Outdoors

Open water perch season comes alive

When Lake Simcoe rids itself of what Old Man Winter left behind, it only means one thing to those who like to wet a line on the province’s sixth-largest inland lake — the start to some of the best yellow perch fishing this province has to offer.
It’s during this time of the year you stand the best chance of catching the biggest perch, Aurora resident and long-time tournament angler Dave Chong said.
“It’s not uncommon to catch fish measuring up to 14 or 15 inches in length,” he said.

Hearing those encouraging words gave me the urge to join him, along with Taro Murata, creator of Fish City TV, to experience one of the annual angling rites of spring.
However, the day we elected to go out didn’t seem the most conducive for fishing.
Overcast skies with threats of rain combined with an east wind — not exactly the kind of breezes anglers prefer.
But knowing Dave and Taro had been out on the waters in the days leading up to our outing and experienced a high degree of success catching good numbers of fish, my confidence was bolstered.
After motoring our way from the Sibbald Point Provincial Park boat ramp to an area near Duclos Point, Dave and Taro focused their attention on shallow-water areas where the lake bottom is comprised of rock and sand.
These areas, they noted, are places where the perch inhabit for spawning, and are rife with baitfish.
Working a stretch of water sheltered from the wind, Dave and Taro took turns manoeuvring the boat parallel to the shoreline and into depths ranging from four to 10 feet.
Using lightweight rod and reel outfits and tossing small, soft plastic minnow imitation baits or tube jigs rigged individually or in tandem onto a one-sixteenth to one-eighth ounce jig head with an erratic retrieve, it didn’t take long for the action to start.

On several occasions, our boat resembled a fire drill as we had double and triple-headers on.
Yellow perch of varying sizes were attracted to our offerings, but the ones we sought and selectively harvested were deep-bellied and more than 11 inches in length.
While there were periods we caught what seemed to be an endless number of under-sized perch, some emitting milt as we were removing them from our hooks, Taro said this can be a good sign. During spawning, the males tend to congregate near the big spawning females. Those small males told us we were in the ballpark for what we wanted to catch.
So, what had the makings of a washed out day turned out to be a rewarding one.
At that, though, Dave and Taro said we just hit the tip of the iceberg as they had experienced far better days leading up to our expedition.
The area we fished isn’t the only spot on Lake Simcoe perch can be found.
Having fished a Simcoe perch tournament the week before, finishing second, Dave noted some good fish were also caught off Snake Island.
However, a good sign of where these fish might be lurking is the number vessels might be congregated in a specific area, not to mention talking with people who have been out on the water in recent days.
With Simcoe being a rather large body of water, the odds can also work in your favour if you have the luxury of fishing from a good-sized vessel with a large outboard motor that can cover as many areas as possible.
At the same time, a vessel of this size enables you to return safely to shore if the wind picks up, which, on Lake Simcoe, can happen in a New York City second,.
If you’re looking for an alternative to rainbow trout fishing during the early spring, wetting a line for yellow perch can be just as fun.

