insane new Quebec regs

[Eli]

OK so let me start by saying that I support angling regulation. I'm all for seasons, slot limits, possession limits, fish sanctuaries, bait restrictions, etc. If it's reasonable and rooted in scientific logic then I support it 100%.....but what Quebec is about to do is (in my mind) nothing short of over the top.

They are in effect shutting down ice fishing.

Check this out..

http://www.mddefp.gouv.qc.ca/infuseur/co...sp?No=2767

Hit the translate button on your browser and read the 3rd bullet under the size chart.

...winter fishing closure for ALL SPECIES in lakes that have lake trout. Insane.

So, here is my analysis of this situation.

-In southern and western Quebec (where people actually live), there is already a longstanding closure on keeping lake trout in the winter. No one has legally kept an ice-caught laker in the most heavily fished parts of Quebec in a long time.

-Most of the large, accessible lakes in Western Quebec are deep and therefore support at least a semblance of a laker population. ALL of these lakes have dozens of other perfectly (and legally) catchable fish species. ALL of these lakes will now be off limits in winter.

-I'd be panicking as all hell right now if I was a tackle shop owner in Western Quebec. Looks like I'd no longer be able to make a living between December and April.

-Poachers will be poachers. If trout were being illegally kept while there is a known closure on them in the winter, you can bet your ass they will be kept now that the lakes will be completely devoid of all normal anglers who would have otherwise reported the poaching. Trout population might actually suffer on some lakes as a result of this regulation.


Quebec is at the forefront of fisheries management. They're a good 20 years a head of the rest of Canada in terms of species conservation (copper redhorse), restoration (eel), and regulation enforcement. But c'mon! Serisouly...I can't target perch in 6 FOW because the deep basin in the middle of the lake has trout?! Really. I'm angry.

Looks like this will be my last winter fishing over there.