Time for 2008 Bass Boys TBF Dues

[djkimmel]

It's that time again - 2008 Bass Boys TBF dues are due.

If you pay your membership on or before December 21, 2007, 2008 dues total $30.00 for TBF of Michigan and TBF Inc (national).

Pay after December 21, 2007 and regular 2008 dues apply at $40.00 for the year.

Once again, if you want to pay online, I have an option for you to do so for an additional $2 handling fee (about what PayPal charges me).

Go to http://www.greatlakesbass.com/bassboys/ for more information and/or to pay your dues online.

Contact me with any questions. 2008 state championship dates and location are not set yet, but probably up north May 31 or June 1, 2008.

Also, we are hosting the 2008 TBF Northern Divisional Championship right here in great old Michigan - Sep 10 - 12, 2008 on Lake St. Clair (US waters only due to passport requirements).

[Team houston]

Who is making these decisions?  I think we all know you do not need a passport if you don't go ashore or anchor in Canada. I have not heard any restrictions on the BFL's so if they can do it, why can't the TBF?

[djkimmel]

TBF of Michigan is the HOST to 6 or probably 7 other states. The other state federations have made it clear their anglers do not want to have to go through the definite inconvenience and expense of getting a passport for one event.

This not the same as the BFL where people are fishing a circuit in a common region and understand what is needed to fish in that region. This is a more valid consideration that we debated for over an hour at the board meeting. Based on what we are being told by the US government, if you CROSS the US / Canada border by water next year, you must be prepared to show a valid passport upon crossing back into the US. It is not 100% certain at this time, but more certain than not and we can get no estimate on when a final determination will be made or what they determination might be.

We do NOT know what the heck the US government is going to do in the end.

We DO know at this time the plan is to require a US passport if you CROSS the border by water not whether you land in Canada or not, in the eyes of the US government, you have crossed the border.

We can NOT get a clear answer on the specifics as to expectations for this regulation other than if you CROSS the border, you need to be prepared with a passport to CROSS back into the US.

We HAVE to have a decision to TBF Inc in early January to allow time for printing and disbursement of participation apps and there are no expected changes to be announced or clarified in that short time.

It is not reasonable to expect guests from other states to spend $120 to $140 and the time to get a passport which we would HAVE to require at the time the applications need to go out based on what we know now from available information from the US government - similar to letters other tournament organizations are getting from various branches of the government in various border locations.

We do NOT have the luxury of ignoring this planned requirement. Our options at this time are to either REQUIRE a passport for every participant or have the tournament on US waters only.

If we open all waters, every participant will be out of the pocket $200 to $240 dollars for requirements/licenses and the complications and time to get a passport. That is unreasonable.

There is a simpler alternative that still provides lots of water to fish and will only make those few participants from our area who are used to fishing here unhappy. All I can say is run for the board, and come and have all this fun dealing with all this stuff at our level. It's not as simple as some people want to make it and we don't always have the luxury of 'just doing it.' Unfortunately. Don't expect too many from our region to be happy, but there are more coming from the other states and they'd be a lot less happy to have to get passports.

This is not a big tournament in numbers. There will be plenty of water to fish, especially in September.

BTW, BFL, like most major tournament organizations has general rules that require you to be personally responsible to meet all governmental requirements as I know you are aware. If you get stopped and fined (or worse), all BFL will do is DQ you for that event. They'll just say you're from the area and you know the requirements - your problem.

That works for them fishing local/common regions. It is not the same when you bring in anglers as a host from a larger region and can not afford an incident if there is ANY chance one could happen. BFL leaves it on your neck to have the passport if the requirement stands. We can't do it that way in this case. If we know it is a requirement, we will have to require everyone to have one to avoid any chance of being a bad host state.

[djkimmel]

From the US Dept of State; http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
==
LAND AND SEA TRAVEL
The following summarizes information available on the Department of Homeland Security's website.

JANUARY 31, 2008
U.S. and Canadian citizens will need to present either a WHTI-compliant document, or a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license, plus proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. DHS also proposes to begin alternative procedures for U.S. and Canadian children at that time.

SUMMER 2008
At a later date, to be determined, the departments will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of WHTI. The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have either a U.S. passport; a U.S. passport card; a trusted traveler card such as NEXUS, FAST, or SENTRI; a valid Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business; or a valid U.S. Military identification card when traveling on official orders.

