License For A South Fork Pontoon Boat???

[Marc Martyn]

I recently looked into possibly fishing the Coeur d'Alene River chain lakes. I thought it would be fun to take my pontoon boat over and fish Medicine and Cave Lakes for Pike. In my reading, I found out that ALL boats have to have a Invasive Species permit so I checked into it and this is what I found.

Under the new law, any boat that is registered in Idaho or another state, and any non-motorized vessel (canoe, kayak, raft, drift boat, etc.) will be required to purchase and display IISF stickers in order to legally launch and operate in Idaho. Inflatable, non-motorized vessels must be less than 10 feet in length to be exempted from this requirement. Boats registered outside of Idaho will need to purchase an IISF sticker for $22.00; non-motorized vessels must purchase a $7.00 sticker annually.

Not knowing exactly how this applies to a pontoon boat, I called and asked about my boat with an electric motor on it. I told the woman I had an 8' inflatable pontoon boat that had a metal frame on it. She replied that I would have to license the boat in Idaho for $30.00 because it has metal on it. Inflatable rubber rafts are exempt. Once I obtained the license, I would have to display the registration numbers permanently on both sides of the boat with contrasting block numbers and letters. I would also have to adhere the Invasive Species sticker to the sides of the boat. I kindly told the woman that this is not going to happen!

For years, the people of Idaho have prided themselves as being for small government and less regulation. I guess, with the exception of boating laws and regulations.

[edge540]

What a buncha CRAP!!!

[G-Man]

One of the reasons I decided not to fish Priest Lake when I vacationed in Newport a month ago.

This came up in a previous post and I believe that Washington's money grubbing officials will soon follow suit. They have started setting up check stations for invasive species this year and I can see this as a perfect way to justify collecting more money to fund that program. I sure hope they shaft the commercial ships as well, those suckers are responsible for introducing the majority of the aquatic invasive species in the first place.

[Marc Martyn]

I sent an email off to Dave down at Buck's Bags in Boise. If anyone would know the facts about this regulation, he would.

[G-Man]

Marc,

I doubt that you will be exempt from the need to purchase a sticker if you want to use your rig in Idaho. Check out these responses from their FAQ section:

Q. Do wakeboards, kite boards, or sailboards need to have the sticker?

A. Wakeboards and kite boards will not need to have the sticker. Sailboards are considered vessels and are required to have the sticker. Sailboards would include any board used for wind surfing.

Q. Do stand-up paddleboards need to display the invasive species sticker?

A. Yes. All paddleboards, both rigid and inflatable, must display the sticker. The sticker can be placed near the bow on top of the board to be legal. Inflatable paddleboards less than 10’ are not exempt.

If they are going to shaft paddleboards and sailboards, it is a sure bet that your pontoon boat will have to have one as well. Can you believe that!?

[Marc Martyn]

I figured that I would have to have a sticker, but a license with big letters & numbers on the side??? NO!

[The Quadfather]

So.... what if you float on an inflatable camping matress like when we were kids..? Block letter stickers I guess, huh?:-"
What if you are just like about 300 lbs and you back float a lot in the lake, and sometimes cast while backfloating? You're kind like a vessel, right?

[Marc Martyn]

Well, then you have to tattoo the image of the sticker on the right and left side of your belly![laugh]

[Bodofish]

Marc, I'm at a bit of a loss. How is it you think your boat needs a license when it's under 10'. Perhaps the gal at the license agency was not a good listener.

[MarkFromSea]

I recently looked into possibly fishing the Coeur d'Alene River chain lakes. I thought it would be fun to take my pontoon boat over and fish Medicine and Cave Lakes for Pike. In my reading, I found out that ALL boats have to have a Invasive Species permit so I checked into it and this is what I found.

Under the new law, any boat that is registered in Idaho or another state, and any non-motorized vessel (canoe, kayak, raft, drift boat, etc.) will be required to purchase and display IISF stickers in order to legally launch and operate in Idaho. Inflatable, non-motorized vessels must be less than 10 feet in length to be exempted from this requirement. Boats registered outside of Idaho will need to purchase an IISF sticker for $22.00; non-motorized vessels must purchase a $7.00 sticker annually.

Not knowing exactly how this applies to a pontoon boat, I called and asked about my boat with an electric motor on it. I told the woman I had an 8' inflatable pontoon boat that had a metal frame on it. She replied that I would have to license the boat in Idaho for $30.00 because it has metal on it. Inflatable rubber rafts are exempt. Once I obtained the license, I would have to display the registration numbers permanently on both sides of the boat with contrasting block numbers and letters. I would also have to adhere the Invasive Species sticker to the sides of the boat. I kindly told the woman that this is not going to happen!

For years, the people of Idaho have prided themselves as being for small government and less regulation. I guess, with the exception of boating laws and regulations.

Looks like WA doesn't have the only crack smoking legislators. $30 for a VISITING pontoon.

I'm no lawyer but, your pontoon boat fits in a BIG hole in the legal jargon above. Your pontoon boat is not registered in any state and it is motorized. I see why you called them. With the current reciprocity agreements between the states concerning vehicle registration and licensing of vehicles, I'm not sure how they can do that. So again, IDAHO LEGISLATORS ARE SMOKING CRACK!

[G-Man]

There has to be a bit more to the registration and IISS jargon as in the FAQs for the sticker it was mentioned that even inflatable paddleboards under 10' are not exempt from the requirement. I'd just as soon give Idaho the one finger salute and tell them that they can keep their fish.