Club works to improve angling in Toogood Pond

Toogood Pond in Unionville isn’t exactly a hotspot for largemouth bass when the season opens the fourth Saturday in June.
But down the road, the Hawgtown Bassmasters hope it might be a body of water that will play host to a healthy population of these fish.
At the same time, they hope it will provide future anglers the opportunity to catch these fish within an urban setting.
Just recently, several members of the Hawgtown Bassmasters volunteered their time to begin this process by creating 23 spawning beds in the pond, on Carlton Road just west of Main Street, Unionville.
It stems from the club’s mandate of at least one conservation event a year, club secretary Duane Gonsalves said.
In conducting the project, Mark Gillson, club president, noted they initially approached the Town of Markham and held discussions with them about it.
At first, he said, their intentions were to place spawning benches in the pond, to which the town was receptive.
But the club made a minor alteration to its proposal when after applying for a Community Fisheries and Wildlife Program grant, it was suggested it instead create spawning beds.
“I believe this was a better option for this pond, based on our observation and surveys of the pond,” Gillson said.
Prior to the physical work, which took place April 27, club members surveyed the pond for two days to determine the best locations for the beds.
“We found the north end of the pond had a narrow perimeter of loose rock that extended out approximately six feet from shore. For the most part, it was silted up with quite a bit of mud and beyond this narrow band, it dropped off into very soft and deep mud that’s hazardous to wade in. In our opinion, this did not appear to offer much in the way of quality spawning habitat,” Gillson recalled.
“On our first visit, we noticed several people walking dogs, with some of the dogs running in the water along this narrow band of shoreline, which would certainly disturb any spawning activities or nests. There was a narrow, featureless rocky shoal about 10 feet wide that runs across the north end of the pond out in front of the bullrushes. It is narrower in some places and again, it quickly drops off on either side into deep mud. This shoal appeared to be the best natural spawning area for the resident fish and wasn’t subject to the disturbances of the shoreline areas.
“It was along this shoal we decided to make the spawning beds and place attractors to break up the otherwise featureless bottom.”
The club had two yards of river rock donated and delivered to site by the Jolly Farmer Garden Centre, a North York company.
Three buckets of rock were used to create beds about three feet in diameter bed and about 10 inches thick on the bottom, Gillson said. The beds were placed on the edge of the shoal in two to three feet of water just before the dropoff into deeper water.
“We also placed a crescent-shaped arrangement of bricks to act as an attractor on the shallow side of each bed and facing the deeper water,” he said. “The 20 beds along the shoal were placed about 10 feet apart. The remaining rock was placed around a large tree trunk that was laying in the water and would serve as a attractor. It is just off the shoal and is surrounded by some rocks and a lot of mud.
“We placed about 20 bucket loads of rock around the tree, which should provide good spawning habitat for a few fish.”
Area residents were quite interested in what they were doing and reacted positively to the work, Gillson said.
“It gave us a good sense of accomplishment and we felt our efforts will definitely make a difference to this body of water,” he said.
As satisfied as the club is, there’s still more work that can be done on Toogood Pond Gillson said. In particular, he feels the pond needs more aquatic vegetation and hopes the club can get the green light to continue its work.
A chapter of the Ontario BASS Federation, part of the worldwide BASS Federation, the Hawgtown Bassmasters sports a membership of 20 people who hail from around the Greater Toronto Area and welcomes new members, including youngsters and women.
The club meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Crossroads Restaurant at 6211 Main Street, Stouffville.
For more information, e-mail hawgtown@gmail.com or visit eteamz.com/HawgtownBassmasters

Fishing clubs focus on environmental protection

It might be assumed fishing clubs are geared primarily for people who like to tell tall tales about the big ones that did or didn’t get away or for those who seek further knowledge to help improve their angling skills.
While members of the York Bassmasters might engage in those topics during their meetings, their activities extend beyond those parameters.
In fact, one of their mandates is to protect the environment, which, in turn, will create angling opportunities for future generations.
The group earned accolades by winning the Berkley Conservaton Award for their work on the Bogart Creek restoration project.
The annual award isn’t just given to angling clubs, Tony Dean, club treasurer and conservation director, said.
When potential nominees are chosen for the award, other conservation groups are taken into consideration, he added.
But receiving this year’s award, the club was honoured and humbled
“Never in our wildest dreams did we think we’d win because there are so many great conservation projects that are being done,” Dean said. “We are proud of the work we’ve done (on the Bogart Creek Restoration project) and look forward to the challenges ahead.”
The club’s involvement in the Bogart Creek project stemmed was inspired by the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, which began work last fall in the East Holland River clean-up.
This was a multi-year, $17-million campaign to restore the most degraded and populated river in the Lake Simcoe watershed.
In the East Holland River Clean Up, erosion control, tree planting, manure storage and septic system upgrade projects are being conducted to improve the water quality in the river and in the lake itself.
Since Bogart Creek feeds the East Holland River, the Bogart Creek Restoration project is part of the larger East Holland River clean-up.
“We discussed the partnership idea with Ted Bomers from the Bogart Creek Restoration and we knew it would be a great fit for our club,” Dean recalled. “These folks are dedicated to results and we as a club are going to assist them in the future to make sure it gets done.
“We will continue this spring by doing aquatic plantings, clearing obstacles from the creek and bank re-stabilization. This is a long-term project and we will be there until the end which we hope will be the successful re-introduction of brook trout,” he said.
A chapter of the Ontario BASS Federation, part of the worldwide BASS Federation, the York Bassmasters began in the spring of 2006 and currently sports a membership of 25 people who hail from around the Greater Toronto Area.
Dean said the club welcomes the addition of any interested individuals wishing to join them. This, he said, includes youngsters and women.
The club gathers every last Thursday of the month at the BassProShops in Vaughan in the seminar room.
For further club information, log on to: www.yorkbassmasters.com

