Culling illegal in Ontario

[bigfish1965]

I just read a report from a Conservation officer who stated that it is illegal to cull a catch beyond the daily limit. That is you may catch and DETAIN a certain number of fish per day. Once you have reached that limit, you may not throw back smaller fish for bigger ones. I wonder how many guys break that law in tournaments. So once a fish hits the livewell it is yours. You may of course throw it back if you do not want to eat it, but it counts a a fish caught towards your limit for the day.Tough to enforce I bet.

[Bottomfeeder]

It is also illegal to cull in Wisconsin. Once it is in the box (or bag, or stringer) is is part of the daily bag limit. Tournaments here are no cull tournaments. I guess that is why all of the big tourneys do lie detector tests.

Botomfeeder

[Smartypants]

So if you are a good liar, then you can play the culling game all you want?

[Stan]

...."it is illegal to cull a catch beyond the daily limit. ..."

Is this how it was written? To me, this says you can cull up to the last fish of your daily limit. Once you have the daily limit, any fish you catch to cull, puts you in possession of one fish over the daily limit. Just my read of what you wrote, I could very well be wrong.

I asked that question of a Michigan DNR officer, since we can legally cull in MI. He realized the last fish was "splittting legal hairs" but said most officers here regard your intent. If you immediately performed the cull--no problem. If you kept the fish and were not to release one immediately, you are in violation. Personally , I play it safe and do not cull on the last one, just in case I run into a DNR officer who sees the law differently.

[joshuatreewi]

in Ontario you can only keep somthing like six walleyes to bring back and once you have your six to bring home legaly you can't keep anymore for shore lunch or other meals up there they don't have a daily limit and a possesion limit like alot of states do your bag limit is your possesion limit untill those fish are used or at least thats what the person who sold us our liscense explained it

[REW]

I have talked with quite a few different DNR officers over the years and in genral the no cull law is enforced as follows:
Lets say that a particular area has a 6 fish limit - no cull.
This law is interperted as never having more than 6 fisn in posession - and if a fish is ever put into a livewell or on a stringer, it may NOT be released.

i.e.
You can can fish all day long with 5 fish in your box, and always release any fish that you catch.


However, it is illegal to have 6 fish in your box, and continue to fish.

The reason is that - if you ever get a single fish on the end of your line - you now have 7 fish in posession (6 in the box, and one on the end of the line - and you are thus illegal).

Also the ruling of the no cull law is very clear. Once a fish has been brought into a fisherpersons posession - i.e. in a storage box, or under permenant conatinment - it may NOT be released.

Again, this is a very straight forward and very clear intepertation of the law. As I have watched many different tournament fisherman over the years, there didn't seem to be any unclarity in any of the fishermans minds, as how these laws were interpreted. Each time a fish was caught - the fisherperson - quickly decided - if this was a keep or cull fish, BEFOR ever putting it in the box.

Take care and be safe

REW

[risor39]

In regards to tournament fishing.The otter st.tournament your team could only weigh 6 fish the limit in wisc. is 5 per angler.Alot of tournaments dont weigh a full limit.In otter st.you could have 10 fish in the box but you weighed your biggest 6.Why would you want to cull to keep bigger fish If you are keeping them to eat?Some of these laws are very vague.If you get caught breaking the law they might tell you that the regulations pamphlets are not the full edition but an overview.You would have to have another boat to haul them around in.Or government at its finest lol.Keep what you can use put the rest back.Good luck and good fishing to you all.

[bigfish1965]

According to the MNR the reason for this law is that culled fish have a mortality rate 10 times that of fish immediately caught and released. I have seen bass tourneys on TV where the fisherman would pull a bass from the livewell and put it on a levered scale along with the fresh caught one to see which is bigger. If the livewelled fish was smaller it was tossed back. Maybe those bass fisherman should be told about the culled fish death rate. I wonder what the death rate is among all the fish weighed in and then released? Also note it is true that the possession limit and daily limit in Ontario are one in the same. If you have six walleye (or four depending where you are) on ice you cannot catch anymore. We always make the last days fishing the ones we take home.

