Recommendations For Good(Affordable) Ice Fishing

[live2fish]

WOW again, this post is full of so much HOGWASH it's tough to read, " mostly native overfishing" where have you been, the natives have regulated there fishery with rules and they in fact police and maintain there regulations.The fact is the supreme court of Canada has given them the right to the fish and sportfishing will be extinct on Nip long before the nets are gone, so there is absolutely no point in bringing up Native rights.The lake can't rebound, then answer me why there are so many Walleye, for a lake not rebounding it is a decent fishery,were they catching 100 walleye a day in 80's , I think not, at least I wasn't, the fishing is just as good today. As for cost it's the same cost to kill 2 walleye as 4, if you base your fishing experience on the amount of death you can inflict on the population then perhaps Nippissing is not the destination for you.The lake will go through it's lean years and will have bonus years like it has for the past 100yrs, like all fisheries do.I apllaud the 2-walleye limit, it will help keep the meat hungry death fishers off the lake, by the way there still catchin good even through the -30c cold front.

. X2

[steve-hamilton]

my ice fishing buddies have been going to NIP for the last 11 years.

last year was their last.

nothing to do with the reduction in limits - 100% to do with the reduction in fish.

they are now going to quinte.

not the northern beauty that nip offers, but actual fish to catch....this year they returned with their limits of fish, four each, all between 21" and 24".

NIP is nice, hopefully this reduction in limits will help the lake rebound after years of decreasing catches.

[smerchly]

I have fond memories of fishing Quinte . We fished near Point Ann mostly and if the ice was good we moved up to the narrows where there was current . We would fish from daybreak for the eyes , then at about 11am , the perch would move in and we had fun catching them . We also got some big channel cats in the bay and in the narrows . They kept us entertained as well since they were stronger fighters than the big walters . We always got a motel for one night & fished the next morning before the drive home . Three guys splitting all the costs made it a cheap weekend and always caught plenty of fish .

[DaveC]

my ice fishing buddies have been going to NIP for the last 11 years.

last year was their last.

nothing to do with the reduction in limits - 100% to do with the reduction in fish.

they are now going to quinte.

not the northern beauty that nip offers, but actual fish to catch....this year they returned with their limits of fish, four each, all between 21" and 24".

NIP is nice, hopefully this reduction in limits will help the lake rebound after years of decreasing catches.

I hope to be around when this so called rebound happens.........because like I said, I have had no trouble catching my limits when it was 4 fish. This picture below is only what we brought home...not to mention what we cooked. My eight year old granddaughter soon got bored of how easy it was to catch fish. If your buddies have been having a hard time catching fish, I have to wonder where they have been having this struggle to catch fish. I have also fished Telegraph Narrows that Smerch refers to and caught Quinte eyes as well. But to say fishing has been tough on the Nip....that one sure has me confused

[canadadude]

from all reports Nip has rebounded quite nicely this winter, and this past summer fishery was also dynamite but like all other fisheries it will still have lean years. I remember when the perch limit was knocked down to 25 because of worries over the perch populations and now that population has rebounded. I also use to fish Quinte alot and for every good trip I made there were still alot of tough days, it is what it is sometimes.

[AwolRJ]

I hope to be around when this so called rebound happens.........because like I said, I have had no trouble catching my limits when it was 4 fish. This picture below is only what we brought home...not to mention what we cooked. My eight year old granddaughter soon got bored of how easy it was to catch fish. If your buddies have been having a hard time catching fish, I have to wonder where they have been having this struggle to catch fish. I have also fished Telegraph Narrows that Smerch refers to and caught Quinte eyes as well. But to say fishing has been tough on the Nip....that one sure has me confused

Lol no wonder you still like Nip.. With your Wife and Daughter with ya, you beat the system...

[Sirfishalot]

Hey Dave...don"t see any skin on those fish brother or its obscured from the freezing...not worth getting caught transporting them like that, I know its a long shot in the winter, but during the softwater season..different story. Better safe than out some $$$

Canadadud, I guess you've never been offered Pickeral fillets out of the back of a truck before during the spawning season for $5 a pound. I'm not saying they are all doing it but with a few bad apples they all get generalized together.Randy Morrison an MNR supervisor in north bay has said their hands are virtually tied , but with the bands now being able to sell some of thier "legal" catches at some of the markets in the area at a fair price,they hope to cut into the black market. We talked to a band elder in Tyenindaga(mowhawk band) last spring and he told us he won't lie it is unfortunate but it does happen and there is nothing they can really do to stop it.

