No fishing at Bronte pier! Ugh! 🙄

[Benthook]

It's rather humorous as I came upon this article in the Oakville Beaver just as I was thinking of reviving my youth a little and hittin up good ol' Bronte pier as I grew up in Oakville spending numerous hours washing lures and more importantly spending quality time with buddies there! 

What's most comical is that the pier is home to the Bronte Fisherman's Memorial which recognizes the significance of fishing in the history of Bronte yet even with that namesake there administering $300 fines for those who wish to take in one of our cherished pastimes! Somethin else! 

Guess I'll just stay put in my safe little bubble on my couch and dream of better days! 😄

'Ridiculous': Fishing bans in Oakville have local anglers surprised and outraged | InsideHalton.com
https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/10137101--ridiculous-fishing-bans-in-oakville-have-local-anglers-surprised-and-outraged/

Bronte’s Fishing Era

Commercial fishing in Bronte thrived in the later part of the 19th century, after trade in wheat and lumber through Bronte Harbour, built in 1856, dwindled to nothing as a result of the completion of the Grand Trunk Railway and falling export prices. Bronte fishermen were a rugged, hard-working group who set out daily in unprotected open boats in good weather and bad, summer and 
winter, sometimes risking or sacrificing their lives to earn a living from the herring, lake trout, whitefish and ciscoes that they cleaned at the dock, packed in ice and shipped to markets in Toronto, Hamilton and New York City

Edited August 25, 2020 by Benthook

[Old Ironmaker]

This reminds me of the time about 15 years back the Feds who are responsible for most piers in Ontario posted "NO FISHING" on the Port Dover pier.  (If the city does not have ownership of this pier how can they have a by law? ) At the time I was on a very popular fishing forum in Canada and posted the news and stirred up the pot so to speak. We even had a protest one Saturday and had more than a handful of fisherpeople and even a few local politicians showed up. We just kept 0on fishing and eventually the signs disappeared. The federal government that is responsible for maintaining and basically have ownership of most public piers said that it was a liability issue and that is why it was posted No Fishing.  Hundreds or more fish from that pier today and even in winter some years. If I'm not mistaken there are still a few "NO FISHING" signs on the Dover pier. I say fish away and let them fine or arrest you. Have the TV network  news producers numbers on speed dial. They love stories like these.

From the news report,,,,,,"Longtime Oakville fisher Andrew Howarth, 25, says this is the first he has heard about a bylaw prohibiting fishing from any pier in Oakville."

When they refer to a 25 year old as a longtime anything what does that make most of us here? Pre historic? 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Old Ironmaker

[Benthook]

Thanks for the insightful reply bud! Quite interesting.....Appreciate it! 

[DRIFTER_016]

Mike Borger's son was harassed by bylaw there a week or so ago.

They have also closed the other piers and all public beaches to fishing.

Sad really. I caught a ton of fish off Bronte pier.  😪

[sauce]

I wonder if the Petro park gates are locked yet.

[craigdritchie]

Biggest issues there have been a bunch of clowns leaving trash all over the place ... worm containers, lure packages, fish guts, pop/beer cans, etc. etc. Worst of all are the coils of used line. I've personally seen dead ducks at Bronte completely wrapped up in the stuff. I mean, seriously, is anyone honestly surprised they closed it down?  It was only a matter of time.

It's always the same thing again and again ... a small number of idiots ruin it for everyone.

 

Edited August 26, 2020 by craigdritchie

[Old Ironmaker]

6 hours ago, craigdritchie said:

Biggest issues there have been a bunch of clowns leaving trash all over the place ... worm containers, lure packages, fish guts, pop/beer cans, etc. etc. Worst of all are the coils of used line. I've personally seen dead ducks at Bronte completely wrapped up in the stuff. I mean, seriously, is anyone honestly surprised they closed it down?  It was only a matter of time.

It's always the same thing again and again ... a small number of idiots ruin it for everyone.

 

And not a single member of OFC is guilty of the above, I hope. Statistics say yes but I really think not. I once confronted a guy that was tossing his stuff on the ground at the James Allen* bridge pier about 35 years ago. It ruined my day fishing. As I was driving away from the scene a ambulance passed me going in the other direction. If you confronted a goof like him today there is a good chance you will be stabbed or even shot. 

* Trivia, what we call The Burlington Skyway is actually The James N. Allen Skyway. The James N.Allen Provincial Park is on Lake Erie in Haldimand west of Port Maitland. If you ever want an entire large sandy beach to yourself go there, if you can find it. He was the Ont. Minister of Transportation back when they built the Queen E and the Skyway. 50's I think. I remember a a kid Dad handing a token to an attendant to go over that bridge, that was a big deal to a 5 year old. 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Old Ironmaker

[Toronto_Angler]

On 8/26/2020 at 12:01 AM, DRIFTER_016 said:

Mike Borger's son was harassed by bylaw there a week or so ago.

