't work, may not if we all tried but let's b honest, until we all try, we will never know.

I try as many others do to try and make a difference so out kids and grandkids may have a cleaner lake when we are done using it.

Like garbage left on the lake, most follow the rules but there are those who just say, let someone else clean it up, I don't care. Nice attitude.

I would agree this program cost a lot and as like most other laws, a lot of waste involved. If we are so concerned with waste, maybe we should shut the Gov. down as they may be the biggest abuser's of wated money.

[harvey lee]

With the attitude of some the people on here you can see why it is not working. Fix it but I am not going to put the slightest effort into it, then I will tell you how dumb you are when it doesn't work. Is it really that hard to check things over?

Very well stated. It can't work, we will never try.

[DTro]

What people sometimes don’t seem to realize is that AIS is much more than pulling a plug or removing weeds. I have basically run out of places to legally gather my own bait and then if I’m lucky enough to find a spot that I can legally capture bait from, I need to do all these water changes every time I go fishing, and this isn’t some small bait bucket, we are talking a couple of dozen of 6-12” baits. Coolers of water or livewells are the norm, not buckets and its SO much fun to mess with all that at 1am!

I’d love to use fresh shad for fishing, probably one of THE best baits for cats and sturgeon. The rivers around here are plump full of them and the main forage for a lot of fish species in the fall. But because of AIS they are basically off limits. Not only are they VHS susceptible, but the main method to catch them is also outlawed because of AIS fears (castnets).

And don’t forget some of the lakes that are now limiting their access hours to only when an inspector is available. That one really scares me.

There are days when I think I’m just going to take up Golf or maybe limit my fishing to out of town trips to other states that support the type of fishing I like to do.

[Scott K]

Where I fish, there are no weeds, just mud. If the DNR wants to set up a boat wash station at my landing, I would welcome them. They can even wash my truck for me! Maybe if they would vacuum out the boat, and my truck at the same time they are washing my boat? I would be glad to see them there every time. If they do a good job at 1am cleaning it all, I may even give them a tip! Otherwise leave me alone. Dont sit and dig through my boat and look in all of my compartments, telling me you are looking for AIS. Unless they have a search warrant, they should not be opening any of my boat compartments. So it seems this AIS thing just gives them the idea they can do whatever they want to.

[chasineyes]

Quote:

I know the lake association is greatful we check boats! I can see how people get frustrated with the state spending so much money

Of course they are...they have A LOT of PERSONAL skin in the game...

By the way, who is checking the 400 foot freighter that is emptying it's ballast tanks off the shores of Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario? The same government that is trying to stop the spread in Minnesota????

[harvey lee]

Where I fish, there are no weeds, just mud. If the DNR wants to set up a boat wash station at my landing, I would welcome them. They can even wash my truck for me! Maybe if they would vacuum out the boat, and my truck at the same time they are washing my boat? I would be glad to see them there every time. If they do a good job at 1am cleaning it all, I may even give them a tip! Otherwise leave me alone. Dont sit and dig through my boat and look in all of my compartments, telling me you are looking for AIS. Unless they have a search warrant, they should not be opening any of my boat compartments. So it seems this AIS thing just gives them the idea they can do whatever they want to.

I have been checked probably 20 times, no one have EVER did what you suggest Scott.

If they want to check my live well, have at it, I have nothing to hide.

I know, it's your right to not have them check anything as it is without your search warrant. I didn't know they had another agenda than trying to slow the spread.

Another great example of why this will never work, people refuse to help.

[harvey lee]

What people sometimes don’t seem to realize is that AIS is much more than pulling a plug or removing weeds. I have basically run out of places to legally gather my own bait and then if I’m lucky enough to find a spot that I can legally capture bait from, I need to do all these water changes every time I go fishing, and this isn’t some small bait bucket, we are talking a couple of dozen of 6-12” baits. Coolers of water or livewells are the norm, not buckets and its SO much fun to mess with all that at 1am!

I’d love to use fresh shad for fishing, probably one of THE best baits for cats and sturgeon. The rivers around here are plump full of them and the main forage for a lot of fish species in the fall. But because of AIS they are basically off limits. Not only are they VHS susceptible, but the main method to catch them is also outlawed because of AIS fears (castnets).

And don’t forget some of the lakes that are now limiting their access hours to only when an inspector is available. That one really scares me.

