EITHER WE STAND UP NOW OR BE STOOD UPON FOREVER!

Any Anglers who are intending to write a Letter to the Minister and who have not got around to it yet please do so now.  I honestly believe that we have common sense, fairness and equitable sharing of a Canadian resource is on the side of the Recreational Anglers

I recently wrote a letter to the Editor for the Kitimat Northern Sentinel (copied below). This letter is self explanatory and contains all the up to date, pertinent information required to inform Anglers of the DFO Halibut Allocation Policy issue. 

We are asking Anglers from all across Canada to write a similar letter to the Editor in every Newspaper across Canada.   Anyone who is interested, please use my letter as a template, make any changes you wish and then send to the Editor of your local newspaper.   Feel free to contact me wakita@telus.net or SFI  info@sportfishing.bc.ca for any assistance . These letters to the Editor would be a huge contribution to the cause.  Once informed, the facts speak for themselves.  Every Canadian should be appalled by this grossly unfair distribution of a Canadian Common resource.  Please also send your Letter to the Editor to the DFO Minister.  The Minister needs to beware that this grossly unfair Conservative Government policy will be judged by every Canadian in every community that has a newspaper.

Please help spread the word and encourage others to write or email the Minister.  If everyone does a small part, collectively we can make a big difference.

The intended purpose of this letter is to inform all Recreational Anglers of the Department of Fisheries and Ocean's (DFO) Halibut Allocation Policy.  The specific injustice of the current DFO's Halibut Policy is that it allocates 88% of Halibut Stocks to 436 Commercial Halibut License Holders and 12% to the rest of the Canadian population who are potential Recreation Anglers.  How a grossly unfair distribution of a Canadian Common resource exists defies common sense.  I can not believe that the Conservative Government is allowing the DFO Minister to enforce this unfair policy.  Furthermore, because of this policy, Halibut closed to Recreation Anglers Oct 18th in 2010 while the Commercial sector fished on.  This is not a conservation issue, it is a misallocation of Halibut Stocks.

The Sport Fishing Institute estimates that if the current DFO Halibut Allocation Policy is not changed Halibut will be closed to Recreation Anglers as early as July 2011.

The Sports Fishing Institute, B.C Wildlife Federation (BCWLF) and the Sports Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) have been negotiating with D.F.O with no success.  The only way that this absurd policy is going to change is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to receive a letter or email from each and every Recreational angler and indeed from each and every Canadian who thinks this policy is wrong.

The importance of letters or emails to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Minister Gail Shea Shea.G@parl.gc.ca can NOT be emphasized enough.

If everyone does their part by sending a letter or email to the Minister collectively we can make a difference.   

The Sports Fishing Institute (SFI) has just formed an alliance with the B.C Wildlife Federation (BCWLF), the Southern Vancouver Island Anglers Association and the BC Federation of Driftfishers to right the imbalance of this unfair allocation of Canada's Halibut resource. This alliance has also launched a website www.sfibc.com to provide information.  They are also asking other groups to join this alliance.  Please contact Alison Obrecht at SFI if your group wishes to join.  alison@sportfishing.bc.ca  We are hoping every Fishing Group, Rod and Gun, Chamber of Commerce, Labour Union and many other groups join this alliance.

SFI is also coordinating the efforts of individuals by requesting that copies of letters and emails to the Minister be sent to info@sportfishing.bc.ca 

Please also send a copy of your letter or email to your Member of Parliament.  Our MP for Skeena is Nathan Cullen Cullen.N@parl.gc.ca

The voice of everyone who thinks that the DFO Halibut Allocation Policy is wrong, needs to be heard in Ottawa.  Please send an email or letter to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.  I also urge everyone to forward this info to everyone in their Address Book.    

Honorable Minister Gail Shea Shea.G@parl.gc.ca 

Honorable Minister Gail Shea
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

A letter to the Minister does not require a stamp, only an envelope and a few minutes of your time.  You will be rewarded with the satisfaction of doing your part to correct a DFO policy that is grossly unfair.  If everyone does a small part, collectively we can make a Big difference.

Sincerely

Ron Wakita

City Centre Hardware & Sporting Goods
"Kitimat's Largest Tackle Store"
380 City Centre
Kitimat B.C
V8C 1T6
bus.250 632-3522  fax 250 632 3528
wakita@telus.net
www.kitimatfishingguideandcharters.com

Special Report: Lakelse Lake

 

 

 

   

Jan 6 Ariel Kuppers, Trent Vines and David Quaiffe caught and released a group total of 20 Rainbow Trout and a bunch of White Fish ice fishing in Lakelse Lake.  Wow!  Well done Guys!  Congratulations.  They were using Berkley Hot Ice Fishing Combos rigged with Mepps Spinners baited with Procured Shrimp.  They used an 8" Normark Swede Bore Ice Auger to drill the holes.  A classic case of the "Tools for the Job" and the proof is in the pictures.

 

Special Report - Cuban Fishing Adventure by Jack Love

Bonefish fishing in Cuba! I recently returned from a vacation in Cuba where I arranged a day of fishing for bonefish near the Zapata Peninsula.  My wife and I were staying in Veradero a popular resort area at an all inclusive hotel. I tried to negotiate two days of fishing but could not coerce my wife to leave the five star comfort of our hotel.  The arrangements for the fishing included picking my wife and me up at the hotel by Felipe who drove us the 140 km to Playa Larga where we met the fishing guide Julio.  Then we traveled 20 km down a dirt road to the fishing area.  I arranged a second boat and guide to “carry” my wife.  As you can see in the pictures the boats are small.  I brought my own fishing gear my 8wt Sage and my G Loomis adventure fly reel loaded with 8 wt Scientific Anglers dry Line and 10 foot 12 lb tippet (with lots of 30 lb backing you will need it).  The gear I used was the same as I use for steelhead on our many local rivers. I tied a few dozen flies to prepare for the trip.  The picture below is the one and only fly I used for the bonefish.  It is essentially a Crazy Charlie tied up with bead chain eyes, pearl mylar under body and tail, pearl diamond braid body, tan mallard flank legs topped with a bit of crystal flash on a size 2 or 4 saltwater hook; a very simple and easy to tie fly. Well it took me a bit to figure out how to catch these elusive shy fish but within the first hour I managed to hook up.

Once we found the bonefish the action was pretty fast.  I made many mistakes with noise, stripping and cast placement that are all critical successfully catching these fish.  My guide Julio was very intense and corrected my technique throughout the day.  The end of the day was fun and I finally fooled two of the larger bone fish in the 3.5 to 4.5 lb range.  Both these fish took me well into my backing with over 200 meter runs.  So, I would probably have to say these little fish pound for pound out match our beloved steelhead; but don’t match the excitement or aerobatics of a fresh steelhead.