Don't dump unwanted goldfish in waterways

While the Milne Dam fishway on the Rouge River’s primary function is to assist migrating rainbow trout that make their way upstream from Lake Ontario each spring, the Markham facility has been useful in other areas of environmental study.
Mark Heaton, Ministry of Natural Resources’ fisheries technician, noted the fishway has also been an asset in monitoring invasive species inhabiting the river.
Goldfish have become a nuisance snce the fishway began operation three years ago, Mr. Heaton said.
Yes, those same fish people have in their aquariums at home or in the office.
Unfortunately, it has now reached the point where there is a migratory run of these fish on the Rouge River that follows the annual run of rainbow trout, Mr. Heaton said.
Unlike the goldfish you might see in an aquarium, the fish inhabiting the Rouge River are a little bigger in size.
They can be one to 1 1/2 pounds, Mr. Heaton said.
Some of these fish are three to four inches long and are working their way out to Lake Ontario, which is not a good thing, Mr. Heaton added.
He suspects these fish found their way into the Rouge River because people did not wish to keep them as pets any longer and just dump them into the feeder streams or the Rouge River itself.
“The fishway has definitely been a focal point for monitoring invasive species,” Heaton said.
In addition to the presence of goldfish, other invasive species include carp, sea lamprey and coy, he added.
With the presence of the fishway, ministry officials been able to collect various invasive species and remove them from the Rouge River watershed.
Mr. Heaton hopes people will come to the understanding that it is not good to release unwanted aquarium fish, such as goldfish, into the natural watersheds.
“If we can collect these invasive species at the fishway, they won’t be in the Rouge River and it will help improve the water quality of the Rouge River,” Mr. Heaton said. “And, it can help us understand the influences of people and how they can affect the watershed.
“We need to inform people that it’s not good to release pets into the wild.”
As for this year’s annual rainbow trout run, the fishway has assisted close to 100 fish over the first two days of operation that began at the start of April, Mr. Heaton said.
“And, we’ve seen some good-sized fish,” Mr. Heaton said. “Some of the really larger fish were (a little less than) five kilograms.”
With the ministry and members of the Metro East Anglers operating the fishway over the next few weeks, Mr. Heaton hopes they can move some 300 fish or more into the Rouge River headwaters.
As a part of the rainbow trout transfer, they will try to collect any mature eggs and, with the assistance of volunteers from the Metro East Anglers, raise them at the nearby Ringwood Fish Culture Station.
In addition, any fish collected from the cages in the fishway will be microchipped.
This will be done with an attempt to monitor their movements after spawning, Mr. Heaton said.
“If we can get a miccrochip from a fish that we had already placed one on we can find out when the fish was tagged the previous year and then we will know how big they were then and how much they’ve grown since that period,” he said.
Since the fishway has been in operation, Mr. Heaton said it has served its purpose well.
“It has provded some interesting insights as to fish that reside in the Rouge River and those that migrate from Lake Ontario,” he said.

