Can legally you magnet fish in the BWCA? magnet fishing

What do you expect to find and what will you do when an object is found? While I haven't been 'magnet fishing', it sounds as though when you get a 'hit', you're attached to something. If that 'something' falls under the Antiquities Act of 1906 or the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, simply moving it could be a problem. A local trail maintenance group (I'm in western NC) got into trouble with the local USFS district by moving stones from an old chimney fall while doing trail repairs near an old cabin site. See USFS Mineral Collection for a bit more detail.

TZ

Just a fun hobby to find Fishing tackle.

I wouldn't do it, for the reasons TrailZen noted.

There is also the chance that you'll get more than you bargained for. I caught a healthy piece of old heavy guage wiring in Fourtown a year ago. I suspect I got only the small end, and there was probably much more below, considering the history of Fourtown. If you catch some wiring or an old bucket or beer can or hunk of metal, what will you do with it? Throw it back? Pack it out? You can't throw it on the bank without littering.

It's an interesting idea in theory, but practical application less so.

Mike

If you are only removing old fishing tackle; wouldn't that be helping with LNT? I always told my kids "we are going to police our site to leave it better than we found it"

Is it possible for there to be enough iron/magnetic content in those rocks to attract and attach to a magnet of that force? There are places in the BW where there is enough magnetic energy already existing to fool a compass into pointing the wrong direction.

There are many places in the BW where there were items of a metal nature. Historical value is unknown until the USFS sees them. Many rail beds, bridges, old logging camps, cabins, etc. Not all are obvious anymore.

I would also believe that in waters from 5-25 feet deep that fishing lures are ubiquitous throughout the BW. If all you want to do is collect some lures, bring a snorkel and swim fins. You will probably get them loose better without bending them like you might with using an ultra-strong magnet.

Legal or not....I'm not the expert there.

But with all the logging history I'd think you'd run into a fair amount of metal "junk" that could vary in size from a long-lost pocket watch to a rail car sitting on the bottom. Can you get your magnet back if it lands on solid steel? If you pull up part of a rusty bumper off an old Ford, is dropping it back in the water littering?

While magnet fishing is not listed as a banned activity in the BWCA yet and US laws generally ignore it for now, it would probably would be frowned upon in terms of the spirit of the law. Metal detectors are banned and disturbing any archeological items is not allowed. Since you would have no way of knowing what you were pulling up, you could inadvertently disturb historical items. Also, some countries consider magnet fishing to be a form of dredging because it can significantly disturb the sediment. That doesn't seem very LNT. As someone mentioned, you can find a LOT of fishing tackle with just a mask and snorkel. even without a mask, one member of our party found 10 lures/tackle items in a 2 night trip!

Just do what a couple old hillbilly brothers did years ago. They went out at night below lock and dam 14 years ago.
They burnt and old box spring and dumped it out 20 yds off shore. Went back after summer was over and pulled it out.
Got a boat load of gear...
Not my friends after I heard that

go for it

Stumpy: "go for it"

Agree

The magnet isn't overly strong and can be removed off of heavy metal like an iron bridge. It makes less mess under water on the lake bed than a boat ancher.

Thanks everyone for your input