proposed reg change to bass and musky

[aniceguy]

Fmz 20 covers all of lake Ontario and the bay of quinte

 

 

Proposed bass reg changes for FMZ 17, 18 and 20.

Currently FMZ 17 – 4th Saturday in June to December 15th

Currently FMZ 18 & 20 – 4th Saturday in June to November 30th

Proposed For FMZ 17, 18 & 20 – 3rd Saturday in June to December 15th

 

Proposed increase in Muskellunge minimum size limit in FMZ 20

Current – 122cm (48 inches) and 112cm (44inches) in the lower Niagara River.

Proposed – 137cm (54 inches) for all of zone 20

 

Please visit ontario.ca/zonecouncils for further info

 

If you would like to comment please provide your feed back to:

Marc Desjardins

Lake Ontario Management Unit

41 Fish Hatchery Lane, RR#4

Picton, On, K0K 2T0

Email: [email protected]

[Musky or Specks]

My only question is are the American regs similar on the Niagara? Otherwise it doesn't make much sense

[mike rousseau]

i think thats great...

 

thatll pretty much eliminate all keeping of musky...

 

and i can start fishing em a week earlier...

 

 

 

BTW zone 20 also has the St.Lawrence river all the way to the quebec border...

[mike rousseau]

Didn't see an opening day change for musky.

 

 

oops...my bad....

[mike rousseau]

My only question is are the American regs similar on the Niagara? Otherwise it doesn't make much sense

 

 

zone 20 is a lot bigger then just the lower niagra...

 

and someone has to take the first step...

[Musky or Specks]

I guess my point is fish don't recognize borders. The St Lawrence is also a border water that fish probably migrate frequently from one side to another. I agree all musky fishing should be C&R but I'd hate for our waters to become the nursery for an American trophy harvest.

[mike rousseau]

I guess my point is fish don't recognize borders. The St Lawrence is also a border water that fish probably migrate frequently from one side to another. I agree all musky fishing should be C&R but I'd hate for our waters to become the nursery for an American trophy harvest.

 

 

i dont think we will ever see 100% identical regulations across the board...

 

it would be nice... a lot less confusion...

 

like were i live... i can sit at a 3 way intersection of borders...Ontario... NY state...Quebec... they meet at one single point... 10 feet in any of the 3 directions and walleye close at a different time of year...ontario-march 1st...ny-march 15th...quebec-march 31...and all 3 have different possession limits... 4 3 and 6 respectively... and NY has a slot... the other 2 dont...

 

same with musky season...ontario closes dec 15th...and as soon as i cross a line in the water to quebec...musky doesnt close till march 31st...

 

ontario portion of the st.lawrence...1 rod...ny...3

 

 

:dunno: :dunno:

 

 

its no wonder people break the rules... there so many different rules in different areas... i have to keep copies of the regs on my phone so i can check to make sure im thinking of the right regs... in a day i sometimes fish 4 different zones....18 ON...20 ON...NY and quebec...

[Terry]

well

 

I often see bass still on their beds when season opens, now a week earlier, I will be some on their beds every year....good...bad or who care......I don't know

 

 

muskie

there are people who really like the other white meat and do make a point of keep muskie to eat

 

sometimes I think it would be better to let them keep a small one rather then killing a 54" muskie to eat...but who knows

[davey buoy]

As you say the regs are so different from one side of the fence to the other.If the provinces and the states don't get a mutual agreement what's the use?

Edited April 5, 2012 by davey buoy

[trapshooter]

Why not make muskie C/R only? That's the way it is on lac seul. Eating a muskie is not a valid argument IMO and for those that 'want one for the wall' get a replica!

 

my .02 c

[Live2fish85]

I think we should have bass regs like the states, they obviously aren"t harmed to much by fishing them all year.

 

As for musky I agree with catch and release.

[Terry]

Why not make muskie C/R only? That's the way it is on lac seul. Eating a muskie is not a valid argument IMO and for those that 'want one for the wall' get a replica!

 

my .02 c

 

So why would you have c/r

and why would Eating a muskie is not a valid argument, I don't put one fish above another, why would you see fit to make this what seems to be very bias statement

have you every tasted muskie

 

 

hello it's a fish

[farsider]

So why would you have c/r

and why would Eating a muskie is not a valid argument, I don't put one fish above another, why would you see fit to make this what seems to be very bias statement

have you every tasted muskie

 

 

hello it's a fish

My sense of the argument is beyond it being a "Musky", is that being a top predator (like tuna, swordfish, etc.)and so large when legal size(What you hinted at earlier), the mercury and other contaminant levels would be huge.

 

Although people should be free to make unhealthy choices despite what I would prefer.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[MCTFisher9120]

It would be nice to see opener for bass a little earlier. As for Musky, going to be targeting them on a few good trips this season. C&R is my motto on them too as all fish but walleye and perch There useless and need to be turned into food most of the time for me.

[trapshooter]

Why not C/R?

 

Muskie... far more value in sport fishing then in consumption. If someone wants a meal there's a lot of options out there that are far easier to catch than muskie.

 

Because there's not a lot of them, especially big ones, and it takes a long time for the lake to replace them. Their value is far greater in the lake then on a plate.

 

And why would I make that statement... because it's MY opinion... as I stated...

