The perfect time to take part in Saskatchewan sport fishing is this weekend, as the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment holds the 36th annual summer Free Fishing Weekend. On July 12th and 13th, everyone in the province can experience recreational fishing on our lakes and rivers without an angling license. However, other fishing regulations are still in place, and the event does not apply within National Parks.
Senior Conservation Officer for the Weyburn area Lindsey Leko outlines some of these regulations, including the limits on how many fish one person can catch. This information can be found in the angler's guide, however, Leko specifies some lakes 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 fish caught and given away, and fish eaten in a shore lunch, are also considered part of an angler's limit.
Conservation officers are enforcing safe fishing practices, 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.”
A version of this article was originally published on June 26, 2025.