Two fish limit for salmon

[SirCranksalot]

There was some mention a while ago that the 5 fish limit on salmon is too high. I totally agree. Who the heck needs to keep 5 salmon, esp considering their size? How many fish eating friends, neighbors, acquaintenances do you want to supply?? I don't mean to stir the pot here and create yet another "urinating contest". If there is general agreement on this, what can we do to encourage MNR to lower the limit?

Edited September 24, 2012 by Knuguy

[misfish]

Is your "C" key not working?

 

 

Just saying.

As for your question,it dosent matter to me.

[chris.brock]

I think alot of daily and possesion limits are too high, especially in some districts where there is alot of fishing pressure

[davey buoy]

I always thought in my district it was always a two fish limit. Better catch up on my reading.

[davey buoy]

It's 5 fish on the big water Davey. 2 fish inland.

 

Thanks, trying to find this info can be a job on it's own.lol.

[BillM]

No reason anyone needs 5 fish in the lake, bring it down to 2.

[Canuck2fan]

IMO the only reason it is a 5 fish limit on big water is because of Charters... Who is going to pay 200+ bucks a day to go out and only get a maximum of 2 fish? NOT enough anglers to keep the Charters in business, and they have a lobby.

 

Also with the commercial net draggers killing everything and anything on the Great Lakes sport fishing is a non starter on effecting the resource IMO again. If you want real conservation get your MP and MPP to draft up legislation to buy out the commercial guys and lets get that done first then we can worry about 5 fish limits.

[ecmilley]

who says it to high and why for salmon/trout on the great lakes?

4 eyes to much ok let's see all the fishery degrees coming out and the studies that you did

see the mnr doing creel surveys and netting on a regular basis and will adjust limits as it see's fit :blahblah1:

[dave524]

Lake Ontario is my main fishing interest, not heard bout 5 being too high, but a lot of chat about when all 5 are bows being too high. Leave the aggregate limit at 5 salmon or trout but not more than 2 can be trout. Think both camps would support this.

[pacman]

IMO the only reason it is a 5 fish limit on big water is because of Charters... Who is going to pay 200+ bucks a day to go out and only get a maximum of 2 fish? NOT enough anglers to keep the Charters in business, and they have a lobby.

 

Also with the commercial net draggers killing everything and anything on the Great Lakes sport fishing is a non starter on effecting the resource IMO again. If you want real conservation get your MP and MPP to draft up legislation to buy out the commercial guys and lets get that done first then we can worry about 5 fish limits.

Operating a charter boat in the summertime on Lake Ontario your comments regarding charters are off the mark, normally I'm pleasantly surprised at the respect most people have for the resource and the concern when releasing fish that its successful. In addition the people are usually out for the whole experience and in Lake O seldom do my customers keep fish unless they're mortally wounded or as I recommend, a few small ones as per the consumption guide. I know there are exceptions and its not always the case and there are always going to be meat fishermen. The real harm in my opinion is inexperience handling and releasing fish and unfortunately that cannot always be taught or bought, it comes with experience.

 

That being said a two fish limit for steelhead everywhere absolutely! Why anyone would want or be able to keep five steelies each is beyond me and why when I'm in my boat fives okay and in my waders its two (I know the argument but don't agree).

 

As far as salmon, if someone wants to keep five and they don't waste them Bon Appetite (the salmon population is healthy on lake Ontario) but its not the norm on lake O in my boat or the other guys I work with (speaking from experience not conjecture).

 

So despite the misleading cooler and dock shots (used for promo) most crews in my firsthand experience keep very limited amounts of salmon and trout on Lake O and generally have respect for our resource.

 

All that being said as a charter captain, a two steelie limit would be welcomed and I believe would have absolutely no affect on the Lake Ontario charter business IMO.

[Headhunter]

Sorry, but I simply don't care... they are not native, it is a put and take fishery so really, what's everyone getting their gitch in a knot about.

HH

[Snidley]

Hey Fishing Magician how many under 20" salmon do you catch out deep anyway?. Headhunter they may not be native but they are desirable for most except maybe yourself. I guess you prefer "native" Lakers. The MNR stocks Lakers the most with almost no takers looking to catch them and even the smokin', drinkin', health ignoring meathunters refusing to eat them. Lakers are money well spent. .

