Bass Poacher Gets Fined

NEWS- Largemouth Bass Poacher ends up in jail.

In July of 2013 Conservation Officers and OPP conducted a joint investigation into a complaint of a male keeping an over-limit of bass. The investigation revealed an over-limit of largemouth bass from Wesport Pond Fish Sanctuary.

It was determined that the male had an aerated tank in the trunk of his car which included an over-limit of bass. It was further determined that the male was currently serving probation from previous convictions in the past from enforcement efforts with Conservation Officers from the MNR.

The male was fined $1000 per bass over his limit which was a total of $3000 in fines and 30 days in jail for breaching his conditions of his probation order on April 16th, 2014 in Perth, Ontario.

He was convicted in trial for unlawfully transporting live fish, possessing an over-limit of largemouth bass and had his fishing license suspended for life. OCOA reminds anglers that transporting live fish over land requires an authorization from the crown.

Limits for catch and possession are created through regulations for sport fish of Ontario to ensure a sustainable resource and conservation of the species. If you make observations of an offense please call the MNR TIPS LINE at 1-877-TIPS-MNR or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Ontario Steelheaders Saves the Day

In 2013, Ontario Steelheaders came to the rescue when approximately 35k fish measuring 2-3 inches were scheduled to be killed as the hatchery operation had no room for them and were overstocked.

LHFC Hatchery Tank Pics 004

To save these little guys, the Ontario Steelheaders paid $1,500 to the Lake Huron Fishing Club trout hatchery for these fish and then we took it upon ourselves to transport and stock the fish into the upper headwaters of the Saugeen River. Each year, the trout hatchery can typically only house 60k steelhead yearlings and this year in particular, there was an abundant overstock. Why? The primary reason for the overstock numbers was due to a great hatch rate and less dead eggs/fry ratio. This is great news for the ecosystem and natural reproduction.

Thanks to all of our directors, members and supporters. We have created a club that can step in and take action when needed. This action is a result of our supporters. We turned a negative situation into a positive result and these fish wouldn’t have survived without the support from each and every one of you!

HAC Restores Spring Creek

HAC Restores Spring Creek
HAC Restores Spring Creek

The Hepworth Anglers Club (HAC) completed Phase 1 of the Spring Creek Restoration Project in September, 2013. Implementing the recommendations of Parish Geomorphic Ltd., fourteen wing deflectors were constructed and installed in the stream bank at strategic locations, using mats to minimize stream bank damage. Woody debris structures were installed in the bank and numerous boulders were placed in the channel at prescribed locations. Over 280 tons of river stone were placed in three different areas of the Spring Creek to increase and improve existing spawning sites. Completion of Phase 1 will result in an improved quality of cold water flowing into the Sauble River and Lake Huron from Spring Creek and increase Spring Creek’s contribution to the migratory fishery (rainbow and brown trout, chinook and coho salmon) currently reproducing naturally in the stream.

The restoration work was made possible by two grants received by the HAC, (1) Land Stewardship and Habitat Restoration Program (Ministry of Natural Resources) and (2) Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program (Department of Fisheries and Oceans). The HAC is awaiting word on its 2013 Great Lakes Guardian Community Grant (Ministry of Environment) application and will be applying for additional grants to complete phases 2 and 3 of the Spring Creek Restoration Project in the future.

Ask the Fish & Game Warden

A new program being introduced later this year is “ASK THE GAME WARDEN”. You ask a question (e.g. I have my limit on the stringer, can I still fish ‘catch and release’). We will forward the selected questions to the Ministry of Natural Resources, Enforcement Branch/Legal Department for the answer and post it on the web site and in the bi-yearly newsletter at fishing and tacking stores throughout southern Ontario. Please remember that your question may be answered only as an opinion and the court of law has the final decision.

Until we add a way for you to submit your questions, we invite you to think and gather some good questions that haven’t been asked before.

Happy Thinking!

Happy New Year: 2014

On behalf of the Ontario Steelheaders Board of Directors, HAPPY NEW YEAR to our members and their families. 2014 brings in with it new challenges and opportunities to accelerate the organization to new heights. Our new web site will become more insightfully informative, provide and promote club functions and membership participation. Members will be able to submit their own fishing stories, photos, comments and opinions and more. More updates soon!

2014 will bring with it a general meeting (date and place TBA) and this is your opportunity to run for a position as a board member. A strong committed board only makes the organization grow. So let’s utilize the new website – in your member area, you can already submit your stories, write articles, submit photos, make comments on our website; an opportunity for you that brings new adventures to the club.

Also, we are asking members to recruit new memberships and each membership submitted will generate one ballet into a draw for a prize to be awarded at each derby date. Remember to include your name on the new membership form.

Each year we are continually asking for your participation in the many programs we have to offer – steelhead egg collection, adult steelhead trout transfers, fund raising, steelhead fin clipping. Our membership drives benefit not only our members who love to fish for steelhead trout but all who want the enjoy the great outdoors! We are working to implement tools in our website to better communicate these volunteer opportunities to our members

as they are short notice due to weather and river-flow related conditions.

Hot Off the Press

Decal Support Sticker
Decal Support Sticker
 The Decal Supporter Program is going strong in 2013. New decals were developed in the fall and we’ve been canvassing all winter. A few last minute applications came in just before we went to print… way to go guys! We have met our goals for the program this year, and there’s still room to do more in the fall. You will see the various participants’ advertisements throughout this newsletter. Thanks to all our 2012 supporters!

A new banner was created to symbolize the partnership between the Ontario Steelheaders and LHFC. You’ll likely see it at Ontario Steelheaders events. One of these banners is displayed on the wall at LHFC’s Kincardine Trout hatchery.

OS + LHFC Banner
OS + LHFC Banner

Help Wanted!

