New lake permit sticker

[nolansdad]

I fished at Monroe this past weekend and was surprised to see how many pleasure boats did NOT have the mandatory yellow sticker affixed to their boats. Has anybody else noticed this and is DNR doing anything about it? I have noticed the only boat I have seen them on are bass boats.

[bassman409]

Those people probably have no idea they are supposed to have one. I was there also and saw a couple of DNR boats but never saw them pull anyone over.... I didn't think to look around and see myself.. I will next time though....

[steves]

I agree that there are many boaters that probably don't know they need the sticker, but it probably doesn't matter anyway. It is being enforced just like the old system. The DNR can sit at the ramps for the first hour of the morning checking all of the fishing boats and selling them stickers, then leave for the rest of the day. The pleasure boats trickle in a few at a time throughout the entire day and make themselves more difficult targets than the fishermen who arrive all at the same time. It would have been a fair system that charged all users of the lake the same if it were being enforced as it was designed. I wonder how many of the boats at all of the marinas at Monroe have stickers on them. It should be easy to check them. Just walk up and down the docks on a Tuesday when all of the boats are tied up and write citations for all of those that do not have their permit displayed. Unfortunately that will never happen because the people who own those boats are more politically influential than the lowly crappie and bass fishermen. But at least I'm not bitter about it.