Simcoe Poaching

[luv2drift]

I have just recently read to Lake Simcoe ice reports from OFC' ers. Both have obviously not read the regs!

For example, when you keep herring from Simcoe it is illegal...end of story. THat would be like me going to

Mayalsia hunting for Bear and shooting a Panda. Still a bear BUT not the one I am suppose to shoot.

Second story....."The two of us caught well over 200 perch"....Hey guess what that 's wrong too. Read the "catch" and " possession" rules in the regs. Catch limit is 100 per angler and can keep 50...for a sport license.

 

Accidental Poaching is still POACHING!!!!!!

 

I live on Simcoe and fish it regularly it is pressured until no end! so at least read and obey the rules.

[Corey]

I wouldn't callanything a "catch limit" per se... There is a daily posession limit of 25, and overall posession limit of 50 on a conservation license and daily of 50 and overall of 100 on a sport license. There is no limit on how many you can actually catch, in a day or season or otherwise. I have caught hundreds of perch in a single day, and I think I took twenty something home, on a sporting license. Very legal.

 

cd.

[luv2drift]

Well allow me to retort about the perch and the catch and possession limits....Maybe its just an ethical/moral decsion someone should have. I don't think I should be allowed to catch 400 fish keep 50 and know that at least at the bare minimum 5 % of the catch and release will die....alledgly. Yah I guess your right perfectly legal...so is going and filling your pail with 13,14, and 15 inch jumbos perch and taking 50 of them home. A little stewardship towards Simcoe I think would be nice....and I don't see it on Lake Simcoe when it freezes. Infact, as soon as it freezes the tourists/icefisherman come out.....Leave garbage rape and pillage the lake and drive home.

[gone_fishin]

last time i checked there was a thing called "catch & RELEASE".....

[xrap]

The two of us caught well over 200 perch"....Hey guess what that 's wrong too. Read the "catch" and " possession" rules in the regs. Catch limit is 100 per angler and can keep 50...for a sport license.

 

 

 

Catching and keeping is a diffrent story. They might have caught over 200 but how many did they keep?

Don't believe everything you read...

[Terry]

it was the same person in both reports..and as far as I can see it was a lie

just to get people going..so see what they can stir up....

 

here is it's post you decide

 

 

 

Fished whities and lakers on Simcoe today.

calamari1965 Posted on: Yesterday, 05:29 PM

 

 

 

 

I was close to there today and got a full cooler. How do I donate a prize to this Tyler charity?

Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #27339 · Replies: 7 · Views: 664

 

 

simcoe perch'n

calamari1965 Posted on: Yesterday, 05:12 PM

 

 

 

 

 

I caught lots of 7 to 9 inch Jumbos today. North of there. Caught a few herring to add to the box as well.

Forum: General Discussion · Post Preview: #27331 · Replies: 29 · Views: 886

 

Jumbo Perch Bonanza

calamari1965 Posted on: Yesterday, 04:17 PM

 

 

 

 

I went with my girlfriend this morning up to Simcoe most fisherman went to popular spots that were mentioned on lots of Boards. We went somewhere different and got lucky with lots of perch over 7 inches. We both kept our limits of Jumbos between 7 and 8 inches We now have 100 perch each to clean. .

[Rizzo]

hahaha 7 inch jumbos! I hadn't seen these reports, thanks for posting them Terry. Clearly someone trolling for a response.

[irishfield]

Yep...don't let a troll get your nickers in a knot! Your just doing exactly what they want...causing a ruckus on OFC.

[urbanangler1990]

now this thread should be deleted...

[luv2drift]

Good detective work Terryit all makes sense now. I will lower my anger meter to simmer.

[cisco]

I agree too. Relax everyone. Lotsa newbees out there too don't know how to type.....at least I hope so!

[Fisherman]

Well before they delete/lock it, maybe someone should send the MIB to his house.

[Aaron Shirley]

Luv2drift,

 

It was more than likely my report you read "the two of us must have caught well over 200 perch". Let me assure you, that Tony and I always know the regs when we fish a body of water, and we only kept about 20 perch each between 8" and 10", and released the rest. We could have kept 50 each, but we only kept what we wanted to eat. Personally, I release all the small perch and jumbo perch I catch, even though it is my legal right to keep 50 perch of any size. I practice selective harvest. As for the released perch.. I bet at least 99 percent of the perch we released lived just fine, as they were caught on artificial lures and hooked in the lips.

