I was wondering about the "No live bait" rule in Algonquin Park. I know that using worms is permitted for the most part, except in designated areas.

Can you use dead (frozen) minnows?
And what about leeches?

Any info would be great.
Thanks

Hi Kyle

I'm not an expert on this, but I'll tell you what I have read.

You cannot bring in any live baitifsh into Algonquin.
You cannot bring ANY live OR DEAD Lake Herring(Cisco) into Algonquin.

I think Leeches are fine, as long as you catch them and use'em. I'm not to sure about bringing them into The Park though. Interesting question.

One often-overlooked point;
if, IF..you happen to be travelling thru Algonquin Park(not stopping), say on Highway 60, and you have a bucket of Live Baitfish in your vehicle, and you get pulled over, you could theoretically be in very serious trouble.




Markus
Etobicoke, Onterry-airy-airy-Ohhh!

I've wondered about catchin bait with in the park as well?
(Minnows specificly)
Is it a total ban, or just a "brought in to the park" ban?

I'm an artificial junkie myself....and a bit of a hack fly fisherman as well, but I can't say it has not croosed my mind on slow days....

Better get yourself a copy of the regulations.

In Algonquin Park, the use (and/or possession) of live minnows/baitfish to fish, whether caught in the Park or not, is totally illegal. No exceptions for any lakes!


Bo

ive been told that u are alowed to catch and use live bait as long as they are from the same waters u are fishing in the park. they dont want other species brought in the park plus if u catch them and use them in the same water the fish already know these minnows as food since they eat them anyways!

JDL
RHON

To answer your question of "can I use dead (frozen) minnows?"

Yes. It is not forbidden so I guess there are two options...using frozen or pre-packaged dead minnows. I've never tried them but it certainly is an option.

As Bo said, you should download and review the regulations before you decide to fish.

Here is the links for the fishing regs and for zone 15, also you should check for exception to the regs.

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/pubs/fishing/2008%20Fishing%20Regulations%20Summary/Licences%20and%20General%20Fishing%20Regulations.pdf

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/pubs/fishing/2008%20Fishing%20Regulations%20Summary/Zone%2015.pdf

JDL
RHON

This is a reply to a message I sent around a year ago to the park.I have only posted the part of reply of what is related to here.Keep in mind this may not be the same now as then.


Hello!
I would like to find out if live frogs are allowed to be used for the fishing of bass in the Park during the bass fishing season. Some say that they are classed as live bait.


teri.frey@mnr.gov.on.ca

Yes, you can use them but they can not be caught in the Park.

You may not possess live bait fish (Lake Herring, Cisco is not permitted)in the Park. Frozen or dehydrated minnows, leeches, frogs and worms may be used as bait. Crayfish are considered baitfish.

For the specifics of Algonquin Park, please refer to the Fishing Rules and Regulations under Zone 13 of the Ontario 2001 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary.

Teri

There have been a lot of changes to the fishing regulations. It would be best for everyone to review them carefully.

The first and biggest change that affects this group is that Algonquin is no longer a division of its own. It's now part of Zone 15. You have to go lake name by lake name through the exceptions to see the lakes in Algonquin and the exceptions that apply to them.

Be sure to read all of the regulations, starting at the beginning. A lot of people seem to read the "additional fishing opportunities" section, but miss the "exceptions" part.


http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/fishing/gen.html

Don't skip over the updates of December 31/07 and March 6/08 on this page:

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/pubs/pubmenu.html#fish



Barbara

i can tell you what we do ...

we trap our minnows at our favorite spot then we put them in a plastic bag and heavily salt (use coarse salt if you have it). Then freeze in packs of however many you want and they'll keep for a long time.

don't over-salt tho usually about a 1/8 of a cup to 2 dozen minnows.then depending on the temperature they'll keep a long time without any refrigeration. close to a week in summer...

Another way I do it is go to your local bait store and ask them if they would keep their dead minnows for you. Usually you can get them for free but some places charge. Theres usually a fridge there so ask if they'll freeze them for you. After you pick them up frozen then salt them and your off.

Throw a bobber on set your line depth and let the waves do the rest...

This how we fish Louisa Lake in the spring.

Great info guys! Tanks a whole bunch.

Thanks JDL for the link to the MRN site. I read through it and I'm pretty comfterble saying that it is perfectly legal to use frozen minnows (not cisco).

It also says that leeches are permitted as well but they cannot be caught in algonquin, same goes for frogs.

I did learn something tho. It seems that on most of the hwy 60 accesible lakes that Lake Trout between 40-55cm need to be released. Good to know.

Thanks again
Kyle.

Thanks Mike,

I never would have thought of salting minnows. Maybe not nessesary in the early spring but very helpful for the summer months.

I've found that right after ice out, just casting out a minnow and letting it sit on the bottom can catch big lake trout. IN the days after ice out almost all the water is the same temperature (4C - 39F) and most of the fish are still sluggish. However, they still feed during this time but they are looking for easy prey. They often patrol the near shore looking for winter killed minnows. Just cast out you minnow, leave the bail open and wait for line to start coming off your reel.

This method is not condusive to catching 10 fish/hour, but it usaually yeilds large fish.

The main reason I want to use minnows is that every single lake trout I have ever caught and kept to eat, has had at least 1 minnow in its stomach. Mind you, I've never cleaned a fish that had anything that looked like a #3 meps in its stomach but that lure seems to catch me a lot of fish.

Thanks Again

Well isn't that interesting?

No live minnows at all, but Frogs, leetches, worms, grubs etc... are all ok so long as you didn't catch them in the park?
I suppose it should really be called a Live Minnow & Crawfish ban LOL...

It makes sence though for the sake of controling potential disease out breaks amongst Baitfish populations.

Last year we saundered through a heavily stocked Splake lake....every keeper we ate had a meal of Crawfish in their belly.

yuppers thats exactly the way we do it too. Good Luck.

Gidday

a friend of mine has mentioned to me that the use of worms for fishing in Algonquin isn't permitted anymore? can anyone verify this for me?

71

It depends on what lake you're on. Gotta read the regulations to know if you're following them!

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LetsFish/Publication/STEL02_163615.html