# Lakefront Duck Club - Outlaws or complacent fools?



## rjefre

Well, two more Lakefront Duck Club members were just ticketed for driving their ATV's off the club and tearing up public marshland. Is this one of those clubs that you hear about being "Outlaw Clubs" that wink and nod at the laws, but privately tell their members to "do what you want as soon as you are out of sight of the clubhouse"? Or, are there just no club rules? Or are the operators of this club just so darned complacent (or incompetent) that they have no idea what their members are doing? In past years, some folks thought it was unfair to paint a whole club with the same dirty brush so to speak, but consider this: The same lawbreaking goes on year after year after year after year...at the same club. Who do you have to pay off in order to become "above the law" like these yahoos.
R


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## dkhntrdstn

I know some people that belong to that club.Im going have to ask him about this. Im glad they got cought.


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## Riverrat77

rjefre said:


> Well, two more Lakefront Duck Club members were just ticketed for driving their ATV's off the club and tearing up public marshland. Is this one of those clubs that you hear about being "Outlaw Clubs" that wink and nod at the laws, but privately tell their members to "do what you want as soon as you are out of sight of the clubhouse"? Or, are there just no club rules? Or are the operators of this club just so darned complacent (or incompetent) that they have no idea what their members are doing? In past years, some folks thought it was unfair to paint a whole club with the same dirty brush so to speak, but consider this: The same lawbreaking goes on year after year after year after year...at the same club. Who do you have to pay off in order to become "above the law" like these yahoos.
> R


Where I've hunted on the GSL, I've seen folks on ATVs twice. As soon as they saw me, they headed inland... back toward private property and I'm guessing... duck clubs. I'd guess its a combination of both categories you mentioned.


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## Mezmarley

Sounds like this is personal...

I don't belong to any club, nor do I care. I've lived here 20 years+ and grew up hunting ducks in Illinois & Arkansas. I've humped my rear out to the flows way out past Farmington(dragging a coffin and under my own two legs) and seen ATV's and Airboats, both going wherever. So what? The ATV's run the muds flats most of the time I've seen them. Airboats leave a "freeway" through the frag. Both leave a trail that seems to disappear before the next year rolls around. (I marked several with a GPS hoping to find an easier and more direct trail back out to my honey holes, only to my dissappointment they had grown over)

Looking over your past posts, you no doubt own an airboat and are ticked off you don't have a flow all to yourself. This reminds me of the fued between archers and rifle hunters. I've been set up in flows only to have an airboat literally blow through the flow like its national geographic and yes I get ticked off. But the reality is my issues are the fact that it took me hours to get there, while I percieve it took them minimal effort to arrive at the same spot. 
I could easily call the airboats blowing up through the frag following a flow "outlaws", and certainly feel justifed because of the effort it took me to get there. I wish I had an ATV as well as lake front access through a club to get to these flows. I wish I had an airboat to get to these same spots.

I don't have either, but it seems typically Utard to have the pot calling the kettle black.


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## bird buster

I say the fish cops should follow them. If the 4 wheelers are used to take birds, charge them, take their guns, and wheelers. And yes I do own a boat, and I'm not jealous. (mezmarley)


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## WasatchOutdoors

So just out of curiosity, what exactly is the law concerning ATV use on the Great Salt lake. I don't even own a 4 wheeler but I'm curious because I walked out a couple nights ago from farmington bay on a trail marked for OHV use specifically authorizing 4 wheelers and snowmobile use. So what's the story on that?


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## Huge29

Mezmarley said:


> Sounds like this is personal...
> ......
> 
> Looking over your past posts, you no doubt own an airboat and are ticked off you don't have a flow all to yourself. ....
> I could easily call the airboats blowing up through the frag following a flow "outlaws", and certainly feel justifed because of the effort it took me to get there. I wish I had an ATV as well as lake front access through a club to get to these flows. I wish I had an airboat to get to these same spots.
> 
> I don't have either, but it seems typically Utard to have the pot calling the kettle black.


What?! *\-\* *\-\* *\-\* did you read the same post that I did? Who is bitter and immature? The law was broken; did you miss that part? Which laws should be enforced? Your last comment is my favorite; you realize that there are three freeways among several state highways that you can use to get out, right, Mr. Kettle?


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## rjefre

Last Sunday I went grouse hunting up in Monte Cristo, the spot I was going to hunt is closed to ATV's and well marked, to my great disappointment, an army of ATV's had gone around the sign and literally torn up the place. I bring this up as another example of how much it hurts to go hunting and find the place all torn up. It is a shame that they do it on public property and not on their own club. The deep ruts and numerous figure 8's are not exactly an attractant to ducks. These deep ruts *don't* disappear after a year or two, they persist and screw up the sheeting flows that are necessary for bullrush and salacornia to flourish in the flats. I have a lot of pictures of this. That is the driving reason that ATV's were banned from the lake bed. The compromise to the law is what produced the ATV access lane out at FB. It is a very narrow lane and stops after about 1/2 mile. This was to allow limited ATV access in controlled areas and close the rest of the lake bed to protect it from the serious abuse it was getting. When you tear up public property and destroy wetlands, I take it very personally...and so should all of us.