The implementation date will be determined based on a number of factors, including the progress of actions undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security to implement the WHTI requirements and the availability of WHTI compliant documents on both sides of the border. DHS and DOS expect the date of full WHTI implementation to be in the summer of 2008. The precise implementation date will be formally announced with at least 60 days notice.
==

No final news yet on how, what or when exactly is the passport card. Depending on whom you ask within Homeland Security, the full requirement includes if you have crossed the international border and come back into the US, you must have a passport. We have to go by the most strict requirement in our case. I have had parts of the letters read to me that other organizations have received. We are doing what we need to do and in the end, it will be a really nice event that everyone goes away from having a good and positive feeling about because we will have made it safe, fair and low risk for everyone involved.

[djkimmel]

More detailed explanation of the summary above explained here:
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1182350422171.shtm

Besides being made aware of the letters other tournament organizations have received, we have had contact with several different US goverment representatives and the resulting advice from the US government is simply, if we want to be sure our participants are legally able to come back ashore next summer/fall after possibly crossing the international border on those border waters, we will need to require a passport.

The full 114 page proposed rule is here if you want to see what this is all about: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/07-4584_Signed_Rule_061907.pdf

We were actually told by one officer that if you ride the Marine City ferry across the river without leaving the ferry to get your license, you may still be required to show a passport when you try to get back off the ferry next summer.

From the rule:
Current Practice - In general, under federal law it is "unlawful for any citizen of the United States to depart from or enter . . . the United States unless he bears a valid United States passport."
However, the statutory passport requirement has been waived in the past for U.S. citizens traveling between the United States and locations within the Western Hemisphere by land or sea, other than from Cuba.

U.S. Citizens Arriving by Sea or Land
Under this proposed rule, most U.S. citizens entering the United States at all sea or land ports-of-entry would be required to have either (I) a U.S. passport; (2) a U.S. passport card; (3) a trusted traveler card (NEXUS, FAST, or SENTRI); 26 (4) a valid MMD when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business; or (5) a valid U.S. Military identification card when traveling on official orders or permit.
==

We are not in the position to ignore any local, state or federal law. The only thing we don't know about this requirement is the exact date this summer that a passport will become required. This is not the same issue as the earlier I-68 form that was strongly recommended by some as a way to streamline any issues or questions if they come about - this is a legal requirement just like needing to have a valid fishing license on your person.

[motocross269]

To fish the Big water tourneys next year we will be looking at close to 500 dollars in license fees....Michigan, Canada, walpole, ohio, passport...etc....OUCH.
I live on the eastside so I need to get a passport anyway...
The guys fishing TBF and the BFL will be able to somewhat justify the expense because those licenses will cover them for 4 of the 5 BFLs...
Passports are good for 10 years...(if my memory serves me)

[djkimmel]

Too many question marks and not enough time to wait for answers that may not come until April/May. From what we have been told, the only thing that will change is the exact date passports are required. Boat ramps are ports-of-entry, which is why you are seeing more Border Patrol officers parked at the ramps.

Sometime next summer, you can expect some of us will be questioned at the ramp and may be asked to show a passport. As an organization, we have to prepare for that differently than individuals do. As a host state, we have to treat our guest states differently than localized circuits and professional circuits can get away with.

As a board, we have to think what is best for everyone, not just each of our own personal interests. That's what screws up a lot of organizations.

[motocross269]

Thiks is way off topic but...

From personal experience everyone should have a passport anyway...You never know what might come up and it takes a few weeks to get one. 
During my deployment we had to jump through hoops to try to get families overseas to visit wounded soldiers because they didn't think ahead and get a passport....In Europe you can't drive anywhere without one...If someone from your family runs into problems overseas or even Canada you don't want to have to wait to get cleared without a passport.   

[dashaver63]

My only question about the passport thing is, how can one prove that they did NOT go into Canadian if the water they are fishing is has an international border? This whole thing has the potential of creating a monster headache for everyone involved.

[Skip Johnson]

I wonder how this is going to effect the FLW tour and the BFL on the dt river?
if canada goes off limits it will hurt alot of guys including myself, I will have my passport but I bet most co's wont.
what a crummy rule, if your not going ashore or anchoring we shouldnt need a passport.

[dashaver63]

I guess I'll have to get a passport also. It'll be just like having a license for all adjoining water. Where would I go to find the applications and paperwork? I guess anyone that fishes Erie, St.clair and anyother body of water that borders Canada will need a passport, and not just fisherpeople either. Pleasure boaters as well. You see quite a few boats heading to Canada form Port Clinton and Marblehead.

