Children's License

[Rmack]

We will be taking a Daughter and 3 Grand Children along with us on our trip to Canada next year. Will the children need a license to fish if the parent has one? They will be from 5 years old to 10.

Ron

[Fishoil]

I took my 12 year old daughter along this year to Ontario. I was told that she did not need a license but any fish she kept would count towards my limit. If we wanted to keep a limit for each of us she would need a license. I saved the money and only kept one limit.

[Gary_IA]

Fishoil's response is correct. You might want the "regular" license instead of the conservation license if you and the grandkids are fishing on one license. Generally it will allow you more fish. Check local restrictions on how many fish you can take. For example, Winnipeg River and Minaki area have a tighter possession limit on Walleyes than other places.

Don't forget for grandkids: certified copy of birth certificate, written signed and notarized permission from nontraveling parent(s) and a photo id for the child if one is available (schools often have these) Keep check on passport requirements. There is a proposal to have travelers have one in the near future, it costs about $97 each plus photos plus the time to process the passport application. I think there has been some discussion on modifying the proposal to make it less onerous on travelers.

[Rmack]

Thanks for the info, we will be fishing Lac Seul.

You mean my Daughter will have to get a notarized permission from my Son-in-Law even though the children are hers?

Ron

[Gary_IA]

I don't claim to be an expert on these matters. I believe there is a concern about one parent fleeing with their kids from their spouse, ex-spouse, etc. I think the border people want to avoid potential problems if at all possable. Several years ago when I had young nieces my brother and I took another brother's nieces fishing with us in Canada. We had oral permission from the the parents and each girl had a certified copy of the birth certificate. (It didn't ocurr to us to have written, signed and notarized permission. After all the girls often rode arround with us without such permission when we were at home.) The 9 and 11 year old girls were taken asside and questioned. No brow beating or bad behavior by the questioners and we were cleared to go after a short time. No matter how nice the questioners this process can be daunting to children and you don't know how they are going to respond. Being prepared can help you reduce unwanted stress and make the crossings go more smoothly.

[Agate]

Gary is right on the money with this. We always suggest a notarized letter for each of the kids that are not your own. Even if they are yours, the non-attending spouse should sign a letter. It will help avoid any confusion at the border, and also not put the kids through an unneccesary line of questioning. Most of our customers have followed this advice and have never had a problem at the border.

Better to be prepared and make the border passage quick and easy.

Enjoy your trip!

Agate