After running over a gill net last spring, I reached out to a number of game wardens to explain the commercial fishing rules and regulations in better detail. I never received a concise answer from the wardens I spoke to. Most seemed disinterested and their answers often conflicted with what other officers told me. The final officer I spoke with informed me that since the net I hit was located in the main channel, it should have been sank to a depth where boats could pass over top of it. The officer also said that the gill netter was under no obligation to cover/responsible for damages caused to my boat, despite me having the gill netter's contact information and over $750 worth of damages done to my motor. I was running approx. 65 mph, in the middle of the main river channel (30+ ft) when I hit this particular gill net.
I am not saying that all commercial fishing should be banned from the Chick, in fact I believe that commercial fishing (when done legally/correctly) can be beneficial to a lake's overall health. I do believe, however, that move clear and concise regulations would be very helpful for the anglers, commercial fishermen, and recreational boaters. Having the proper knowledge of where and how commercial fisherman run their gill nets would help minimize interactions between the two. Even as much as us boaters hate hitting gill nets, I am quite sure this pain is felt on a equal level by the commercial fisherman whose net is getting hit. Economically, it is in both parties best interest to avoid each other as much as possible. I do think that we can all agree, that at least in high traffic areas (main river/creek channels), that boaters should not have to worry about hitting a barely submerged gill net.
