I just got a card in the mail from the Wyoming Game & Fish Department informing me of some “New 2013 Boating Information”.
It says:
[indent][#005000]“ALL watercraft (motorboats, kayaks, canoes, rafts, drift boats) transported into Wyoming from March through November MUST be inspected for Aquatic Invasive Species before launching. Watercraft inspection stations will be located a major routes of entry into Wyoming including at ports of entry and other border locations from April 15 through September. Inspections are available at additional locations during all other times.”[/#005000]
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The card then gave this Web site for more information:
[url "http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/fishing-1001290.aspx"]wgfd.wyo.gov/AIS[/url]
At the bottom of that Web site, there are some links to [url "http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/fishing-1001292.aspx"]Inspection Locations[/url] and a [url "http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/Departments/Fishing/pdfs/AIS_INSPECTIONSMAP_20130003751.pdf"]Map[/url].
So, for me coming from Utah to fish the Gorge, I will need to get my boat inspected at either the Evanston Point of Entry or at the inspection station located somewhere near Highway 530 and Lucerne Valley. And, because of their hours of operation, I will probably need to adjust my travel plans accordingly.
[#400080]Question: Do any of you know exactly where the Hwy 530 Lucerne Valley inspection location is? Up on/near the highway? Down at the marina ramp?[/#400080]
I didn’t see anything about any extra charges for boat owners to have their boats inspected/cleaned. I suspect that the costs for the inspections are being paid for in part out of our annual $30 Wyoming AIS decals.
So, there's one more thing to have to keep in mind when preparing to chase the mighty mack of the Gorge.
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So they must be inspected just to enter/drive through Wyoming, is that what I am reading? PITA!!
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My first reaction was "What a pain in the butt" but then I got to thinking. All it will take is for one selfish , lazy, uncaring person to slip a contaminated boat into the Gorge and it'll be game over. Might take a while but it'll happen if it hasn't already. If it has, I sure hope the person that did it hit a rock & sank his boat.
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The Wyoming inspections for "hwy 530" will probably up around the Anvil turn off, since Utah has Lucerne ramp "covered" (I use that term extremely loosely) with a seasonal "inspector."
Upon further review, the little red dot on the map is located on the border. The Mustang? The million-dollar duck ponds? The Lucerne turn-off where there's that scenic overlook? Beats me.
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hrmm, did not look at the website but i wonder if they are going to do the same thing as ID does when you pass through at 4 in the morning and no ine is there, just keep going
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You pass that exact sign when you go into Idaho traveling north on I 15 for all boats to stop at the port. That is one nasty critter we do not want in any of our waters so I am not going to complain. What ever it takes.....Fishon
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The hours listed for that check-station location say 7-5 mon-wed, and 6:30-7:30 thu-sun. There's a lot of fishermen with lines-in and fish-on well before those hours, so there will either have to be some kind of by-pass during closed hours, or a mutiny!
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The only 'by-pass' seams to be an inspection seal and receipt from an authorized inspector.
"Any person transporting a watercraft who did not encounter a mandatory aquatic invasive species check station prior to reaching a water of the state may launch without further inspection if the watercraft has a properly affixed seal applied by an authorized inspector and is accompanied by a valid seal receipt during transit."
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I read that too. Well, I guess it will greatly reduce angling pressure by "closing" the lake until 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning all spring and summer. Guess the dirt road launches are going to get pretty busy--until they close those too . . . Ridiculous.
Guess I could just launch early at Sheep Creek, run my boat north to Anvil, and add a fuel-surcharge to all my trips. And hey, burning all that more gas will add to some emissions too, and help speed up that desperately-needed global warming. Win-win!
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As I read this, it is for any boat transported into Wyoming. Though that would include a Wy boat that has been out of state, I take it to essentially mean any boat with registration other than Wy.
Wonder if they'll give you an inspection pass and be checking for those at the ramp as you take out?
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Does anybody know if your just driving thru (bearlake from SLC via Evanston), do you need to stop. It reads "all watercraft entering" but then talks about getting a seal to launch. I'm not sure how to interpret this. It's a little different than the Gorge, being the destination water is not a Wyoming water.
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[quote Tarponjim]The hours listed for that check-station location say 7-5 mon-wed, and 6:30-7:30 thu-sun. There's a lot of fishermen with lines-in and fish-on well before those hours, so there will either have to be some kind of by-pass during closed hours, or a mutiny![/quote]
That's probably gona change lots of "turn-n-burn" plans into "stay-n-pay" over-nighters just so that the fishermen can get the inspection out of the way the night before.
