New BMZ Rules

[Dara]

This is going to bum a lot of people in Wawa out.

Some of their best fishing is 2 miles south in a different FMZ and also a different BMZ.

Since you can't transport bait fish to a different BMZ the closest they can purchase bait is over 200km away to Sault Ste Marie and only keep it for 2 weeks with a receipt.  Can't even catch their own bait in the other zone because it's not their zone of residence.

I can drive from Sault with bait purchased here, or trapped here and fish.

Somebody should have put some more thought into this as it will affect many isolated communities near a zone border.

Yikes

[DanD]

I think all this will do is make good people unknowingly break the law and bring bait from wherever it is convenient or from where they have bought their bait for years and fished those waters? 

Dan. 

Edited January 9, 2022 by DanD

[Dara]

5 minutes ago, DanD said:

I think all this will do is make good people unknowingly break the law and bring bait from wherever it is convenient or from where they have bought their bait for years and fished those waters? 

Dan. 

I think until they get educated by a CO.

Most of the zone borders I guess really don't mean that much as there are bait shops close by on both sides.

The Wawa area is particularly affected with the next closest shop being 150km away from the lake being 2km from home.

Wawa doesn't have a lot to offer the population other than fishing so this will hurt if it is enforced.

Lots of trout and walleye fishing there where minnows are used a lot in winter.

[Fisherman]

Sometimes you just have to wonder who came up with this and who signed off on it. 

[Big Cliff]

The same people that make most of the rules that don't make much sense, mourns without a clue but a connection in Ottawa. 

[dave524]

59 minutes ago, Big Cliff said:

The same people that make most of the rules that don't make much sense, mourns without a clue but a connection in Ottawa. 

Worked for the MNR , actually think it was still the dept. of Lands and Forests when I started,  back in the 70's , worked with a few clueless, one day I asked the boss about them ?? he called them P.A.'s , what do you mean I asked,  " political appointees " 🤪

Edited January 9, 2022 by dave524

[Iggy]

They don't care in Toronto,  gives the CO'S more work and allows them to generate more revenue through fines

[maker a laker]

Guys,

I only use bait for ice fishing, but I see an issue. If I buy bait in one BMzone, the same zone I am using it for ice fishing, then take it back to my house in a different BMzone, keep it alive in an aquarium and use the survivors a week later in the same BMZ they were purchased in, am I violating the rules? If so, I have to waste my unused minnows from every trip I make to a BMZ that is different than my residence. That's a great idea!

So the MNR has investigated the wholesale distribution of baitfish and ensured that bait wholesalers are not delivering minnows across the BMZ borders? Sellers in remote locations are likely also harvesters. That can be confirmed through the licensing data. Kind of defeats the purpose of the whole project if a retailer is getting minnows in one BMZ that were grown or harvested in another. 

[Dara]

You can take the unused minnows home I would think, and use them next week in the zone you purchased them as long as you have the receipt and they aren't over 2 weeks old.

Your second part makes me think a bit.

Possibly the Wawa dealer harvester could sell minnows for both zones as long as they were kept separate and marketed for each zone.

Kinda hard to see the government going through the process for this though. They would have to earn their money and trust people.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Dara

[pics]

I will have to switch to artificials where I fish up north. No bait dealers around and because I don't live there I can't trap my own, not even leeches. These rules were definitely written by someone who doesn't venture much past North Bay.. the mnrf is famous for not consulting the COs who work in the field...

[Dara]

I think they consulted like crazy.

This gives CO's sooooo many opportunities to write citations.

A minnow trap out of your zone...wow