Quinte Fishing

The walleye are spawning. Every year since I started this site in 1999 the topic of Bay of Quinte Mohawks and spearing of spawning walleye comes up. Those of us who have been here that long know the topic has been beat to death on here and yet it still comes up. If you are one of the folks who want to continue to beat this topic to death please do so in a civilized way. No comments that show hate, racism and discrimination.

_________________
Dan Elliot - A bad day on Quinte is better than a good day at work !!!
http://www.quintefishing.com

http://www.theoutdoorline.com/forum/ima ... horse5.gif

I wait until the first saturday in may and spear the crap out of them with treble hooks

_________________
U.S.C.G. Licensed Captain
Pure Fishing Ambassador

Back in the early 70's they confined most of their spearing to the Salmon R. within the confines of the Territory and got all the pickerel they wanted. Today they spear in downtown Belleville so they can be seen and pi$$ people off.
I can see possibly the need for subsistance hunting and fishing for someone up north of Souix Lookout but not someone living on the outskirts of Bellville and working at General Motors

Totally agree with you there .

Right on Horsehunter I totally agree with you on that. I would go off on this topic as I feel it can never be beat up to much because to ignore it is to accept it. Out of respect for Dan I will remain silent on this atrocity but only on this board.

_________________
Fred Fisher....

Fishy Fishy In The Bay, Bite This Line And Make My Day....

I wonder if its true that the large walleyes are full of heavy metals in Lake Ontario. You would think that would deter someone from spearing large fish and consuming them.

I'm not for the spearing by any stretch, but but it's the nets that do the real damage.... And if previous convictions are any indicator, there may be a few commercial fishers in on the action as well


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

First off, I would like to say thanks to Dan for opening this up. By posting, I don't want to create a war of words, just some food for thought. I have read the posts, and heard the stories many times before. What you need to know, it's not just the Mohawks spearing fish, it's an Aboriginal and Treaty right afforded to all First Nations (the Anishinaabe here in my area do it as well), a right that's in-shrined in the Constitution Act, 1982. While they may not "need" the fish for living, as some pointed out, living in town, or working at GM, they continue to exercise their rights as protected by treaty. While all members have the opportunity to exercise the right, not all choose to do so, and the fear is that if they do not continue do so, the practice and tradition will be lost. It's a right that is protected through the continuity of the practice prior to European contact, that has been practiced until present. The harvest is for social and communal purposes and many communities keep food freezers that are open to all members of the community in time of need- in aspects, no different than using the food bank because times are hard. I am sure there are animal activists or non anglers out there that have similar views on sport fishing- why are they out there doing that, they don't need to, the store is right around the corner. While we may not see it as ethical, or "harvesting too much" we could say similar about commercial netting, many 'unwanted, un-targeted' species ending up being caught, and killed. Just some food for thought, and as Angler and Hunter tv used to say, "we are all anglers and hunters by nature"

So, all the best out there, and good luck come opening day.

_________________
Cheers,



"I would never lie. I willfully participate in a campaign of misinformation"

To me the aspect of keeping a tradition alive is not an issue. I don't believe that the amount of fish taken by spear have a large enough impact to seriously damage the fishery (it's been going on for a thousand years). It's the gill netting and black market sales in Montreal and Toronto that are the real danger to the fi$hery


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

A lot of these fish taken by native spear are being sold to non natives. I hear people talk about buying bags full for their fish fries. It wouldn't be as bad if it was in fact just to help out the less fortunate in their community because I don't think there is that many. It has become another enterprise and that is hurting the stock. There never used to be laws on taking wildlife for food back in my forefather's day but we educated ourselves to understand the impact on the wildlife and put the sustainability of the wildlife ahead of our previous rights. It's called education and evolution, stories of how things were done in the past ( history) from books and elders keep traditions alive. They don't have to be acted out knowing it has a negative impact on the world. Go down to the river on you horse, wade out in you moccasins and loin cloth and catch and release them, that is the ancient right. Don't drive up in your Chevy, strap on your chest waders grab your steal spear made in China and start shoveling the rewords out of the water.

_________________

Too bad our traditions wern't enshrined by treaty the kids don't have Christmas in school anymore. Thanksgiving is turkey day Halloween is black and orange day.
We gave up many of our hunting and fishing traditions in the name of conservation . No catch and release in my father or grandfathers day.
I've had to give up some of my traditions from my 20's just to stay out of jail.

I'm sure the MNR guy's are earning their pay checks right now and checking for band cards every night....

I dont worry too much about the spearing and here's why... its a treaty right, whether you disagree with the politics or not is up to you but it isnt changing and more importantly I dont think it impacts the Lake O fishery that much. Not all walleye spawn in rivers, they are able to spawn on shoals and shorelines. If the walleye's with a predisposition to spawn in rivers start to get wiped out by spearing well guess what, the shore/shoal spawner will become more prevalent, its natural selection, albeit a bit distorted because man is involved. Would it be better if all the fish in the river were allowed to spawn without worry about being killed? Of course but be careful what you wish for because the same argument could be made about nonnative fishing as well. Are 2000 boats with sonar fishing opener good for the walleye population? Whether you are native or not, use a spear or a rod its fishing. Fishing, hunting, living off the land has been a native way of life for centuries and I would argue that we non natives who enjoy fishing and hunting would probably have more in common with the people spearing fish than the average citizen (vast majority of the population) who has no use for fishing or hunting.

Good posts all, nice to see it's not a heated conversation. Just remember if you suspect, or have seen such actions as selling the fish caught through spearing to non-Aboriginal peoples, there is a tip line that can be called. Tips are taken seriously and are followed up. All the best to everyone out there.

_________________
Cheers,



"I would never lie. I willfully participate in a campaign of misinformation"

I called that tip line once when I saw a half ton full of fish boxes with fresh walleye parked out in front of our factory, I knew who the guy was and he was charged in the past for the same thing, getting them from the natives and selling them in Toronto. The guy on the other end took my name and number and said an officer would call me back which he did, 27 hours later from Peterborough. I told him he was too late but he was going to investigate it anyway because he was real familiar with this guy but no charges could be laid. I don't blame the officer but I blame the lack of officers, cut backs.

_________________