Canadian BOTL

[Simon Bolivar]

Jeremy, see you have different ideas to fishing than us over this side of the pond. Firstly we see ourselves as sportsman not hunters, therefore we practice CPR = Catch, Photo & Release. We have only the fraction of acreage of fresh water that you do, with a far high density of population. If every pike angler in Britian took home one pike every trip, the waters would be fished out in weeks. This is how things were in the early '70's then the PAC Pike Angling Club of Great Britian was formed to educate people into careful fish handling, using safe rigs & returning their catch. We dont use gags or Bogata Grips, they are for pussy's who are scared of the fish, ripping jaws & chins. We mostly use barbless hooks & remove excess hooks on lures from your side, ie from 3 trebles down to 2.

We carry unhooking mats (mine is acually padded sufficently for boat use but I drag it around the bank as well), 9-12" unhooking forceps, pilers for lure hooks, 18" disgorgers, useful for removing other fishermans swallowed hooks that get left in when the fish is lost, hook cutters for when the hook is embedded in bone or our own flesh! We always use wire traces, even when fishing for Wayeye (Zander to us) when other countries use thick nylon but it can & does get bitten through.

I live & fish in Belgium, where most pike are killed above 2lbs. Consequently catching one over 10lb+ is very difficult & almost impossible on public waters. The Belgians think if they don't take their pike home they aren't geting their monies worth from their licence. But when the Eastern Europeans start taking home carp & every other fish, suddenly they don't like it.

Eel numbers have declined drastically over here, over the last decade & we are now encouraged to put those back & not use them for bait. Never happen in Belgium though, I don't know anyone who puts Zander or Eels back there.

I have nothing against taking a fish for the pot, in pike that's around 4-8lbs, big enough not to be too bony, not big enough to upset most other anglers. But taking a 15-20lb'er is just a selfish act, rarely is it ever going to be totally eaten by the captor & ends up in the cat or the bin. The big ol' girls are the breeders & on small waters especially the balance between the smaller males & larger females needs protecting, it takes several males attempting to mate with the female for her to spawn.

As for bow & arrow, how very Robson Green. No way to release those fish, ok if you are on a survival trip but otherwise just not sporting ol' boy.
Here's a pic of my best pike, amazingly it did come from Belgium on a private water, 22lb 10, 112cms,Pike.2008.06.26.22lb10.E10e_0777.jpg caught on a 7" AC jointed lurePike.2008.06.26.22lb10.Lure_0782.jpg & a Zander/Walleye/Snoekbaars caught on a Rapala Super Shad Rap Perch in Holland from my boat;Pike.2012.09.07.3lb15.RAmer.IMG_0010.jpg both safely returned.

[Simon Bolivar]

Nice fish, great markings on the bottom one.

[ValeTudoGuy]

I'm 99.99% catch and release, but that's purely due to the issue of availability and population.... I would love to fish as I hunt, respectfully for the pot. Leaving the strong breeding animals to continue the population.

It just isn't going to happen in this modern world though!

[Simon Bolivar]

Marc, See my reply to Butters in the last 'More replies below' thread. I recently had to kill a pike with sarcoma, not nice & wasn't going to eat it but had to put it out of it's misery rather than it starve to death as the disease progressed. But as mentioned I am happy for others to take the occasional fish for the pot, but on our crowded island, that's always likely to be seen as taking another sportsmans fish. On a holiday to Canada (which I'd love to do too) you could live out your fantasy but many fishing resorts are not totally catch & release as they have a vested interest in protecting their own futures. They will let you shoot bears & moose though if that's your bag.

[ValeTudoGuy]

Marc, See my reply to Butters in the last 'More replies below' thread. I recently had to kill a pike with sarcoma, not nice & wasn't going to eat it but had to put it out of it's misery rather than it starve to death as the disease progressed. But as mentioned I am happy for others to take the occasional fish for the pot, but on our crowded island, that's always likely to be seen as taking another sportsmans fish. On a holiday to Canada (which I'd love to do too) you could live out your fantasy but many fishing resorts are not totally catch & release as they have a vested interest in protecting their own futures. They will let you shoot bears & moose though if that's your bag.

I only kill for the pot, there is no pride in trophy for me.. I take Squirrels, Rabbits and Pigeon as that's what I sometimes have access to... I used to take the odd Eel before the decline... I have taken two small pike in my entire life and I will take fairly readily from the sea, including shellfish (Invasive fresh water crayfish are fair game for me too).

If I had the money I would travel for deer, boar, game bird and waterfowl... yet it would still always be for the pot.

Though I financially support the meat industry and have respect for many farmers... I would happily go off grid if I could provide enough protein for my families needs by wild hunting alone.

