passport required to fish lake ontario?

[dremarquis]

i just heard from a friend that even if you're fishing near the south shore, anyone fishing lake ontario must have a up-to-date passport on them.

is that true?

thanks,

andre

[rustyrat]

NO!

Next year 2009 you will need a passport to enter and return from Canada. If you are an american you don't need anything to fish US waters except a fishing license.

You can also troll into Canadian waters as long as you do not land in Canada and have the aprpopriate licenses. Remember no alcohol on board in Canada.

I got that info straight from the boarder patrol.

RR

[dremarquis]

thanks a bunch RR!

[off track]

NO!

Next year 2009 you will need a passport to enter and return from Canada. If you are an american you don't need anything to fish US waters except a fishing license.

You can also troll into Canadian waters as long as you do not land in Canada and have the aprpopriate licenses. Remember no alcohol on board in Canada.

I got that info straight from the boarder patrol.

RR

Not 100% accurate--

If you are fishing near the US/CANADA boarder or in Canada in Lake Erie everyone on board will need a passport, you will also need to report to the . I am not sure if this applies to Lake Ontario but I would assume that it does.

This article was in the D&C and USA today about a month ago

By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY

Rick Ungar's charter fishing service promises a great time on Lake Erie. But there's a catch  and it's not freshwater fish. It's the Homeland Security Department's new anti-terrorism rules.

When the 2008 charter season begins next month, U.S. citizens paying to fish on Lake Erie will have to bring either a passport or two other IDs if they plan to cross the northern border's invisible watery line.

When they get back to shore in the USA, they'll have to drive to a local government reporting station and pose for pictures. They won't be posing with their fish, but for Customs officers via a videophone connection.

That's because half of Lake Erie  as it happens, the half with the deeper and cooler waters that often spawn the best fishing  is in Canada. The Homeland Security Department intends to enforce new border security rules  largely focused on those coming into the country by land and air  on fishermen re-entering the country.

Ungar and many of his fellow charter boat captains  Lake Erie alone has 600-plus  are incensed.

They say the rules are difficult to follow, will dramatically cut down on tourism and won't protect against terrorism.

"How does this secure our country?" asks Ungar, a retired Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio, police chief. "I'm not insensitive to law enforcement issues, but these are fishermen, for God's sake."

The rules apply to all the Great Lakes, but opposition is most potent on Erie because the geography of the lake means the best fish are often over the international line.

Some operators haven't decided whether they'll continue fishing in Canadian waters. If they do, the operators will be required to:

•Fax in passengers' personal information  name, date of birth and government ID number  to the local Customs and Border Protection office an hour before they leave shore. The names will be run against terrorist watch lists.

•Make sure passengers carry either a passport or a government ID and a proof-of-citizenship document.

•Send the passengers to a local border protection reporting station after landing, so they can call in on a videophone.

Officers will be watching and doing spot checks on patrol boats and government aircraft. "Our concerns are anything from terrorists and terrorist weapons to drugs and undocumented aliens," says Brett Sturgeon, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection.

Jim Bonner, whose Sunshine Charters business has been taking tourists fishing on Lake Erie for 25 years, calls the rules "a waste of taxpayers' money."

"It's a shame" he says. "It's just wide-open water."

------------------

[rustyrat]

Off track, they have pulled that. Got it straight from the BP. Can't enforce it untill the get the infrastructure in place. I spoke to them 2 weeks ago in person, not second hand info. Several of us called and all got the same answer.

RR

[rustyrat]

Read this thread thouroughly.

http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishin ... php?t=4840

RR