 

Lake Simcoe is more than likely the best lake in North America for tourist anglers for ice fishing which helps to drive the local economy. Many residents thrive on the local ice fishing on Lake Simcoe to provide them with their livelyhoods... ice hut rentals, guides, tackle stores, gas stations, and even the OMNR for fishing licences.

 

Even after every year with most anglers keeping their limits of perch every day, it hasn't hurt the fishery. This astounds me, but it is a great Lake Simcoe Ontario phenomenon.

 

Be happy as a resident of Lake Simcoe that you have access to such a great fishery. I know some people may not be abiding by the law or regulations... I would be angry about that as well. Most of us do abide by the regs, and there is plenty of perch to go around. If you see someone breaking the law, call the authorities. I'm sure the OMNR would like the call, as they cannot be everywhere all the time.

 

Aaron Shirley

[brookieman]

Sorry but I have to chime in. Aaron you said:

 

"Lake Simcoe is more than likely the best lake in North America for tourist anglers for ice fishing which helps to drive the local economy. Many residents thrive on the local ice fishing on Lake Simcoe to provide them with their livelyhoods... ice hut rentals, guides, tackle stores, gas stations, and even the OMNR for fishing licences".

 

So what are you trying to say? That just because people depend on a resource to pay for there SUV's and vacations that we can exploit a resource? I'm not saying you were exploiting anything at all, but your comments can be interpreted as "well i have to make my buck so it's okay" How is this any different than forestry companies being allowed to chop down our forests because stopping, would result in a loss of jobs.

 

Aaron you work in the industry and you must remember you're on a pedastal of sorts. Comments like these walk a very thin line.

 

My $ 0.02

[luv2drift]

Point taken Aaron shirley. I happen to be quit good friends with one of the local bait/hut/fishing business guys and to let you know he and his family sure can't live on the tourism alone around Simcoe anymore. Late ice and depleted fish numbers and selling minnows for 5 bucks a dozen is just scraping buy. Many of the hut operators work construction in the summer. Herring off the list of species to catch and depleted white fish and lake trout action in Cook's bay is pretty much the culprit. What is left.... the Best Perch fishery in N.A. and it is declined alot in just the last four years on the west side any way! So I am going to be a little outspoken about ethical fishing....With the Gobe on the east side How long before the perch are doomed???

[Aaron Shirley]

Brookieman,

 

You may have misinterpreted what I am trying to say, or maybe I wasn't clear enough with my last post. In no way do I believe that raping a resourse is ok. I believe that every resource needs to be managed properly, and I believe that the OMNR is doing a good job with managing Lake Simcoe. Many lakes do not have a limit for perch, but Lake Simcoe does. If there comes a time that the perch fishing in Lake Simcoe starts to diminish, then more strict regulations will ensue, I'm sure.

 

Lake Simcoe is a wonderful resource that many anglers can share. As far as the liveyhoods of the people around lake Simcoe... proper management for the fisheries on the lake is most important for everyone, even the people who turn a profit from the fisheries, as proper management will ensure longevity.

 

I hope this clears things up for you.

 

Luv2drift, I see your point a little more clearly now. You are just rightfully worried about a local fishery. I have only been fishing Simcoe hard for a few years and I didn't know about the major decline in other species.

 

All the best,

 

Aaron Shirley

Edited January 29, 2007 by Aaron Shirley

[xrap]

[lookinforwalleye]

Rather than being concerned with people`s catch and release habits one should be concerned with the locals who fish in the morning and take their limit home and then come back after lunch and take another limit home, I see it it happens all the time on Simcoe.

The local poachers do more harm than the Goby.

[luv2drift]

Lookinforwalleye I wouldn't dare deny the fact the some locals have poached??? and you probably have not scene it all the time....most likely just once! And one last comment before bed...which could very well be a hole other topic on its own. .... Aaron Shirley you said the mnr is doing a good job of managing L. Simcoe. Not at all!!!!!!!!!!! They can't manage it . The lake for the most part is not managed at all. The lake has little government help except for a few conservation authorities. Infact after giving my fishing license to the mnr officer. I talked to him for a while and the federal government has slashed the budget for the mnr dramatically.....

 

He told me and I quote " I have been doing this job for twenty five years and this is the worst I have ever scene it. We are only allowed three tanks of gas a month."

