GRAYLING, Mich. — U.S. anglers who take boats into Canadian waters don't have to report to customs officers upon returning to the United States if they do not make a landfall in Canada, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said this past week.

"There has been some confusion about this," said Michael Balero, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman. "Nothing has really changed. (Boaters) do not have to report unless they land at a Canadian port."

So here are the rules, according to Balero:
If you go into Canadian waters to fish, and you don't land in Canada or tie up to the Canadian shore, you don't have to report to U.S. authorities when you came back to the U.S. side.

If you are fishing in Canadian waters, you are allowed to anchor. Anchoring offshore does not constitute "a call at a foreign port or place," the importance of which will become clear in a minute.

You do not need to have a passport to return from a fishing trip on Canadian waters.

The confusion began a couple of weeks ago when Ohio charter boat captains were told by Customs and Border Protection officials in Cleveland that the rules had changed and pleasure boaters and anglers would have to report to customs if they motored into the Canadian waters of Lake Erie on fishing trips.

Even if they merely entered Ontario Canadian waters and returned without touching land, the captains were told they and their customers would have to carry passports or other approved government IDs and either report in person or telephone from an authorized government reporting station at a marina.

In addition, the skipper and crew of the boats were told that they would be required to fill out paperwork and learn new rules before the season, and charter captains would also have to fax in daily lists of their customers, including personal information like citizenship and birthdates.

This is a big deal in the Ohio and Michigan waters of the Great Lakes and connecting rivers, because those two states share water boundaries with Ontario that anglers from both sides of the border cross routinely on fishing trips.

In fact, there are often days when the bulk of American anglers fishing for walleyes, muskellunge or perch are on the Canadian side, because that's where the fish are.

Customs and Border Protection officials in other areas, including Detroit, had been attending meetings with charter boat skippers and fishing clubs and telling people that they did not have to report to customs when they returned from a casual trip to Canadian waters. So the Cleveland announcement caused no end of confusion and consternation, especially among charter boat captains, who said it would cost them customers who didn't want the hassle.

Of course, if you do enter Canada or merely tie up someplace on the Canadian shoreline, you are required to notify the Canadian immigration officials and report to U.S. Customs and Border Protection upon returning. That law has been in place for more than a century.
If you fish Ontario waters, you must have an Ontario license and obey Ontario's fishing rules.

And it's just common sense to carry identification when fishing or hunting. Anglers are required to carry a fishing license in both Michigan and Ontario, and because it's simply a paper permit without pictures, anglers need to be able to prove identity with a driver's license or other photo ID.

The statement by Customs and Border Patrol officials in Washington should put to rest the confusion about boats traveling between U.S. and Canadian waters.