Quinte Fishing

I mistakenly thought that the derby rules would include respecting the MNR regs when I pointed out someone having two fish on the board on saterday, I was mistaken.

The derby was to follow the Ontario fishing regulations,if someone weighed in two fish over 25 inches in one day they were breaking the law.The organizers should be told about it.

I saw that too BUT if he caught the first one, weighed it, then released it he has zero fish over 25" in his posession. why wouldn't he be allowed to bring in another ONE over 25?

That would be like saying if you hooked into a 28"er out there this weekend then threw him back, that you would not be allowed to catch another 25"+ fish all day.........not quite eh!

let the big 'uns go...

G

Graembo is right.

It is all about possession. If he weighs in the first first and releases it then he no longer has a fish in his possession and is able to catch another one. Typically in the derbies only your biggest fish counts. You cannot have 2 enteries in the Top 10. Didn't see this written in the rules for this past weekend's derby but I am sure it will be there next year.

Cheers,

Mike

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Wish I wasn't here...Rather be fishing if you know what I mean

Hey Mike I've been meaning to thank you for your advise on what lures
to use on the BOQ. You weren't chatting with me directly but I read
your recommendation on the Smithwick Rogue. I stopped on my way down last week and bought one. You guessed it...10lb 6 oz buddy! I'm still pumped...thanks again

did you have any luck ?

My own personal opinion is that this contestant did contravene the regulations in that two walleye over 25 inches were "retained" on the same day. Surely there has to be a difference between live releasing a fish immediately and retaining the fish (forever how long) in order to get the fish to a weigh station.

However, in the grand scheme of things, my opinion doesn't count for much. Consequently, I have emailed an enforcement officer for an official interpretation. I'll post any reply.

Rules for any fishing deby need to be very clear and Ontario Fishing Regulations require simplification à la KISS principle.

couldn't help replying to this situation.you can go and get som mnr officers opinion all you want but it is still an opinion.the thing that counts is what the courts say and i can tell you this person was not in possession of two fish.he had legally caught the fish and legally released it in accordance with accepted practices.when he caught the second fish he was in possession of the fish only for the purposes of having it officially weighed .his intent was to release the fish in accordance with the rules he was fishing under.And if he wanted to keep the fish for whatever reason he was in possession of a legally caught fish in accordance with all rules.If the tournament decided to make a rule that a person can only enter one fish that is a different story.I think this is not a good idea but i could live with it.For others to think otherwise i think it is a bit of sour grapes,or they have been eating out of aluminum pots for to long..

Mike did alright but he strayed away from the Rogue and 8.5 was his best. I stuck with the Rogue and had a 10.19. Most years that would be good enough to place but there were a lot of big fish weighed in this year.

I also agree that if ytou weigh in a fish over 25" then release it you can do it all over again because once the fish is released it is not in your possession and it was not kept!

hooked up to the MNR perhaps?

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yours in conversation.,
Todd

Whether he released the fish at a later date or not he still retained the fish and took it out of its enviorment to be weighed in ,then caught and keep another to be weighed in,when you are only allowed to retain one fish over 25 inches PER DAY.

Wayne, you are trying to change the definition of possession. If you want to get technical about it, you cannot have two fish in your livewell over 25" at the same time, nor can you have a fish over 25" sitting in the live release holding tank and go out and catch another because the first is still considered in possession (just my opinion). We got into this debate on the FishOntario site back at the start of icefishing season with perch and the daily catch and possession limits. I'm sure the MNR is going to say (if they respond at all), that if the fish is live-released, there is no difference if the fish is released after the weigh-in or from the boat. But, we'll see.

Possession also includes your freezer at home or Motel, Hotel etc. Once a fish is live released it is no longer in your possession and you can continue on fishing. That is the beauty of live release otherwise once you caught one fish over 25" you would have to stop fishing for the day.

"Just because you have a distinguished club...running the show...
Doesn't mean all members....are distinguished conservationalists.
Obviously, from what I seen this year...
they have "a lot" to reconsider for future planning efforts.
...MNR included..."if we keep up the complaint department,
maybe, perhaps some resolvement towards this "political crap!".....,will.., "get started in a professional matter" The success rate in regards to "survive percentage for catch & release in tournament this year, well.."? Put it this way.....-Extra stress this year...,as still spawning during tournament up'ted it majorily over last year. We are talking a large average of fish going tits up as a result of derby also.

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yours in conversation.,
Todd

Just checked "ask the c.o." on the zooboard as I recall this subject being raised before. With reference to questions numbered 44,46 and 126 once a fish has been placed on a stringer, in a livewell or other holding device it becomes part of your daily limit regardless if it released at a later time or not. Only if the fish is immediately when landed is it not considered part of your daily limit. Bass tournament anglers commonly ignore this regulation but unless the angler admits to it and tournament directors are careful not to mention it, it is uninforcable. However, the person in question has documented in writing that they have retained two fish over 25" in one day thus opening themselves to charges and relatively easy conviction. Hope this helps. Hilly

Thanks Hilly:

I finally did get the web address for "ask the conservation officer". As an aid to anyone without it, the pertinent responses included the following:

"Once you have made the decision to either immediately release or keep a fish which you have caught, any fish retained are counted towards your daily "catch and retain" limit. This also applies to live wells or any other holding devices! You cannot "un-retain" a fish! Once you have taken that fish into your retention it becomes a part of your daily catch and retain limit. You can give up your possession of that fish by putting it back in the water, but you still did catch and retain that fish."

I'm unaware of whether such interpretations have changed since they were written. If the MNR enforcement officer I contacted responds (if he responds) differently, I will post his reply.

Unfortunately, some don't care how conservation officers interpret the regulations while others will claim ignorance of the regulations to justify their behaviour. Sad really!