Aliens Amoug Us

Protecting Ontario Biodiversity from Invasive Species

The Empire Theater is holding a two hour seminar on invasive species.

Saturday, April 17 2010
9:30 – 11:30am

Ezelo Spring Walleye Institute

The Spring Walleye Institute is being hosted again at West Lake Willows Resort. It is a great way to learn from the pros on how to catch big quinte walleyes. Sheldon Hatch and Gord Schultz are the instructors and they will bring a wealth of knowledge to the table.

The dates are April 30 2010 – May 2 2010 and the class size is limited to 12 anglers (4 per boat) so sign up soon. At a amazing price of $349 per person (+ GST) which includes accommodations, continental breakfast, lunch, 6 hours in class instruction and seminars, and 8 hours on the water hands on experience you can’t go wrong.

For more information click here

To sign up or if you have any questions contact Scott Walcott at West Lake Willows
www.westlakewillows.com

The Quinte Hardwater Walleye Weekend

This weekend Canadian Tire – Belleville and The Quinte Ice Fishing Team will be presenting “The Quinte Hardwater Walleye Weekend.” Reps from various companies will be demonstrating their products and discussing hardwater walleye fishing in depth.

Topics will include: Where to find fish, what to use, techniques, sonar, gps, mobility and more. There will be lots of giveaways and door prizes.

For more information visit the website: http://www.quinteicefishing.com/seminar

O.R.W.L. launch newly redesigned website

The Ottawa Region Walleye League launched a newly redesigned website which includes a message board, photo gallery, event schedule and more…

Below is some information on the club:

The ORWL is a club established to promote walleye fishing in the Ottawa area. The club supports walleye fishing in a club competitive environment. We have a nine event competition series for club trophies in three categories, Boater, Non-Boater and Junior. Ethical fishing practices are a key club mandate, Catch, Record and Release procedures (CRR) are encouraged at all club events.

Click here to visit the website.

Ontario takes Asian carp battle to United States Supreme Court

Ontario has filed a motion, supporting a lawsuit which will prevent the spread of Asian carp into the Great Lakes that could cause billions of dollars in damage to the fishing industry.

Ontario — the only Canadian province that borders the Great Lakes — joins U.S. states Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin in support of a lawsuit launched by Michigan earlier this month, demanding the state of Illinois shut down shipping locks in Chicago to prevent the Asian carp from spreading into Lake Michigan.

Aquatic biologists warn that once the fish gets into Lake Michigan, it will spread uncontrollably into the other Great Lakes, and eat so much, it will starve off native species. DNA evidence has shown the fish are 10 kilometres from the mouth of Lake Michigan, close to a barrier intended to block them from infiltrating the lake.

Lets hope this passes and they close the locks soon before anymore fish cross over.

You can read more about this via CTV News

First Ice forming on the Bay!

Today (Dec 11th 2009) was the first day of solid ice building on the bay.  Above is a picture taken from Pete’s Point.  You can see a good chunk forming near the shore but also another large piece forming off of Cow Island.

This is a list of the lows over the next few days and as you can see its just going to get colder. Bust out the cleats we might be ice fishing sooner than you think.

$160,400 funds given to improve the Bay of Quinte

Below is some quotes from a article in the Intelligencer:

Prince Edward-Hastings MP Daryl Kramp announced $160,400 for the Bay of Quinte remediation projects Wednesday, noting the money is part of $2.2 million being used to fund 38 projects throughout the Great Lakes. Of those 38 projects four are based in the Bay of Quinte region.

The majority of the funding, said Quinte Conservation general managerTerry Murphy, will be used for the prevention of nutrient and phosphorus loading in the Bay of Quinte. A regional storm water strategy encompassing Napanee, Belleville and all of Prince Edward County will benefit from the funding.

You can read more about this via Intelligencer.ca

Or you can visit: Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan

Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan

New Opportunities And Limits For Zone 17 Anglers

The MNR just released their new regulations for Zone 17 (Durham, Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes and Northumberland) which will take effect January 1, 2010.

There will now be year round fishing for northern pike, yellow perch, crappie and sunfish so ice fishermen will finally have a turn at fishing their favorite Kawartha Lakes hot spots during the winter months. The MNR has also extended the fall fishing season to December 15 for bass and muskellunge. They have created stricter limits for walleye, to protect the declining populations in Zone 17 and added new sunfish limits, to maintain healthy populations

With more lakes for ice fishermen to fish I wonder if there will be a decline in anglers on the Bay of Quinte this winter.

For more details check out the PDF below.
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/278711.pdf

And also visit the MNR News Release:
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Newsroom/LatestNews/278773.html

Asian Carp getting closer to Great Lakes

Looks like the asian carp might have gotten passed the electronic barrier that was set up to prevent them from getting into the Great Lakes.

You can read more in the article below from the The Associated Press.

U.S. officials say the despised Asian carp may have breached an electronic barrier designed to prevent it from invading the Great Lakes and jeopardizing their $7-billion sport fishery.

Officials with the Army Corps of Engineers said Friday that DNA of the giant carp have been found north of the barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

If correct, that would mean the carp might reach Lake Michigan if they get through a navigational lock.

From there, they could spread throughout the Great Lakes and out-compete native species for food.

Asian carp escaped from fish farms in the southern U.S. in the 1990s and have been migrating up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

They can exceed one metre in length and weigh about 50 kilograms.

If you don’t know what the asian carp is, view these videos.

Blue-green algae health alert has been called off

Below is a quote on the current situation with the blue-green algae bloom on the bay.

“Laboratory testing, aerial viewing, and boat-assisted monitoring have confirmed the majority of blooms have dissipated and toxin levels are below drinking water limits,” says a press release from the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit.

You can read more about this via Intelligencer.ca