passthepitonspete

It's really important to do your own research, and understand what is permitted under the law, what is against the law and can get you a ticket, and what we are being "asked" to do. We are being asked to stay at home. That much is crystal clear. There is, after all, a stay-at-home order. That being said, we are indeed allowed to go out for exercise, and ice fishing is a named and legit form of exercise. We are being asked not to travel, but there are absolutely no travel restrictions in Ontario that legally require you to stay in your own area. Accordingly, although we are being asked not to travel, it is not against the law to travel to go ice fishing. I went up north ice climbing last weekend, no problem. Furthermore I observed scores of ice huts on Lake Nippissing. As linked above, the cops do not have the legal right to stop you and ask you if you are being compliant with the stay-at-home order. As I have written above, I spoke to cops who told me they are ok with folks driving up north to go ice fishing. I can't see a better form of social isolation than ice fishing. Wear your mask around others, observe social distancing - I'm surprised they allow groups of 5, however. Maybe we should be more careful than that. Good on them for saying household members only within a single ice hut. That makes sense. It is strange, however, that you aren't allowed to spend the night in your ice hut, when you are allowed to stay in a motel. I stayed in a motel on Friday and Saturday night, for instance. No problems. That being said, I rather doubt the following will take place: Setting: an ice hut in the middle of a lake, after dark {knock knock} OPP: "How's it goin', eh?" Fisherman in hut: "Oh, beauty...." OPP: "Like, you're not allowed to stay in your hut overnight, eh?" Fisherman in hut: "Oh, geez..... Sorry, eh? Hey, would you, like, like a beer?" OPP: "Like, I'm on duty. Got any donuts...?" Etc. Another interesting exercise is to google such things as "OPP $880 fine Ontario covid" and see what you get. The woman who dropped her kids of at their grandparents, a few idiots having house parties, and ..... {crickets}

My girlfriend and I went up north to North Bay on the weekend to go ice climbing. Across the street from our motel, we could see scores of ice huts all over Lake Nippissing. We didn't see any police presence, didn't see anyone stopped for anything. Traffic was lighter than normal but still fairly constant. If you want to go ice fishing, you should go ice fishing. It is legit outdoor exercise.

We camped at these rapids at the Little Missinaibi outflow for one night on our way back out to [big] Missinaibi. Lots of water even in late July. We caught a bunch of small walleyes from shore and from the canoe. It's a nice campsite on the open rock. The next day was the crux of the trip - the section of river downstream from this point to the Trump Lake portage. We waded the full canoe back down, but it was so difficult that if I were ever to do the trip again, I would reverse the two portages through Elbow and Trump Lake instead, the way we came in. The fishing in Little Missinaibi Lake is just OK, but in my opinion the fishing in [big] Missinaibi Lake is much better. But it's a BIG lake - we were lucky that both times we paddled it in the canoe, we had light winds. At one point, my buddy hooked something enormous - in the 20-plus-pound range - while trolling a deep diver on light line on my jigging rod. He fought that fish ten or more minutes while I chased it with the canoe so he didn't get spooled. Unfortunately we never saw the fish because on the light line we were unable to pull it to the surface - but it had to be either a BF pike or a BF lake trout. Too bad! I don't mind so much losing the fish if I at least get to see the fish! It just let go down deep, and we never saw it... If you fish Missinaibi, you can drive right to it and stay at the provincial park, which is sure to be deserted this coming summer. You'll want a big boat and tons of gas, because it's a HUGE lake. But there are huge fish in it, and one of them is swimming around with my buddy's name written on its side. I really like Missinaibi. As mentioned in another post, we did well for lake trout in Trump Lake. Easy to catch with a silver deep diver trolled around. Bring a fish finder, of course. Below are three pics from the Little Missinaibi outflow.

Hells, yeah. I kinda suck, but I try REALLY hard..... That's a picture of Debbie Double D's ice climbing ... I could post a picture of me, but who would care? Used to fish there a LOT in the 90s, before the Indians netted out all of the fish. Where abouts is your cottage? We used to fish out of Picton all the time. There was one night my dad and I caught 39 pickerel, with an average weight of about 8 lbs, and too many over 10 lbs to even count. Here's my dad with his 15 and a quarter pounder, eh? I also handed my fishing rod to a girl on our first date = the fish was 15 lbs 12 oz. As for me, I guess 13 and a half is my best. Which ain't bad. Ah, yes ... those were the days. Not any more....

