Perch Possession Limits! Please read

[Bassassin]

Yes, I think it was you Devin that started debating about the commercial guys. And Devin the reason I believe there are no possession limits in Ohio is that in my experience most from Ohio, and I would say for every 10 yanks I meet fishing here at least 6 are from Ohio and they are all, I mean all, meat hunters. I have yet to meet a catch and release fisherperson from Ohio. In fact most yanks I know that fish here are meat hunters. Only recently the group I go down to NY with started catch and release. They would lose it when I threw back a fish, any fish 25 years ago. And that was only after they were told by their equivalent out MNR that they fished out their small 1000 acre lake. If you want to successfully get re elected in the states at any level you better tow the line when it comes to gun owners, hunters and fisherman. They simply vote for the guy that does what he or she is told to, if not it's your last term.

To get back to fishing, in my opinion the 100 fish possession limit is just fine. I don't keep any dink perch. Any between 8" and 10", I'll keep, over and under go back. 50 5" perch is the same weight as maybe 15 or so 10" fish. Think slot size, mine is between 8 and 10 inches. So maybe we should think about weight rather than numbers. I have never brought home more than 20 perch in years. Besides cooking all those little guys that have a greater number of calories and oil per fish than a larger fish I don't want to clean 50 fish at the end of a long day.

Everyone that knows I have a place on Erie are always saying hey where's my fish? They are in the lake waiting for you to buy a boat, fill it with gas and oil, buy some bait and tackle, pay for a slip or haul it with your truck and pay to launch it and go get them. Then you can clean them and cook them too. Days gone by I never knew the word no, learned my lessons well.

50 a day is plenty, even giving them away 50 is more than plenty

Everyones opinion is just that, an opinion, misguided or not.

I'm done with this one..

 

[mick]

perch possesion limits taken by sportfisherman annually are peanuts and not necessary... compare to the gill nets taking millions of pounds of fish annually. omg the quotos are absoutely criminal and needs to be stopped immediately before the resource ends due to over fishing which is happening all over the world... it is greed. Look at the targeted fish species like cod , tuna and salmon where did they end up goin? My argument...it is government greed and over fishing not the world has to many people and there is too many mouths to feed. Like cronzy said put a knot in it. well I don't know

Here in Ontario I remember they stopped the commercial fishing on Lake Nippising and Lake St. Clair but to late those lakes fish stocks are still suffering today.I can accurately predict that the americans will get this commercial gill net fishing finally stopped over here on Lake Erie... hopefully sooner then later before the fish stocks are gone for good.

 

[Bucketsoff]

perch possesion limits taken by sportfisherman annually are peanuts and not necessary... compare to the gill nets taking millions of pounds of fish annually. omg the quotos are absoutely criminal and needs to be stopped immediately before the resource ends due to over fishing which is happening all over the world... it is greed. Look at the targeted fish species like cod , tuna and salmon where did they end up goin? My argument...it is government greed and over fishing not the world has to many people and there is too many mouths to feed. Like cronzy said put a knot in it. well I don't know

Here in Ontario I remember they stopped the commercial fishing on Lake Nippising and Lake St. Clair but to late those lakes fish stocks are still suffering today.I can accurately predict that the americans will get this commercial gill net fishing finally stopped over here on Lake Erie... hopefully sooner then later before the fish stocks are gone for good.

HAHA you think fish stocks are suffering on St Clair? Walleye was overfished at Nippissing, but I can say with honest certainty, they are returning. I have personally seen with my eyes, giant schools on the finder, and great catches at both Nip and the French River this year. Plenty of big and small fish as well.
I am starting to think that we have some guys who have lost their touch with the rod, and use their lack of success to judge whether fish stocks are up to par or not. Remember boys, just because you can't catch them, doesn't mean they aren't there.
Fish stocks down on St Clair...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

 

[tailfeathers]

Overfished in Nippising by whom??? Wouldn't be by First nations people would it ??Same in Owen Sound and the Thames river hummm!!

 

[Bucketsoff]

Overfished in Nippising by whom??? Wouldn't be by First nations people would it ??Same in Owen Sound and the Thames river hummm!!

There was unsustainable commercial fishing on Nip for quite a while until they shut it down. I cant speak to the total impact first nations fishing has on a population. We can all speculate but from what I know there are no hard numbers to what they can, and do take.

 

[G.Mech]

There was unsustainable commercial fishing on Nip for quite a while until they shut it down. I cant speak to the total impact first nations fishing has on a population. We can all speculate but from what I know there are no hard numbers to what they can, and do take.

There still is an active, licensed, commercial fishery on Nipissing. It just so happens that it is operated by the Nipissing First Nation. There is also a lot of 'unlicensed' fishing going on too which may be a problem. Anyway, it has little to do with the topic at hand I just thought it was worth pointing out.

http://www.nugget.ca/2013/05/09/walleye-limits-failed-summit-hears

 

[mick]

western nipissing walleye got hit hard and they never returned... the commercial fishing wiped them out! all them inner bays and weed beds was a renewable resource for fish until it wasn't managed properly with the over fishing.... its sickning ..... cutting the limit down to 2 walleye where they are at a all time low is a joke

 

[Bucketsoff]

There still is an active, licensed, commercial fishery on Nipissing. It just so happens that it is operated by the Nipissing First Nation. There is also a lot of 'unlicensed' fishing going on too which may be a problem. Anyway, it has little to do with the topic at hand I just thought it was worth pointing out.

http://www.nugget.ca/2013/05/09/walleye-limits-failed-summit-hears

I didn't know that, thanks for pointing it out.
I like that the FN fishery heads decided to eliminate their yearly quota in favour of the constant re-assessment route. That shows some promise, but the treaty conditions that favour killing sportfishing before FN commercial is a tad worrisome. I guess that treaty will either stand, or be challenged and overturned eventually if they feel that the tourism is too much to loose. I can only hope that everyone up their knows that tourists butter their bread, and that without a walleye season open to anglers they would lose millions in tourism every year. I don't mind the 2 fish limit on the French, I still love fishing and don't consider myself a meat hunter. With the slot size, you still catch and release fish throughout the day to stay legal. We ate fish a few times during the trip and would have like to bring some more home, but such is life. I just hope they can strike a balance. With Pike, Musky and Bass abundant, plus the scenery and serenity, it is still very much worth the trip. If you really need meat for the freezer, Erie is full of big fat pig walleyes with big fillets.