Off Topic Update on Trout Fishing at Misners Dam

auzure

auzure

Well-Known Member
The ministry is down at misners today kicking folks out who are fishing and there are No Fishing signs to be implemented. The same goes for at Vittoria, signage is soon to be posted. It's my understanding that someone named Terry posted a facebook petition to ban fishing in those two spots, but not 100% sure, if anybody has any info please let me know. I think that at Misners thats a total joke, anybody whos fished there knows that the fish can't jump that dam and even if they do not much of the Lynn is accessible due to the falls. Assuming the fish spawn below the falls then I agree with it yes, but I don't believe there is much suitable spawning habitat below the falls, especiailly with all the warm dirty water silver lake will bve dumping into it.
 
they did open up Miseners so trout can get through so prob why they are closing it off, Vittoria is a different story though---no access to the lake? above--and any fish that get up to the dam will be blocked from going any further. IMHO Youngs creek is a really fragile system and it would be better to close it off after the end of Sept. wouldnt stop the poachers though.
 
packrat said:
they did open up Miseners so trout can get through so prob why they are closing it off, Vittoria is a different story though---no access to the lake? above--and any fish that get up to the dam will be blocked from going any further. IMHO Youngs creek is a really fragile system and it would be better to close it off after the end of Sept. wouldnt stop the poachers though.
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I agree, alhough i do like fishing it! lol
 
Youngs Creek from Vittoria to the lake has always been closed to fishing from closing of the season in the fall until the opener in April. Not sure what's going on with Misners as Lake Erie has a year round season for rainbows. Possibly there is no fishing within a certain distance from the dam which is common in most waterways open to the lake. TC
 
trky chsr said:
Youngs Creek from Vittoria to the lake has always been closed to fishing from closing of the season in the fall until the opener in April. Not sure what's going on with Misners as Lake Erie has a year round season for rainbows. Possibly there is no fishing within a certain distance from the dam which is common in most waterways open to the lake. TC
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Yes they're going to post no fishing from 25 yrds close to the dam, kind of frustrating it's only happening now is all. About youngs, thats false. It is open from Front Rd in ryerse to the lake year round.
 
auzure said:
Yes they're going to post no fishing from 25 yrds close to the dam, kind of frustrating it's only happening now is all. About youngs, thats false. It is open from Front Rd in ryerse to the lake year round.
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Yes, you are correct, I forgot about the weir in Pt Ryerse.
 
auzure said:
Yes they're going to post no fishing from 25 yrds close to the dam, kind of frustrating it's only happening now is all. About youngs, thats false. It is open from Front Rd in ryerse to the lake year round.
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that's actually always been a regulation... no fishing within 23m of a dam:

"- fish in any manner within 23 metres downstream from the lower entrance to any fishway, obstruction, or leap"
 
This discussion has been going on for decades and the Ministry's position on the Misner dam was that it was totally impassable to fish so the rule stated above did not apply and it was okay to fish there. They stated that the rule is intended for fishways, leaps, and passable obstructions not for total barriers such as this dam. Now with the dam reconstruction and lower water level, that may not be the case any more but I'm more inclined to believe it had something to do with the petition.
 
This was the response from the ministry during the 2011 debacle on this forum:

Thank you for your enquiry.

The reference on page 9 of the Summary comes from a provision of the
Fisheries Act (section 27) which gives protection to fish as they
encounter any obstacle to their movement upstream. The term obstacle
should be given its ordinary interpretation; it could be natural such as a waterfalls or man made such as a dam. The more important consideration is whether or not the fish below the obstacle is obstructed by the waterfalls or dam (does it have any ability or likelihood of getting over) or is the fish in the area because it simply provides food, cover or spawning habitat for the fish.

If there is little or no likelihood of the fish moving past the obstacle (a bass or pike at any kind of leap for example) then in intent of section 27 is not harmed; on the other hand if the fish is a pacific salmon and the dam is low then fishing for salmon during the fall spawning run (within 75 yards downstream of the obstacle) would be prohibited.

