Chris Lowrey
PONTIAC July 19, 2017
The implementation of new fishing rules in the province will limit the types of baitfish anglers can use.
As of April 1, the Ministry of Flora, Fauna and Parcs (MFFP) changed the baitfish rules for the province.
Quebec anglers can no longer use live baitfish. Dead baitfish, on the other hand, is permitted, but only in certain areas during winter fishing months.
Local angler Shawn Rutledge said a friend of his was talking to a game warden and was told that anglers could be fined $450 if they’re found with minnows and $1,000 if there is a minnow on the actual fishing line.
From April 1 to December 19, dead baitfish are permitted in Zone 10, which includes the Pontiac area.
According to the MFFP website, live baitfish is no longer allowed because “the use of live baitfish is one of the most worrisome vectors for propagation of [aquatic invasive species] (AIS).”
The website also says that dead baitfish can carry AIS and other pathogens.
Specifically, the website points to yellow walleye as one species of fish that is negatively affected by baitfish. The MFFP website says that yellow walleyes have a higher mortality rate when returned to the water after the use of live baitfish when compared to artificial bait.
But Rutledge says it makes no sense to ban a harmful species part of the year but allow it in the winter months.
“If I’m not allowed to use a contaminated minnow in the summer time, why am I allowed to use the same minnow in the wintertime?” he asked. “If it’s not allowed, it’s not allowed.”
Rutledge says he is usually a bottom-line fisher where he puts a minnow on the line, drops it to the bottom of the lake and this allows him to spend time on shore with his wife and four children.
“I don’t have to sit in a boat all the time,” Rutledge said. “for my family to sit in a boat, I’d need a pontoon boat with six down riggers. I can’t do that.”
He says it’s hard for anglers like himself to wrap their heads around the new rules.
“The whole law doesn’t make sense to me because if they’re telling me that I’m not allowed to use a minnow because it’s contaminating the waterways, fine. But don’t tell me I’m allowed to use the same contaminated minnow in the wintertime.”
“I love fishing and I love going out to do outdoor sports but they’re making it very hard for the average person to do this stuff,” Rutledge said.
Ontario, on the other hand, allows baitfish and limits the amount each angler can possess to 120.
