The first long weekend of the summer is coming up for Canada Day, and many anglers may have their sights set on the lake. Senior Conservation Officer Lindsey Leko reminds fishermen of some regulations to be aware of.
Leko begins with a licensing reminder, as everyone over the age of 16 must have a fishing license to be able to fish, with the exception of free fishing weekends. He says they are running into many people fishing without their license on hand.
“With the new licensing system, it's set up that you can print off 25 copies of a license and you can put one in every pocket of the pair of pants that you own or tackle boxes, vehicles. You can have a picture of it on your phone, which is perfectly fine with us. There's no reason at all for you not to have a copy of your license with you.”
Leko explains that while they can look up a license in their system, it's the responsibility of an angler to carry their license, and they can receive a ticket for failing to carry it.
Another issue they are running into, according to Leko, is unlicensed parents fishing with their children.
“Mom or dad will take a couple of young kids out, and they get bored after five or ten minutes, especially if they're not catching. And then dad takes over, and then we come along and do a check. And he says, ‘Well, I was just taking the kids, the kids are fishing’. Well, no. As soon as the kids are done fishing, you're done fishing. If you want to fish with them, go and pick up a license.”
Licenses can be purchased at any Saskatchewan angling license issuer, including select provincial park offices or online.
Even when licensed, there are restrictions on how many fish one person can catch. This information can be found in the angler's guide; however, Leko specifies some lakes that differ from the provincial limits, including Rafferty.
“These have been in place now since about 1998. We still find people who are unsure of those limits so always make sure that you check the guide. There's posters up in different places. So, if you have any questions, it's always better to ask as opposed to being found in possession of too many fish.”
This not only applies shoreside but also in transport, as Leko says anglers must transport fish in a way that allows officers to readily count them to ensure limits are not exceeded. He also stresses the importance of leaving a skin patch so the fish can be identified.
“Simply telling me that you've got walleye and that I should be able to tell the difference between a walleye and a northern pike, that is easy. But differentiating between a small walleye and a yellow perch, a lot more difficult. So the onus is on you as the angler to make sure you leave that patch of skin on during transport. Failing to do so does have consequences.”
Leko advises of a practice called high grading, where anglers meet their limit for a certain variety of fish but continue fishing, switching out fish in their possession for bigger or otherwise higher quality fish.
“This is actually unlawful. You've exceeded the limit, because as soon as you've retained the fish, as soon as you put it onto a stringer or put it into a live well or anything like that, as soon as you didn't put it back into the water immediately, it is deemed a retained fish and part of your limit.”
He also notes that fish caught and given away, and fish eaten in a shore lunch, are also considered part of an angler's limit.
Conservation officers are checking for licenses and violations, including shore and vehicle checks.
“We'll do shore checks of people angling. We'll also do vehicle checks, so, as we're leaving places like Nickle Lake or common fishing areas, we'll park back and we stop the vehicles as they are leaving the location. Sometimes there's actual spot checks, especially when we're looking for aquatic invasive species. And then the last one is we're on the boat.”
“We've got a pretty in-depth boat enforcement program that we do down here in the southeast corner in conjunction with the RCMP. And we'll be out in full force, ensuring safe boating and fishing compliance is being looked at.”