Steelhead run sure sign of spring

The long, cold winter can give anglers the itch to get outside and wet a line as soon as there’s a break in the weather.
For me, it took place just prior to the first signs that spring might finally have arrived as rain washed away a good amount of snow.
However, my angling expeditions didn’t take place in York Region.
Rather it was in neighbouring Durham Region and Northumberland County along feeder streams emptying into Lake Ontario where the angling regulations have designated areas south of the CN railroad tracks below Highway 401 for year-round angling.
It is at this time of the year when rainbow trout that inhabit the waters of Lake Ontario during the summer months begin to make their annual journey upstream to reach spawning areas.
These slower-moving stretches of water offer some of the best steelhead angling you can experience. The key is to find deep holding pools where fish might rest before moving upstream.
While many of the bigger holes are heavily fished, especially on weekends, pay attention to fine detail and check out any potential stretch you think might be deep enough to hold a fish or two. You might be surprised when you run your offering through these areas.
Dime-sized spawn bags tied in bright-coloured nylon material such as chartreuse, hot pink or bright orange are the first bait choices anglers will employ when fresh runs of fish are moving through.
But on days when the fish have seen plenty of spawn bags float by them, artificial offerings can be just as lethal. These include three-inch pink worms, artificial flies, such as a chartreuse and black wooley bugger, small steelhead jigs and even small tube jigs.
These baits can be bounced off the bottom or suspended by using a float.
I prefer to run these type of offerings with a florocarbon leader.
Spinners such as the silver or gold-plated Number Three Mepps Aglia or Blue Fox and black wobbling plugs dropped into a deep pool can also be tantalizing to a steelhead.
The huge runoff taking place over the past few days will definitely be a magnet to attract bigger runs of steelhead to enter the various feeder streams.
Be sure to check the latest angling regulations to make sure you are fishing water that has the year-round angling designation.
And if you are required to have an angling licence, so be sure that you carry it with you.

Tuning up for the season, Florida style

Fishing the intercoastal waterways of Florida for redfish, snook, sea trout and sheephead is comparable to wetting a line in this neck of the woods.
Like fishing in Ontario, what you have to do is to target potential holding areas, say Brian Schmitt, a St. Petersburg, Fla. resident who has been my personal guide over the past few years.
And during the days of early March, when water temperatures begin to hover near the high 60F mark, that boils down to searching fish as they begin to retreat from their wintering holes headed for the vast waters of Tampa Bay.
Finding these places and timing your outing with the movement of tides can give you an outing worth remembering, as I discovered.
Escaping Old Man Winter’s wrath for a few days, I hooked up with my long-time fishing companion Bill Morrison of Oshawa and made our annual salt water trek with Schmitt aboard his new 16-foot skiff.
Venturing out the day before to net some baitfish and to check out some locales, Brian took us to a spot he guaranteed held some big redfish and sea trout. It was a boat dock on a point and adjacent to two back channels that emptied into Tampa Bay.
With the tide coming in early in the morning, we approached the boat dock with the electric motor and eventually dropped anchor within casting distance of the wood pilings.
Rigging up our seven-foot, one-piece rods with 16-pound monofilament line and florocarbon leaders, we hooked a two-inch greenback minnow onto a 1/0 hook and let the bait sink to the bottom before retrieving the slack line.
Just prior to casting, Brian chummed the area with some extra greenbacks.
“Pitch your bait as far back into the pilings. When you feel a hit, you will know,” Brian said.
I let my offering settle on the bottom and within moments after picking up the slack and holding a portion of the line with my index finger, I felt a sharp pull. Reefing back on instinct, I felt the fish make a small run before he let go of the bait.
Retrieving my bait, I had just a half of a minnow remaining on the hook.
With my heartbeat racing at a frantic pace, I rigged up another live greenback and tossed it back into the scene of the original crime.
Given a reprieve, I made the most of my second opportunity when another fish attacked my offering. Feeling the weight of a good-sized fish, I eventually got it to the surface and I could hear Brian yell “Keep the fish away from the pilings.”
I did as he instructed and, within a few frantic moments, had a nice redfish aboard our boat. Under Florida laws, anglers are allowed to keep one redfish that measures 18 to 27 inches in length. My fish just made the slot size and was put on ice.
Moments after that, Brian and Bill each had tackle busters on the end of their line.
Making another cast to the backside of the dock, I had another strike. This time, though, the fish came skyrocketing out of the water several times before I eventually landed it — a snook measuring 26 inches. Under Florida laws, anglers must have a snook stamp ($2) along with their residential or non-residential licence and the fish must be between 28 and 33 inches in length.
After taking a couple of pictures we live-released it.
For the next couple of hours we could see redfish and sheephead swimming underneath the dock and had our fair share of action before we elected to try another spot.
Motoring our way to the Wheaton wildlife preserve, we searched for pockets of sandy bottomed areas adjacent to weed growth. It was here, Brian said, schools of sea trout, snook or redfish could be found in search of live shrimp or shellfish.
While we saw plenty of mullet jumping all around us, which Brian said was a good omen, the water temperatures in these areas were not warm enough to hold the big schools of fish we were after.
Because of this, we motored our way into some adjacent back bays and searched the mangrove areas with deep banks. Anchoring in one potential area where the tide was coming in quickly, we hit the jackpot as Brian lost a good snook and I hauled in one that was under the minimum size limit.
Before vacating the area, we saw several other good-sized snook and some redfish that had a case of lock jaw.
Although the sea trout did not co-operate that day as what we had hoped, we did get our fair share at Bill’s winter residence, a channel off Clearwater Beach. Fishing from his dock late each afternoon, we employed two-inch shrimp imitation Berkley Gulp baits and hooked countless sea trout near the minimum 15-inch size limit. Like the redfish and snook, the sea trout were aggressive and put up a good tussle.
With March now upon us, Brian said fishing will only get better as the water temperature continues to climb.
If you get an opportunity to go to Florida, it sure doesn’t hurt to try your luck with these fish.
If anything, it makes for a good tuneup for the open water season here.

