Just a heads up on what seems like common sense now. Was out on Koocanusa a couple of years ago while staying at my buddy's Montana cabin. While boating on the US side we were stopped for a safety equipment check mid lake by a Law Enforcement vessel which had 4 border patrol agents and 2 coast guard officers onboard. Suffice to say almost 3 hours later we were back at the cabin with a warning and no charges. Things we learned and should have known:
- always carry your ID, buddy's was in his truck in the parking lot mine was at the cabin as the kid officer who wrote down our info had spelling problems and as such they could not find our names in the Border Crossing system
- make sure you have some sort of boat registration on board to prove it is your boat
- make sure all required safety equipment is onboard especially a fire extinguisher for inboards over 16 feet ( my buddy had taken it out when spring cleaning and neglected to put it back )
- we had some beer onboard but they were cool with that as long as the driver is not impaired
The officers were very professional and mostly friendly but we sure were the center of attention at the public launch when they escorted us off the lake.
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