[Last Boat Off]

I just got back from Lake St. Joseph in Ontario. On the way up I stopped at an information station in Sioux Lookout and saw a new set of regs for Lac Seul which I read because I plan to go there this fall. They said any fish that you plan to keep as your bag limit must be KILLED IMMEDIATELY and there could be no live fish in livewell or on stringer. That was their solution to discourage culling. How do you like that.

[curt quesnell]

the limit is 2.....so no culling from 2 fish..
the possession limit for bringing home is 4.

also if you check the rules for ontario...i think
it is not legal to party fish. so after you catch
your 2 fish you can sit in the boat while the rest
of the boat "limits out".... darn!!!!now i am not
100 percent sure on this part so i will go check.
any one with the correct info can either say i am
wrong or say i am right

curt quesnell

[curt quesnell]

well, cant find the info...besides that is wasnt even
the topic of the post...cant delete it, so i will just
say sorry to take up your time...
what are gonna do?

curt

[REW]

Actually, that is a pretty good law, and takes care of the livewell problem.

Simply take a cooler along that is filled with ice. Any fisht that are going to be kept, are simply thrown on ice, where they quickly expire, and are kept fresh, until they need to be cleaned.

If you are fishing in midsummer, with high water temps - the fish on ice are in general, much better to eat, than even fish that have been kept in hot water, bouncing around in a livewell all day, before being cleaned.

On the other hand, if you are fishing spring and fall, with very cold surface temps - then the livewell fish can be as good as the iced fish.

Virtually all of the greal lakes fisheries, with their trout and salamon catches, use only the cooler and fish on ice for years, with great eating results.

Take care

REW

[Al]

>According to the MNR the reason
>for this law is that
>culled fish have a mortality
>rate 10 times that of
>fish immediately caught and released.
>I have seen bass tourneys
>on TV where the fisherman
>would pull a bass from
>the livewell and put it
>on a levered scale along
>with the fresh caught one
>to see which is bigger.
>If the livewelled fish was
>smaller it was tossed back.
>Maybe those bass fisherman should
>be told about the culled
>fish death rate. I wonder
>what the death rate is
>among all the fish weighed
>in and then released? Also
>note it is true that
>the possession limit and daily
>limit in Ontario are one
>in the same. If you
>have six walleye (or four
>depending where you are) on
>ice you cannot catch anymore.
>We always make the last
>days fishing the ones we
>take home.

Number one, walleye do not hold up as well in livewells as bass do, especially in warmer climates.


Number two, why is it specific to bass fishermen that you make your charge? You mean to tell me that no walleye tournament does the same thing?

I've been in several bass tournaments in the Detroit river and one group on particular does an exceptional job at the live release. They have release tanks and staging tanks all hooked up with oxygen, not just areators, plus ice. Plus, many of the competitors (field of 60+ boats)have the oxygen systems in their boats. It all makes a huge difference from any tournament, bass or walleye I've ever seen. I've been at the release site after a couple tournaments on vacation for a few days fishing. In the bay that they turn them loose, I can tell you I've not seen a floater 2-3 days later. There is no current in this bay to carry them out either.

I've been in walleye tournaments where the handling of the fish was downright disgusting. If I used your logic, I could say something like "someone should tell those walleye guys the benefits of oxygen and ice and how much it decreases delayed mortality." But that's just as unfair. Some folks from Ontario, I think University of Toronto, did a study a few years ago and they determined that the care I mentioned simialr to those guys in the Det. River, dramatically decreased delayed mortality. Those oxygen systems at the weighin and on the competitors boats aren't cheap....but the payoff has been tremendous.

[THUMPER]

There is talk in the next years that all of NW Ontario will have a no stringer or livewell rule. If you catch it you either kill it or let it go. Simple and very effective. I am all for it. I see all the time fisherman letting go a smaller fish in favour of a slightly bigger fish in search of the perfect legal stringer. Culling is legal in areas where there is a no kill rule. All you have to be is short of your limit. You must immediately release a fish if you have your limit even if it is a tournament winner or the fish of a lifetime.