Session serve up expert advice on bass fishing

Bass fishing in Ontario does not commence until the fourth Saturday in June.
But that does not prevent a group of high profile tournament bass anglers from talking about their favourite pasttime during the offseason.
In doing so, they hope to offer wit and wisdom to those wanting to improve their skills at catching these fish once they become fair game later this year.
The group has been barnstorming its way around the province, conducting a series of seminars known as Bass Talk. Now in its third season, the Bass Talk series is offered in seven different locations.
The nearest one to York Region is March 2 in nearby Uxbridge at DT Power Sports on Lakeridge Road.
The sessions run for a full day starting with registration at 7 a.m. From 8 a.m., registrants hear presentations from six anglers talking about six subjects pertaining to bass fishing. The sessions conclude with a question and answer period.
“You can’t fish for bass in the winter, so this is a great way to spend a day in the winter if you’re interested in bass fishing,” said Dave Chong, an Aurora resident and one of the guest lecturers on the Bass Talk circuit. “You will definitely learn a lot.”
Based on the feedback he has received, Chong feels more anglers are becoming aware of the winter Bass Talk caravan, derived from the Bassmasters University programs in the United States.
In fact, Chong notes, registrants are impressed to the point they tend to get overloaded with information.
“We’ve given them a lot of stuff and, a lot of times, we hear that they can’t believe we’ve given them certain bits of information,” he said.
You can attend any one of the seven session for $75. Additional sessions will run you $60.
Registration fees include coffee and doughnuts prior to the seminars, lunch and door prizes.
During the seminars, you can enter  raffles and take part in a silent auction benefitting a couple of charities including Casting for a Cure and the Catch and Dream Kids Fishing Derby, which Chong organizes with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of York Region. This year’s event is June 28 out of Orillia.
There’s also early bird registration. For the Uxbridge show, the early bird deadline is Feb. 17 and those who register early can win a prize valued at close to $400.
To learn more about Bass Talk or to register for one of the sessions, visit basstalk.ca