By the way you do not know me but alot of other members do,Its not about "the kill ratio" I put back tenfold of what i catch.conservation IS first and foremost. Its the tug thats the drug,not the spoils.

[canadadude]

Hey Dave...don"t see any skin on those fish brother or its obscured from the freezing...not worth getting caught transporting them like that, I know its a long shot in the winter, but during the softwater season..different story. Better safe than out some $$$

Canadadud, I guess you've never been offered Pickeral fillets out of the back of a truck before during the spawning season for $5 a pound. I'm not saying they are all doing it but with a few bad apples they all get generalized together.Randy Morrison an MNR supervisor in north bay has said their hands are virtually tied , but with the bands now being able to sell some of thier "legal" catches at some of the markets in the area at a fair price,they hope to cut into the black market. We talked to a band elder in Tyenindaga(mowhawk band) last spring and he told us he won't lie it is unfortunate but it does happen and there is nothing they can really do to stop it.

By the way you do not know me but alot of other members do,Its not about "the kill ratio" I put back tenfold of what i catch.conservation IS first and foremost. Its the tug thats the drug,not the spoils.

To be honest the only place I've been offered walleye is at the Bay of Quinte reserve, where I camped every year,as for Nippissing first Nations, they police there own and confiscate nets set durring the spawn and are doing everything in there power to stop unregulated fishing with much success. The mowhawk on the Bay of Quinte are unregulated and pretty much do what they want, but it is what it is. The NFN has hired Biologists to study the populations, has set quotas, has canceled any fishing during the spawn, has hired Band members to police illegal harvest and has also been a leader in setting up conferences to get all parties with a stake in Lake Nippissing to manage the resource. You seem to use two completely different Native bands in two completely different areas to make a point, Tyenindaga is a Mowhawk band on the Bay Of Quinte and has absolutely nothing to do with Nippissing first Nations, there 500 miles apart.I actually find your post confusing, I was referencing Lake Nippissing not Tyenindaga.

[DaveC]

Hey Dave...don"t see any skin on those fish brother or its obscured from the freezing...not worth getting caught transporting them like that, I know its a long shot in the winter, but during the softwater season..different story. Better safe than out somes.

Yeh, good point i am guilty of that. Thanks i will remember that....dont really keep fish,but i like walleye. I just wanted to make the point that i stand by, that i have never had a problem catching fish there as others have said ( lack of fish) i respect this years 2 fish limit and thats perfectly fine with me. Couple fish each per day....good laughs, and few drinks is good times to me.Good point on the skin....i know that and should have been smarter. I have been guilty of carrying open booze back from the cottage thats not in the trunk....slips your mind sometimes.

[Sirfishalot]

Don't mean to confuse you but what i meant was i have been offered fresh catch in both areas in the past but moreso on Mohawk Tyenindaga terr. and weve talked to people about it in both. Its been about 5yrs since ive seen it on Nip. I know it was about 08 they started selling at the market. Hopefully it has drastically cut down on the black market.

Its encouraging to hear that there is a concerned effort by Nip FN to ensure that the fish population survives for generations to come. What we need is more cooperative efforts in other areas of Ontario.

One tidbit most wont know about is that non natives can, thru the Nippissing native market vendors purchase much more than a possession limit( not sure if there is a maximum weight) provided they keep the reciept and the fish is labelled with the time/weight of purchase to coincide with the reciept. Pretty sweet way to still hava a group fishfry if they have a non productive trip.

Your point was well made Dave, we are all on the same page..tightlines..cheers.

[larry b]

I stopped going to nippissing about 3yrs ago for a few reasons.The outfitter we used to go with charges 100 more /person for weekend then before and couldn't find another good outfitter after that.So much cheaper to go to simcoe or skugog for a couple days too. Having said that I've had 60 walleye per person catch days on nippissing and seen pike so big we couldn't fit them through the hole.I could be persuaded to go back for a good deal and huts are not in a stupid spot .