Ontario Fishery Regulations, 2007 (SOR/2007-237)

• 27 (1) No non-resident who is angling from a fishing vessel shall possess on board the vessel more fish of a species than the quota set out in section 20 for the species in the waters in which the person is angling.

• (2) This section applies to the following waters in Zone 5:

  • (a) Lake of the Woods (49°16′59″ N, 94°34′15″ W);

  • (b) Shoal Lake (49°32′50″ N, 94°56′25″ W);

  • (c) Cul de Sac Lake (49°37′54″ N, 94°49′47″ W);

  • (d) Obabikon Lake (49°14′59″ N, 94°12′25″ W);

  • (e) Rainy River; and

  • (f) Rainy Lake (48°43′35″ N, 93°07′51″ W) and the Seine River system upstream to the Sturgeon Falls (Crilly) Dam, situated immediately north of Highway 11, including the waters of Grassy Lake (48°39′53″ N, 92°43′05″ W), Wild Potato Lake (48°43′00″ N, 92°28′36″ W) and Partridge Crop Lake (48°43′46″ N, 92°22′12″ W) in the Territorial Districts of Kenora and Rainy River.

Possession or Use of Bait

• 28 (1) No person shall release or deposit, or attempt to release or deposit, into any waters, or within 30 m of any waters, any of the following:

  • (a) live or dead bait or baitfish, including fish eggs, gametes or parts; or

  • (b) the water, soil or other materials in the container used to hold the materials set out in paragraph (a).

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of plant-based bait.

• (3) Paragraph 1(b) does not apply to water that is taken from the waters where the person is fishing, used in either a recirculating device attached to or forming part of a fishing vessel or a moveable container holding bait or baitfish, and deposited back into the same waters or within 30 m of those waters.

28.1 No person, other than the holder of a commercial bait licence or any other licence that authorizes the culture of baitfish, shall catch and retain in any one day, or possess, more than 120 baitfish.

• 29 (1) No person shall use as bait, or possess for use as bait, an invasive species or a live fish that is not a species of baitfish.

• (2) No person shall use as bait or possess for use as bait

  • (a) a live baitfish in the waters set out in column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 5;

  • (b) a fish greater than 13 cm in length in Lake Temagami (46°59′36″ N, 80°04′15″ W);

  • (c) a fish

    • (i) in the waters of Clearwater Bay of Lake of the Woods (49°42′23″ N, 94°45′13″ W), Echo Bay of Lake of the Woods (49°39′00″ N, 94°53′58″ W) or Cul de Sac Lake (49°37′54″ N, 94°49′47″ W);

    • (ii) in the waters set out in column 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 5 during the period set out in column 2; or

  • (d) rainbow smelt in Zone 2, 4, 5 or 6, except, in Zones 2 and 6, in the waters of Lake Nipigon and its tributaries and, in Zone 6, in the waters of Jessie Lake (49°11′19″ N, 88°19′52″ W), Helen Lake (49°04′20″ N, 88°16′17″ W), Polly Lake (49°07′52″ N, 88°15′58″ W) and the Nipigon River.

• (3) Despite subsection (1), a person may possess no more than 36 live crayfish for use as bait in the waters in which the person is angling, if the crayfish were caught in those waters.

• (4) No person shall transport crayfish overland except under a licence to collect fish for scientific purposes issued under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, Statutes of Ontario, 1997, c. 41.

• (5) Despite subsection (4), a person may transport red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in accordance with General, Ontario Regulation 354/16 made under the Invasive Species Act, 2015, S.O. 2015, c. 22, as amended from time to time.

Angling Restrictions

30 No person shall angle within 25 m of a pound net or cage in which fish are held for culture.

31 No person shall angle in the waters set out in column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 4 except in accordance with the limits on gear and equipment set out in column 2 during the specified time periods, as applicable.

• 32 (1) Subject to subsection (3), no person angling in open water shall angle in the waters set out in column 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 4 with more than the number of lines set out in column 2.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3), no person angling through ice shall angle in the waters set out in column 1 of Part 3 of Schedule 4 with more than the number of lines set out in column 2.

• (3) A person who is angling for common carp may use up to three lines in the waters of Zones 12 to 20 if all of the following conditions are met:

  • (a) the person is using plant-based bait or synthetic corn;

  • (b) when the person is angling from a fishing vessel, all of the lines used by the person are on that vessel with the person; and

  • (c) when the person is not angling from a fishing vessel, each line used by the person is within 2 m of another line used by the person.