Winter's return a boon for Simcoe ice anglers

That Old Man Winter sure likes to be a tease.
Especially to those who like to wet a line on frozen pond.
Hard-water angling enthusiasts who fish Lake Simcoe got an early taste of the action in late December when a sudden burst of winter solidified traditional first-ice areas along the southeastern shoreline and Cook’s Bay.
But that didn’t last long. In early January, above-average temperatures loosened Old Man Winter’s grip on those frozen surfaces, making conditions dangerous enough for ice hut operators to temporarily cease operations and prevent even the most ardent angler from venturing out.
But Old Man Winter has done an about face and returned to York Region, much to the pleasure of anglers and hut operators.
The return of normal weather conditions has enabled ice hut operators to resume business in those traditional first-ice areas, which now have anywhere from eight to 10 inches of ice.
And so far, the hard-water angling has been nothing short of sensational.
“The fishing has been phenomenal,” Leona Creber, operator of Casey’s Ice Huts in Port Bolster, said Tuesday as her customers chased yellow perch and whitefish. “It’s been amazing.”
Operating with 17 huts, Creber began her season Dec. 26. She pulled her huts off the ice when the mild spell came, but last week’s cold snap enabled her to put them back out on anywhere from eight to 10 inches of solid ice and in about 30 feet of water.
Anglers using live minnows for bait have experienced the most success, she said. But before the season concludes, she anticipated those who use artificial baits should have their fair share of success as well.
In Cook’s Bay, Rick Arsenault of Simcoe Fishing Adventures, commenced operations out of Keswick Dec. 28 before ceasing Jan. 11 when the warm weather arrived. He was back in business last Thursday.
While Cook’s Bay is frozen with eight to nine inches of ice, he warned areas beyond Roach’s Point remain unsafe.
Working with 14 huts in about 14 feet of water, Arsenault reported catches of yellow perch have picked up where they left off prior to the thaw. The key to success, he said, is for anglers to use small baits.
“We’re getting good fish (and) anything is working,” Arsenault said. “Live minnows, small artificial baits like black and silver jigging Rapalas, Swedish pimples, tear drop and even pumpkinseed-coloured tube jigs.”
For those who want to catch lake trout or whitefish, local hut operators said you’ll have to wait a bit longer and hope for an extended blast of winter air to harden surfaces in the deeper water.
Creber noted deeper sections just recently hardened, but cautioned against venturing out just yet.
For more on the ice fishing action on Lake Simcoe, call Creber at 705-437-1560, contact Arsenault at www.lakesimcoefishingadventures.com or check the lures and tours website, www.luresandtours.com

Guide, site keep anglers informed

An angler unfamiliar with fishing Lake Simcoe could face a stern challenge deciphering the optimal times and locations to wet a line, not to mention which tactics to employ.
And for those intending to prolong their stay in the area and are not familiar with restaurants, lodgings and other necessities in the area, further complications can arise.
But Charles Ross and Rosa Sharpe can make that planned expedition far more easier and enjoyable with a new guidebook and website, both called Lures and Tours.
“There has always been a lot of questions asked about where one can eat, get bait, angling licences, parking and in finding public access to the waterfront on Lake Simcoe,”  said Ross, a Sutton resident. “This really wasn’t a unique situation, but there was a need for something to make the connection between these steady repeat tourists and local businesses.
The idea behind Lures and Tours is to have information at  visitors’ fingertips, whether they were at home or travelling.
With backgrounds in sales and marketing along with their active involvement in various Lake Simcoe stakeholder committees, Ross and Sharpe launched Lures and Tours by creating a pocket-sized guide and the site was launched in 2005.
In devising their site, Ross, who also has a background in communications, said it was easy to do as they had laid down the foundation to what they wanted to extol to users.
“Lures and Tours’ concept was clear” to present what businesses and towns offer that anglers want in a directory format that’s attractive and efficient,” he said.
Within the directory, Ross said, there’s display advertisements that provides links to each client’s site as well as a handy search feature.
They also display GPS co-ordinates in their advertisements —something  they said anglers who visit the site appreciated almost immediately.
The site also features a photo gallery section with more than 800 images taken at various fishing events staged on Lake Simcoe.
“That generates a lot of activity when competitors come to browse the pictures from their latest tournament,” Ross said.
While the site has been a popular information tool, Ross was quick to note their free pocket-sized Desination Guide, stocked at various Ontario Travel Information centres across the province, has also been well-received.
The winter edition of the booklet is now available for download from their site.
Satisfied with what they’ve been able to achieve thus far, Ross and Sharpe haven’t stood pat. Last fall, they became a sponsor of the Aurora Bassmasters angling group and will assist them with projects and events by providing photography and broader Internet exposure of the club’s activities.
As well, the 2008 Lures and Tours Destination Guide will feature a full colour page highlighting the goals of the Aurora Bassmasters.
The pair’s effort helping to promote both the club and the sport fishery on Lake Simcoe and adjacent Lake Couchiching is a positive shot in the arm for tourism in Ontario, Aurora Bassmasters president Herb Quan said.
“They care about conserving this resource and are anxious to promote clubs like ours that volunteer their time to help protect it,” he added.

