Photoz

Several years ago I read a post on another board where someone was screaming about getting tagged by a C. O. on the ice on Lake Simcoe for being over the limit on perch. Apparently he and 2 pals were using ONE pail to put ALL their perch in. After checking licenses and gear, the C. O. asked who's pail had the perch in it. When they answered they were ALL using the container, they were curtly told they had to keep 'em seperate, so they could be counted accurately, if required? He then decided the pail must belong to the guy whom he'd seen drop the last fish in! He took a count . . . about 60 fish, and proceeded to write this guy up for exceeding the limit, took his gear & ALL of the fish. Apparently they often get people coming off the ice, or docking a boat with their spot checks, who have fish belonging to several people, all in one container? Now, with the relatively new law that puts limits on crappie & even sunfish (Zone 16 for 1) it appears there MIGHT be a way to put a stop to people keeping 'bucketfuls' of these small fish? Even though I'm pretty sure there is a law concerning 'pooling' fish in a 'communal' container, I can't seem to find any mention of it in the 2008 / 2009 Regulations Summary? Can anyone tell me under what part of the fishing regulations this would be listed. I'd like to print it out and carry it in my vest? Thanks in advance.

Ya forgot Fishing World in Hamilton . . . they are as well stocked & priced as anybody out that way.

Many of the municipal forces are discouraged from enforcing Game & Fish laws . . . . like the Metro guy I tried to get to nail the 'pike poacher,' who admitted he knew NOODNIK about fishing regs, and couldn't even identify a very common fish species. However . . . . the fact that this poacher was nervy enough to take this fish, illegally, right under his nose, kinda irked him. So . . . . . he found a way he was familiar with to whack the guy. Port Hope is the same way . . . . the local cops GOTTA know SOMETHING about the legal & illegal fishing (snagging, fishing the sanctuary, overfishing) but they'll occasionally stop and watch this happening, right in front of them, while having a smoke or coffee! NOT THEIR TERRITORY they say . . . . the MNR get paid to do this. Kinda like a C. O. tagging you for exceeding the speed limit, or other fairly minor HTA infractions . . . . they have the authority & power to do it . . . . but it isn't their department?

Hamilton seems to be the only place where the local (city) police take an active interest in policing the game & fish laws. I had one of the mountain bike patrolman several years ago tell me going on 'parks enforcement' detail required about 2 weeks of reviewing the local game & fishing laws, and was a much sought after position. The only other place I've ever been asked for a boo at my license was at the mouth of the Credit, where a Peel constable often checked licenses. Very British . . . . very friendly typa guy, who knew his regulations. (He was also an avid carper.) But . . . . if you had no license, you could usually depend on being sent away from the river to get one . . . . he wasn't much interested in writing anybody up . . . . just checkin' out the fishin.' I once spoke to a Metro cop down at the Rouge, while we watched a guy carry an out of season pike to his car, but was told by the cop he didn't have a regulations book, and couldn't tell a trout from a pike, so he'd have no idea what to write him up under. Then he asked if I was 100% sure the guy was breaking the law. When I assured him he was, he said he'd try it HIS way, as he punched in the car's plate number . . . . and it was registered to somebody under suspension . . . . when this brazen clown left the park, the cop went after him, and pulled him over. Within about 10 minutes he had the cuffs on him, and had him sitting in the cruiser. At least the cop found a way to ding this mutt . . . as they usually can. Made my day!

Not much carp movement until all the ice has cleared. Usually they head for the shallow protected little bays & backwaters where the water warms up quicker, first. If we have a warm April, Etobicoke Creek (west side) down near the lake & the west side of the mouth of the Credit starts to hold some. They're still a bit lethargic till mid-May though.

As much as I like my FL20, I'd say the FL8SE (which I sold) is the better bang for your bucks. My ONLY real complaint on the FL20 . . . . the numbers are to small, very hard to read compared to the FL8SE.