[Bodofish]

Yeah from the invasive species sticker but not the regular boat reg.. Registering an 8' pontoon is a bit on the silly side when they have 20' inflatables running many of the rapids that don't have a single sticker on them.

Come on guys we're talking about $7.00 here. I spill more than that at lunch!

[deepbuzzer]

Mark, I believe she was incorrect, all I needed to do was buy the Invasive sticker for my pontoon, my 14' aluminum and my 20' bass boat. I live in Washington.

[G-Man]

So my curiosity got the better of me, did some checking, and it would seem that the person that Marc spoke with is correct. Here are the guidelines of what needs to be registered in Idaho.

In Idaho, you must have an Idaho Certificate of Registration and validation stickers to operate your vessel legally on Idaho waters. The only exceptions are:

* Manually propelled vessels (for example, canoes, rafts, and kayaks)
* Float tubes (single inner tube construction without a motor)
* Sailboards
* Vessels properly registered in another state and on Idaho waters for 60 or fewer
consecutive days
* Vessels documented with the U.S. Coast Guard

Definitions:
Vessel: Any watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. It does not include float houses, inflatable air mattresses, single inner tubes, beach and water toys, and other non-motorized devices not designed or modified to be used as a means of transportation on the water.

So, it looks like Marc's vessel falls under the registration requirement for several reasons. First is that he has an electric motor on it, second because it is made up of two tubes and third, because it isn't registered in any other State or with the Coast Guard. It sounds weird to say this, but Idaho's boat registration requirements makes Washington's look lax by comparison.

[Lotech Joe]

Sounds to me like Idaho is starting the process to secede from the Union. They used to call themselves, "America... the way it used to be." They're becoming more and more like the carpet bagging rest of the country. All these fees upon fees feels more like revenue generation than a way to correct a problem. Pretty soon they'll be demanding stickers and licensing of your waders. BALONEY! I'm getting really fed up with all this cr@p. It used to be that fishing was a way for the poor man to help feed his family. Now it's becoming elitist and the rich are pushing the middle-class closer and closer to the poor. Then you can say goodbye to democracy.
WOW! Looks like I've been saving something up. Sorry for the rant. I'm done. For now.

[Bodofish]

Ok so I checked with a contact in ID. It seems it's not pontoon, that in its self is considered an inflatable and needs no registration. The sticking point is the motor. At this point ID doesn't make any sort of distinction between internal combustion and electric.
So at this point it looks like $37.00 to go motorized in ID or register in WA and pay the $7. Neither amount would even make me blink. It costs more to fill the tank once.
I understand the principle but we're talking about less than I would spend on tackle every month.

There may be more to come.......

[Marc Martyn]

You know, Bodo, it isn't that much money when you are working. However, when you are out of work and making major decisions about should you spend $40.00 or not, that is different. When you have to buy $40.00 in gas, $13.00 for a one day license, $37.00 for the boat license and $8.00 for a daily launch fee, it makes it difficult to justify a days fishing. So, my South Fork won't see any water in Idaho.

I heard back from Dave Klein at Bucks Bags....
Hello Marc,
Unfortunately, I think you have it right. Un-motorized boats over 10’ need the sticker and all motorized boats regardless of size have to be registered. When I registered my bass boat this year, the invasive species fee was included in the registration charge but I didn’t get a sticker to display like last year. It was just implied that if I was current on the registration, then I was also current with invasive species. Last year it was separated.

So, Mike Grahm and I will be taking his aluminum boat(Idaho Licensed) over and trying for some pike. We will split the gas and parking fees, which is fine.

What you are seeing in Idaho will soon be in Washington. We now have the Discovery Pass, which I'll bet, will be additional for using the WDFW launches in a year or two. Pontoon boats will have to be licensed and the Invasive Species fees will be coming along also.

So much for fishing when a person retires, if you can retire.

[Bodofish]

Yeah I hear ya. I gave up on the retiring plan a while ago. when I lost about 400k in a "safe" 401K I decided it was going to take a lotto win to retire.

[sgpwayne]

I just spent a week (last week of June ) in the Couer D'Alene area and took my boat with me. I went through the ID. boat inspection for invasive species at the post falls truck scales. The inspector checked my washington registration and inspected the boat and issued me a passport so that I wouldn't have to be inspected again this year. Fished Hayden lake and CD'A and wasn't charged for the passport. I bought temporary fishing licenses but that was all except for launch fees at Hayden (15.00 ) which I thought was a little unreasonable but what are you going to do.
My son lives in Spirit Lake ID. and he is not running stickers on his boat and told me that is all in a state of flux and nobody is writing citations or trying to enforce the law. I guess they are trying to repeal all or part of the regulations.

[Marc Martyn]

Ya, I heard about the large increases of the boat launch fees in Idaho, especially for people who go over there from Washington. We really get hit hard when launching in Idaho.

All of the government agencies are really strapped for cash and they are doing anything they can to get the bucks. In Spokane, our kind Mayor decided last year that she would balance the budget on the backs of business owners. As a contractor, my business license "fee" for the city went up 83.5% in one year. That is twice as high as my state business license. She also decided that the water rates in Spokane should go up "to protect our Aquifer". We have a gigantic river running under the Spokane Valley. Our water usage rates have doubled this year! Needless to say, many lawns in Spokane are now brown.

With all the chatter about "No Higher Taxes", they are cleverly getting money from the taxpayer by "necessary fee increases". As if the public doesn't know the difference.