Fishing Regs Question

[mason05]

Quick question for all the experts on our Ontario Fishing Regulations. Heading out for some trout the last week of September and as we know the season closes on the last Saturday of the month. If I catch and keep trout on the Friday am I legally allowed to pack them out two days later on Sunday when I leave? Or do the fish have to be back safe at home in the freezer before the season closes? I'm curious as I'd like to bring some home but I want to be sure I'm within my rights to do so. Any thoughts? Thanks,

 

Corn Nug

[Canuck2fan]

Quick question for all the experts on our Ontario Fishing Regulations. Heading out for some trout the last week of September and as we know the season closes on the last Saturday of the month. If I catch and keep trout on the Friday am I legally allowed to pack them out two days later on Sunday when I leave? Or do the fish have to be back safe at home in the freezer before the season closes? I'm curious as I'd like to bring some home but I want to be sure I'm within my rights to do so. Any thoughts? Thanks,

 

Corn Nug

 

You are going to have to get in touch with the MNR office and talk to the CO's from the district you are fishing in to be sure and get it in writing!!!! Yep, that will be a pain but I can almost guarantee you that NOBODY but that particular CO knows how they will react in that situation. We have seen many many times that different CO's apply the letter of the law differently. So if you want to be completely safe why ask a bunch of us squirrels on here? Go right to the source and get the right answer right away.

[forrest]

There is no rule stating that you are not allowed to have fillet of fish in possession out of season. It is only illegal to target or catch and keep fish that are out of season.

 

If the CO wants to be an ass he can ticket you with any false charge he wants.

 

If you keep the caught fish on the boat after the season ends or have it near the water unstored away I can see a problem.

 

forrest

[fishindevil]

Why risk it..???? it would be nice to hear an answer from them but,man it leaves the door wide open for a whole pile of crap to happen !!!!i would just eat all the trout you catch friday night,and then there would be no worries,but you would have no way to prove to them weather or not you caught those fish the next morning,they could probly charge you then for possesion of out of season fish !!!! its a very grey area isnt it ???? good-luck with your answer,please let us know how you made out...cheers

[Musky or Specks]

Im pretty sure trout closes on the last day of September not the last Saturday unless those days coincide.

 

 

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Le ... 63615.html

[modny]

i would say no, because u cant really prove that u caught that fish 2 days earlier/

[Casey123]

Packing a fish out and getting stopped will be the problem. You would most likely be issued a ticket if caught and have to go to court to prove you were not in the wrong. You would not be in contrevention of the law, proving it would be the tricky part.

[danc]

I wouldn't worry about it it if I were you. As far as I know, it's not against the law to transport out of season fish.

[CLofchik]

There is no rule stating that you are not allowed to have fillet of fish in possession out of season.

 

Need to read the not so fine print of the regs, they are catch & POSSESSION limits.

 

Yes, it is illegal to be transporting out of season fish.

[John Bacon]

i would say no, because u cant really prove that u caught that fish 2 days earlier/

 

You don't have to prove it. It would be up to the crown to prove that you did catch them after the season closed. Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty.

[Grimace]

You don't have to prove it. It would be up to the crown to prove that you did catch them after the season closed. Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty.

 

 

 

In all courts EXCEPT, Ministry of labour courts and Ministry of natural resources courts

Edited September 8, 2008 by Grimace

[John Bacon]

i would say no, because u cant really prove that u caught that fish 2 days earlier/

 

You don't have to prove it. It would be up to the crown to prove that you did catch them after the season closed. Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty.

[Grimace]

Not in Ministry courts dude.

[forrest]

Need to read the not so fine print of the regs, they are catch & POSSESSION limits.

 

Yes, it is illegal to be transporting out of season fish.

 

Ridiculous. The catch part is the only part that relates to the season and the court has to be convinced that you fished out of season.

 

"Not in Ministry courts"

Yes, there is a reasonable presumption of innocence before proof of guilt is offered. Its a court that is ruled by Canadian law, not some Ministry tribunal outside of the law.

 

I have yet to hear of anyone busted for eating a Salmon sandwich out of season.

 

 

forrest

Edited September 8, 2008 by forrest

[gdelongchamp]

It's a very good question.

 

The bottom line is that it depends on the CO. If he sees you with these fish he must assume that they have been caught out of season. He will then issue you a ticket and of course you will have the opportunity to defend yourself in court after of course you have spent money on a lawyer and taken time off work to accomodate the legal system. Then you are out that money and time that could have been spent..fishing.

 

If you, however, at the time the co considers issuing you a ticket and you have a credible witness with you to state that the fish were caught within season the co office may smell the coffee and forget the issue.

 

Sometimes though, they don't smell the coffee

[CLofchik]

Ridiculous. The catch part is the only part that relates to the season and the court has to be convinced that you fished out of season.

 

Um, no. YOU have to prove that the fish you are caught transporting was caught in season, which is impossible, which is why it is illegal to be transporting fish out of season.

