Catching fish before thier season

[highlander]

Just to ad,

Don't most of us hit the water using polarized glasses? Don't know about you but if I can see the bass spawning I am outta there!

Maybe you should also look away, the fishies don't want you looking at their naughty bits! Givem' some privacy!

[|D4|]

I personally think it's pretty simple. If your fishing with a weedless floating frog in May it a no no ..... but if your fishing in shallows for walleye in spring with a yellow Mr.Twister twin tail and land a bass or two ..... put them back in and continue fishing. But if I constantly keep catching bass and not walleye then i'll change depts/location ect....... it's simple rules are rules but unfortunatly we cant predict whats going to bite on your bait. I wont run around a lake hunting for OOS speecies but i'll try to avoid them by using lures that dont ussualy interest them.

That's what I think of this subject.

[Wallyboss]

D4, a floating frog is really a good bait for spring pike though. that is a problem with Bass and Pike being attracted to similar baits. It's the same thing for a spinnerbait. Pike and bass love em and they hunt the same shallow bays at this time of the year.

I am in no way condoning fishing OOS but if I want to fish for pike I will and yes I will move if I catch more than 2 bass in a certain area and feel bad about it , but because they share the same waters it's going to happen. If I catch a couple of pikes on the edge of a weed bed with a spinnerbait ,you can garantee that I will toss a frog across the top of that weedbed just to see if any pikes are hidden in there. But if it's a couple of bass that I catch on the edge I will move along.

[|D4|]

Wallyboss,

Your 100% right .... floating frog for pike is great in spring so are spinners and yes they do share the same habitat. But me personnaly ( dont want to offend anyone) I repeat me personnaly i'll move away from the weeds a couple of feet to a 6-9 ft drop and put on a 4 inch cranck bait just to avoid the bass but like I said thats just me and i'm still not garantied that a bass wont him my cranck bait. The reason why I think like this is i've been stoped before fishing for pike in shallows with a floating weedless scum frog and got hustled by the Ministry guy with his questions ( he was over doing it) . So now I just try to avoid them !

[stetco]

What I'd like to know is how often do the COs go out. I must admit, haven't been fishing for years but I was out a lot last year in a lot of common lakes and rivers. Never seen a CO anywhere or heard of anyone being questioned by a CO. Anyone have any personal stories of being questioned by a CO?

[troutnmuskiehunter]

What I'd like to know is how often do the COs go out. I must admit, haven't been fishing for years but I was out a lot last year in a lot of common lakes and rivers. Never seen a CO anywhere or heard of anyone being questioned by a CO. Anyone have any personal stories of being questioned by a CO?

October 2008
PRE-SEASON WALLEYE PROVE COSTLY FOR LOCAL ANGLER
A man from Englehart has been fined $1,050, had his fishing licence suspended for one year and lost his fishing equipment after illegally fishing for walleye during the closed season.

The man plead guilty to catching and keeping six walleye out of season and to angling with three fishing rods. The man’s fishing equipment was forfeited to the Crown.

The court was told that on May 5, 2008, the man caught two walleye and hid them along the bank of the Blanche River to avoid detection. Conservation officers checking for illegal fishing in the area found the two hidden fish, along with four other walleye. The officers also saw the man tending three set and baited fishing rods, which they seized.

The Blanche River is in Fisheries Management Zone 8, where the angling season for walleye is closed each year from April 15 to the third Saturday in May. The closed season protects walleye during their spawning period. Every fish removed during spawning is a major loss to the walleye population in the area.

The case was heard in Ontario Court of Justice, Temiskaming Shores, September 4, 2008.


January 2008
ANGLER ON THE HOOK FOR OUT-OF-SEASON WALLEYE FISHING
CHAPLEAU – A Sault Ste. Marie area resident has been fined $2,400 for having walleye out of season.



The man plead guilty to catching and keeping 12 walleye before the 2007 opening of walleye season. He was also suspended from fishing for one year.



Court was told that he was camping on Kebskwasheshi Lake on May 18, 2007, when Ministry of Natural Resources Conservation Officers inspected his boat and coolers. Officers found 11 whole walleye and two walleye fillets.

The case was heard at the Ontario Court of Justice, Chapleau, on January 9, 2008.

Anglers are reminded to review the 2008-2009 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary for information on catch and possession limits, and open seasons.

