# Kayaking into Canada



## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Hey guys - Besides a Canadian fishing license and the items you're required to have on your boat, based on what I've read, it seems I would need to call the toll-free number to announce my crossing, like any other boat. I also discovered this NEXUS program that, once you're a member, expedites the process when you call. 

My buddy and I are planning a trip the mouth of the Detroit River (in his two person angling kayak) and he (not me) doubts we'd need to report our border crossing because, you know, we're "just" in a kayak. He doesn't want to pay the fee for the card. 

My questions are: Is he right in his assumption about reporting? Should he get a NEXUS card? 

Any other tips, advice, warnings, cautionary tales?

Thanks!!!


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## NewbreedFishing (Apr 15, 2004)

Have you ever been to that area before?? The Detroit river has a lot of traffic in and out,(large barges)!
Although that is a good area to fish in the fall, it doesn't seem like an area that would be safe or enjoyable for kayaking. If you do decide to take that risk, make sure to have all paperwork and follow protocol. Border patrol is all over that area.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

What he said^^^^^^^^^


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## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

NewbreedFishing said:


> Have you ever been to that area before?? The Detroit river has a lot of traffic in and out,(large barges)!
> Although that is a good area to fish in the fall, it doesn't seem like an area that would be safe or enjoyable for kayaking. If you do decide to take that risk, make sure to have all paperwork and follow protocol. Border patrol is all over that area.


Yeah I've fished it a lot on a bass boat. I was there on Tuesday and saw a lot of kayakers around Peche and Belle Islands.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

when i made a trip to Ely, Mn. for bass fishing, half the lake was US and half was Canada, we were explicitly instructed that we would need passports to cross the line on the lake. If we did not have this, the lodge we stayed at specifically stated that the only thing they would worry about is getting their boat back! LOL!


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## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

9Left said:


> when i made a trip to Ely, Mn. for bass fishing, half the lake was US and half was Canada, we were explicitly instructed that we would need passports to cross the line on the lake. If we did not have this, the lodge we stayed at specifically stated that the only thing they would worry about is getting their boat back! LOL!


Lol, that's interesting because no guide who's ever taken me into Canada told me I needed a passport. I have the passport card that I keep in my wallet in case I ever have to flee the country by foot, land, or sea, but not specifically for fishing in Canada. Thanks for the tip.


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## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

Gotta call....


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## PatSea (Oct 10, 2004)

You must report. It doesn't matter what type or size boat you are in. They are interested in you, not the boat.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

deazl, im not familiar with a passport card, maybe thats what we needed! lol...but in all honesty, when youre that close to the border, i dont think id have really found any better fishing by crossing the border line anyway..


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## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

9Left said:


> deazl, im not familiar with a passport card, maybe thats what we needed! lol...but in all honesty, when youre that close to the border, i dont think id have really found any better fishing by crossing the border line anyway..


I don't fly, but I needed a passport to run the Detroit marathon several years ago and the card was an "add-on" that I thought was pretty cool, despite the extra cost. The fishing might be comparable in that stretch but the shipping channel, as you know, runs right through the American side. We watched a big freighter go through on Tuesday and that thing displaced a shipload of water, lol. I think I'd feel safer on the Oh Canada side...


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