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## Riverrat77

WasatchOutdoors said:


> So just out of curiosity, what exactly is the law concerning ATV use on the Great Salt lake. I don't even own a 4 wheeler but I'm curious because I walked out a couple nights ago from farmington bay on a trail marked for OHV use specifically authorizing 4 wheelers and snowmobile use. So what's the story on that?


I can't quote the law but I know that you can't use ATV's on the beach on the south end anymore... at least up to Salt Air and I believe I've seen signs out on the fence stating this. The only two I've seen in the last year or so came from the east along the shore.... which from Google Earth is about where I'd expect some of the most westerly clubs to be. Out West of Salt Air... I've not seen ATV's on the beach but have seen some driving along some of the dike systems out there by the railroad where it parallels I-80 by Grantsville. I don't know where they go or what they're doing so I can't comment beyond that. Obviously its against the law to have them on the beach if folks are getting ticketed but I don't know if thats for the whole shoreline or just sections of it. I know where most of the shoreline by Saltair is contained in about three different bird preserves until you're actually out on the lake, it would make sense that they're against the law.


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## rjefre

The law bans ATV's from all soveriegn lands below the meander line of the GSL. This includes the whole lake, all the way around. It goes right up to the edge of the club dikes and right up to the freeway on the way out to Wendover. It also includes the flats out by Locomotive Springs (talk about abuse). Here is a pic one of the *MANY* trails coming from the Lakefront Club out into the marsh.


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## rjefre

Here is a pic of some crap on one of their trails. We picked up several boxes of hulls and we discovered two shovelors that they stashed under the plywood before they drove back to the club. We only missed them by several minutes, or we could have taken pictures of the slobs too.


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## Riverrat77

I was going to say.... thought you had posted pics of some boards they hid birds under. Thats just ridiculous. That area looks pretty hashed from those guys.


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## TEX-O-BOB

Wheelers... Slobs... Utah...

WOW! What a shocker! :shock:


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## Riverrat77

Was at the GSL last night with a good friend. We saw "recent" wheeler tracks but they weren't coming from the clubs, they were in the direction of the frontage road. We wound up not seeing any big flocks, got checked out by a hen spoonie and then after dark had teal swarms buzzing us. Figures.... normally a great spot but was dead all day. Where are the birds at? We did call in a flock of about 20 swans though... that was pretty sweet seeing all the swans in the moonlight. I told my buddy about the wheelers from the club direction but we didn't hear shots, didn't see wheelers... nothing tonight.


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## Jonny Utah

Pictures don't lie! I will second the comments made by Tex.


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## bugleboy

Don't forget these...

South of the causeway...









Kaysville...


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## freepunk

Those pictures are unhappy  
My dad and I were part of a club up at Corrinne and they had a ride anywhere rule for ATVs. I think this really brought the club down and we are not members anymore. Really poorly managed club and those tracks do NOT go away quickly.


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## Joe1

Apparently you must own an airboat and most likely do much more damage to the floor of the lake bed than anyone else with an atv or other machine, so maybe you are the outlaw that is paying someone off? or maybe you are just so arrogant that you think YOU are above the law. Airboaters get away with much more crap and law breaking than anyone else who hunts birds - I have witnessed it many times, and yes every one I have met is an arrogant SOB. I have also had them plow right through the middle of my decoy spread without as much of a word of apology. Many times airboaters have broken the law with shooting early, running airboats over dry land, phrags, etc,.. leaving damage in their wake. But yet they keep doing it because nobody looks at them. I guess the group that yells the loudest avoids suspicion because they are making too much noise about everyone else. Look in the mirror before you spout off.


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## king eider

Joe1 said:


> Apparently you must own an airboat and most likely do much more damage to the floor of the lake bed than anyone else with an atv or other machine, so maybe you are the outlaw that is paying someone off? or maybe you are just so arrogant that you think YOU are above the law. Airboaters get away with much more crap and law breaking than anyone else who hunts birds - I have witnessed it many times, and yes every one I have met is an arrogant SOB. I have also had them plow right through the middle of my decoy spread without as much of a word of apology. Many times airboaters have broken the law with shooting early, running airboats over dry land, phrags, etc,.. leaving damage in their wake. But yet they keep doing it because nobody looks at them. I guess the group that yells the loudest avoids suspicion because they are making too much noise about everyone else. Look in the mirror before you spout off.


Ohh this is just to good! Your first post is on a thread from almost 8 yrs ago. Where's my popcorn?! Maybe if you fight for the lake as hard as R does we will listen....


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## Bax*

What the.....? It's not even duck season yet!!!!


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## Hoopermat

Why is it duck season bring out all the good threads. 
Let's see what this will bring. 
I for one have never seen an atv out in the marsh but if I did I would have to wonder how it got there legally.


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## lf410

jeff,

I'am a member of lakefront and have not heard of any members being ticketed recently for driving there ATV on state lands. Do you have more information on when this occurred?


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## lf410

Jeff,

sorry for the quick post, did not look at the post date of the original thread.


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## Fowlmouth

Settle down boys! The new prison will be the new view for a lot of the south shore clubs I'm afraid. They will probably run everybody out of there in the near future anyway.


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