[Terry]

I will bet my pay check, that someone who just want to have a meal of muskie and not for the sport of catching as many as possible, they will kill far less then you..you can argue c/r all you want but every study states the there is a mortality rate when fish are caught and released.....lots of people fish for a meal they catch there fish and go home, they don't say let just get one for for a photo one more for a paying customer ..

it's easy to say c/r for muskie because it doesn't affect your fishing or your pocket book...sure be a good conservationist and don't eat muskie, easy for you but you are asking people to suffer or change their lives, if there are not many big ones then you should do your part and refrain from fishing for them.. yes lets take the high road and ban fishing for them completely..be a good citizen a good conservationist .

 

 

it's easy to say let do something when it doesn't affect you...isn't it

[farsider]

I will bet my pay check, that someone who just want to have a meal of muskie and not for the sport of catching as many as possible, they will kill far less then you..you can argue c/r all you want but every study states the there is a mortality rate when fish are caught and released.....lots of people fish for a meal they catch there fish and go home, they don't say let just get one for for a photo one more for a paying customer ..

it's easy to say c/r for muskie because it doesn't affect your fishing or your pocket book...sure be a good conservationist and don't eat muskie, easy for you but you are asking people to suffer or change their lives, if there are not many big ones then you should do your part and refrain from fishing for them.. yes lets take the high road and ban fishing for them completely..be a good citizen a good conservationist .

 

 

it's easy to say let do something when it doesn't affect you...isn't it

Your paycheck would be safe on day one of fishing. Day 365...you owe somebody your paycheck. The mortality rate of a C/R Muskie fisherman is very low. For agruments sake...say 15%. Mortality rate of meal fisherman...100%.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

Edited April 5, 2012 by farsider

[ecmilley]

Terry I agree 100% with you, i wouldn't keep a musky of any size, but why would i get up i arms about someone keeping one themselves for the table or the wall, it's a fish.

maybe there should be a harvest taking place, remember the fish of 10000 casts on the kawartha's was always a good sized fish of 40" and over and now with all this c&r see all kinds but in the 30-35 inch range that are more of a nuisance

[Terry]

yeah but the average guy that would want to eat a muskie would catch one or 2 a year... dead this year from eating 2

how many would you catch a year, lots of guys claim over 100 and the guys that guide who boat hundreds a year..15%.. you do that math

oh and make the check out to cash

thanks

[Terry]

I would never eat a muskie but I do know people who would

and they are only a fish

if you want to look at it in dollars then bass should be c/r before and above muskie..far more money generated from bass

the fishing industry of today was built on bass tourneys....god don't eat a bass we need big ones

Edited April 5, 2012 by Terry

[misfish]

I agree on the keeping - I'd like to see Musky regs changed to 100% C&R everywhere

 

Why is it that you want to see musky 100% C&R? What about all the other fish? I like others would not eat a musky,but I find to many bleed hearts protecting them.Like mentioned,it,s a fish like any other.

 

I have yet read or heard why they are so special,or better then any other.

Edited April 6, 2012 by Misfish

[bucktail]

With the later datesi hope people take it easy on the deep smallies in there hibernation area and not bring them up past 30 feet.

[farsider]

yeah but the average guy that would want to eat a muskie would catch one or 2 a year... dead this year from eating 2

how many would you catch a year, lots of guys claim over 100 and the guys that guide who boat hundreds a year..15%.. you do that math

oh and make the check out to cash

thanks

You are comparing the "average" meal guy=2 to a C/R Guide?

 

You are usually more fair.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[Terry]

You are comparing the "average" meal guy=2 to a C/R Guide?

 

You are usually more fair.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

fair I don't know honest you bet

 

how many muskie does an average meat hunter catch n a year..I thought saying 2 muskie caught was stretching it a bit

 

and how many has he been responsible for at 15% mortality......

 

fair don't know

but I think anyone in the know anyone really into fishing should know you should never take eating out of the equation ...the P3TA nuts just love that..it's one thing to kill your food but hurting killing just for sport..they eat that up

even the in-fishermen knew that there should always be a regulation to kill for the table .....

[pooch]

Here is a little background on the bass regulation change for FMZ 17. I sit on the advisory council for FMZ 17. Below is my interpretation of data that was presented to council.

 

Bass are climate change "winners". Over the last century temperatures have increased and these increases have translated into ice out dates on average 10 days earlier. Extra days of soft water means longer growing cycles for bass before winter sets in, and bass populations are thriving especially in FMZ 17.

 

Also, research shows that when spawning season begins there is a bias towards large fish, meaning the largest fish in the population (the ones that need the most protection through regulations) spawn before the smaller fish. Any nest that is still occupied by the opener are most often small males guarding empty nests. Current regulations protect bass almost entirely throughout their spawning season in FMZ 17.

 

Two of the main reasons we have fishing regulations are: 1. protect the resource and 2. to provide fishing opportunities. In short, the biologist that presented for the FMZ 17 council concluded that opening bass one week earlier would not negatively impact the spawning season of bass and it would provide increased fishing opportunities for anglers; a win, win situation so to speak.

 

One side benefit of opening bass season one week earlier is that it may give the walleye another week "off", as many bass anglers often target walleye before the bass season opens.

 

I hope that answers many of the questions that may arise.