OMNR Survey...proposed changes to reg's re: photos of c&r fish

[CrowMan]

Consultation on potential revisions to release of fish rules for recreational fishing...survey 

https://www.ontario.ca/page/fishing-notices-and-updates#section-0

Good...perhaps finally some clarity. For example, taking a photo and measuring a Musky that is caught from a strictly c&r lake..

Edited February 23, 2023 by CrowMan

[AKRISONER]

Glad to see this it’s about time they figured this out because the current rules are as ambiguous as all heck.

the one that bothers me the most is the practice of people using stringers as their livewell I see that junk all of the time, just brutal. 

[irishfield]

Good thing CO Bruce Ward retired... he'd have nothing to hassle Georgian Bay Musky fisherman with anymore..

[LostAnotherOne]

2 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

Glad to see this it’s about time they figured this out because the current rules are as ambiguous as all heck.

the one that bothers me the most is the practice of people using stringers as their livewell I see that junk all of the time, just brutal. 

Those snapping turtles beg to differ lol

[BillM]

Would be nice if this puts a stop to people taking pics of OOS fish.   

[CrowMan]

You wouldn't believe what goes on at the FB group page for my cottage lake..

One yahoo regularly posts photos of himself holding up a Bass in May or early June...with the caption "oh don't worry it was released".

Another clown posts photos of out of slot size Walleye...on a stringer, standing on his dock...with the caption "let go to swim another day".

The worst of it is the little old ladies that mostly frequent the page...then post comments like.."nice catch" or "great fish".

When I post letting them know they're actually breaking the law...they call me out for being a "Karen"

...and then the same little old ladies complain "the fishing isn't like it used to be"

Jeez...

[BillM]

The worst are the guys claiming personal bests with OOS fish lol.    It's crazy to me that people can lack simple common sense. 

[CrowMan]

Here's an example of what I deal with...

I blotted out his name and face...not sure why, it's not like I'm protecting the innocent. 

I'm in Zone 18, we have a slot for Walleye...only fish between 40 and 50cm can be retained..

[Fisherman]

While some anglers already thumb their nose at the immediate rule,  I can just see what's going to happen when the fish are out of the water for multiple pics or even a video when they make it legal.

[Dara]

I filled out the survey and hopefully they value my opinion.

They usually do.  LOL

[Fisherman]

Me too.

[dave524]

I hate it when people with livewells think it is OK to cull or release fish miles often from where they were originally caught

[Dara]

1 hour ago, dave524 said:

I hate it when people with livewells think it is OK to cull or release fish miles often from where they were originally caught

why is that

[dave524]

6 hours ago, Dara said:

why is that

Often it could be a totally different environment than what the fish is acclimatized to, feeding patterns , water conditions. We had a bass tourney years ago out of Port Colborne where some boats ran to Long Point to fish, insane to release those fish at Port at the end of the tourney.

[Dara]

3 hours ago, dave524 said:

Often it could be a totally different environment than what the fish is acclimatized to, feeding patterns , water conditions. We had a bass tourney years ago out of Port Colborne where some boats ran to Long Point to fish, insane to release those fish at Port at the end of the tourney.

Then you have to outlaw live release tournaments.

I can just imagine how the rule would be written to cover release where you caught it.

[dave524]

3 hours ago, Dara said:

Then you have to outlaw live release tournaments.

I can just imagine how the rule would be written to cover release where you caught it.

No just the ones where the fish are weighed  at a grandstand , often not even on the water, catch, weigh or measure, photo  and release at point of capture, tournament anglers are a honest bunch  🤣 

[akaShag]

tagged for interest

[Dara]

Tournament fish are always weighed on the water. Walking distance of carrying the fish from livewell and back to water. It is illegal to transport live gamefish. 

Would point of capture be where it was hooked or landed. How far can you drift while taking a picture.

That would be as ambiguous a rule as immediately tagging a moose and immediately informing the rest of the party that a moose was shot. No matter what, you shoot, they have a charge to lay.

They need to address the ridiculous rules for baitfish zones they just came up with first

[CrowMan]

I think the trend is definitely towards "catch-record-release" tournaments like Major League Fishing. With smaller amateur tourneys finding volunteers is a challenge, but with the advent of tech now available they're not necessarily needed either.

https://thefishingwire.com/dispersal-patterns-of-post-tournament-bass/

On the other hand, the proposed reg changes should now allow for tournaments during c&r only seasons...like the newly opened early Bass season in Zone 20 (Lake O). When organizers initially approached the OMNR last year, they were quickly shot down as the current reg's don't allow for measuring and photos.

Edited February 24, 2023 by CrowMan

[akaShag]

1 hour ago, Dara said:

They need to address the ridiculous rules for baitfish zones they just came up with first

Agreed!

[BillM]

16 hours ago, Dara said:

why is that

Because fish like largemouth won't feed until they get back to their home waters.  Gord Pyzer talked about this at the fishing show.   Fish will eventually die (He gave a few examples)..    