About the only chance I think you MIGHT have would be at Fishing World in Hamilton. Jeff Vaughn at Long Sault apparently is 'carp central,' but I don't have his information.

My 2004 Grand Caravan started to self destruct at about 95000 klicks, so I went back to a Pontiac Montana. The Dodge was only 4 years old, not a mark on it . . but I only got $6500.00 for it. ($35K list, new) At 4500 klicks the Pontiac wiper blades were streaking the windshield like crazy . . . I went back to the dealer . . . the 'service advisor' said they just needed adjustment, and I KNEW the blades were 'chewed' from something. After several 'adjustments, the service manager came out and looked at my windshield . . . said it looked like something had 'dripped' and hardened on the glass, thus chewing up the rubber. I closer look . . . there were a few dead bugs smeared on the glass, a quick squirt of washer fluid cleared them. I also mentioned that I often cleared the 'road crap' off the blades with a weak mixture of vinegar & water! A H A A A . . . this is what happened . . . the vinegar rotted the rubber! After ANOTHER heated discussion, and explaining how I'd been taught that method over 40 years ago, and been using this ever since, he finally put a new set of blades on, after over an hour's 'adjusting' & arguing! NEVER will I ever buy G. M. again. The price of this van, brand new was $18,500 + I got a $500.00 gas card . . . I'm now finding out WHY it was so cheap . . . . I got what I paid for! I now realize what treat a major warranty repair (if ever needed) will be to get.

Should be good fishing under the bridge this weekend

There's gotta be one in EVERY crowd, eh?

Hm m m m m . . . . strange? The first time I fished there, I was up under the bridge, because I didn't see a sign on the south side, but was aware of there being one BEHIND the trestle, although I hadn't read the dates on it. One of the local guys walked over and told me the boundary started at the abutment on the SOUTH side . . . . I could easily lose my gear if the C. O. came along. He pointed out if I read my regulations, it was pretty clear. I took him at his word, and moved down, and from then on I fished down near the boat ramp. I have no clue HOW I could have missed the sign on the south side . . . .. but it certainly appears you are correct about it having been there a long time? All the more reason that NO ONE (not even locals) should be fishing north of that sign on the south side! But . . . . it appears you are going to take the time to make it clear enough to discourage even the dumbest of anglers fron poaching there . . . . good job. (Unfortunately . . . . if sign on the south side has been ignored for years, this ain't likely to make much difference, is it?)

FINALLY! The job gets done, but will anybody care? I'm not certain, but I THINK that sign on the south side sure SEEMS pretty recent, I don't recall seeing it last summer . . . I'm wondering if an MNR even placed it there, perhaps it was just scavenged by a concerned citizen from elsewhere, how did a shiny new sign get so shop-worn so fast? If you're removing the one on the north side, perhaps you might consider taking the ragged-lookin' one from the south side, down, and putting up the readable one? And after years of problems . . . . . I wonder if it will make ANY difference . . . . perhaps foot-high lettering . . . in 6 languages might convey the message? Now . . . . the NEXT problem . . . getting the message concerning the new (last year) limit of 2 trout? Kudos to you though, taking the time to help in fixing the problem! I hope it will discourage people from snaggin' in that bottleneck!

Ah h h h h h h . . . . . I KNEW IT!! I was awake just after 4:00, and didn't get back to sleep and was cussin' myself for not takin' ya up on your offer. But . . . . it woulda been a painful drive . . . I had to stop several times on my way home from Jacks Tuesday. What depth & what didja nail 'em on? Nice to see ya get SOMETHING for your trouble!

P. S.

Isn't the limit 350??

A good limber 'noodle rod' is great for carp . . with 6 pound line, as long as ya have half a day to get 'im in!! If you can't find an actual 'carp' rod . . . a 10' to 12' rod . . 10 to 25 pound line rating will do nicely. Good choice of fish to go after . . . a great place to start is down at the mouth of the Credit, west side, in about 5 to 6 weeks! See ya there!