Rule changes create new angling opportunities

For any angler who feels he has a good handle on the dos and don’ts of current provincial fishing regulations, be prepared to do some homework before wetting a line in 2008.
That’s because some major changes to the rules come into effect Jan. 1.
To find out what changes are in store, check out the new 2008-09 provincial recreational fishing regulations summary, available at most local tackle outlets or here.
The ministry cites several reasons for this year’s changes.
Last printed in 2005, the ministry is optimistic the revised guide will be far simpler for anglers to comprehend. It’s a big relief as the current regulations tend to be rather complex, especially for someone who might be new to the sport.
In its effort to simplify matters, the ministry revamped the province’s fishing zones by creating 20 Fisheries Management Zones that replace the current 34 fishing divisions.
The ministry’s Aurora District is located in zone 16 and includes the Special Designated Waters of Lake Simcoe and part of zone 17.
In addition to the new zones, several new regulations will be enforced., many of which will create additional angling opportunities.
Within York Region, as an example, an extended fall fishing season on the Rouge River will allow anglers to wet a line for rainbow and brown trout and pacific salmon in an area extending north to south side of Hwy. 407 from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.
Under current regulations, anglers can only fish the Rouge River for pacific salmon, rainbows and brown trout year-round as far north as Hwy. 2, said Wil Wegman, a ministry spokesperson from the Aurora District office.
“There’s definitely a lot more river to fish under the new regulations,” he cited.
Among other highlights, the Atlantic salmon season will be closed all year to support the province’s Lake Ontario Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program.
Anglers who intend to keep what they catch, should take careful note of changes pertaining to possession limits of certain species.
What had been rumoured over the last couple of years will become a reality when walleye catch and possession limits will be reduced to four from six for those with a Sport Fishing Licence and remain at two for holders of a Conservation Fishing Licence. Only one can exceed 46 centimetres (18.1 inches) in length.
For crappies, there will be a daily possession limit of 30 for those with a Sport Fishing Licence and 10 with a Conservation Fishing Licence while sunfish will be limited to 50 and 25, respectively.
Channel catfish will have a possession limit of 12 with a Sport Fishing Licence and six with a Conservation Fishing Licence.
Until now, there has been no possession limits on these species.
Anglers who fish Lake Simcoe, which, as  January is in the redefined zone 16, will also see changes as the lake is identified as Specially Designated Waters. This designation allows for regulatory management options outside the zone-wide regulations.
Under the new guidelines, this designation takes in all waters of Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching and their tributaries.
Wegman hopes the designation will clarify a long-standing issue pertaining to the whitefish possession limit and season. In zone 16, it states whitefish are open year-round with a possession limit of 12 for those with a Sport Fishing Licence. But as of Jan. 1, anglers with a Sport Fishing Licence can only keep two while those with a Conservation Licence one. As well, there is a closed season imposed on Lake Simcoe for whitefish.
Other changes pertaining to Lake Simcoe include the creation of several sanctuaries. But in doing so, additional angling opportunities will be created.
One example, Wegman cited, is the Pefferlaw River, closed to angling from Hwy. 48 to the dam in the village of Pefferlaw from March 1 to the second Saturday in May. This is a significant change from when this same stretch of water was closed right through until the last Saturday in June.
While bass fishing will remain closed in this stretch of water under the new regulations, Wegman said other species will be open for anglers to catch, noting the change was prompted by the river now seen as more of a walleye sanctuary.
On neighbouring Lake Scugog, located in zone 17, additional fishing opportunities have been provided where anglers can now fish for panfish species, including black crappie and sunfish, during the open winter season (Jan. 1 to the last day of February).  There is no limit on either species in this lake. The walleye catch limit will be reduced to four from six for those with a Sport Fishing Licence and for those carrying a Conservation Fishing Licence, the limit remains at two. As well, no more than one walleye kept can exceed 46 cm (18.1 inches) in length.
For complete details of regulation changes, refer to the 2008-2009 Ontario Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary.