l have been an angler for…

l have been an angler for most of my life but recently I have begun to fish at my new camp. If this policy goes through I will no longer be able to get bait without having to drive another hour or so past my camp. I understand that something needs to be done to protect our waters and such but I do not believe this will help Thunder Bay or the surrounding areas at all.

Majority of Thunder Bay residents all go to Larry's Baits in Kekebeka Falls, this is one of the only bait shops we have. We all stop here to get minnows, leaches, etc before we go on to our destination for fishing. For me this is just past the Graham Rd, which puts where I would have to buy my bait and where I would be using it in different zones. This means that I will not be able to use live bait. We have tried to trap minnows around our camp but have had no luck. If this change happens we will no longer have the option of using live bait at camp which is going to, in my opinion do more harm to our fish and lakes.

If we can not use live bait at camp our next option is fake bait, which is plastic. Plastic is not good for fish, we have cleaned many fish that have plastic in their stomachs, over time fish will swallow the plastic bait and their stomachs will fill with plastic and they will not be able to eat and will start dying. I understand that is a bit drastic of a reality but with the amount of people that fish and will be affected by this change to the bait system this will become a reality and then it will be hard to reverse.

I understand that I am just one person but I know a lot of people in Thunder Bay and surrounding areas will be affected negatively by this change.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I really hope that the rules/laws on bait fish do not change as set out in the proposed policy. I agree that something may need to be done but I do no think this is going to make any difference to all of Ontario.

[Original Comment ID: 209397]