 

Make the user pay for proper pelagic management with a Salmon/Steelhead licence that limits annual retention and provides the $$$ to properly stock, rehab spawning habitat, net pens etc. Also make the Salmon Derby pay for the right to run their slaughter for profit to replace the massive number of animals taken by the cash trollers many if not most of which have no idea what a winning weight fish looks like but keep larger fish anyway. Or simply tell the Derby folks the game is over for their archaic contest and they will have to come up with some other scheme to make money off a public resource.

[kemper]

There was some mention a while ago that the 5 fish limit on salmon is too high. I totally agree. Who the heck needs to keep 5 salmon, esp considering their size? How many fish eating friends, neighbors, acquaintenances do you want to supply?? I don't mean to stir the pot here and create yet another "urinating contest". If there is general agreement on this, what can we do to encourage MNR to lower the limit?

 

On Lake Ontario at least, I really don't think its an issue. There seems to be more and more chinooks in the lake each year - probably has something to do with the millions of fish that get dumped in on the US side.

 

In all honesty with the insane numbers that have been showing up in the rivers the last couple years it might be the other side of things we need to worry about - a forage collapse due to over population (because humans like to tinker with nature, and we think throwing millions of huge fish into a lake won't change anything...).

 

Disclaimer: I have absolutely ZERO training in biology, geography, fishography, stockography, or Lake Ontario-ography. I'm just a guy that has noticed there is a silly number of very large fish in the lake.

[beginner]

I dont care about the 5 salmon fish limit.. atleast they not going in waste.. You know what I think they should ban the fishermen who leaves the salmon in the side of the river after they harvest the eggs...

[rhare]

I run a fairly large charter boat on Lake Ontario . I have to agree with the above comments,that for the most part most of the clients I have are catch and release or at the very most keep 1-2 fish each. The 5 fish limit on kings is no issue at all. The lake supports a world class salmon fishery and since its purely a sport fishery (no commercial boats) there is no shortage of salmon. On our side of the pond we stock around 560,000 chinook. The Americans stock around 1,600,000 chinook. (numbers are not exact) For the most part the natural reproduction is limited to a few rivers, so as stated above it is for the most part a put and take fishery. Although there is no need to abuse any fishery for that reason.

 

There are plenty of boats that do target silver fish on the lake out deep and those (coho and steelhead) are the ones that should be protected by a 2 fish limit. A lot of this happens out on the East end of the lake. Clients often are looking for limits of fish rather then quality fish.As far as the GOSD running a fish slaughter, there are other events on the lake that kill waaaaay more fish in a weekend then are caught and weighed in the GOSD. 60 teams weighing 10 mature kings over 2 days... likely killing 30-40 to get there best 10 over the 2 days. Even the 1 day events 60 teams x 6 mature kings likely killing 8-12 fish to get ther 6 best.

I fish the events so I am guilty,the fish is never wasted. Teams even donated over 20,000lbs of salmon at one event to the Toronto zoo to help feed the polar bears.

However, all of these events as well as the GOSD help fund the stocking of these fish so what's the real damage...

 

Lake Ontario is an amazing fishery. Its able to support a world class salmon fishery, world class steelhead fishery, amazing lake trout and brown trout fishing, world class walleye fishing... All for one reason, shes a bait machine! The amount of Alwives and smelt in the lake is unreal and its from shore to shore. I dont see any issue with bait in the next 5 years anyway.I think it was 3 years ago we had the biggest runs of smelt and alwives that have been seen in years.

 

Anyway, amazing fishery we are truely blessed to have it in our backyard. get out and enjoy it!

[Snidley]

I am incorrect in just singling out the Salmon Hunt as an archaic contest, the others are equally guilty and should be charged significant "stumpage" or licence fee as well or even better asked to go elsewhere. I call Bull on the derbies funding salmon stocking, rehab etc in any significant way. Lets see some sort of accounting rather than charter captains and cash trollers making broad and completely unsubstantiated claims about the good these contests do vs the slaughter they initiate. With licence fees we would have actual funding, central controlled by the people tasked with running the thing. Add in fees from people looking to utilize the resource and there would be the kind of money available for these enhancements to create a truly world class fishery for some of the most universally desirable species on the planet.