They have also closed the other piers and all public beaches to fishing.

Sad really. I caught a ton of fish off Bronte pier.  😪

Dang it I was gonna ask if it was being enforced. I wanted to check out the pier in downtown oakville and Bronte tonight

[AKRISONER]

I call it the “shore fisherman special”

a styrofoam worm container, a mess of birdnested monofilament, an empty pack of Canadian classics and a 6 pack of garbage beer like Busch or natty lite all thrown on the ground

 

the stereotypes are real for these scumbags, it’s always the same junk

Edited August 28, 2020 by AKRISONER

[Toronto_Angler]

Was at Port Credit last night and I think all the Bronte guys were there as it was shoulder to should on the rocks. No fish jumping or being caught either. Just a bunch of guy in the darkness chucking spoons into the abyss lol

[Benthook]

A good reason I suppose to keep Bronte open for business so people don't crowd other piers! Make a rule of 10 feet apart and instill litter rules and regs or something for the piers...I mean it's not rocket science is it? ....or simply shut all the piers down and cause fisherman anarachy! 😆

Edited August 31, 2020 by Benthook

[HTHM]

Looks like Roy on the extreme left

[Snidley]

No overnight parking in the lot as well I'm told. That will cost you $50 if caught. Looks like the Credit is it boys. Or west Humber launch. I'm now in St Catherines and our beach  Lakeside  does not open till 8 am, and closes at 9pm now. Towed if in the parking lot at other times. The biggest shocker to me is that if you cannot show a drivers license illustrating that you live in St Catherines you can't use that public beach at ANY TIME. Politicians and municipal authorities are now showing their true colours. They WILL push the public around whenever they are given the chance. And the pandemic has given them the opportunity.

 

Where is the OFAH in all of this. Access is the first step to eliminating our fishing rights.

[AKRISONER]

22 hours ago, Snidley said:

No overnight parking in the lot as well I'm told. That will cost you $50 if caught. Looks like the Credit is it boys. Or west Humber launch. I'm now in St Catherines and our beach  Lakeside  does not open till 8 am, and closes at 9pm now. Towed if in the parking lot at other times. The biggest shocker to me is that if you cannot show a drivers license illustrating that you live in St Catherines you can't use that public beach at ANY TIME. Politicians and municipal authorities are now showing their true colours. They WILL push the public around whenever they are given the chance. And the pandemic has given them the opportunity.

 

Where is the OFAH in all of this. Access is the first step to eliminating our fishing rights.

what P's me off about all of this is that if our tax dollars were spent on enforcement instead of making up all encompassing closure rules then we wouldnt have these rules blocking us from fishing everywhere.

As it currently stands the reason these are all getting shut down is because we dont have enough enforcement to stop the A holes from doing what they do on the same stretches of river, every year, at the exact same time.

We all know the total gongshow that happens every year during the same two week period, in the exact same spot, by the exact same people the problem is that theres not enough bylaw officers and CO's to stop it. The politicians are taking the simple route by putting in nonsensical all encompassing closure rules.

Youd think it would be the easiest low hanging fruit to snatch of all time, heck in what other scenario do the criminals voluntarily agree to come to you at a specific time at a specific place to commit their crime in plain site right in front of you?

The scumbag snaggers, litter bugs, and poachers are standing there in plain sight in 1 of the 4???? places to fish in the GTA on a stretch of river 500 meters long, yet somehow we cant figure out a way to make this work without a total gongshow. Madness has prevailed.

Call me crazy but what would it take to park 10 guys at those rivers full time for a period of 3 weeks? Youd think theyd hand out enough tickets to pay the bill? No?

Edited September 3, 2020 by AKRISONER

[Hack_Fisherman]

$20 in parking revenues lost....

[Snidley]

The City of Oakville actually bought a expensive flats boat to police the notorious area south of Rebecca st down to the main harbour at Lakeshore rd. They were doing a great job nailing the poachers that would fish illegally from shore in the Bronte estuary but the whole thing is controversial. I understand why they ban fishing from shore in the estuary due to the fact that one side of the river there is private property and the other is a city park that has, correctly in my view, been designated as a fishing free park up to Rebecca st. Lots of guys fished there at night though and they littered, started fires, (usually using garden furniture stolen from the private property), stole boats from the private property etc. You can fish from a boat as long as you don't beach it or anchor up (this is a detailed question as to what is considered anchoring up) Personal watercraft (seadoos) are banned in this area . There are lots of guys that want this area opened up to shore fishing but so far that has not happened.

