Some Things Just Don't Make Sense

Hobie makes a kayak that is phenomenal for fishing. It has a kick-style drive so you don’t have to use a paddle, but you can if you choose. It is stable, has rod and cup holders and I own six of them. I would like to take them into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) but I can’t. The U.S. Forest Service has already tested the use of mechanical drives and it stood up in court. The reasoning: “From the 2004 Superior National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan: Watercraft or sailboards designed for propulsion by wind are not permissible. Watercraft with types of rowing devices that were in regular use in the BWCAW, prior to the 1978 BWCAW Act, are permitted.” The Hobie Mirage watercraft was NOT in regular use prior to the legislation. This argument has been tested in federal district court by a person who wanted to bring a type of watercraft into the BWCAW that was not in regular use before the 1978 legislation. This person was cited by the Forest Service and this citation was upheld in court. The intent of the wording in the legislation was to prohibit anything new that might come on the market (i.e. hovercraft, personal watercraft, a device such as the one in this discussion, etc.). As a result of this wording, all of these types of things are prohibited even though they are within the horsepower restrictions and may be quiet. Everything motorized or mechanized is prohibited except what was actually provided for in the legislation. This response to a Hobie owner’s question on why he couldn’t take his kayak into the BWCAW was on a chat room web site.

Some things just don’t make sense. This kayak is quiet, disturbs the water no more or less than a canoe or paddle kayak, yet the vague laws that created the wilderness designation for the BWCAW create a situation where a perfectly fine watercraft that would not disturb the wilderness or cause any visual or negative impact on the resource can be banned because it is not old technology. I can put a sonar on my canoe which will make me more efficient in catching fish. I can use a dead tree branch and a tarp to set up a makeshift sail on my canoe or paddle kayak, but if that sail comes out of a box, forget it.

Where do all these fun-haters come from? Some days I love to take an underwater camera out in the boat and look at fish on structure. When underwater cameras first came out, the state I live in tried to ban them.

My nephews who are in their early teens just told me a story about fishing below a dam on the Cedar River in Iowa. They had waded out to a rock wall and were angling for carp and catfish. Someone came down to the riverbank and yelled at them to get back on shore or they would call the cops. Thee boys thought it was funny until the squad car showed up and they were told to get out of the current because they were endangering themselves.

Too many fun haters. The Hobies fit well in the BWCAW and should be allowed. Technology is good for growing the sport of fishing and if some kids want to flirt with disaster while trying to catch fish on the river, let them. When people get so stodgy they don’t see the forest through the trees, well, some things just don’t make sense.