HELP WANTED

The Ontario Steelheaders are interested in putting your talents to work! If you believe you have a special talent to contribute to the management of this organization, please don’t delay!! There are many ways you can contribute as our directors require assistants to complement their efforts. Please contact a director and we will do our best to put your skills to work to enhance and protect this fishery.

Contact us for more info.

Beatty Saugeen Watershed – Negative Impact by 4 Gravel Pits + 3 Applications

To: Mr. Gary Christie, President,

My name is Jo Chisholm; I am part of a group of neighbours in the township of Southgate near Holstein who are objecting to the cluster of gravel pits that have sprung up in the last four years in approx. a 3 sq. km. radius along a glacial moraine adjacent to the Beatty-Saugeen River, a spring-fed headwater of the Saugeen River.

I read the article on your web site Saugeen and Its Tributaries which started out as an enjoyable fishing trip on the Saugeen River in 2007. The paragraph heading, “All is Not Well in Paradise” referencing human industry i.e., aggregate extraction etc., caught my attention. This article was written in 2007 and the author has a premonition of the future “that as gravel reserves closer to the GTA are exhausted better transportation corridors are developed to bring these gravels. . . [to] major markets of southern Ontario.” This premonition has been unfolding for the past six years in our township with the unprecedented approval of gravel pits in close proximity to the Beatty Saugeen River. The author of the article indicates that more studies are required.

As the Beatty Saugeen is a spring-fed headwater of the Saugeen, given your rainbow trout stocking programs in the Saugeen River, we thought you might be interested in this development. We understand, that for several years, you have been involved with rainbow trout stocking efforts along the Saugeen, and years prior to that stocking rainbow trout programs further upstream along the Beatty- Saugeen (perhaps the latter was the MNR?). The Beatty-Saugeen up to the Orchard dam, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), has been a designated fish sanctuary for years. The section of river immediately downstream of Orchard is a remarkable trout habitat boasting rainbow trout, brown trout, and local brook trout. It is rare to experience three species of trout occupying the same stretch of river.

Recently, Reeves Construction, have announced they will be submitting a complete application for a permit to extract aggregate close to the Orchard dam. Specifically, there is a pond close to the pit site which feeds into the Beatty Saugeen Watershed. Given your ongoing stocking programs, we thought this might be of interest to you.

Further complicating the situation, the MNR who monitors gravel pits for compliance, is so understaffed they can barely keep their heads above water with day-to-day duties. Their case load is so high, one aggregate technician admitted to a case-load of 400 gravel pits—I do not believe there is enough time for staff to perform adequate studies. In fact, the entire aggregate industry “self-monitors” annually, with MNR technicians only reviewing industry generated compliance reports. With such case- loads and self-monitoring, it has been proven that non-compliance issues fall through the cracks. In other words, when a gravel company completes its annual check-list, it’s akin to the “fox guarding the hen house.” Valuable data that could verify the impact of a gravel pit on the surrounding environment, i.e., Beatty Saugeen River, is unavailable.

I am gathering information that might support our concern for fish habitat in the Beatty Saugeen River, as well as our concern for the cumulative effect of the 4 pits plus 3 applications which are in close proximity to flood plain, wetlands and the river all the way down to Orchardville. The pits could have a significant impact on the surrounding watershed, specifically the headwaters of the Saugeen River.

Further upstream the Beatty Saugeen River (east of the Orchard dam) another pit is being considered. Called, the Peyton Pit, the site plan indicates gravel will be extracted up to the flood plain of the river and wetland lands along both of its sides. There are plans to build a bridge across the river to transport gravel from one side to the other. This bridge becomes the haul route from Grey Road 9 to the pit on the north side of the river and traffic studies indicate approximately 30 trucks in and 30 trucks out totaling approximately 60 trucks per a day. Further, the construction of bridge may disrupt the flow of the river and disturb the riverbed which could destroy fish habitat, as well, the licensed pit boundary north of the river is within approximately 30m of river’s bank. The site plan indicates that silt fences, setback 30m from the river, will be used to mitigate silt erosion into the river. Studies indicate the silt fences require constant maintenance and inspection and could be destroyed during a storm when they are most needed. As you know, silt and trout do not mix. Even fine accumulations of silt can disrupt spawning activity. This section of the Beatty Saugeen has resident Brook Trout and occasionally Brown Trout.

Section 35(d) of the Federal Fisheries Act:

Section 35 (d) “No person shall carry on any work, undertaking or activity that results in serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery, or to fish that support such a fishery”.

Your newsletters indicate increasing water temperatures can endanger fish—small fluctuations in water temperature can be lethal to trout. When gravel is extracted to within 1.5 meters of the water table (often as much as 50 or more feet of percolating gravel can be extracted) it changes the topography of the land, the percolation rate of surface water, and the temperature of this percolated water. Gravel and sand is “natures natural filter.” Once removed through extraction, water tables can be affected by silt, and the temperature of run-off water may increase. The combined effects of this in close proximity to trout habitat, are a concern. In reference to your newsletter, you can see that it is not only poachers who are a threat to fish.

Various MNR Reports and SVCA Reports regarding watersheds and “Land Use” include agricultural and recreational industry but exclude aggregate industry? The reports provide recommendations to the agricultural and recreational industries to reduce their impact on watersheds…I would have thought that aggregate industry would also have an impact.

Our group is for better management of aggregate resources with more focus on the safety of the environment; greater setbacks from watersheds, fish habitat, forests and a better plan to address the cumulative and cluster effect.

We would appreciate any information or support the Ontario Steelheaders Association and your partner the Lake Huron Fishing Club could throw our way.

Thank you for taking the time to read my email.

Best regards,
Jo Chisholm