[Simon Bolivar]

Sound good to me Marc, you could start by shooting some Canadian geese, you know those buggers that used to migrate & now stay here 12months a yr? It is legal to shoot them in the UK but not to sell them. Sure such a large goose would feed your family for quiet a while. Rabbits & pigeons need eating & if we all ate more of them then the crops would be better protected, no one wants to buy game anymore unless it's plucked/skinned & portioned in polystyrene packaging. The Belgians will eat a horse but in general turn their noses up at small game & offal.

[PeeJay]

One of the things I look forward to in Majorca is a decent rabbit stew.


rabbit.png

[ValeTudoGuy]

Sound good to me Marc, you could start by shooting some Canadian geese, you know those buggers that used to migrate & now stay here 12months a yr? It is legal to shoot them in the UK but not to sell them. Sure such a large goose would feed your family for quiet a while. Rabbits & pigeons need eating & if we all ate more of them then the crops would be better protected, no one wants to buy game anymore unless it's plucked/skinned & portioned in polystyrene packaging. The Belgians will eat a horse but in general turn their noses up at small game & offal.

I have to admit that many years ago as a much younger and less wise man (teenager) I gave poached and killed for the pot a couple Canada Geese....

The one and only time I ate Horse was in Antwerp... Loved it, if I could get it here for good money I would eat it regularly.

[ValeTudoGuy]

One of the things I look forward to in Majorca is a decent rabbit stew.


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Love a rabbit stew.... And Pigeon Pie..... And BBQ Squirrel!

[REASON]

nope! just need to do it in season. and only 4 types allowed.
spear and bow fishing is only allowed in certain regions (a few just in my backyard here in Ont!) and only between the months of May-June and August-September.

Every province is different so without checking AB reg you never know. THey just recently make Crossbow hunt legal here IIRC.

[Simon Bolivar]

Despite my objections my wife insisted on giving our daughter horsemeat from 2rs old on the grounds it's so low in fat. I remember saying to my daughter when she was in her high chair, 'Grace, don't you know that's Black Beauty your eating?' 'Yes Papa but he's so tasty!' So I fixed that. When she was 7yo I gave her riding lessons for a year. After only 2/52 she said to her Belgian mother, 'We don't eat horses mama, horses are our friends.' Job done.

My objection to eating horse meat isn't purely culteral but the way they are transported from the UK to Belgium to be slaughted there without food or water. If they were slaughtered in the UK & then exported I would be far happier but it's not for me. The Chinese eat dogs that are beaten for days to tenderise them, the Phillipinoes will eat cats & the Indians think we are sacriligious for eating beef. Our culture plays a big part in the way we view animals & food but as a farmer's grandson & a butchers son, I have a pretty practical approach myself.

[REASON]

I rarely eat pike, in fact I find them not that good. These are all catch and release. The pics and the pike were all caught at Lake Wabamun they get huge there these in the pic where 15-20lbs just guessing but I have seen 35lbs pulled from there. As far as hunting goes I all ways fill my supplements first as I don't go after Bucks.

[butternutsquashpie]

Very interesting read there, Simon and Marc conservation has never been too key here in Canada where we can normally drive for hours and not see a single settlement. of course they have their regulations (seasons, limits, costs to keep down actual hunters) but there's no where near as tight as you said.
I also do agree to your mentalities. "for the pot" mentalities is what maintains a dignified response from the people who hunt. sport hunters normally do sell some of their game and fish here but that's only due to external pressure.
Naturally, as a dominant spear fisher (who've only angled 3 times in his life), everything i catch is for the pot. and i never search for big ones either because why would i? if it's moving and wriggling in the waters, it's one of the listed fishes allowed to be impaled. and so it's going to be a decent catch!

Every province is different so without checking AB reg you never know. THey just recently make Crossbow hunt legal here IIRC.

Hmmmmmm... strange. will definitely check it on your side when i do come over. naturally, i do enjoy my Ontario ponds too. bring yourself over for a trip sometime in the next few years. 'bout time you came back to your hometown . Marc, come join us. hopefully, i'd have found my marshes by then

The Chinese eat dogs that are beaten for days to tenderise them. Our culture plays a big part in the way we view animals & food but as a farmer's grandson & a butchers son, I have a pretty practical approach myself.

aye. i've noted that before. late great Uncle of ours had a dog back home. he had to sell him to make due for ends meet after he moved. naturally, the farm he sold him to had no intentions of keeping the dog alive... not as sad for him as he knew the fate he'd endure.
but it's pretty damn mind boggling (to say the least!) after having two canines here in Canada for so many years now...........

[PeeJay]

There is a reason we're top of the food chain.

[ValeTudoGuy]

There is a reason we're top of the food chain.

REASON is the top of the food chain? I will make sure to stay clear of him at feeding time!