As far as Bronte pier and fishing there I would say that it really is not nearly as bad as say Port Hope. There are lugans for sure, There are snaggers for sure. But overall it's not nearly the gong show as the upstream activity at Bronte, Credit, Ganny, Saugeen, etc. is. Salmon season attracts meat hunters and roe hunters in droves and this is always going to be the case. Why anyone would want to keep a  Lake Ontario salmon eludes me and I am dead set against roe angling in any form so if it was banned tomorrow I would be a happy camper. At this point I am concerned that the authorities are  moving to implement a P3TA friendly shoreline by limiting access all over Lake Ontario (including Port Dalhousie which will shortly be  a non fishing location). The massive expenditure of $$ directed to shoreline enhancement being done these last few years is aimed at turning our shorelines into a colossally expensive walking promenade for dog walkers and tourists very similar to the shoreline in Chicago. In that context banning  pier fishing  looks like the municipal goal.

Edited September 3, 2020 by Snidley
Spelling

[Snidley]

The $20 parking fee at Bronte and 16Mile creek is for cars WITH TRAILERS.  Again why guys rolling Lake O don't launch at Humber West for free eludes me

[Ralph Zettler]

Reading that since the walkway bridge is finished you can now fish lake side

[huzzsaba]

On 9/14/2020 at 11:06 AM, Ralph Zettler said:

Reading that since the walkway bridge is finished you can now fish lake side

Yes its open lakeside, but they will still get you by not allowing parking in the parking lot at night.  I got a $50 parking ticket a few nights ago and I'm sure everyone there that night got tickets too. As much as we try to follow distancing by going outside peak times, they will nail you somehow. Was an expensive fishing trip with no catch 🙄. 

[Old Ironmaker]

On 9/2/2020 at 12:07 PM, Snidley said:

. The biggest shocker to me is that if you cannot show a drivers license illustrating that you live in St Catherines you can't use that public beach at ANY TIME. 

 

Where is the OFAH in all of this. Access is the first step to eliminating our fishing rights.

To tell you the truth Snidley I don't think proving you are a resident is a bad idea. It is done down in the US where I fish. We have 1 good launch in Haldimand and it is free to the public. By 8 AM the small lot is packed solid with vehicles and trailers and folks that pay taxes here can't use. Down in Niagara County NY where I launch on the upper Niagara you need a pass that you put on the dash showing you are a resident, no pass you pay.  I think that is fair.  Beaches don't apply , that's going a bit far I agree. 

Edited September 15, 2020 by Old Ironmaker

[Snidley]

Lakeside Park in St Catherine's  is not really a fishing destination it's much more of a swimming, yoga on the beach, beach volleyball location. I've only seen one other fishing  guy with a kayak going out there. There were several women that would go down early like me to get their yoga in before it got hot later in the morning. In reality for most places on the planet parts of society depend on outsiders showing up for tourism or work and ,to me, it's a slippery slope to ban non residents in any town let alone a town in the Niagara Region where tourism is important, if not vital.

I recently learned something else of interest re gentrifying LakeO. This lake enhancement program is part of a Federal initiative that has contracted for 56,000projects, big and small, across Canada. I guess this could be good for construction employment but as usual the Feds have screwed up and 22,ooo of the projects have literally gone astray, ie. the Feds do not know what they are, if they have been done, if done if they are to agreed parameters or code etc. That would make it the biggest screw up of all time. I know is St Catherines the project is well on it's way BUT the new piers (2 of them,  fancy ones for the Condo guys that have taken over Port Dalhousie where fishing used to take place) are built to specs that reflect the pre flooding conditions or normal water levels . The last 2 years we have had significant flood conditions on L Ontario and that means  in all likelihood, the new piers will be flooded again maybe even before they are completed .I'm told the Feds are unwilling to modify the already started project so there's a good chance the whole thing will have to be redone. Well played Justin

 

 

[HTHM]

*Rises to the bait, sniffs at it, turns away.*

[tomkat]

I used to fish off of Bronte pier and I used to fish the river up through the provincial park . I only ever fished after the salmon were done and steelhead started later in the fall. I don’t go anymore partly because of the mess left by all the clowns from the salmon gong show and the banks littered with decaying salmon it’s just not enjoyable being on the river. It amazes me how people can take part in an outdoor activity with no regard for the outdoors. One fall I spent the day with other steel headers cleaning the banks of the river and hauling out all the trash left behind but it is a losing battle. So now I honestly don’t have a problem with the ban on the pier and I would extend it up the river through the park as well. I would be happy if they gassed the whole salmon program and put the money into trout. 

[Hack_Fisherman]

On 9/3/2020 at 11:47 AM, Snidley said:

The $20 parking fee at Bronte and 16Mile creek is for cars WITH TRAILERS.  Again why guys rolling Lake O don't launch at Humber West for free eludes me

Good to know. Humber west is an extra 1/2 hr for me. I’m near KItchener. 

 

[Snidley]

I forgot Lakeshore Promenade as a trollers free launch as well. It's in Mississauga