Hamilton Reef
06-01-2005, 10:26 PM
New buoys mark no-fishing zone at Coast Guard facility
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050528/NEWS01/505280301/1002
By CHRIS SEBASTIAN, Times Herald
The U.S. Coast Guard is helping area anglers know exactly where not to fish this season.
Members of U.S. Coast Guard Station Port Huron installed four buoys this week near the entrance of the station harbor in Lake Huron at the mouth of the St. Clair River, more visibly marking a controversial no-fishing zone create last year.
The station is north of the Blue Water Bridge next to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. The buoys outline the regulated navigation area, which is for 200 feet north of the Coast Guard station and about 80 feet south, extending 150 yards out into Lake Huron.
The Coast Guard implemented the policy because many boats would gather at the station entrance to fish, and fishing lines would get wrapped up in Coast Guard boats leaving the harbor. Entanglements are costly and time consuming and interfere with rescue operations, said station Chief Jeff Egelston.
Anglers consider the area directly in front of the station a walleye hot spot.
Mike Rymar, president of the Blue Water Sportfishing Association, said the area should not be restricted because that is not the only place fishing lines cause problems.
"They can block off those few hundred yards of river ... but sooner or later they will get fishing lines on those props," Rymar said.
Boaters are allowed to pass through the zone, just not anchor or fish directly in it. Fishing lines from outside the zone may enter the area itself, Egelston said.
Egelston said the buoys will be removed for the winter but otherwise are a permanent addition to the river. He cautioned boaters that only the two easternmost buoys are lighted at night; the two closer to shore are not.
So far, the ban has worked, and Egelston said most fishermen have no problem complying with the order. Those who do not will be escorted out of the zone and can be fined.
"We have some people who are irritated when we ask them to leave," Egelston said.
Contact Chris Sebastian at (810) 989-6273 or csebastian@gannett.com.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050528/NEWS01/505280301/1002
By CHRIS SEBASTIAN, Times Herald
The U.S. Coast Guard is helping area anglers know exactly where not to fish this season.
Members of U.S. Coast Guard Station Port Huron installed four buoys this week near the entrance of the station harbor in Lake Huron at the mouth of the St. Clair River, more visibly marking a controversial no-fishing zone create last year.
The station is north of the Blue Water Bridge next to the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. The buoys outline the regulated navigation area, which is for 200 feet north of the Coast Guard station and about 80 feet south, extending 150 yards out into Lake Huron.
The Coast Guard implemented the policy because many boats would gather at the station entrance to fish, and fishing lines would get wrapped up in Coast Guard boats leaving the harbor. Entanglements are costly and time consuming and interfere with rescue operations, said station Chief Jeff Egelston.
Anglers consider the area directly in front of the station a walleye hot spot.
Mike Rymar, president of the Blue Water Sportfishing Association, said the area should not be restricted because that is not the only place fishing lines cause problems.
"They can block off those few hundred yards of river ... but sooner or later they will get fishing lines on those props," Rymar said.
Boaters are allowed to pass through the zone, just not anchor or fish directly in it. Fishing lines from outside the zone may enter the area itself, Egelston said.
Egelston said the buoys will be removed for the winter but otherwise are a permanent addition to the river. He cautioned boaters that only the two easternmost buoys are lighted at night; the two closer to shore are not.
So far, the ban has worked, and Egelston said most fishermen have no problem complying with the order. Those who do not will be escorted out of the zone and can be fined.
"We have some people who are irritated when we ask them to leave," Egelston said.
Contact Chris Sebastian at (810) 989-6273 or csebastian@gannett.com.