This 34 pounder at the Credit in early April 06 is my best yet!

Hey Nauti . . . when you kiss a carp, doesn't that garlic breathe turn you right off? (Heh . . heh!)

I don't think it would be a bad idea at all, to do the same with the trout season, EVERYWHERE there's special exceptions (Ganny, Wilmot, Graham's, Bowmanville etc.) as what they started doing with pike a few years ago, while they spawn. My bet is the population would really jump quickly, even if they only closed it from early March to April. But to close the Ganny year round . . . aw w w w c'mon Beansie, have a heart . . . that's my favorite carpin' spot!

Go for it Steve!!!... your insurance will cover you!!!

T'anks a lot buddy!!

I'm actually surprised there was nobody sittin/ out on that ice . . . there was 3"+ out there . . . I've often seen 'em sitting just about in the middle of that shot, on that much ice. I wonder if ice fishing regs cover this . . . 2 rods, or because it's a river . . one rod?

This is somewhat more accurate! Anybody for drivin' your car on THIS?

When I first started fishing the Ganny, I too fished the sanctuary, because of my belief the sign at the back of the bridge (which was completely concealed from a 'newbie' walkin' up from the south side) marked the boundary line of where the sanctuary started. Luckily it didn't take a 'local' long to suggest I 'get my a$$ outta there,' because I was poaching. When I pointed out where the sign was, he just told me perhaps I should read my regulations book? Until the 'new' sign was posted, without reading the regs, it was STILL confusing to people who really believed the sanctuary started at the sign, but those who DID know, and just didn't care, just went ahead and brazenly fished there, regardless, figuring the'd just play 'dumb' with the C. O.! I even DID mention in my original post "BUT . . . if you didn't check the regulations book (which you should) there was some confusion as to where the sanctuary started, with only the sign around the back of the trestle," which I believed made it pretty clear.

If those of us who regularly fish there keep the calls to the MNR coming, with photos of those who have their own regulations & boundaries, POACHING fish, there and other popular spots, I think it would go a long way toward cutting the illegal catching right out! I wonder how many know about the new trout limits (2) in ALL the eastern tribs, which is in place, and has been for about 2 years? If you're into LEGALLY 'limiting out,' with 5 trout . . . gotta go down to the lake. (Why would ya want FIVE trout anyway?)

This is the 'OLD' original sign, on the back of the bridge that caused much of the confusion. END OF STORY!

Well, the post the other day concerning to Ganny got me thinkin' . . . it's ALMOST rainbow time!! So o o o I took a meander out east to check the tribs . . . shoulda known . . . at nearly -20 last night they're froze up tight . . . even the yacht club harbour at Port Hope was frozen . . only a small space over by 'the pipe' was open. The river was froze right across, almost to the lake, right from the foot of the rapids.

But as I looked north, there was something placed on the SOUTH side of the CNR trestle that I was sure I'd never seen before?

I zoomed in a bit further . . . hm m m m m . . . . I wonder if the MNR had taken some suggestions to heart, and decided to make it VERY plain where the sanctuary boundary REALLY is?

Well, THIS appears pretty plain to me! Although for some reason, this sign looks kinda shopworn, it's still readable . . . "FISHING PROHIBITED, UPSTREAM FROM CNR BRIDGE FROM JANUARY 1 TO LAST FRIDAY IN APRIL"

When you are standing in front of this sign, it's now pretty hard to claim there's any confusion as to where the sanctuary starts. BUT . . . if you didn't check the regulations book (which you should) there was some confusion as to where the sanctuary started, with only the sign around the back of the trestle. If someone walked up from the south, there was no sign, in sight, anywhere, and a person from out of town would never have spotted it, even though ALL the locals & regulars knew the law. Perhaps this will discourage SOME of the illegal fishin' in the sanctuary . . . . ah h h h h . . . . . who am I tryin' to kid?