mtncat1
Well-known member
You forgot a few things that would get you a ticket:
Boat registration
Boat insurance
Safety equipment - life jackets, fire extinguisher, throwable buoy, etc.
Flaming Gorge use pass - (True story, I forgot my annual last November on a burbot hunt and had to buy a 3 day at the Maverick in Mountain View. The checker, at midnight, wrote 10/15 on the pass instead of 11/15. I got a ticket the next day for having not having a valid pass. I spent the whole day tracking down the guy that gave me the ticket and calling Maverick at which point the guy tore up the ticket.)
Valid Utah 365 license to pair with the reciprocal stamp that is on a calendar year basis.
Inspections before and after they open and close for the year in April and October.
Now add to that the mussel permit, getting your receipt from the truck to the boat, getting launched and getting out to set your first downrigger and catch your first fish and yeah, I'd say that's a little administratively complex, especially from people who only make it up there once or twice a year. You're dealing with 3 different governments in many cases that are all set on interfering with or ignoring every man equally.
Now try and do all of that at midnight so you can fish the next morning.
And we haven't even gotten into boat maintenance, boat problems, trailer problems, truck problems, etc.
Can people do it? Of course. Could it be a simpler (and legal!) process? Absolutely.
And, for the record, WY can pass a law that suspends the 4th Amendment but that law isn't valid.
I hope I didn't over estimate my fellow fisherman's abilities . you can make it as hard or easy as you want . I'm sorry but 99% off that stuff I do normally , as for that area of the country don't go there expecting great customer service because in most cases you won't get it , it's a dying area and most businesses have given up .your suggestions will probably fall on deaf ears. most of their economies rely on visiting recreationists but they just don't seem to care. it's smart to plan ahead but it's not the end of the world if you don't.