OFAH vs Town of Port Hope

[FloatnFly]

this is going to get nasty.

 

OFAH has threatened to pull funding/cancel the atlantic salmon stocking in the Ganny as well as possibly cancelling the installation of the new fish counter, if the town puts in the $40 municipal fishing pass

[chris.brock]

Good for the OFAH to fight that. An Ontario fishing licence is $30 and they want $40 just for their town, lol.

 

If Port Hope gets away with it, other municipalities may try the same thing.

Edited February 26, 2017 by chris.brock

[ketchenany]

Didn't the Notty people put in the same thing? Or was it a parking fee?

[Freshtrax]

Notty did the same thing.

[ecmilley]

Good if ofah didnt fight it. Wouldnt support them

[bigugli]

GRCA has been talking about having a separate permit to fish their waters as well.

[misfish]

Didn't the Notty people put in the same thing? Or was it a parking fee?

 

 

Essa township did the fee thing.

[Fisherman]

I don't believe it's right, every time we turn around, government at whatever level has their dam fingers in our wallets. Sure some will say it's only a coffee a day, in the end they will slowly put everyone at a financial wall. Since Essa came up with the fee, I have not wet a line there, they can go pound pinecones.

[FloatnFly]

heres the letter from OFAH to Port Hope

 

https://www.ofah.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/PortHopefishingfeeOFAHletter.pdf

[woodenboater]

devil's advocate (who has never fished the Ganny)

 

are they basically trying to recoup costs (and/or discourage slobs) associated with maintenance and cleanup of the river ? Is it covered in garbage during prime fishing season ?

 

but still, $40 is serious coin for one area.

[SirCranksalot]

this is going to get nasty.

 

OFAH has threatened to pull funding/cancel the atlantic salmon stocking in the Ganny

 

 

I am not full 'up to speed' on the various issues here, but I'm not sure Port Hope would care if the atlantic salmon is continued or not

[GBW]

I am all behind the OFAH on this one as I'm not going to pay $x to fish here and $y to fish here ON TOP of my 3 year sport lic. costs.

[GBW]

 

 

I am not full 'up to speed' on the various issues here, but I'm not sure Port Hope would care if the atlantic salmon is continued or not

But for MNR to have less bodies there going after the poachers during peak run's...

[DRIFTER_016]

The best thing that could happen if it is implemented is an all out boycott on Pt. Hope.

Angling brings in North of $50,000,000 to the city every year.

My guess is the local businesses would get it killed in a hurry once the tourist $$$$ start drying up.

[FloatnFly]

devil's advocate (who has never fished the Ganny)

 

are they basically trying to recoup costs (and/or discourage slobs) associated with maintenance and cleanup of the river ? Is it covered in garbage during prime fishing season ?

 

but still, $40 is serious coin for one area.

 

what they are trying to do is weed out the illegal fishing during the salmon run. if you've never seen it, its a complete sh!t show. there was one there last year, or the year before, he would throw a rope across a pool, the rope had 5 gaff hooks on it. even though there is the availability of a fish cleaning station on the river, people are gutting and chucking fish and leaving them to rot.

 

i have found 50lb+ mono on the banks,hooks larger than my truck keys, people using downrigger rods with massive reels because they say 'salmon' on them

 

personally, i love fishing the ganny, i really enjoy having an opprotunity to hook into big fish on my fly rod (i don't have a boat to fish lake o with) but i avoid that river at all costs because of all the crap.

 

one CO went down there because he didn't believe the stories. was there for an hour, and could not believe what he was watching. That was the now retired Mitch Phinny, his normal territory didn't extend that far.

 

This photo is one of hundreds of examples:

 

http://blogs.canoe.com/outdoorsguy/fishing/ganny-river-salmon-getting-no-respect/

[Old Ironmaker]

I don't see how charging an additional fee to fish will deter poachers.

[woodenboater]

 

what they are trying to do is weed out the illegal fishing during the salmon run. if you've never seen it, its a complete crap show. there was one there last year, or the year before, he would throw a rope across a pool, the rope had 5 gaff hooks on it. even though there is the availability of a fish cleaning station on the river, people are gutting and chucking fish and leaving them to rot.

 

i have found 50lb+ mono on the banks,hooks larger than my truck keys, people using downrigger rods with massive reels because they say 'salmon' on them

 

personally, i love fishing the ganny, i really enjoy having an opprotunity to hook into big fish on my fly rod (i don't have a boat to fish lake o with) but i avoid that river at all costs because of all the crap.

 

one CO went down there because he didn't believe the stories. was there for an hour, and could not believe what he was watching. That was the now retired Mitch Phinny, his normal territory didn't extend that far.

 

This photo is one of hundreds of examples:

 

http://blogs.canoe.com/outdoorsguy/fishing/ganny-river-salmon-getting-no-respect/

 

 

holee jzayzus and mary craptastic ! I used to float flies on the Credit near Belfountain and hardly ever say another soul but this would keep me off local rivers permanently. sigh...

 

I think the town would be better off putting in a camera and posting pics of the poachers. shame is a great motivator

[craigdritchie]

The best thing that could happen if it is implemented is an all out boycott on Pt. Hope.

Angling brings in North of $50,000,000 to the city every year.

My guess is the local businesses would get it killed in a hurry once the tourist $$$$ start drying up.

