MNR rant

[gaspumper]

It''s damed if you do and damed if you don't.

[Old Ironmaker]

A argument as old as Moses. No one likes a cop until they need one.

 

I always wondered why a group that shared a flight with us into another lake had a volleyball net with them? Maybe for a remote lake beach volleyball tournament.

 

What exactly are the C.O's expected to do besides what they did? No sense checking at the end of a trip, even the dumbest of poachers wouldn't fill a plane full of illegal fish or game would they?

[Terry]

can you really eat more then your limit of fish every day...I would get sick of fish pretty fast

 

and I have never had trouble catching legal sized fish on a fly-in, so why would anyone want to keep an illegal fish

[BillM]

can you really eat more then your limit of fish every day...I would get sick of fish pretty fast

 

and I have never had trouble catching legal sized fish on a fly-in, so why would anyone want to keep an illegal fish

 

Do you see what people keep out of the Credit this time of year and feed to their families? LOL!

[Terry]

yeah but on a fly-in

[BillM]

yeah but on a fly-in

 

I agree with you, but people would surprise you man, lol.

[chris.brock]

I smile every time I see a yellow and black turbine Beaver... the best asset the Ontario Government ever bought.. for around $40,000 each in the late 70's. They are currently worth about 1.7 million each.

 

They're gonna burn kerosene somewhere, so it may as well be the north. The airplane(s) is(are) on standby for back lake creel studies, as well as many other uses all season anyhow (including hauling firefighters), so they may as well use it to catch a few that are eating their possession limit at lunch and another in the evening from time to time. Being checked, politely and properly (not ambushed like Terry was), really isn't a big deal is it...when it's all about protecting our resource and you have nothing to hide because you are following the regulations. Now if they're only interested in finding a beer can in your boat... when you are on a back lake.. . then their agenda is seriously flawed.

4 walleye per person for lunch doesn't really make sense

 

I think it's a waste of money to be flying around (even waaaay up there were Solopaddler was this September), to check that stuff when there's so many atrocities going on here in Southern ON,

 

a CO could collect at least double his salary in fines around here without much effort

 

A argument as old as Moses. No one likes a cop until they need one.

 

I always wondered why a group that shared a flight with us into another lake had a volleyball net with them? Maybe for a remote lake beach volleyball tournament.

 

What exactly are the C.O's expected to do besides what they did? No sense checking at the end of a trip, even the dumbest of poachers wouldn't fill a plane full of illegal fish or game would they?

I don't know, I remember waiting for a plane, when it did land and pull in, the American party coming out had 2 big guys struggling to unload a 4 foot cooler that looked like it weighed 300 pounds

 

I guess they didn't drink all their beer?

[chris.brock]

on a side note, Wantabigone where did you go and how was the fishing? I know we have similar interests in what we prefer for fly-in lakes.

[Moosebunk]

Alone with just my wife or a couple friends on the ice... middle of nowhere Kesagami Lake... March... 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009... checked three of those times by the big plane, once by skidoo. One of those years it didn't happen at all but I can't remember which. ALL times the MNR were great with me. Although I gotta wonder what they spent just checking my card and snooping around the ice for fish???

 

Last week spoke with another by phone. He took the time to return my call almost immediately and we had a great conversation. Second time with this CO.

 

It is understood though that there are always gonna be a percentage that aren't nice to deal with, and that's just life. I too think the original OP has good reason to question the costs of CO's flying around the north checking on anglers because we can imagine it to be costly... but as far as wastage goes with our tax dollars, I'm pretty sure they're just a drop in that bucket.

[Sinker]

I live in the kawarthas and haven't been checked by a CO for YEARS!! I hunt and fish, and spend at least two days a week doing one or the other......you'd think I'd run into a CO at some point.

 

Checked on a fly in? Really??

 

S.

[ehg]

I live in the kawarthas and haven't been checked by a CO for YEARS!! I hunt and fish, and spend at least two days a week doing one or the other......you'd think I'd run into a CO at some point.

 

Checked on a fly in? Really??

 

S.

 

You need to fish Head Lake by Norland if you want to get checked by CO.

 

Been there only few times and twice was checked by CO in boat.

There was about 8 or 9 boats on lake fishing. He pulled four of them off.

 

 

When we launched, a boat leaving had about a 7 lb. walleye they were taking.

I explained the size limits but they didn't care. The CO missed them guys but got others.

 

 

Was under the impression he lived on lake, it was full of 'homes' there.

Edited October 21, 2013 by ehg

[chris.brock]

You need to fish Head Lake by Norland if you want to get checked by CO.

 

Been there only few times and twice was checked by CO in boat.

There was about 8 or 9 boats on lake fishing. He pulled four of them off.

 

 

When we launched, a boat leaving had about a 7 lb. walleye they were taking.

I explained the size limits but they didn't care. The CO missed them guys but got others.

 

 

Was under the impression he lived on lake, it was full of 'homes' there.

that's a good thing

 

me and my wife went down Head and into Fishog this summer and saw some things we didn't like and wished a CO would have been around

[mattybculp]

I live in the kawarthas and haven't been checked by a CO for YEARS!! I hunt and fish, and spend at least two days a week doing one or the other......you'd think I'd run into a CO at some point.

 

Checked on a fly in? Really??

 

S.