 

How can the mnr possibly manage a Lake like Simcoe when that mnr officer burns a quater tank of gas just getting to the Lake????

Edited January 29, 2007 by luv2drift

[cisco]

Having occasionally fished Simcoe through the ice since the 60,s I have seen it get to be pretty good. MNR has almost achieved the objective of ridding the lake os the rainbow smelt which they disliked for some reason. MNR got a whitefish hatchery going so folks generally can nail one or the two fish limit if they know the fish. Smallmouth bass appear quite regularly around the 6lb mark.....perch seem easy to catch to the point of folks complaining they get a coupla hundred but are still dissatisfied since not enough are over the 9 inch jumbo minimum.

 

Friends who know the lake that go out from Jackson's Point do quite well on the lakers in previou years....

 

And it pisses me off I can't go tomorrow. Oh and a pal reported one of our buds caught an 8lb walleye off the Talbot River within the past few days.

 

I think the outfitters are hurting more from the portable huts and flashers and ATCs that get guys out there without needing much help.

Minnow sales will also reflect the new baits folks have found which catch perch.

 

Oh, and finally, internet sites like this one tell folks what works and sometimes even where to go. Yet the fish are still plentiful.... to me anyway.

 

Go back in time to the 60s and 70s and you'll see the average guy needed an outfitter to get much of anything. LOL!

 

The MNR Simcoe Fisheries assessmant unit/plan has done a pretty good job to me anyways. I doubt a few less COs will have much of an impact.

 

I forgot there's even some beauty black crappie there now available to the keen nighttime angler. And a new possible carp record just recently fell there too!!!

Edited January 30, 2007 by cisco

[tonyb]

Well said Cisco, I agree with luv2drift on the MNR enforcement end of things, there are clear cuts to that.

 

In my opinion, the government has done a good job in managing the fishery (i.e. posession limits for perch, stocking of Lakers and Whitefish to support fishing tourism) It also gets needed support from the LSRCA including a 'big-picture' sustainability approach through partnerships with the government and local interest groups. (See LSEMS on the LSRCA website, an interesting read)

 

Nobody wants to see a decline in the fishery, including todays well intentioned anglers.

A lot of guys that re-iterate "This is nothing like the good 'ol days" would laugh if they saw me fizzing a 6" perch caught out of deep water!

I care about the fish I release as much as the ones I keep for the frying pan.

 

Do you think there is more of a problem with catch & keep now, or a couple decades ago?

 

Catch Photograph and Release (CPR) as well as selective harvest as Aaron mentioned is what this era is all about, embrace it

 

Tony

Edited January 30, 2007 by tonyb

[Corey]

I can understand complaining about poaching, but there is no way that the fishing pressure on simcoe is depleting the fish population, especially when it comes to perch.

 

With later and later safe ice dates over the past few years, the fishing pressure is less and less. If you consider that most people throw anything under 9" back, and people are catching hundreds of fish, it's not hard to see that the fish are plentiful. Harvesting fish helps control over population as well, there is a finite carrying capacity of any body of water.

 

If you figure on any given day, on the ice there are 1000 or so people out there, catching 100+ fish... that's a lot of fish. If you figure that on average people keep 10 fish, let's say 60 ice fishing days a year... 600,000 fish harvested in a 2 month period, and there are still lots. Of course I am talking perch here... I really don't think that fishing is going to put a dent on perch anytime soon. Some of the other fish, like herring and even walleye to a certain extent may need tighter regulations. The whitefish population has been helped with a hatchery...

 

My numbers are most likely way off, but it's more of an example of the sheer number of fish that are in simcoe. I have the right to take 50 perch from simcoe each time I go up there, have I? No... the most I have ever taken is 28 (I believe). I also have a wife and 3 kids who like to each fish as well... If it was up to me, I would have a 100 fish daily and 100 fish posession limit. As much as I enjoy fishing, I go fishing to bring home dinner. I would much rather make 1 trip to get enough fish for a few meals than 2 trips.

 

Agree or disagree, either way, the fishing pressure on simcoe is the least we have to worry about.

 

cd.

Edited January 30, 2007 by Corey

[lookinforwalleye]

There is nothing wrong with keeping a dozen or so perch for the pan but personally I can not see myself taking a limit home say 100 perch assuming my son or wife is with me while I like eating fish i would never eat that much fish from any body of water regardless of what the fish eating guides say plus i can`t see myself filleting 100 fish!