Tosh regulation question on proximity to ice fishing gear

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Tosh

i have a question. lets say you are ice fishing. you set up tip ups for the kids and they are skating, snowball fights, whatever. would you consider this poaching as the kids are more interested in other things than fishing?. just wondering what your thoughts are.

From another thread...not intended to continue the silliness. This is a good question to ponder.

I feel the regs are ultra clear on this.

General Sportfishing Restrictions

It Is Unlawful To:

# Use more than one line when angling into open water.
# Use more than two lines when angling into ice-covered water.
# While angling be further than 30 m from any line in the water.


http://www.albertaregulations.ca/fis...eral-regs.html

I feel it is clearly set out. If you are ice fishing with a total of 1 adult and 3 kids under 16 then you can effectively be using 8 ice fishing rods at once. However if the kids take off to go tobogganing...and the adult continues to man the rods (ie keep them in the water) and the kids are more than 30 m away...the law deems them too far away to be fishing and therefore the adult would be charged with fishing too many lines.

If a F&W officer is sitting on a hill with a spotting scope and sees the same 4...all within 30 m and only the adult is baiting and reeling up lines (ie. is seeing reeling up more than 2 lines) then he should be charged. If he sets a hook and calls over to the kids and one comes a running and "helps" reel up then all is legit. If the children man their own rods...all is legit.

A F&W officer seeing 8 rods...one adult on a chair watching them and 3 kids playing hockey any distance away...I am sure he will assume strangely enough that they are playing hockey...and not fishing. Take a break...reel in the rods.

Seems very simple common sense law to me. If the kids are fishing...great...keep the lines soaking. If they get bored and leave to play...reel up the lines till they return. Again simple. That is what I always believed the laws to mean and acted accordingly. Being close to the lines especially when bait fishing is key to minimizing deep hook sets when releasing fish.

I agree with you Tosh...kids are often interested in other things. Distraction when fishing is slow is key IMHO to keeping them interested in the sport. Forcing them to endure boredom as their hearts and minds race to find a sling shot to shoot cans...bad news for the future.

Do you disagree?

[gl2]

i totally agree. just wondering what others thought. my kids are still little so i think i will be using automatic fisherman instead of tip ups for them next year. much simpler for a kid when their is a reel involved. i get to fish 8 rods if all my kids are fishing but i never get to reel in any fish....lol

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Tosh

i totally agree. just wondering what others thought. my kids are still little so i think i will be using automatic fisherman instead of tip ups for them next year. much simpler for a kid when their is a reel involved. i get to fish 8 rods if all my kids are fishing but i never get to reel in any fish....lol

yes...finally someone agrees with me on this thread...


I love fishing with kids...it is like being a kid again...without anyone calling you immature.

[GaryF]

As long as they are in that 30m, then I'm ok with it. If they are in a truck warming up, pull up the lines until they get back out. That's what I do when the wife hops in the truck to warm up. You can't be actively ice fishing if you have your jacket and toque off in a running vehicle. But thats just my personal take on it.