33 No person who is angling through the ice shall

• (a) be more than 60 m from a hole in the ice through which they are angling; or

• (b) fail to maintain a clear and unobstructed view of a line with which they are angling.

Fishing at Night

• 34 (1) No person shall sport fish during the period between sunset and sunrise.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who is

  • (a) angling, except in the waters of Eagle Lake (49º42′ N, 93º13′ W);

  • (b) fishing by means of a baitfish trap;

  • (c) fishing for rainbow smelt by means of a dip net or seine net; or

  • (d) fishing for lake herring or lake whitefish by means of a dip net.

Sport Fishing Other Than Angling

• 35 (1) No person shall sport fish using

  • (a) a dip net

    • (i) with dimensions that are greater than 183 cm by 183 cm if the dip net is angular, or

    • (ii) with a diameter that is greater than 183 cm if the dip net is circular;

  • (b) a seine net with dimensions that are greater than 10 m by 2 m;

  • (c) a baitfish trap of a length that is greater than 51 cm or a diameter that is greater than 31 cm;

  • (d) more than one dip net, baitfish trap or seine net; or

  • (e) a baitfish trap unless it is legibly marked with their name and address.

• (2) No person who is sport fishing by a means other than by angling shall

  • (a) catch and retain in any one day or possess fish of a species set out in column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 from the waters set out in column 3 in an amount that exceeds the quota set out in column 5 or 6, as the case may be;

  • (b) use any gear other than the gear set out in column 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 for fishing for a species set out in column 1;

  • (c) fish for, or catch and retain, a species of fish set out in column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 from the waters set out in column 3 during the close time set out in column 4;

  • (d) fish for, or catch and retain, a species of fish set out in column 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 6 from any waters other than the waters set out in column 3; or

  • (e) fish for, or catch and retain, any species of fish other than the species set out in column 1 of Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 6.

• 36 (1) No person who is sport fishing by a means other than angling shall

  • (a) subject to section 28.1, catch and retain in any one day or possess more baitfish than the quota set out in column 5 of Part 2 of Schedule 6;

  • (b) when fishing for baitfish, use any gear other than the gear set out in column 2 of Part 2 of Schedule 6; or

  • (c) fish for baitfish during the close time set out in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 6.

• (2) Other than suckers or lake herring, no non-resident shall fish for, or catch and retain baitfish, by a means other than by angling.

Live Holding Methods

• 37 (1) No person who is sport fishing shall place or use in any waters a live holding box or impounding device unless

  • (a) it is legibly marked with the licence holder’s name and address; and

  • (b) the markings are visible without raising it from the water.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to

  • (a) a live holding box that forms part of or is attached to a fishing vessel; or

  • (b) a bucket or other moveable container that contains baitfish.

• 38 (1) No person who is sport fishing shall use a stringer, impounding device or live holding box for holding fish in Lake Nipigon and its tributaries.

• (2) Despite subsection (1), a person who is sport fishing may hold fish, other than brook trout or lake trout, in a livewell on Lake Nipigon or its tributaries.

Identification and Measurement of Fish

• 39 (1) Unless the fish is being prepared for immediate consumption, no person shall skin, cut or pack any fish caught by sport fishing in such a manner that the species cannot easily be identified or the number cannot easily be counted.

• (2) No person shall possess a fish that is skinned, cut or packed in contravention of subsection (1).

• (3) A person who is in possession of a fish caught by sport fishing for which there is an applicable size limit shall keep the fish in a manner that allows the size to be easily measured, unless the fish

  • (a) is being prepared for immediate consumption;

  • (b) is prepared at an overnight accommodation for storage;

  • (c) is being transported by the person on the water from a temporary overnight accommodation and that person is not sport fishing; or

  • (d) is being transported overland.

• (4) Subsection (3) does not apply to a person who possesses

  • (a) fish from which samples have been collected for scientific purposes by an employee authorized by the provincial Minister or a person who possesses fish under a licence to collect fish for scientific purposes issued under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997, Statutes of Ontario, 1997, c. 41; and

  • (b) documentation given by the person or employee containing information on the samples and their collection including the original length or weight of the fish.