NEW NO Wake and PFD Rules? In US and Canadian Water Big $$$$ fines

[MichAngler]

I didn’t fish the BFL this past weekend but I heard from several anglers that they are enforcing new rules due to the flooding and in Canada they are talking big fines including boat confiscation

First is on the US side they are placing No Wake buoys One Thousand Feet from shore
This includes the St Clair River and channels

That basically shuts down most of the channels or narrows it down to a few hundred feet area for all these boat to run in

I’m also finding some posts in other forums saying that Marine City now has a complete no wake rule within city limits on the river all the way out to the international border?

Next is Canadian waters they are enforcing a One hundred foot no wake on any shore line including the St Clair River with a fine (was told they are out there big time writing tickets)

They (Canada) also say if you shut down (come off plane) in the no wake zones the fine is insane! Some anglers saying 3 grand and possible boat confiscation

Last the Canadian government now only considers an inflatable PFD as acceptable if you are wearing it

Meaning if its laying on the seat when they pull up it is not considered a PFD something about not working as a standard throwable PFD

Anyone else hear this?

I can’t seem to find any info on this but there are new no wake buoys all up and down the St Clair River

[MichAngler]

Note the red area at and south of marine city on the river

http://www.bluewaysofstclair.org/dow...csouth19_1.pdf

[AMSDJS]

Thanks for the updated information! And with Barry heading our way from down South, levels aren't dropping any time soon so I expect these enforcements to last all Summer.

[Angler103]

The inflatable PDF must be worn at all times to count towards your legal number of PDF's. Its been that way in the states for a long time as well.

I was at Harley ramp this past weekend and I saw the sheriff stop several boats that were producing wake by the ramp. They said they are really cracking down on the idle only, no wake areas.

[MichAngler]

I’m getting this second hand but the story goes that an angler was stopped on the Canadian side of the lake during the BFL and checked for PDF’s and they were close enough to shore that the OPP officer told them about the no wake rules and how hard they are cracking down

He was told the fines are
$500 for running in the no wake area
$2500 for shutting down in the no wake area

The officer gave an example of “That Guy” that runs towards a dock and shuts down, runs up and drops the trolling motor close enough to make his first cast at the dock before the boat settles is going to lose their boat

Now all of this is still not confirmed but better to be safe than sorry

I can say they have moved the no wake buoys in front of the nine mile launch and the marinas north of that out to at least 600 maybe 1000 feet

[piketroller]

There have been no official changes to the existing rules in the SCR, at least on the U.S. side. The 200 foot from shore no wake rule for boats under 26 foot is being better enforced. The no wake at the mouth of the North Channel hasn’t changed, nor the no wake zones on the smaller channels and cuts. To the best of my knowledge, the no wake zone around Marine City is still not being enforced as has been the status quo for decades. I live on the river and fish it daily, weather permitting. Some of the no wake buoys that look out of place from previous years are there for reminders of the 200/600 foot rule was the answer I got from the St Clair County Sheriff boat. Don’t do dumb things and you should be fine.

[MichAngler]

I knew something was up when I couldn't find any information on this

Thanks for the clarification

[Billyobanion]

I was there this past weekend for the BFL and TBF state fish off. Didn’t fish Canadian water but heard the same thing during the tournament meetings. Didn’t want to find out the hard way either. Did fish up the river though. There were some buoys out there but still quite a bite of river to run on

[piketroller]

Google maps on the aerial view can be your best friend. Some of the smaller channels that aren’t necessarily posted as no wake can get narrower than 400 feet which means there’s no way you can maintain 200 feet from shore. A little measuring ahead of time could save you some trouble down the road.

[Hollada]

FYI

[team houston]

Just curious, do they think a wake vanishes after a certain distance?