Quinte Fishing

Great points made Jim.. its not likely they would put out that information because it would show what a miserable job they are doing. I guess they think raising rates brings in more money from the Honest people and they will still let go the dishonest....... is this a law, or is this just a donation box we are talking here. I know many who refuse to pay because they pay county taxes to live in the county.
All fall hundreds of people are launching out of Picton but there is no envelopes to put money in so people do not pay, same way at wellington. I know the old harbor master would put envelopes in the box and people would steel them so they didn't have to pay up...... its not like you are going to just drop 6 bucks in the box hoping they knew that money came from you and not the guy who is parked beside you ......... if you reed the sign you see you are subject to a Bylaw fine if you don't pay I wonder just how many people have actually been fined for NOT paying I believe its a $50 fine id be willing to bet Not one fine has been laid in the 10 years they started collecting launch fees. I'm sure the county wont tell you that either.... and you are right. exactly where does this collected money go? into the county slush fund ? does it go back into launch maintenance? doubtful..... on a side note they keep raising rates at the parks and now wellington beach is more heavily used because there is no charge to use the wellington beach . so much so they have taken away at least 10 or more places for truck and trailer parking on the beach side in wellington just so they could create a picnic area for free beach goers where is the justice in that I ask ??

There is an article in Quite News that one of the Country Councillors owns a camp ground and couldn't compete with town launch fees. Two bad that the fees are going that high. It'll take revenue from the town and make the free ramps too crowded to use.

Lol. Couldnt compete on launch fees. If your campground depends on launching fee income... Well seems bss aackwards

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It really is completely nuts the way it is going. I am one of those who loves fishing and loves the waters of the county having grown up 3 seasons of the year down there at the cottage, but, unlike most of the water traffic, I choose to fish from a kayak as I absolutely love it. My father and I have been into this kind of fishing for about 15 yrs now and its great. We've been using the public boat launches for yrs accessing water which for ourselves would otherwise be completely inaccessible- it's just too darn far to paddle. East Lake was always a favorite (plus it's easy access to the beach), Prinyer's Cove launch, as well as the access at the top end of Hay Bay and even west lake on occasion. But now they have put in those damn collection boxes everywhere and it sucks... There really is no way of telling who dropped in money, and we technically don't even 'launch' or kayaks, more like drop them in off the side of the ramps in case someone is coming in or going out. There isn't even a trailer involved as they are just thrown on top of the car. Essentially we can drop them in anywhere, but respect private property. This charging for launching is just ridiculous. Some person sitting on council thinking 'how can we make more money from the people in the county?...raise taxes, yep (holy crap have they ever gone up in the 48yrs we've been there), raise prices on everything here, yep, development, yep....hmmm what else....oh yeah let's stick a box and charge people to launch their boat, take away parking at some areas, and say we will slap you with a fine if you don't pay!, that should help" It's crazy.... Like others have said, if you are going to charge for launching, friggin maintain the launch and make much needed improvements, and show/post where the collected money is going.

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Cheers,



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

A while ago a councilor got up and said we need to get our expenses under control, council said no we don't we need to find new innovative ways to raise taxes. So we get a launch fee on right of ways tax as some of the ramps are on right of ways, and the added expenses that go with it. So question #1 would be do the fees cover the cost of the new bylaw officers. Does say 50% of the fee go to the cost of collecting the fee.

The West lake launch was given to the county for a right of way and someone might correct me but I think the dock may have been donated. So the county puts in the head, cuts the grass and dredges it every forty years. So what's the cost to the county between 1 and 2 thousand a year before the fee?

Could it be that the most expensive part of maintaining the West lake right of way will be collecting the fee.

I was told that there is no fee for kayaks or canoes at the Picton launch last year.

Well that's good to know, still wonder about all the others though. And still wonder where all the money will go that is collected.

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Cheers,



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

Good one Polli, I was waiting for someone to mention West Lake. I wonder how ole Mabel K. would react if she knew they were charging a launch fee on the property and right of way that she donated?
This will not get corrected by our griping. We need to center out some Councillors, put pressure on them and write some letters to our Mayor.
This was poorly thought out and poorly implemented.

If anyone has the email address for the Mayor and the Councillors please post them. It would greatly help getting the wheels turning in the right direction.

I have reached out to Wellington s Jim Dunlop on other Beach St issues... Overhanging trees that caught boat tops. Also saw a rod break. They did get trimmed but the call to the Roads Dept probably was the reason.

We also contacted Jim regarding the parking area turned into picnic area. He couldnt understand that the people spending time doing the picnic thing in that location likely werent stopping to gas boats, buy snacks, going to restaurants, supporting local tackle shops, paying any parking/launching fees. I am guessing most are bringing said picnic in a cooler from where they drove from.

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I would like to hear the county side of this...other than just changing a number on a sign and expecting Honest people to pay more,

Mable was pretty sharp, there may have been a clause where the property goes back to the family if the county doesn't hold up their end.

Rumor has it that thousands of Kleinsteubers from around the world will be gathering on the shore of West lake this year. County must have really pissed them off.

Years ago in Deseronto, residents who lived on Main St. complained that campers and trailers parked on the Centennial Park roadway were blocking their view of the water. This occurred every year for about the first two weeks of May.
The Town posted No Parking signs that appeared to be directed at camping trailers so people were parking empty boat trailers on the roadway, which didn't block the view.

The Town wanted all trailers ticketed at $25.00 a pop. The Town was thrilled with the ticket income, which for the first few years was quite a bit. The word got around and anglers took their business elsewhere.

For a minor two week problem and short term financial gain, the fishing tourism has never come back to Deseronto.
The tickets may not have been the only cause but it sure didn't help.

On Fish-hawk.net there's been several articles of huge fees at public launches on the Ottawa River.
There was an article this year on the Lake Simcoe Message Board where the Municipality installed a parking pass machine at a public launch and the fees for that were nuts.

I really think that excessive parking fees are detrimental to what the community is trying to achieve. If a person feels screwed on parking they're not likely to open their wallet for anything else in that community. A guest using a community facility should feel that they're getting good value and have a pleasant experience.

I was looking at the Wellington launch yesterday . Be there at 2am and you may get a parking spot.There was a supply of sodden envelopes. I have no problem paying for a nice level launch with closely available parking. As for their picnic area they might as well wrap chicken wire around the posts and use it for dog crapping. I can see this costing Reel Thing, Tim's , Gas station and others business.

So where is everybody supposed to park now that they have turned the ramp parking into a picnic area , and was this passed by a improvement group for the county or done behind closed doors ,

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Hooksets are free
Bill Barber
Owner /Operator -Trophyhunter Fishing charters