Holy geez, I'm getting thirsty already. So how do we define "some sort of normalcy" by June? 14-day quarantine requirement finished? Border open to Merricans for non-essential travel? That reminds me, someone here owes me a beer for failing to produce a photo of a ticket that the OPP supposedly gave to people going north on Hwy 35 this spring to cottage country in Haliburton. There were lots of rumours and hearsay, but I never did see a single ticket handed out for that. I also owe a few Merricans a beer - those very very few who accepted my bet that Donald Trump would get re-elected. I stopped making that bet a year ago, however. I'm glad he didn't win, but three years ago I thought he would. What lake is your cottage on? I go climbing at Bon Echo, and often camp out for free on crown land on a nearby lake.

Sorry about good ol' dad-in-law... It just so happens ah am a Merrican, ah is as red, what and blue as Uncle dang' Sam his-self. Mah daddy is a Merrican, and so am ah. So even if the Merricans put restrictions on border crossings like the Canadians have done, I am still lucky enough to continue crossing over at will. So since you are married to a Hoser girl, are YOU allowed to cross over with her to assist in the estate stuff and so on? I guess this is how you are allowed since it isn't a non-essential trip? Otherwise, you couldn't just come up with her, right? Anyway, bring your fishing stuff next spring, and stick around and do some fishing. "Hopefully by then things will be back to some form of normalcy." Ya think so, eh? I'm here to bet you a beer that ain't the case. In fact, I'll even give you odds - a tallboy can of Canadian vs. a regular size can.

Crimsongulf, What motivated you to come to the Great White North not once but twice this year? Where did you quarantine? Some Canadian snowbirds in Florida are now getting their covid vaccinations, long before they are available up here.

Thanks for the update, Rick. Since you copied and pasted from a webpage, all the HTML coding got stuck in there, making you post above hard to read. Here is a tip so you can edit your post: 1. Highlight just the text you want to copy, which is the stuff at the top 2. Either right click and select copy, or hit ctrl + c to copy the text. 3. Delete everything in the post. Now, here's the trick: 4. When you have an empty reply box, right click on it, and instead of hitting "paste" or ctrl + V to paste, instead hit "paste as plain text" or ctrl + shift + V. 5. Voila! Plain text only, without all the other stuff. 6. There is no sixth thing. 7. Shut up and fish.

Correct. This has always been the case. There are no quarantine requirements upon entering the states, at least when I went in September through November. But now they are requiring a negative covid test within 72 hours of getting on the plane, same as Hosers coming home, eh? It's very strange. There are no legal travel restrictions in Ontario. They can't stop you to check stay-at-home compliance, so don't get stopped for any other reason. Go fishing, out on the ice or on the water away from everyone else, wear a mask, etc etc. I was out on the road the last two days - Thursday and Friday - and I observed no appreciable reduction in traffic compared to before the stay-at-home order! Plenty of folks out and about, picking up stuff in parking lots, buying groceries and beer, and driving to get exercise. Fishing is great exercise.

Dan, absolutely this cannot happen. Read the directive to the Toronto police that I have linked and copied above. They are not allowed to stop you to enforce the stay-at-home order, nor do they want to. And if you were stopped, you don't have to answer those questions. Only the driver has to provide a license and registration. They have plenty of other things to do than try to enforce a stay-at-home order. They can and will stop you for any other traffic infraction, or for having a taillight out, and you can bet your ass they will. So ... drive carefully, and don't get stopped. As an observation yesterday, I was out going to my dad's place - caring for a vulnerable senior - and the roads were busy. I did not see any appreciable reduction in traffic after the stay-at-home order had begun! I didn't see any people being stopped by cops, either. If I get covid, it's going to be at a grocery store. That seems like the high risk place. It ain't gonna be out ice fishing or ice climbing in the middle of Bumf*ck, Ontario. By the way, I'm as clean as clean can be. I just got back from a climbing and caving trip to Yosemite and Mexico, served my 14-day quarantine, and got my negative covid test.