[Dara]

Gord is a tournament and TV fisherman. Does he have any scientific studies to back his opinion.

Not that I disagree but science rules over opinion...generally

Where I live bass are open year round because they are a nuisance predator fish for the trout and walleye we mostly target.

To go with the catch and release direction they would be outlawing most tournaments which least bothers me except for kids like them at the cottage.

A few lure and boat manufacturers may be perturbed.

The problem is, how do you write a law to keep everybody happy.

 

[CrowMan]

"Gord is a tournament and TV fisherman. Does he have any scientific studies to back his opinion."

Gord has a Masters Degree in Resource Management and spent over 30 years working for the OMNR as a Senior Fisheries Biologist. I think he may not only have read but also participated first hand in more than a few scientific studies.

I'm not sure how "they would be outlawing most tournaments" ? The thought is that tournaments run on a catch-record-release basis are less detrimental to the resource.

Edited February 25, 2023 by CrowMan

[AKRISONER]

I’m a tournament bass fisherman, so yes I absolutely have bias, however I’m also 99% of the time exclusively a catch and release angler. I can tell you right now, that the responsibility of keeping your catch alive during a tournament is paramount to all participants.

Moving bass tournaments away entirely from catch and release is not the objective to save a resource, there are plenty of studies conducted by texas fish and wildlife on how tournaments impact fisheries, at such an higher level of depth than gord or anyone at the entire MNR can even fathom. Share lunker and their entire scientific approach to growing bass fishing in the state of texas makes our entire program a complete joke.

 

people tend to forget entirely that tournaments are always held with your catch and retain limits in mind, therefore every single angler was within their rights to literally kill every single last fish that they weighed from the particular body of water that day. 
 

Now I understand that everyone loves the concept of MLF where you weigh your fish at the point of capture, however you forget that every single boat then requires a Marshall with a high end scale to record the fish. Also, guess what, MLF just moved back to a 5 fish weigh limit this season because they realized the appeal had taken a significant hit.

I guess there is no need for a tournament blast off, or official weigh in…jeez this is all starting to sound like taking away a bunch of the appeal  of tournament fishing. Maybe you can’t appreciate it, or don’t understand the appeal.

anyone that does can tell you that there aren’t many feelings like blastoff and running a bass boat full bore to that honey hole and catching a big one. If that makes me wrong, then I guess I don’t wanna be right lol.

I guess you can ask the entire economy of tournament bass fisherman to entirely move over to a catch measure release tournaments, to me it starts sounding a heck of a lot like our recent gun laws, making up rules targeting people that do things legally and doing nothing to stop guys like crow’s neighbours. 
 

crow we have a similar problem up at our place, there’s a very strict fish sanctuary in parry sound, most people appreciate the border, but my neighbor have now started downrigging the fish sanctuary pretending that they are “salmon fishing”

 

they then proceed to post pictures of their laketrout catches on Facebook. That one irks me so bad.

I’ll add, I sure as hell also hope that they don’t open up the pre-spawn season to tournaments, leave that be, you can allow for guys to go target some pre spawn fish and snap a picture and measure their trophies, but we definitely don’t need guys livewelling during that time of year when there are no retention limits in place. I guess the kayak guys woulD be happy. 
 

also why in the hell is the province not doing anything about getting tournament directors to direct their funds back to the resource. That one drives me nuts, some of these guys are operating corporate cash cows with no need to pay back into the resource. The other one that bothers me is the complete lack of weigh in standards in bigger tournaments. It’s one thing for 5 boats at my local clubby to weigh fish, it’s another to have a disaster like B1 pulled off a few years back with awful holding tank procedures which resulted in a gigantic die off, the guy then stole a bunch of money, just craziness. 

Edited February 25, 2023 by AKRISONER

[CrowMan]

I must say purely from the perspective of entertainment as a viewer or fan, I do like the MLF format. It makes it more like watching a sporting event similar to a NFL or NHL game. You get to see the personalities and emotions as the participants struggle to try outwit and strategize against their competitors. Each competitor being able to see in real time exactly what the others are doing certainly adds a big element of drama...rather than just the focus on the end results as in traditional tournaments. I mean you don't watch (or play) a hockey game  and wait for the very end to find out the score.

Just my opinion as a viewer...and the fact that the fish are instantly released where they were caught is a good thing too. I think this format is also more presentable to the " anti's " who get all over tournaments with their attitude "of torturing living things strictly for sport"...

I'm not a tournament guy...I fish for other reasons, so I can't comment about what it's like as a participant, but as viewer I do like MLF...before it came along I would rarely tune in to watch a tournament.

I realize that in amateur tournaments this format is a challenge...but with certified sealed scales or tape measures, cell phones with a camera, and i-pads (and some ethical behavior on the part of the participants) I think it could be done.

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by CrowMan