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Technically even if you were not aware, taking a picture of a fish caught out of season is illegal and posting it could be incriminating.

 

Even though it can be exciting to see a fish like that caught through the ice I want to remind everyone that since the fish was caught out of season while fishing for pike, it should have been unhooked and released immediately. The sooner you release it the better chance it has to survive. And even though it swam away, doesn't mean it didn't die later. That is why the rules were clarified in the 1015-2016 regulations. The revised rule is stated as follows.

 

Fish caught during the closed season must be unhooked and released immediately. They may not be handled for any other purpose, including taking a picture.

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20 minutes ago, muskiedreams said:

Technically even if you were not aware, taking a picture of a fish caught out of season is illegal and posting it could be incriminating.

 

Even though it can be exciting to see a fish like that caught through the ice I want to remind everyone that since the fish was caught out of season while fishing for pike, it should have been unhooked and released immediately. The sooner you release it the better chance it has to survive. And even though it swam away, doesn't mean it didn't die later. That is why the rules were clarified in the 1015-2016 regulations. The revised rule is stated as follows.

 

Fish caught during the closed season must be unhooked and released immediately. They may not be handled for any other purpose, including taking a picture.

I  was almost in trouble doing same thing took a picture of a  shad I  caught and released

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Steve I agree with you 100%, but I didn't want to be crucified for saying it!!! The optics are bad and it gives people ideas, and more than anything why stress the fish anymore than necessary when the season is closed. Steve and I didn't make the rules. The rules are real and they are meant for everyone!! Every year I tire of people targeting spawning walleye because they are too lazy to earn their hero shots.


Justin Okrepki
NYSDEC licensed guide #7324
http://www.otiscolakeguideservice.com/
(607)-349-1750

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That isn't what I said. Just read the regulations. They are there for good reasons, not to be joked about. That doesn't mean someone can't take a picture while a hook is being removed. This is a posed picture which increased the time the fish was out of the water and also reduced it's chance of survival. When you hold a fish out of water, it is the same as suffocating it. And if it was weighed, especially if hung vertically, he may have sealed it's doom. The rules are there to help sustain the fisheries for future generations. It takes many years for a musky to reach that size. It deserves better consideration. I guess if you don't understand that, you never will.

 

I have said what all respectful anglers understand. Why do you think this post didn't get a lot of congrats responses. I mistakenly did and will edit it to read different.

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Muskies are just not as hearty as bass or walleye and many other species. Also, they take much longer to reach a mature spawning age. That fish in the picture took more than 20 years to get to that size and it was probably the only one of several thousand fingerlings (8" to 10") that made it to that size.

 

As most muskie anglers on this forum know, regardless of what the regulations are, these fish need to be respected in order to sustain their future survival. The main reason they are still around now is because forward thinking anglers realized years ago that the only way to sustain the fishery was to promote proper catch and release, including proven methods to maximize survival. See Musky Catch and Release - Reasons, Tips, Questions and Experiences. If they hadn't there would be very few, if any muskies left today. and they would average much smaller.

 

In the winter with below freezing temps, the longer you keep a fish out of the water in the cold air the more you are reducing their chance of survival even more so than normal. Eyes and gills can get frostbite damage. They may swim away but their remaining hours or minutes could be limited. Some muskie anglers won't even take most of their fish out of the water (they do a boat side release with or without a big coated net) especially late in the season when temps are below freezing or in the summer when water and air temps are high. Some will not fish for them when water temps are above 75 or 80*F. Without this kind of dedication, that guy probably would not have caught that fish.

 

Holding or hanging a musky vertically can cause internal organ damage and subsequent mortality. so almost all musky anglers measure the length and maybe the girth.

 

I am not saying that you should not fish for them. I am not trying to rip on the guy or say that he should be ticketed or prosecuted. I am just saying that they need to be handled as carefully as possible. Many people just don't realize how precious and vulnerable a muskie that size is.

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I know they need to be handled properly I regularly fish for them on the st Lawrence and have made trips to St Clair and have caught my fair share of st Lawrence musky. He is holding the fish properly and it never said it was weighed on a scale I am friends with the person and he knows how to handle fish properly. He grew up on and fishes the st Lawrence regularly and is very responsible when it comes to handling big fish. It never said it was caught pike fishing either I'm pretty sure I know where it was caught because I caught one through the ice a few years ago. The optics are not bad just blurred out so he did not revel the spot the fish was caught. IMG_1484097634.129207.thumb.jpg.1d4f1743


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

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I don't think he was referring to the actual picture quality when he refers to the optics. I think he's referring to the message that can be mistakenly perceived from seeing that photo posted - i.e. that it's ok to target muskie through the ice and out of season so long as they are not kept - a possibility for both the unaware and/or unethical. 

Edited by Ronix 51
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I just don't understand the need to photo an out of season fish...And RONIX is spot on...By optics I meant the message it sends...Which is that as long is you put the fish back the CLOSED SEASON doesn't matter. I must be of a different time because I still don't like targeting bass out of season let alone musky or walleye.

Simple if it's an accidental catch unhook and release as if you don't want to get caught holding it as it is illegal. Taking a pic holding the illegal fish is like convicting yourself.

Justin Okrepki
NYSDEC licensed guide #7324
http://www.otiscolakeguideservice.com/
(607)-349-1750

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Unfortunately, with the change in the Dec's stance on the picture issue, it now gives everyone a free pass for a pic.
Anyhow, did you see the size of the hole behind him? It looks like he was hoping for a big fish!

Lake Ontario salmon fishing charters

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So they are stating that it is ok to take a photo with an out of season fish? So, technically I can fish for pike after the season closes even though I'm fishing for lake trout since they are open year round in certain water and inhabit the same areas that time of year? Lol, what a joke.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Lake Ontario United mobile app

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