One of the bass ponds has been ruined by idiots!

[openfire]

As I was driving by one of the proven bass ponds today and I saw dozens of people fishing!!! Wow, word must spread fast since I never saw that many people there at one time ever last summer!

The news gets worse...

I decided to park and check out what people were fishing for... yup, bass. AND they were keeping them!

I then saw a guy throwing one of his bass into a bucket, so I approached him to see what was up.

We got into a conversation and he told me he was taking the bass out of this pond and dumping them into other ponds in the area. He said he was doing it because everyone was keeping bass from this pond, and the pond has nowhere near the numbers of fish it had 2 years ago. It turns out that this guy started taking bass from Simcoe 4 years ago and putting them into this pond! Now we know where some of the pond bass come from.

He went on to tell me that 2 years ago he saw the MNR electro-shocking the pond and that the entire surface of the pond was littered with bass. Then he saw them doing it again last week, and there was almost nothing left!!! So apparently this pond has been fished out between last summer and now!!! And that was the reason he was transplanting the LM bass from this pond to other ponds in the area.

He also went on to tell me that he saw guys 6-7 guys last year with lawn chairs set-up fishing, and taking garbage bags full of bass home!!! On a regular basis!!!!!!!!

He also said that last summer he saw an old guy catch a legitimate 5 pounder and keep it! (That was probably one of the Simcoe bass he put in 4 years ago)

He went to tell me that he used to get bass every cast 2 years ago when no one knew about the pond, but now "it sucks".

Anyway, this pond from all accounts has been pretty much ruined from what I can tell.

I'll re-post this in the reports section under the pond #, but I wanted to post it here as a message to everyone: Be very careful about the number of people you tell about the good bass ponds in Urban areas... word spreads fast and I don't want to see this happen to the other good bass ponds near by.

*edit to add that the "idiots" are the ones taking garbage bags full of bass from the pond... not any of you guys. lol

 

[MikeyMikey]

Oh geez...

First off I do not share any of our pond info out side of this forum.

and...

like i have suggested how about some report forum access policy change?

i am not saying it's one of us giving out the info but lte's protect it a little better.

and it proably is some local driving by seen us fishing in the pond. can't stop that one.

 

[pogon02]

Guys Just an idea if someone is taking bag full of fish from a body of water the MNR should have been notified so that they can take action and charge these idiots. There are very good reasons why there is limits set by the MNR. And not sure why they would keep urban caught fish they are bound to be contaminated with pollutants but some people will eat anything....

 

[Afraz]

Umm - Thanks to this site along with many others, almost every single GTA jewel which i knew has been ruined...

People join here, read the reports. Check out the google maps section highlighting the ponds.. and BOOM !!!

Instant gratification to poachers..

And the MNR can't do poop because there just aren't enough of them around..

Thank you OFF - for helping destroy great GTA fisheries..

I hope you are all proud of the great work you have done here..

 

[Garfield the cat]

I thought by joining this OFF site that I can meet other fishing buddies. Peeps that I can enjoy a coffee an fishin stories but now.......... More I get more in to depth, I find so many bad roe sacks out of the bunch. Lol. But don't blame this site. Blame the people that make the bad decisions. I wish they all get caught, an I too would say something to them. Peace

 

[J'snest]

I thought by joining this OFF site that I can meet other fishing buddies. Peeps that I can enjoy a coffee an fishin stories but now.......... More I get more in to depth, I find so many bad roe sacks out of the bunch. Lol. But don't blame this site. Blame the people that make the bad decisions. I wish they all get caught, an I too would say something to them. Peace

This is a great site and I think the real fishermen out number the pond scum by a great number. There definitely are not enough MNR resources. Infact this year I have not seen one on the ice all season where as in past years, I chatted with several on a regular basis. Rather than complain, I think there are things that can be done. Lobby for the MNR in the GTA area to change the limit and put a slot size on the bass. For Catch & Release guys, it means nothing. They can still have fun all day with no restrictions. There are many licensed ethical fisherman who still like (or even need) to take their catch. For this group, a size and number limit will likely send them to the larger bodies of water that can sustain the fishing pressure and where they can still get their full count for the table. That leave us with the pond scum. These peole will always be a problem, but I thnik if you start reporting them and they realise there are more than just the MNR they need to watch out for, they too will reduce in numbers. Get their license number, boat registration, whatever you can find to link them to the area and report it to the MNR. They can always followup up on a lead after the fact. If I took more than my limit and had the MNR show up at my door, it would make me think twice the next time.

This is just my opinion and as I always say......my opinion and a $buck ($buck and a half now) will get you a coffee............

 

[RedSkullz]

It doesnt always have to be the MNR that controls what kind of fish are being taken illegally. I have personally told guys "Hey, did you know that the fish you are keeping are out of season and illegal to keep?" Usually it is guys that are fresh from out of country and dont know the rules, but a comment like the one above often makes them have to learn. If they start being jerks about it i will state "Did you know that if i called the MNR right now they could take all of your fishing gear, truck, and give you a $1000 fine per illegal fish?" (some of that might be BS, but its worked for me)
Just because there is not enough resources for the MNR to control the tons of water that is assigned to them, it doesnt mean we as responsible anglers have to take a quiet back seat and ignore the issues at hand, especially in our local bodies of water.

 

[Somenomai]

Isn't it also illegal to be dumping bass from one body of water to another? So the guy himself is also doing something illegal, he doesn't really have a right to go pointing fingers at poachers.

 

[worldslaziestninja]

That is a shame... One of my least favorite things about fishing local ponds is that people see you fishing and it encorages them to try. I never keep anything from local areas nor fish out of season. I have a pond by my place that is like that with crappie...

 

[CrankbaitJon]

What OMNR needs to do is to make catch and release mandatory for urban ponds.

 

[RedSkullz]

What OMNR needs to do is to make catch and release mandatory for urban ponds.

But that doesnt protect the nest when the fish are caught. As soon as the bass leaves the nest small sunfish and perch hastily move in and clean house.