Fishing mania in the north country

We've got much ado about fishing today in the north country.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, was in Clayton this morning to offer one possible solution to the problem we've been talking about ad infinitum.

Here's the problem: For decades, Americans fished in Canadian waters, believing that they could do so as long as they weren't anchored and they didn't go on shore.

But now the Canadians are saying that Americans have to check in on Canadian land and let them know who they are and where they're at. That costs time and money. Officials in Canada says it's always been the law of the land (though it's never been enforced) and that American regulations are very similar (American officials dispute this).

And that could put fishing tournaments, a vital part of the tourism biz up here, at risk.

Here's Mr. Schumer's pitch: Let Americans pre-register, via cellphone, from American land. Forget checking in Canadian soil; that's silly, Mr. Schumer argues.

I spoke with a few fishing guides there who said that this could work for them, but Mr. Schumer conceded that for individual anglers, it might not make much sense.

And when I asked Mr. Schumer is this is sort of a retreat — most people just want things to go back to the way they were before — he said that they're going to try to get the requirements as easy for Americans as possible, while respecting Canada's sovereignty.

And there's the big issue here, Mr. Schumer suggested (and from the way that Canada's law enforcers have talked, it sounds about right).

Canadian officials, Mr. Schumer argued, don't want Americans "pushing them around." Canada, of course, has the right to do what it sees fit on its own soil (Davey Jones' Locker, as it were).

But today, Canadian officials have signaled that they're open to Mr. Schumer's pre-clearing idea.

I'll have more on this as it develops throughout the day.