FINALLY SOME USEFUL INFORMATION!! http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/48988?fbclid=IwAR3XGU5gVkp4-_k89D9M2THFu9351I8hYqHRd_BTRnxYjkSnxq75nDgLWOI [Copied and pasted below, bold emphasis mine] Toronto Police enforcing Stay At Home orders Broadcast time: 17:15 Date: Thursday, January 14, 2021 Unit: Corporate Communications Phone: 416-808-7100 On January 12, 2021, the Government of Ontario, in consultation with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, declared a second provincial emergency under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA). The government also issued a new Stay-At-Home order to limit mobility and reduce the number of daily contacts with those outside their immediate household. The order is requiring everyone to remain in their homes with exceptions under certain categories including for groceries, medical, pharmacy, exercise or for work that cannot be done remotely. The Toronto Police Service will enforce this new order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) in addition to continued enforcement of the Reopening Ontario Act (ROA) in partnership with the City of Toronto. "The message from the Toronto Police Service is to stay home and stay safe. This is no longer strictly a public health issue, it is a matter of public safety," said Deputy Chief Myron Demkiw. "We each have a personal responsibility to limit our travel to essential reasons only to slow the spread of COVID-19 and try to keep our families and communities safe and support our hospitals and healthcare workers." No element of any order provides the police with either the power to enter dwellings nor the authority to stop a vehicle for the singular purpose of checking compliance with the Stay-At-Home order. In addition, individuals are not compelled to explain why they are out of their residence, nor is being outside prima facie evidence of a failure to comply with the stay at home order. Workers are also not required to have proof from their employer that they are travelling to or from their workplace. Officers will focus enforcement efforts on restaurants and businesses not in compliance with closure orders and/or customer limits; responding to complaint calls for gatherings and officers will disperse and ticket gatherings of more than five people outdoors. "Officers can exercise discretion in every situation," continued Deputy Chief Demkiw. "But, where there is evidence of non-compliance, officers will be ticketing and issuing summonses for individuals and businesses." The public is reminded that only when an officer has reasonable and probable grounds to suspect someone has violated one of the orders under the two Acts, they may ask the person to identify themselves in order to issue a ticket or summons. If the person refuses to identify themselves for this purpose, they can be arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer. The Service continues to work with its partners at the City of Toronto, including Toronto Public Health, to determine how the regulations for large gatherings will apply to City-owned outdoor spaces such as skating rinks and toboggan hills." So go fishing, check that your taillights aren't burned out, don't speed, and if you're stopped, know what you have to say, and what you don't have to say. Save the link to your cell phone, and ask the officer to read it. Thoughts?

Apparently not. Listen to the talk by police chief McGuire linked above. They are saying that they have to have some type of probable cause to stop you. And that they can't and won't stop you to ask you where you were going and why.

Hey RickOnt, that is exactly the type of info we seek. Can you please provide the link to the source? Cheers, eh?

This from Quinte Walleye Facebook page:

Oh crap, sorry to hijack your thread! Here are some photos from Little Missinaibi area. We started our canoe trip in [big] Missinaibi Lake, paddled a long way in calm conditions, then up the river and portaged into Trump and Elbow. We went through Little Miss and then down the river back to [Big] Missinaibi Lake. The section of river is pretty difficult, and if I had to do it again, I would Elbow was past its prime in July, but catching lakers in Trump was as easy as getting out and trolling a silver-ish deep diver down seventeen to twenty-five feet. No big lakers, but man - I caught a lot! 1) A typical Trump Lake laker caught on a silvery #9 Shad Rap 2) An impeached Trump lake trout! 3) A couple walleyes from Elbow Lake. You have to think the fishing would be WAY better in May or June than it was for us in July. The walleyes were finicky, and wouldn't hit without using worms on the jigs. Certainly not as cooperative as the Quetico walleyes were just this July! What time of year were yous guys there?

Oh, cheers! Nice classic views from Yosemite above. Here are a couple views from partway up El Cap, taken last fall when we were there. Because of the covid and the smoke from the Creek Fire, for a couple weeks my partner and I were the ONLY climbers on all of El Cap, if you can believe it! 1) The almost-view of El Cap from the Meadows in a moderately UN-smoky day! 2) New prototype portaledge we were trying out. It is cantilevered, turned 90 degrees from the usual setup. 3) Big wall margaritas two thousand feet off the deck. Note salted rim, eh?