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/En ... 79098.html

[slop]

Those convictions were as a result of blatent poaching. What is difficult to interpret is if a guy is working shallow for Crappie with a little ultralight set up in his $150.000.00 shiny bass boat.

[Wallyboss]

We could actually blame GOD for all of this. If he would've made it that all fish spawn at teh same time then MNR could've closed fishing for all species for 1.5 month. It would've given us time to clean all all fishing equipment and get all our boats and motor repaired during this time. He could've made that happen smack in the middle of moose and deer hunting season.

[Todd B.]

slop,

If someone is fishing for crappie, and assuming they've found some fish you'd watch the pull a mulititude of crappie out of the water in relation to any bass caught. That being said, if a CO watches an angler pull out bass after bass without moving it's pretty clear that they're not fishing (or even searching) for crappie.

[RJ]

Though a pretty much assumed thing by most...

I just went thru the regs quickly....nowhere that I found mentions the need to change locations if you are catching OOS fish....

[troutnmuskiehunter]

Those convictions were as a result of blatent poaching.

I know that Grant, but I was using it as an example to reply to stetco's post about him never seeing a CO anywhere..

What I'd like to know is how often do the COs go out. I must admit, haven't been fishing for years but I was out a lot last year in a lot of common lakes and rivers. Never seen a CO anywhere or heard of anyone being questioned by a CO. Anyone have any personal stories of being questioned by a CO?

[Jimmy_1]

I think an MNR officer would have a REAL hard time in court trying to stick a fine to you if he heckled you over choice of bait.

Unless you are using a musky rod and lures in May I wouldn't worry, even if fined.

In Canada, our legal system is based on proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused indeed did the crime.

My point. He fines you for using a frog for pike, accuses you of fishing bass OOS.

Fine, smile and say you'll be happy to deal with this in court.

Your court day shows up and the MNR officer is there saying you were fishing OOS.

To which yourself and as many angler buddies you've got state they have used this lure for years and then print off from this site and other sites where people say they are good pike lures.

Now you have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that you were not breaking the law. No bass were found in your live well???? So where is the proof?

As RJ pointed out, nowhere in the regs does it state you must move on if catching OOS fish. You'd bring that to the court too!

People may get upset by this pst, but oh well!
I agree that the MNR needs to protect the fisheries from poachers. Not heckle guys who fish pike from a a bass boat and who are not breaking the law!

If you assume that someone fishing from a Ranger is fishing OOS, then you have a biggoted mindset.

[Andy_L]

I was questioned a couple of times last year on the Mississippi...not by a CO...but by the OPP...and that included checking fishing license. another time on the Ottawa i was pulled over and checked by OPP with CO in the boat with him (that one was a couple of years ago though)

[|D4|]

I think an MNR officer would have a REAL hard time in court trying to stick a fine to you if he heckled you over choice of bait.

Unless you are using a musky rod and lures in May I wouldn't worry, even if fined.

In Canada, our legal system is based on proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused indeed did the crime.

My point. He fines you for using a frog for pike, accuses you of fishing bass OOS.

Fine, smile and say you'll be happy to deal with this in court.

Your court day shows up and the MNR officer is there saying you were fishing OOS.

To which yourself and as many angler buddies you've got state they have used this lure for years and then print off from this site and other sites where people say they are good pike lures.

Now you have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that you were not breaking the law. No bass were found in your live well???? So where is the proof?

As RJ pointed out, nowhere in the regs does it state you must move on if catching OOS fish. You'd bring that to the court too!

People may get upset by this pst, but oh well!
I agree that the MNR needs to protect the fisheries from poachers. Not heckle guys who fish pike from a a bass boat and who are not breaking the law!

If you assume that someone fishing from a Ranger is fishing OOS, then you have a biggoted mindset.

Amen !

[almontefisher]

I have been checked twice in over 25years of fishing...One I was in a very tiny section of the Clyde river when out of nowhere two C.O's came my way..chatted with me asked me how I was doing and made sure evrything was in order...the other time was two years ago on White Lake...trolling a stretch of water and was stopped,checked for all proper papers,gear etc and asked if this was our camp on the island..Did not even see it from the water. Anyway the gus staying there were throwing beer bottles in the lake and had also left thier huge hucca bowl on the rock for all to see Both times the C.O's were very nice ,respectable and even gave me some tips on what and where to try.

25+yrs= 2 times checked. Might just be lucky