 

It's very unlikely that anybody will be checking for OOS fish AFTER the season closes, but carrying a trunk full of trout 1 week after the closer is the same as carrying them around 1 week before the opener. How hard is that to understand?

[mikethespike]

it is easy to prove that the fish was caught 2 days earlier. u can take a picture of it on the day that u catch it. make sure u have the date watermark option on before you take the picture. local witnesses would also help. of course in the end it would still be up to the mnr officer. it won't be the 1st time they'd seen people fishing on the last day of the season tho.

[forrest]

Um, no. YOU have to prove that the fish you are caught transporting was caught in season, which is impossible, which is why it is illegal to be transporting fish out of season.

 

It's very unlikely that anybody will be checking for OOS fish AFTER the season closes, but carrying a trunk full of trout 1 week after the closer is the same as carrying them around 1 week before the opener. How hard is that to understand?

 

It is not hard to understand what you are saying. Just not believable.

Dead fillet of fish are illegal to transport? I am thinking you getting this general idea from hunting regulations. Can you quote the reg and give a location to look it up?

 

There is no season for possession of stored fish.

 

 

forrest

Edited September 8, 2008 by forrest

[Chris]

Um, no. YOU have to prove that the fish you are caught transporting was caught in season, which is impossible, which is why it is illegal to be transporting fish out of season.

 

It's very unlikely that anybody will be checking for OOS fish AFTER the season closes, but carrying a trunk full of trout 1 week after the closer is the same as carrying them around 1 week before the opener. How hard is that to understand?

 

So let me get this straight.....I buy some trout fillets at the grocery store two days after the season closes and if I want to take them home I'm breaking the law?!?!. CLofchik you better re-check the regs. It is NOT illegal to transport fish fillets when the season for that particular fish is OOS....period.

 

[Fisherman]

So let me get this straight.....I buy some trout fillets at the grocery store two days after the season closes and if I want to take them home I'm breaking the law?!?!. CLofchik you better re-check the regs. It is NOT illegal to transport fish fillets when the season for that particular fish is OOS....period.

 

Buying fish from a store gives you a receipt and a package that makes that scenario a mute point, haven't seen anyone running out of the store with a piece of raw fish under their arm, yelling "start the car...start the car".

[johnnyb]

Im pretty sure trout closes on the last day of September not the last Saturday unless those days coincide.

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Le ... 63615.html

 

I'm pretty sure he's right...unless of course you've picked a lake with a year-round open season on them...like the one I'll be fishing this year for stocked fish, of course...

[bigfish1965]

Let's get this straight. No matter the crime, reverse onus of proof is extremely rare. Possession of OOS fish is dependant on the day caught. It is not uncommon at all for people to fish closing dates. An arresting officer would have have to prove you committed an offense. There is no exception except for cases of intention to sell where amounts of fish make it likely that it could not be for personal use.

People have fish in their freezer that were caught in season and stay beyond close all the time.

Possession laws have to be read from the original source and not the summaries to make more sense. There are possession regs, catching regs and combination of possession/catching regs.

It would be illegal to catch and retain an OOS fish. If you are staying at a place and your stay encompasses the closing date, it is not an unreasonable possibility that you caught the fish prior to closing. If you are going to a buddies place for dinner in December, and you take some filets from September, it is also not an unreasonable possibility.

Don't always rely on the summary of regulations as the actual written law. It is a conglomeration of provincial and federal laws written is slightly more understandable language. Your ticket will never say "contrary to page 4 of the summaries", it will indicate the specific act and subsection.

If we reversed this logic it would be okay to catch fish prior to the opener provided you don't leave till after the opener. We know this is not the case. Don't get yourself caught up in silly interpretations..the CO doesn't (with the rare exception of everyones favorite northern CO who shall remain nameless .....cough...DM..cough)

I've been to a few resource violation court cases and the crown and CO must have all their ducks in a row just like any other case. In fact it is probably harder to get a resource violation charge to stick than most other crimes because of legal ambiguities and the fact that JP's are very unlikely to set or go against precedence.

To make your life easier, clean and freeze closing day filets right away. A fish frozen makes it a bit more obvious and places reasonable doubt in your favour.

[jwl]

man, I am glad that with the exception of a closed period for lakers, that I live, and fish in a place that trout is open (browns,Steelhead) 12 months a year.

[POLLIWOGG]

They will charge you and let the judge sort it out hoping you wont show up.

 

The guys were sighting in the rifles in a gravel pit a couple days before the moose season opened and were charged for hunting out of season. You think they won't charge you if you have an out of season fish.

[Fisherman]

They will charge you and let the judge sort it out hoping you wont show up.

 

The guys were sighting in the rifles in a gravel pit a couple days before the moose season opened and were charged for hunting out of season. You think they won't charge you if you have an out of season fish.

I have trouble believing that charge for that scenario, maybe discharging a weapon in a no hunt zone, (municipality or designated area).