Wow, Terry - excellent find! OK - so ice fishing is definitely legit. I would certainly show this link to anyone stopping me going ice climbing, which wouldn't be too much of a stretch from the other permitted outdoor winter activities. I have found NOTHING about a travel ban in Ontario, nor any travel restrictions. It says you can go out for exercise, and the cops today told me they didn't have a problem with me driving up north to go ice fishing or ice climbing. Yet Doug Ford was QUITE emphatic on TV today, and basically said, "Stay the F*CK at home!! If you have to wonder if it's an essential reason to leave home, then it probably isn't essential, so STAY HOME." etc. But there is no travel ban ...? Thoughts?

Can you please provide the link as to where you found it? I could only find this, from here: Enhancing Public Health and Workplace Safety Measures in the Provincewide Shutdown It wouldn't be much of a stretch to include ice fishing [and ice CLIMBING!] in the above list. But I'd love to have "icefishing" included. Is "icefishing" a word? You know, like "icewine"?

That is the million-dollar question. According to the two cops I spoke with, they wouldn't have a problem with it. But the question remains, if you meet up with a bylaw officer walking along the pier or an overzealous cop in St Catharines, and he asks you what you're doing so far from home, it is up to him to decide if he will write you a ticket or not. There is only one way to find out, eh?

Indeed. Or a small penis.

Happened just now. In line at the carwash, there were a couple of Brantford city cops in an unmarked car next to us, so I got out and walked over and motioned for him to roll down the window which he did. Me: "Like, I just wanted to ask yous guys about the new rules that are kicking in tomorrow..." Cops: "Like, we don't know much about them either, eh?" Me: "I just wanna know if I can go ice fishing?" Cops: "Sure, why not." Me: "Yeah, but like, I have to drive up north to do it. But what better form of isolation, out on the middle of a frozen lake." Cops: "That sounds ok to us. 'Travelling for exercise.' " Me*: "That's a big box of donuts you have, eh?" Cops*: "For sure. But we, like, love donuts." Hmmmm. But would all cops be so understanding. *I made up the last two exchanges, but the first 6 are more or less verbatim.

No hearsay. Share facts and sources. Attempted Clarification from Global News just now Relevant pieces selected, less relevant deleted: “Under this order, everyone must stay home and only go out for essential trips to pick up groceries, or go to medical appointments,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday, adding that walking pets or exercising is still permitted. The announcement left many people looking for clarification as to what they were and weren’t still permitted to do over the next month, so a government spokesperson provided some clarification on Wednesday. “Ontario is a big, diverse province,” Travis Kann explained in an email ... “As such, and as we have from the very outset of this pandemic, we will continue to rely on the best judgment of Ontarians as they stay at home as much as possible and only leave their homes for essential purposes.” The government says it also cannot decide what is an essential item for every person across Ontario although it tried to clarify what would be considered an essential trip. “We have provided broad categories that people should consider before leaving their home: food, health-care services, including medication, exercise or work, where someone’s job cannot be done at home,” it said. The new restrictions also allow people to gather in groups of five outdoors, which the government says it is allowing so that people who live on their own can still have company or support for mental and physical wellbeing. “Anyone gathering outside is expected to adhere to physical distancing measures and are now strongly urged to wear a mask,” the province said. The government says that exercise is considered essential although how Ontarians choose to do so is unique to each household. “Some may wish to go for a walk around the block, while others may wish to go to a local basketball court with their household to shoot some hoops,” the province said. “We recommend that Ontarians consult their local public health unit or municipality to understand what recreational amenities are open in their community.” “Right now, we are asking people to stay home and only leave their home for essential purposes, which could include emergency maintenance of a secondary residence,” it says. “In the spirit of the stay-at-home order, at this time we are not recommending intra-provincial travel.” Much more relevant, is the announcement coming down at 1pm, as posted by CBC in this link: Ontario to lay out 'legal parameters' of COVID-19 stay-at-home order today Officials suggested Tuesday that police will have 'discretion' to enforce order [YIKES!] Ontario Premier Doug Ford is scheduled to hold a news conference beginning at 1 p.m. ET in Toronto. The province said it will publish the "legal parameters" for the order, which takes effect tomorrow, online today and offer more clarification on the measure. As of Thursday, residents will have to stay home except for essential purposes such as grocery shopping, accessing health care and exercising. Here's what you need to know about the new rules. The province said police and bylaw officers will have the power to enforce the stay-at-home order and issue tickets to rule-breakers, but hasn't given details on how that will play out in practice. [YIKES AGAIN!] Wearing a mask is also now recommended outdoors when physical distancing is difficult. I guess we'll know a lot more after 1pm. I bet you guys who live up north close to the lake will be able to drive there and go out fishin' unmolested. They won't be chasing down anyone on the ice, as long as you're appropriately spread out which is easy enough to do. What better social isolation is there than ice fishing out in the Great White North? It's the DRIVING UP NORTH bit that worries me! I can't help but think that in spirit of a stay-at-home order, for a guy who lives in southern Ontario but gets checked by the OPP [or even a by-law officer!] up north. Cop: "So, like, how's it goin', eh?" Me: "Oh beauty." Cop: "So, like, you live in Hamilton. Whatcha doin' way up here?" Me: "I am exercising and going ice fishing." Cop: "Like, you're supposed to stay at home, cuz, like, there's a stay-at-home order, eh? So, like, I think I have to write you a ticket, unless you can come up with a viable explanation.....?" Me: {crickets} Me: "Would you like a donut?"

