[#0000FF][url "http://wildlife.utah.gov/mussels/form_options.php"]LINK TO WEBPAGE[/url]
[cool]For those who like to get their annual Mussel Certificate online, the above link will take you to the test so that you can be ready when the ice leaves and you can launch your boat...or tube or toon or kayak or whatever.
By the way, one of the questions on this year's online test is whether or not you need a certificate if you are in something besides a boat. The answer is that "If it floats...it's a boat." I know of three float tubers who were checked last year and two got tickets. The law is that you have to display the certificate on the dash of your car and keep a copy in your craft for inspection on the water.
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As always timely info. Thanks for taking the time.
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Over achiever! [
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Someone is ahead of the game. Me thinks you are motivated to launch. [
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[cool][#0000FF]I don't have an auger that will cut a hole in the ice big enough for my float tube so I thought I would try to do something productive...for a change.
Guess I'll take my nightcrawlers for a walk now...or maybe I can just snort a line of Smelly Jelly.
Winter has overstayed it's welcome and I'm sufferin' from terminal tubeitis. That is a deficiency ailment.
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Thanks TD...... Did mine a couple weeks ago. It is definetly handier than doing it each time at the ramp. Remember to make several copies for different vehicles.. Fishon
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Took it. When they say it'll take 45 minutes, believe it. The passages are stupefyingly boring, but you do have to read the entire thing to get the answers right.
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Thank you for the reminder. [cool]
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Just completed mine. Thanks Tube Dude [
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Thanks TD I was looking for it, you saved me a lot of time..
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Thanks TD, hey the Bear is flowing these days so it won't be long and you'll be floating again. Later J
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I can't believe I just did that. Wow, that was fun stuff. Stupid "All of the above" questions were my bane!
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[cool][#0000FF]Me too. I missed a couple of those the first time through. Ya really gotta READ all that stuff before the questions. But once you get the hang of their silly methodology it ain't so bad. Reminds me of some of the tests I used to get from some of my school teachers...back in the olden days...when we had stone books.
I don't fish any of the "problem" waters...and I only fish from a tube...so I am not a serious potential problem for spreading the mussels. But I applaud the proactive efforts being taken to help solve the problems before they occur.
No doubt about it. If you take that test you end up knowing a lot more about mussels than you would have if you continued to just fill out the certificate on each trip to the water.
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TD, I am really surprised that Utah does not make all watercraft owners get their Aquatic paper from the web site to force them to get educated on the subject. It is definetly the best line of defense in my opinion on the spread of the pests. How many boat owners do you think cant even name the infected or suspected to be infected resovoir`s in Utah let alone how to clean and disinfect their boat? Fishon
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Unfortunately, there will always be a percentage of people...boaters, auto drivers, hunters, fishermen or any other group...who do not feel that the laws apply to them. They don't care about becoming better educated, in order to preserve and protect their special interests or activities. They just go through the motions...doing as little as they can to comply with the law. OR NOT.
I am 
dened but not surprised by some of the stupid comments and actions by fellow anglers when it comes to observing the anti-mussel regulations. Some think it is cool to try to sneak in and out of a lake when officials are not there to check them. Others never take any precautions with their boat and gear to eliminate the chance that they might inadvertently spread harmful critters. It is alarming to hear of the numbers of boats that have been checked at Powell and have been found to have contamination (mussels) from Mead or other waters along the Colorado River. You just know that sooner or later some boater bozo will sneak in an after-hours launch somewhere on Powell with a bunch of mussels or larvae attached to his craft. You gotta know that is how Sand Hollow became infected.
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You`re exactly right TD. I guess all we can do is take care of our equipment and hope for the best. Hopefully the word keeps spreading on what a serious threat it is to a body of water. You definetly see more and more warning signs along roads and borders that probably helps some. Fishon
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I agree that the on-line reading/test should be required. The forms to fill out at the boat ramp are a joke. Who's going to write on there, "Ya, I just came from Sand Hollow last night and haven't washed anything!" (And I'm a pretty anti-government, hands-off, don't-regulate-me kind of person!) I wish the state could re-allocate some funds to have inspectors at the major launch areas in the state for the busier hours. At Flaming Gorge, half the boats that will launch on a given morning are already in the water before the seasonal inspector ever shows up.
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+1 on that Tarponjim........
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I have no problem with making the online course mandatory. My worry is that of the power squadron. In fact, maybe they should make it mandatory for all ski boats. If you think about it from their view, it would almost benefit them to transport the invasive species around. These mussels are mostly detrimental to the fishing aspect of a lake. No fishing means no fishing boats, no fishing boats means more room for the squadron by not having the so called pesky trollers and casters getting in the way. It scares me really.
btw, how do you erase on those stone tablets if you wanted to change your answer? I've always wondered.
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Because of the test that I do every year now ( Thanks to TD for ALWAYS giving me the "link" this time of year) besides just taking care of my boat and various other water objects, I now let the water out of my bubble every time I go fly and bubble fishing....think about it....Thanks TD and you are right about the un-thinkers!!
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"btw, how do you erase on those stone tablets if you wanted to change your answer? I've always wondered."
[#0000FF][cool]Keep track of the questions you get wrong...along with the answer you gave. At the end of the test you will be told you failed because you need to get 100% right. Then there is a button to click to go back and change your answer on the wrong ones. You can keep doing it until you get them all right and are issued your certificate. They WANT you to pass so they help you get them right.[/#0000FF]
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