There are days when I think I’m just going to take up Golf or maybe limit my fishing to out of town trips to other states that support the type of fishing I like to do.

One can make it work if they choose to do so. Yes, I have to change water when using live bait.

These new AIS laws have not bothered me one bit, restricted my fishing in any way.

Like chicken little says, the sky is falling.

[Big Dave2]

Big Dave, I do not know if they had any water in their boat or live well as I had stated. I do know this, they did not even take a second to even check or look when they pulled the boat out of the water.

They could have a smaller amount of water in the boat and they would not know it. They had water in the motor for sure but never dropped the motor to drain it, most motors all have water in them and when you tilt it down, it drains. I also said if they had water in the live well, they never emptied that either. Never looked for a weed under the trailer, fenders or motor as I watched them/.

It's all of these assumptions I don't like. How do you know these people you speak of don't pull their plug, drop the motor and wash every square inch of the boat and trailer with bleach and a pressure washer when they get home? Yes, it is unlikely but you don't know.

If some of you want to spend your kids future tax dollars on a futile attempt to do something that is impossible, why not just start a non-profit organization and donate your own money to the cause? If it's that important to you to make yourself feel better by trying to do something that can't be done, spend your own money!

[Big Dave2]

These new AIS laws have not bothered me one bit, restricted my fishing in any way.

Of course not. You're retired with nothing better to do than change bait water all day.

[Big Dave2]

I have been checked probably 20 times, no one have EVER did what you suggest Scott.

They don't check your livewell or the bottom of your boat for water? If not, what good are these checks?

[fish_eat_sleep]

I understand the drain plug law (kind of). You know, with the intention of bringing greater awareness to transporting lake water and invasive species from one body to the next. That park makes sense to me. iv always done this to prevent moldy plywood and carpet (common sense)

The part I don't understand is this.. -Based off my own observations. If you have a deep V style rig, you can potentially pump your bilge, pull you plug, drive 30 minutes down the freeway. let her sit 5 days. Then fish a lake all with a half dozen gallons in your bow area only to be drained on a steeper landing.. seen this happen many times after a heavy rain or from a leaky boat. You NEED a steep ramp and some bumps (higher than most wheel jacks) to drain some of those bigger boats completely.

But heres the catch too, how many mussels and milfoil plants make it into your bilge. I think the focus should be on the hull, trailer lights, trailer tubes, behind the wheels by rear of the hubs. maybe the anchor, lower unit, the landing net mesh? why are all these mussels in the rain water under the floor? If your boat leaks bad enough to run the bilge you'd probably want to fix that anyway.

[Scott K]

These were brown coats, not just some plane Jane college kid making me late. They knew what they were doing. There is no access to anything through my rod lockers, or any of the other compartments they chose to root through. They were looking for anything to bust me for, and they found something to warn me about. My fire extinguisher bracket wasnt secured tightly to the boat. I feel much safer now they told me that.

[DTro]

Chicken little is the people who think an AIS is going to destroy any lake. Turns out Eurasion Milfoil is great for fish habitat!

I bet there are a lot of lakes that would benefit from Zebes.

[creepworm]

I bet there are a lot of lakes that would benefit from Zebes.

I can think of dozens.

[bowhunternw]

Chicken little is the people who think an AIS is going to destroy any lake. Turns out Eurasion Milfoil is great for fish habitat!

I bet there are a lot of lakes that would benefit from Zebes.

Any lake in southern MN could use some zebras to clean up the water, man those lakes get nasty. Some of those lakes are worse than living next to a sewer pond when the blue green is in bloom. I actually think that eurasion milfoil is great for bass and likely others but there are some invasives that I definitely don't want too. I try to make an effort not to spread anything.

[BobT]

I understand the drain plug law (kind of). You know, with the intention of bringing greater awareness to transporting lake water and invasive species from one body to the next. That park makes sense to me. iv always done this to prevent moldy plywood and carpet (common sense)

The part I don't understand is this.. -Based off my own observations. If you have a deep V style rig, you can potentially pump your bilge, pull you plug, drive 30 minutes down the freeway. let her sit 5 days. Then fish a lake all with a half dozen gallons in your bow area only to be drained on a steeper landing.. seen this happen many times after a heavy rain or from a leaky boat. You NEED a steep ramp and some bumps (higher than most wheel jacks) to drain some of those bigger boats completely.