[quote Tarponjim]The Wyoming inspections for "hwy 530" will probably up around the Anvil turn off ...[/quote]
Jim, since you will probably be one of the first to actually see exactly where that inspection station gets set up, would you post it up or shoot me a PM? Thanks.
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[quote Old_Coot]
Jim, since you will probably be one of the first to actually see exactly where that inspection station gets set up, would you post it up or shoot me a PM? Thanks.[/quote]
Hopefully we'll all know something before the morning of April 15, but I'll post something when I find out or see something happening. I just can't see someone camped at Lucerne being able to launch at 5 am, but not someone camped at the KOA in Manila who has to drive through Wyoming, then back, into Utah, to launch at Lucerne. But then again, here we go with "government intelligence."
I'm still not clear whether this is a daily thing or what. I mean, if someone camps at Lucerne for a week, and takes their boat in and out daily, do they still need to be inspected daily? Does the person staying in a motel in Manila driving back and forth have to be inspected daily? What's the difference? The guy camped at Lucerne can launch early, but not the guy staying in a motel? (Or the guy who actually LIVES here!) I can't see it.
I'll tell you this, if there are launches permitted at 6 am from Lucerne, and I want to launch at 6 am driving down from town, I'm doing it. If they want to check me, they can get their lazy a**es up. Otherwise, they can close the ramps until whatever time they feel like opening them up, to EVERYBODY.
If someone launched their boat from Lucerne at 5:30 am, how will they know if that person was camped at the marina, camped at Swim Beach, drove down from Manila, or drove in from Mtn. View or Green River?
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Man Jim, for some dum reason, I was thinking this would have no affect on you since you are a resident of that area. Then Daaa ... the light bulb came on ... you are a Utah resident ... not a Wyoming Flaming Gorge resident!
Oh boy ... this is gona get interesting!!!
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[quote MACMAN]Does anybody know if your just driving thru (bearlake from SLC via Evanston), do you need to stop. It reads "all watercraft entering" but then talks about getting a seal to launch. I'm not sure how to interpret this. It's a little different than the Gorge, being the destination water is not a Wyoming water.[/quote]
this is the point i was trying to get across. i drive through WY all the time to hit UT waters, why would i need a seal from WY to launch a boat in UT makes no sense, plus no one is usually up at 330 in the morning when im passing through evanston
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I imagine it will get to be similar to Lake Powell. You'll have to wait until the boat ramps open in order to launch. Period. Such are the times -- you do what you have to.
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I can see closing ramps until inspection. They do that on a lot of Colorado lakes, at least the ones you can even still launch a boat on. However, Lucerne ramp on the Gorge, for example, is in Utah. Out of Wyoming's jurisdiction? Same with Sheep Creek. Someone coming down from out of state, driving through Wyoming, to get to Sheep Creek ramp in Utah. What's their deal? Also, folks driving down the east side of the Gorge, through Wyoming, to the Antelope Flat boat ramp that is in Utah. I can't see Wyoming being able to control launches in Utah at all, even if a boat is towed through Wyoming to get there. Unless the two states get together on something, but I won't hold my breath on that one.
What a can of worms, or in this case, a can of mussels and snails.
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This looks like to me its gonna be a mess!. do they consider a personal pontoon has to be checked also?
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The information I read said "ALL watercraft" and went on to specifically list kayaks and canoes. So I can't believe they would make an exception for a personal pontoon. I guess it comes down to what the Game & Fish officer considers "watercraft".
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[quote PBH]I imagine it will get to be similar to Lake Powell. You'll have to wait until the boat ramps open in order to launch. Period. Such are the times -- you do what you have to.[/quote]
What PBH said, this is what concerns me. The last thing that I want to do is be sitting at the ramp, watching the sun come up, and waiting for someone to come by about 8 am and tell me that I'm okay to launch. By then its 8:30 am, and then why bother.... the best fishing of the day is already likely over. I used to go to Powell every year, but haven't been once since they started closing the ramps. Looks like I might have to add the Gorge to the list of places I used to fish [:/]
No one wants mussle's in there, but there's got to be a better solution. I mean really... whats next? We don't want mussle's anywhere, so we're closing off all of the lakes to any kind of watercraft? [mad] Fred K.
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