 

 

X2 I have never been stopped by the MNR on the kawartha lakes in my years of fishing, just an occasional OPP checking for alcohol and that boating regs are being met, they didn't even ask for a fishing license when it was quite evident that was all we were doing. This year while fishing a tournament a boat sneaked up on us, and I remember saying to my buddy " finally in all these years were gunna be checked out," which despite being in a tourney I was happy to do. So this MNR boat pulls up and says " excuse me do you have time for a survey?" I remember laughing in my head. Really? So I obliged did the survey with out missing a cast, not a request for a license or checking possession limits happened. I want to see more CO's around, if everybody is playing by the rules, then nobody has anything to worry about. But I see people all the time breaking the rules and breaking them in large proportions. I have called the hotlines and even tried approaching people with education on what they are doing is wrong, but almost everyone I did approach knew the rules and were choosing to break them. I wish they had the "reserves" for CO's, just like volunteer firemen,who cared enough about the fishery to work on their own time wage free, and check a couple boats out, if they found violators contact with CO is made and dealt with. Kinda like neighbourhood watch for the fish. lol Anyways I know this would never happen, so no need for the comments poking loop holes in my theory. Just a guy who wants to do more to protect his heritage and make sure all can enjoy it like I have .

[lew]

You can add my name to the list of those that NEVER get checked by CO's in the Kawarthas and I can honestly say that in 50 odd years of fishing the area I've been stopped exactly ONE time. I had a trailer north of Peterboro for 36 years and fished the region all the time.

 

The one time I was stopped was opening day of duck season, probably 30 years ago, and they just wanted to know if I'd heard any gun shots before sunrise, and never asked me a single question about fishing.

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

living on a bordertown at somewhat of a gateway to ontario's walleye country, i see tourists coming back from fishing up north getting caught with too many fish all the time. it would be nice to catch some of these guys mid vacation once and a while, instead of AFTER they get busted at the border with 80 walleye fillets in a cooler.

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

after the fact i realize that it sounds like i'm bagging on americans, which i'm not... poachers are from everywhere...

[jimmer]

Everytime I read one of these posts, I just get sickened with all the stories of people keeping more than their limit, fish outside of the slot, poachers wasting fish. The ones that get me the most are when someone keeps a walleye outside of the slot and couldn't give a crap when approached by a concerned angler to educate them. The future of some of our lakes doesn't look good.

I would like to see the MNR waste some of their money in the Kawarthas. I have been checked over the years, once ice fishing on Pigeon last winter, but the ones doing the surveys are not CO's, they are students.

[BillM]

Got checked out on Simcoe last year twice while ice fishing. They hand out a lot of fines when guys *cough* mistake *cough* herring for whitefish, lol!

[Lunkerhunter]

been stopped 4 times this year alone on scugog. 3 by MNR and once by OPP.

 

also stopped out on simcoe twice. once on perch grounds and once on whitie grounds.

 

maybe they like me

[Whopper]

You can add my name to the list of those that NEVER get checked by CO's in the Kawarthas and I can honestly say that in 50 odd years of fishing the area I've been stopped exactly ONE time. I had a trailer north of Peterboro for 36 years and fished the region all the time.

 

 

 

Lew you need to spend a day in my boat. I'm a magnet and target for them (out of province boat numbers).

A few years back while on Rice Lake I was checked three days in a row, twice in the same spot by same two OPP's & CO.

Another year on the West Arm they came straight to my boat while passing right by two of my Canadian friends.

Also had them check a couple of boats from our group and our cabin (while we weren't there) on a flyin north of Armstrong one year, I wasn't one of them that got check but I did hear and see the plane.

I've also been stopped twice on the road, one of them was a road block set up coming from the Red Lake Area, CO didn't believe me when I stated I had no fish and proceed to check everything in my truck, he was nice enough but I could tell he may have been disappointed.

 

This "TOURIST" follows the rules

[Bernie]

My experience is very similar to Lews.

I cannot recall ever being checked by a CO when fishing or hunting and its been 40 years since I got my hunting licence.
I have had the creel cencus boat come in a couple times, but they don't ask for anything other than fish numbers and species.

[Terry]

It must be me. 4 times hunting and countless times fishing

 

I got stop 7 times on a long weekend and 5 of 7 stops had both NMR and police while fishing

[Musky or Specks]

As I mentioned before the bigger threat in the Kawarthas is habitat destruction NOT OVER HARVESTING-thats why your not getting stopped. CO's are checking out compliance issues with construction etc As anglers its irksome and is optically bad but as someone who's seen entire fisheries wiped out due to habitat destruction I'd rather the few dollars MNR has in Southern Ontario be spent on this. Poachers suck but you gotta choose your battles.

[JoshS]

I fish the kawartha's quite a bit and have only been stopped once, it was on a less-popular lake on a rainy wednesday afternoon. I was the only boat out there all day, besides the CO's who were "disguised" in a fishing boat. After they checked my license and asked me a few questions, they told me they were watching me from a distance with binoculars for awhile? I remember thinking, what a waste of time that was. They were on the lake for hours and I was the only boat. They could of been elsewhere. I understand they have to do their checks on lakes but they should have made the call to go check some other areas that day as well.

 

Edit: Not in the boat I've been stopped a few times in the region, either night fishing for walleye and once they were setup at a 4way stop on hwy 36 checking cars. Some of the groups that fish the dams in the kawartha's pay no mind to slots (and garbage cans :wallbash: ), nice to see CO's there.

Edited October 21, 2013 by JoshS

[Dontcryformejanhrdina]

I got checked once this year, a couple of years ago I had an MNR officer pull into the driveway and ask me what I caught when I was bringing my rods down to my truck from the house, I hadn't even left to go fishing yet lol. Also had MNR officers stop and talk to me once or twice when I was a kid. Never had them screaming at me or jumping out of bushes haha, they were always polite, just asking me what I caught/how the fishing was, checked licences, etc..