But heres the catch too, how many mussels and milfoil plants make it into your bilge. I think the focus should be on the hull, trailer lights, trailer tubes, behind the wheels by rear of the hubs. maybe the anchor, lower unit, the landing net mesh? why are all these mussels in the rain water under the floor? If your boat leaks bad enough to run the bilge you'd probably want to fix that anyway.

How many mussels are there to be found in the top two feet of the water column where the boat is in the first place? Same question with regard to the water plants. It's not necessarily the actual plants or animals that are transported this way, it's their spores and eggs, which are usually very small to even microscopic in size. How many can live in a half-cup of water stuck in the livewell tubes or inside my outboard or under the floor of my boat and how long will they survive? I'm betting a lot longer than five days. There's no real practical or functional way to rid the boat of this potential no matter what one does.

[hayseed]

Chicken little is the people who think an AIS is going to destroy any lake. Turns out Eurasion Milfoil is great for fish habitat!

I bet there are a lot of lakes that would benefit from Zebes.

Just add some faucet snails and VHS and you could have dead ducks and fish. Look on the bright side.

[hayseed]

To say AIS laws are not working is not quite right. A better title would be “Not working as well as intended”. They were never meant to completely stop the spread, but to slow or minimize the impact. They only became laws because voluntary compliance was not working.

If everyone went on “business as usual” before the laws were in place, what would it be like today? I don’t think anyone can honestly answer that. Having worked with terrestrial invasive’s my entire career I've seen some successes and many failures, but overall the key is awareness of invaders. The successes come from Early Detection along with a rapid response to the problem. The earlier a problem is identified and responded to, the cheaper and easier the problem can be corrected. There are a bunch of people on the front lines sounding the alarm and identifying invasive’s potential problems, but most people refuse to believe the problem exists until they are directly affected, so resources to direct at the problem area are nearly impossible to obtain. So the problem goes unchecked until it’s often too late and there are too many examples of that.

Aquatic invasive species are more than just Milfoil and zebra mussels. What if every lake in Minnesota had Eurasian Milfoil, Zebra mussels, VHS, faucet snails, spiny water fleas and the laundry list of others known to be in-state. Would it change your lifestyle? If nobody did anything to stop the spread, you could see it in your lifetime. What a legacy to leave behind.

I will continue to put up with a little inconvenience to do my part and understand that while the laws are not perfect, the intent of the AIS laws are for everyone’s benefit. My 2.

[20lbSloughShark]

How could these laws not affect your bait fishing? Maybe if all you use is a few leaches. The laws effectively wiped out one of the best baits for pike, frozen smelt. Both the preserved, and sea "hooligan" do not work half as well as frozen smelt. My guess is both are far too salty. I bought half a dozen this last winter, and most were used on more than once. Every single one was dropped. They would take it for less than a minute and spit it out. This was over the course of the whole season. I do know in some parts of the state, people say they can work. I'd say they work about as well as a hotdog, which works, but not what I'd want. Then with basically any minnows, you have the water transfer law. Take DTro for example. Who is going to bring 10+ gallons of water with them when fishing. Maybe there is a few out there, but I have yet to meet a single person. Many just dump their bait out. No way I'm dumping $10 of bait out. I don't even mind the stopping at the launches, but the fines are way over the top.

[PurpleFloyd]

If the end goal is to merely slow the inevitable spread rather than to prevent the spread then I find it hard to justify the time and expense being undertaken to accomplish that goal. All that ends up being is a "Feel Good" effort that in the end has the same result as doing nothing.

If they want to honestly stop AIS they will start by addressing the origin which in most cases are the ships coming in from abroad. If they are not willing to take up that fight then they should leave everyone else alone.

Next,if they are serious about stopping human participation in the spread they need to lock down every entry to every water and regulate every boat coming into and out of every body of water. No exceptions. In fact, the best plan to completely stop the spread(Or give the best shot) would be to hand over the public access to private companies to monitor the accesses. Allow them to set launch fees to cover their operating expenses.

In the end the Genie is out of the bottle and she ain't going back in it.

[harvey lee]

Of course not. You're retired with nothing better to do than change bait water all day.

Big Dave, that is fitting, the response you made, you cannot respond to the fact you posted and I came back and you were wrong, again. Now, you have to play some childish game, about the level you can debate. very childish of you but I would not expect any more.

Not sure if you are so jealous that I am retired and you are still working, not really my fault at all.

Really, what a stupid reply but I did not expect anything other than that.