So, when thinking about this restriction the angler needs to consider
both the type of fish and the time of year.

I've attached a link to the Fisheries Act so that section 27 can be read
in context:
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/ en/f-14/240479.html

Hope this helps.

nric-web reader-kc
**************************************
Natural Resources Information Centre
300 Water St.
Peterborough, ON
K9J 8M5
1-800-667-1940
fax: (705)755-1677
mnr.nric.mnr@ontario.ca
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The dam reconstruction did not change the way the dam functions. It is still a top draw dam with no fish ladder. Silver lake which is the lake above the dam has a major silt problem that is still years away from being addressed. Does anyone have any ideas about how to get this reconsidered with the MNR or start a petition to have the sign removed? I have reread the link above a few times and still do not understand the wording.
 
This is a great example of the power of Facebook and the damage it can create. The person leading this on Facebook is the worst offender of protecting a fishery I have meet in years. The individual is a decent pier fisherman who catches a lot of big fish that are never returned to the water.
 
DST said:
This is a great example of the power of Facebook and the damage it can create. The person leading this on Facebook is the worst offender of protecting a fishery I have meet in years. The individual is a decent pier fisherman who catches a lot of big fish that are never returned to the water.
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fizbot said:
that's actually always been a regulation... no fishing within 23m of a dam:

"- fish in any manner within 23 metres downstream from the lower entrance to any fishway, obstruction, or leap"
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I could be wrong, but isnt it that you cant fish within 25m of a PASSABLE obstruction?
 
DST said:
The dam reconstruction did not change the way the dam functions. It is still a top draw dam with no fish ladder. Silver lake which is the lake above the dam has a major silt problem that is still years away from being addressed. Does anyone have any ideas about how to get this reconsidered with the MNR or start a petition to have the sign removed? I have reread the link above a few times and still do not understand the wording.
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Exactly my point. For what? There isnt suitable gravel below the dam for spawning nor will the water keep clean or cool enough to support young trout. Seems like a little bit of a late attempt to fix something that needs a little more.
 
Based on the above replies it does not seem worth the effort to try and fight back on this closure. To bad to lose such a great old long term fishery.
 
DST said:
The dam reconstruction did not change the way the dam functions. It is still a top draw dam with no fish ladder. Silver lake which is the lake above the dam has a major silt problem that is still years away from being addressed. Does anyone have any ideas about how to get this reconsidered with the MNR or start a petition to have the sign removed? I have reread the link above a few times and still do not understand the wording.
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not trying to be the SA here but during the reconstruction of the dam while a proper fish ladder was not installed an opening was made for fish to get through that wasnt there before therefore making the dam a passable obstruction
 
Interesting comment. I am involved with the Save Silver Lake group which is the lake above the dam. No one involved in making the dam reconstruction happen has any knowledge on the opening you mention including the MNR officer station there to-day. The lake is full of silt and can not support a opening.
 
DST said:
Interesting comment. I am involved with the Save Silver Lake group which is the lake above the dam. No one involved in making the dam reconstruction happen has any knowledge on the opening you mention including the MNR officer station there to-day. The lake is full of silt and can not support a opening.
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again not trying to be the SA here but if you stand on the bridge looking down on the side where you could fish it "appears" to have an opening/sluice gate in the dam face that wasnt there before
 
just had a thought ----are we talking the same structure???? there is another dam that i know of that is at the "top" of silver lake
 
I am only talking about the Misner Dam. There had been no work mentioned on the top end dam in the last 10 years from what I have had a chance to read through.
 
There are some silt retention below the top dam that have been studied and scheduled for a impact study. Converting the Misner Dam to a bottom draw was considered to high of a safety risk for others users if they fell in above the Misner Dam. The right side has a portion lower than the main portion but this is not fish accessible and was never intended to allow fish access. But who knows maybe a fish could jump 30 feet in the air and make it over.
 
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