[djkimmel]

I have not heard anything about FLW getting any letters about the Detroit River events. I believe FLW will leave this up their rules that cover anglers having the personal responsibility to know and follow required laws and regulations. That may change if they get some kind of official notice as some tournament groups have in other parts of the Great Lakes.

If you have your passport, the worst that can happen is a bad-timed delay if you are told to check-in at an official border crossing - odds are really low in that. The odds go up that you could be delayed and late if you don't have a passport and are checked once the full rule is implemented, but odds are still low that anything will happen.

The odds are not zero though and again, based on letters received from certain parts of the Great Lakes, we can expect some increase in exposure to officers at boat  ramps near the borders. It is quite a bit worse in the eastern end of Lake Ontario at the moment. Hopefully, it won't get like that here. I think our collective behavior will have some impact on that.

As dashaver63 says, when we ask for as specific interpretation as possible, we keep getting similar responses - since they can't be sure we landed or not, we better have a passport or expect the likelihood of a longer delay including possibly being told to head to an official inspection site - obviously not conducive to timed tournament fishing.

I will say what I always say - if stopped, be very professional and polite. Don't do anything to raise suspicion or show a possible lack of respect for the importance of their task. They need to be able to clearly and easily determine your nationality first and foremost, and the officer has to be satisfied before you will be allowed to go about your business.

The one bass tournament angler I actually witnessed have a problem with a border incident (okay, other than our two illustrious members and their suspicious ‘face mask incident’) actually ended up tackled in his bass boat by several officers at the check-in. I heard him using inadvisable language and showing what appeared to be some expectation that because he was in a tournament, he didn’t have time for the officers.

Needless to say, he did not participate in the weigh in at that event. It was over fast and I never did find out exactly what started the whole mess.

One other thing to keep aware of - the official National Threat Advisory level definitely affects their behavior and the actions taken in border areas - you can check the threat level - elevated to Orange/High today for air travel because of the holiday: http://www.dhs.gov/xcitizens/

[djkimmel]

dashaver62: Post Offices are the most common place to get them. Not all Post Offices though. Their are over 9,000 places to get one.

Go to this web site to search for the place closest to you - Passport Acceptance Facility Search Page:
http://iafdb.travel.state.gov/

[dashaver63]

Dan, could you update this thread as you find out more about this situation. I would really like to know how FLW plans to handle this, If I don't have to I would rather not have to shell out more money for a passport. I guess I could always fish the Buckeye division, but then again I won't fish them at all if that my only choice.

[djkimmel]

Okay - I haven't talked to FLW about this topic yet. Will be talking to them sometime soon.

Is the Buckeye Division going with Ohio waters only?

[dashaver63]

Well, inland waters. 1 tournament on Indian Lake, which I like, it's all pads. 1 on Grand Lake St.Marys, which I hate. I have fished 8 tourney's there and have caught 1 keeper. Ohio had the State Championship there 2 years ago and out of 160 anglers, there were 34 keepers caught in 2 days. The other 3 are on the Ohio River, YUK! Fished Tanners Creek in another Ohio TBF tourney, finished 20something with 1 fish that went 1.75. With the exception of Burt-Mullet and St.Clair, Detroit River and Sandusky Bay are within driving distance where I won't have to spend the night. I have someone that pays my entries and I really want to fish Michigan again so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[dashaver63]

Forgot to mention what a great time I had last year up there, and I'm looking forward to your spring open! After fishing the Michigan Division, I guess I'm kind of spoiled now!

[djkimmel]

Yes... we forget sometimes just how lucky we are.

[dashaver63]

I've been looking for more information on this topic and I think I might have found something. This is from the DHS website:

"The departments have also identified unique circumstances for specific groups of travelers that warrant permitting the use of alternative documents.

U.S. citizens on round trip cruise ship voyages that originate and end in the United States may present a government-issued photo ID and birth certificates, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad or Certificates of Naturalization."

I thought about that fact tonight as today opens the registration for the Michigan Division. Being that our tournaments originate and end in the U.S. I would think that would also applie to us.

[djkimmel]

I read that too, but I believe it is a concession to the cruise ship industry since they take a whole bunch of people on a sort of closed trip in a regulated industry. I don't think it will apply to individuals or two in a private boat that can go just about anywhere on a trip not ruled by a scheduled path.

It never hurts to consider all options though and to see if we can piggyback with another existing option.