[chessy]

You charter boat guys need to come to port hope and see the slaughter of rainbows from the charter boats here 5 fish limits per person are not uncommon. salmon are now not a put and take fishery any more . they are naturally reproducing the ganny has never been stalked with salmon and a study was done and it is aprox 70% natural. the salmon are now so prolific that the mnr/lomu are canceling there nose tagging issuing that it is to costly, my bet is it is so that they cant prove that stocking on our side is not needed anymore

[Live2fish85]

Snidley you are a goof. Stop talking like you are some god of fishing. Thy are a put and take fish.

 

Maybe you should take a charter so you can catch some fish and feel happy and stop being negative towards any sort of fishing or fisherman/woman.

 

I mean the people paying for the charter are paying for there licenses and have the right to keep fish. No different then anyone else.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Live2fish85

[Snidley]

Live to you must be a cash troller. For years I have heard the line that the Derbies contribute to the salmon fishery. Contribute yes, contribute in a significant way, I think not. I have never seen any type of legitimate documentation to show these conservation claims are true. I'm sure if they in fact contribute in a significant way the claims would be substantiated as part of their marketing of the slaughterfests they run. Yes these charter customers pay a lot of money to go fishing and I too have gone charter trolling and it is a massively over rated segment of our sport as well as one that wrecks havoc on a publicly financed fishery. There are far more just folks that would also like to enjoy this public resource and the issue being covered here pertains to the fact that lake anglers can keep 5 fish and others 2 fish. It seems unfair as well as unsustainable. Being a simpleton I'm pretty sure you missed that part of the issue.

[Live2fish85]

That is all your thoughts and nothing more.

 

I don't fish Salmon derbies or take charters I fish out of my boat or friends. I also have no problem with people taking charters or fishing derbies. I don't know why you think you know so much, you always have some different story of how you know someone haha.

 

No one cares about your stories and dumb comments towards charter captains and any derby fisherman. Just because you can't catch fish like others doesn't mean there doing something wrong. Stop acting like a kid.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Live2fish85

[Steve]

Paul often touches on some very controversial points, but they are still very valid.

 

How much does one person have to put back into a public fishery before one can profit from a public fishery?

 

How much natural reproduction must occur in a fishery before the fishery is no longer considered put and take?

 

With as much natural reproduction being proven year after year, when will it be no longer be ok to assist in disrupting the natural reproduction, only to satisfy a need to bait fish?

 

Lots of questions that need to be considered as the lake continues in its natural progression. The lake is constantly changing, whether through natural change, or man made change. Either way, no answer will remain constant. What was "once the way" may need to be changed based on changes in the lake.

 

I've only fished the lake for a short 8 years and even in my time the lake has changed dramatically. More natural reproduction year after year. More caught and released fish making it to a creek to spawn (successfully). One has to start looking at it differently. That, or totally close ones eyes to change.

 

I know one thing for sure. A natural salmon has imprinted successfully - and at no cost to the tax payer. So release your next salmon, you never know if it is going to be the next successful salmon providing lake ontario with more strong, natural genes.

 

(and yes, this goes against Pauls views of stocking, stocking, and more stocking - its ok to agree with some views and disagree with others....the beauty of free thought)

[Twocoda]

those BIG fish you speak of ...keep the tourism dollars pumping into the local areas...we have a great fishery in my back yard but found ourselves down fishing Scabbies for some monstorous fun...mission accomplished and between the 4 of us about 1300 bucks lighter for a two day stay...maybe you should consider having the hotels and restaurants anti up a match to what the charter boys put in...

[Pikeslayer]

Some days I fill my box. Some days I don't. All depends on my guests & my appetite.

[chessy]

Pikeslayer do you advise your guest that some of the fish are not edible for human consumption ???

[Pikeslayer]

Pikeslayer do you advise your guest that some of the fish are not edible for human consumption ???

Yep! Sure do! Also clean and filet them if my guests aren't familiar.