 

 

Not sure where you get that $50 million figure from Dave, since the town's entire annual budget is barely $18 million. And according to the feds, the major economic impact of fishing is in the form of high-ticket purchases like lodge trips, major tackle items, trucks and boats. If you pull them out of the mix, the economic impact of fishing for all of Ontario is about $27.8 million. For the most part, guys who go to the Ganny bring all their equipment with them, and go home at the end of the day. They might go buy a burger on the way home, but that's about it. So with all due respect man, I very much doubt that the economic impact of snagging salmon in town is anywhere close to that kind of amount.

 

 

I don't see how charging an additional fee to fish will deter poachers.

 

It won't. But the money will help offset the cost of having to clean up the stinking mess a couple of times each week. If you've never smelled Port Hope in the fall then I envy you.

 

Beyond that, the provision to ban fishing at night at least gives the police something to charge people with when they see them down there at 2:00 am and up to no good. It's almost impossible to get a conviction on a snagging charge these days, since you can't prove intent. Even gutting the fish for eggs and leaving the carcass to rot can be argued in court, since all they can charge you with there is allowing fish suitable for human consumption to go to waste, and it's up to the officer to prove the fish is fit to eat. But if you can't fish from sunset to sunrise, and you're caught down there in the middle of the night, it's cut and dry. You're nailed.

 

Listen, I don't like the idea of this any more than anyone else does. But instead of griping at the town, people should be directing their anger at the hooligans who are responsible.

 

Personally, I believe OFAH is way off base here. They should be working with the town to find a permanent solution - not siding with the poachers.

 

And please - threaten to quit stocking Atlantics? Who cares? So returns of Atlantic salmon drop from zero to ..... what, then?

 

OFAH really needs to rethink their position on this issue.

Edited February 27, 2017 by Craig_Ritchie

[FLEX ROD]

OFAH - Ontario Federation Angler Hunter, What OFAH is doing is standing up for the Angler portion / membership.

 

I have been fishing the Ganny since 1972 and I really do not know what Port Hope would look like today if they did not have the out of town fisherman support, but I would bet that it would not look like it does today.

 

If you take the 45 years that I personally have fished the River I always fill up my tank of gas so 45 years x $50 gas x 10 trips per spring = $ 22,500.

 

I think that loosing $22,500 from one single angler represent a lot higher amount of investment then just a single burger or a coffee.

 

What Port Hope should be doing is focusing on working with OFAH , MNR and for that matter any legitimate sports group to improve the quality of sport fishing to the way it was and they would see a much higher return than imposing a $40 fee.

 

A big step in the right direction of improving things is get rid of the Damn Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny.

 

What we as Anglers have to remember and start to really practice is " Leave Nothing Behind But Footprints" that will be a great first step.

 

John

[Headhunter]

Probably catch flack for this, but once again the question that comes to mind is, why are trout and salmon the only game fish that are eligible to catch during their spawn?

Close the ditches during spawn and problem solved.

HH

[porkpie]

The OFAH is doing exactly what their membership want them to do, as they should! Attempting to prevent loss of public access or pay to play fishing. They frequently intervene in attempts by council to restrict access to angling and hunting by enacting restrictive bylaws. This is what the membership supports them for. Some of those members may be poacher loogans. The OFAH executive have no way of knowing who is who when complaints about the direction port hope council is going roll in. Now I pretty much think that just about everything to do with salmon fishing in rivers is a complete joke at this point, but I support people's right to do it, and if the OFAH wants to spend some of my membership funds to combat a restrictive (for some) access pass then I'm okay with it! As for angling dollars to the town, I'm probably like most, I'll buy coffee and lunch when visiting, and most likely gas the truck. That's probably about it. I recall from years past that the hotels and motels around port hope filled to the brim for trout opener, so for a weekend things probably have a bit of a financial impact on the town, but nowhere near what people expect over the course of the year.

[AKRISONER]

call me crazy, but would this additional licensing requirement allow for municipal by-law enforcement to join in on the enforcement activities related to this ish show. Ive fished port hope, didnt see anything crazy during my visit but to me any additional enforcement that can be done to stop the crap show is worth it.

 

its 40 bucks guys...90% of us have spent more on the line on our 200 dollar fishing rod.

 

Maybe im in the minority but ive always said I wish fishing licenses were $500 a year, we all spend way more money on trivial Bull then the past time that provides us with months of enjoyment each year.

 

If you fish 3 days a year, then pay 50 bucks for a 3 day pass...still cheap in relativity.

 

This is just my opinion.

Edited February 27, 2017 by AKRISONER

[dave524]

Probably catch flack for this, but once again the question that comes to mind is, why are trout and salmon the only game fish that are eligible to catch during their spawn?

Close the ditches during spawn and problem solved.

HH

 

I've caught Bows with loose eggs, ready to drop them, from Oct right through winter until past season opener in May, so what you propose would basically shut down any river steelheading, really, does it matter if a fish is a little prego or a lot prego ? if it is caught and kept it's not going to spawn again.

[Jon]

I'm going to play devil's advocate a bit and suggest that charging people to fish in Port Hope is no different than charging people entry to a national or provincial park, conservation area or pay to launch a boat and then fish. And if the money goes to maintain the properties and enforce the rules rather than general coffers, maybe not a bad thing?

 

Jon

[jimmer]

Yikes, this smells bad. It's spreading by the sounds of it, if other municipalities are doing it already. Would that mean you would have to pay that fee if you launched in Port Hope? Maybe they don't want river fishing happening at all and this is the only way they might be able to stop it or slow it.

Funny, I was just thinking about trying some pier fishing for the first time in like 15 years.

Edited February 27, 2017 by jimmer