Hey Terry, Did Doug Ford really say that? I listened to his speech today, but didn't hear him say that. Was it during the Q&A session later? From this link on the CTV: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/questions-about-ontario-s-stay-at-home-order-answered-1.5264068 "TORONTO -- News of enhanced public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario may have some residents wondering what is, and what isn’t, considered essential under the provincial government’s new regulations. That’s why CTV News Toronto has compiled a list of activities that are allowed and businesses that will remain open after the province’s stay-at-home order goes into effect on Jan. 14 . Can I go to my cottage or secondary residence? No. The government says that because it is asking residents to stay home, trips to a cottage or secondary residence should be avoided, unless it is for an essential purpose like emergency maintenance. I booked a short-term rental getaway. Can I still go? No. The province says that pre-arranged bookings for short-term rentals at hotels, motels, lodges, cabins, cottages, resorts are prohibited, with exceptions for housing requirements."

1) Doug Ford just issued a stay at home order to commence first thing Thursday, to go at least 28 days and probably longer. Ontario Declares Second Provincial Emergency to Address COVID-19 Crisis and Save Lives 2) He said that he didn't want to issue a "curfew" like they have in Quebec, and implied that a "stay at home" order would be less onerous. To me, it looks worse! Read on... 3) Quebecers who are currently under curfew are allowed to go out fishing, provided they don't head out before 5am, and are back home by 8pm. You can only recreate outdoors with people in your "family bubble". 4) Hotels and motels in Quebec remain open, and it appears as though you could drive up north to go fishing, return to a hotel room by 8pm, and then go out fishing the next day. I'm not sure about this, but it looks to be the case. 5) In Ontario, we are not curfewed at 8pm. We could still go to the grocery store after 8pm, for instance. 6) From the link above, "Outdoor organized public gatherings and social gatherings are further restricted to a limit of five people with limited exceptions. This is consistent with the rules during the lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19 in spring 2020 and will allow individuals and families to enjoy time outdoors safely." and "Effective Thursday, January 14, 2021at 12:01 a.m., the government is issuing a stay-at-home order requiring everyone to remain at home with exceptions for permitted purposes or activities, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise or for work where the work cannot be done remotely." [emphasis mine] Fishing is pretty good outdoor exercise, isn't it? Does this mean we can enjoy the outdoors by going fishing? What could be better social isolation than sitting on a frozen lake? The rules during "grey lockdown" were pretty clear - it was still OK to go fishing, and stay at motel, and travel around the province, and so on. They "advised" folks to stay at home, but there was no "order". It's different now. It appears that law enforcement has been given a lot of latitude to write tickets this time, unlike this spring when there were lots of rumours but no hard evidence: "The province will provide authority to all provincial offences officers, including the Ontario Provincial Police, local police forces, bylaw officers, and provincial workplace inspectors to issue tickets to individuals who do not comply with the stay-at-home-order, ..." But what is a ticketable offence? Can you go ice skating? Can you to the toboggan hill? Can you drive up north to your cottage? Can you drive up north to go ice fishing? This spring there were plenty of advisements, suggestions, and requests not to travel, not to go up north fishing, but there were no laws preventing us from doing so. I went fishing and climbing, and I didn't break any laws. But is it different this time? Please post your links to support your opinions. Not a lot of information out there right now. Cheers, eh? Pete

What time of year? Did you fish Elbow Lake or Trump Lake?