Ontario license for RCL

[Not sure]

I have a 7 day conservation license already for the week of the tournament(limit is restricted to 2 walleyes in possession) but I am now wondering if I should have went with a regular non-resident license. A pro I talked with told me that a conservation license would be fine. Is the conservation license with restricted limits going to be good enough?? Thanks in advance.

[bigfish1965]

If you have a conservation license, you may only put the allowed number of fish by that licence into the livewell.If it is 2 fish for that area, then you may only put 2 into the livewell. No exceptions.

[Tom (mich)]

If your pro partner has a "regular" license, you should be fine. Under this circumstance, you could legally possess six fish between the two of you in Canadian waters. You'll have to be careful culling so as to avoid having more than six in the livewell. When things get hot and heavy on the river, it can be tough to slow down and weigh each fish brought on board.

[bigfish1965]

If one angler has a conservation license he may NOT catch fish that are considered part of his partners limit. If he has a license limiting him to 2 fish, that is all he is allowed to put into the livewell. Culling is ILLEGAL in Ontario. If you are going to fish a tourney in Ontario, get a regular non-resident license. In any tourney, a violation of local fishing regulations may disqualify you from the tourney.

[Tom (mich)]

Thanks for the feedback, but are you certain that culling is illegal in Ontario?

[whitetips]

We warned entries in the tournament a few
months ago about this. If you are checked or spotted
putting more than you are allowed. I would feel sorry for ya

[bigfish1965]

Am sure culling is illegal. Once a fish is placed on a stringer or into your livewell, it is considered part of your daily limit. I will go to the MNR site and try to copy the exact wording for you.

[Tom (mich)]

Thanks - I did not know that. I'll go home and read the MNR book more closely. Allow me to play devil's advocate. Let's say we're on a hot bite on the Canadian side of the river. We're at our legal possession limit (either 6 or 8 depending on licenses) and we take another fish larger than the smallest one in the livewell. My partner's unhooking the fish (not in the livewell), I zip 200 yards across the river, release our smallest "possessed" fish in Michigan, and place the last fish in the livewell. We then shoot back across the river into Canada and resume fishing. Legal?

[bigfish1965]

I would say not. The rule reads, " If you catch a fish after reaching the daily catch and possession limit for that species, the fish must be released immediately back into the water." ( General Fishing Regulations, Page 5, 2001 Recreational Fishing Regualtions Summary, MNR) Scooting back across the border violates the law and the spirit of the law. You play with a double edged sword here as well. Not only are you bound by the catch limits in a boundary water but also the possession limits as well. It is somewhat odd, then, that a tourney would straddle a border with such different regulations. It is certainly a long shot that any repercussion would be felt by anyone doing this, but I hope you agree that pro's and tournament anglers must hold themselves to the highest standards possible. Many anglers look up to you guys and gals, and in the interest of conservation, I hope that all follow the rules to the letter.

[Tom (mich)]

Couldn't possibly agree with you more. I'm a tad bit embarassed to admit that I did not know that this rule was in place. Both my partner and I have regular non-resident licenses so it's kind of a moot point - should be able to weigh five decent fish out of a pool of eight. At any rate, it could strange our strategies and I thank you for the information.

[bigfish1965]

Best of luck to you Tom. I'm sure there's a 20 pounder in that river somewhere with your name on it!!