# Rice lake bluegills



## Rice Resort Owner (Jul 14, 2005)

Rice Lake, Ontario and all other lakes in the Kawarthas will have a 300 bluegill limit, starting in 2010. Many groups and families visit Rice Lake for the unlimited bluegill fishing. We are trying to have the limit increased to 500 and need feedback to the following questions:
Do you regularly visit Rice for bluegills? 
Will you continue to visit with a 300 limit per license? 
Would you continue to visit with a 500 limit per license?
If you have never visited Rice Lake, would you visit with a 300 or 500 limit?

Feedback and comments would be appreciated.
Many Thanks!


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## BrianSipe17 (Aug 5, 2006)

Wow, I haven't fished that lake for 20+ years! The blue gill action was great. I think I could speak for 99.9% of this board who would say that an even smaller limit would not prevent any of us from traveling to Rice Lake. Between the great walleye action and top of the line bluegill fishery, I would think you have nothing to worry about.

You should look into advertising on this site. The couple times I went to Rice, I recall that the majority of visitors were from Ohio. I know there have been many threads on the lake.


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## Dfrenzy (Dec 18, 2008)

Is the 300 or 500 limit per day or per week per year? I have some great memories of Rice lake as a kid. My parents took us on vacation there a few times per summer. I went there with a buddy before the start of my senior year. I have more of a problem with getting my whole family a passport than the fish limit. This is a great family lake also for anyone who is interested.


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## Rice Resort Owner (Jul 14, 2005)

Hi, it is 300 catch & possession with a Sport Licence. That means you can go home with 300 fish and can come back as many times as you want and catch another 300. You must never have more than 300 in your possession at one time. As many Ohio anglers are used to going home with maybe 500-600 fish after a 7 or 14 day stay, we are very concerned that they won't bother coming to go home with "only" 300.
BTW, you don't need the $95- passport to come to Canada (or more importantly, get back home again!), you can buy a Passport Card ($45-). Kids under 16 just need to show their birth certificates, no passport or card required. Check the State Dept website.
Rgds Roger


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## mirrocraft mike (Mar 17, 2006)

I have been going to Rice Lake and the Trent River for 30 plus years.My Dad before his passing 50 plus yrs. A 300 or 500 limit PER SPORT LIC. WOULD NOT keep me from going back. Thats still plenty of fish to keep a family fed. The gill population has ALWAYS been good to us..Size and numbers. SO I don't understand it,BUT then again Canada does have a GREAT Fishery So you all are doing something right. 

The cost of passports and a new fish card, GAS, and Cottage increases(your taxes su..) has more of a neg. affect on me. 

OGF frowns on NON sponsored folks soliciting there name.Takes away from the guys that pay to have there Business on the board. May not be a bad idea to look into. Anyway PM me your name and resort I'll look you up next July 4th then i go up. Know and have met a lot of Cool folks over the years .Be nice to meet ya. Hopefully you are closer to the Trent side of the lake.

Mike


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## PapawSmith (Feb 13, 2007)

Will you continue to visit with a 300 limit per license?
Would you continue to visit with a 500 limit per license?
![/QUOTE said:


> If I had to clean 300 bluegills I probably would never fish again.
> I've heard of Rice Lake, and their gill population, for years but have never been there. My wife loves to fish for pan fish and I was contemplating a trip to Rice this year with her and a few kids/grandkids just for that reason. Even with me, her, and three or four kids in tow I would never expect to keep 300-500 gills. If people are keeping that kind of basket on a regular basis I would think some kind of limit would be wise. Anyone that would bitch about a 300 or 500 limit on gills has a weird hoarding problem IMO.
> I agree on the advertising advice. Rice gets a fair amount of discussion on this site and specific resort info would probably get a fair amount of attention. I know, having never been there and unfamiliar with resorts, I would utilize your services if you were a site sponser here.


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## Rice Resort Owner (Jul 14, 2005)

mirrocraft mike said:


> I have been going to Rice Lake and the Trent River for 30 plus years.My Dad before his passing 50 plus yrs. A 300 or 500 limit PER SPORT LIC. WOULD NOT keep me from going back. Thats still plenty of fish to keep a family fed. The gill population has ALWAYS been good to us..Size and numbers. SO I don't understand it,BUT then again Canada does have a GREAT Fishery So you all are doing something right.
> 
> The cost of passports and a new fish card, GAS, and Cottage increases(your taxes su..) has more of a neg. affect on me.
> 
> ...


Sorry, I did not mean to break the advertising rules (I did not give my business name), I am just looking for feedback on behalf of the whole lake. I will look into advertising with you.
BTW, the "cost of passports" has been mentioned. Full passports are not reguired to/from Canada. Passport cards ($45-) are fine and kids under 16 can just show birth certificates, no passports or cards required. Check State Dept. website.


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## ohiojmj (Apr 16, 2004)

Speaking of breaking rules, if the daily possession and daily catch limit with sport license are 300 bluegills and you keep more than 300 in one day, you broke the daily catch limit. Isn't that how it works in Ontario?


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## Dfrenzy (Dec 18, 2008)

I think 300 bluegills would be a more than fair limit per license. When you look at Ohio's Lake Erie Perch limit of 30 per person per day. That would only be 210 per week. Now the difference looks to me as your kids that don't require a license would fall under that license as well. I still think that 300 is a fair number of fish for anyone. Remember it's a lake not the ocean. There are also a lot of other species to fish for as well. How is ice season on rice lake?


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## mirrocraft mike (Mar 17, 2006)

Rice Resort Owner said:


> Sorry, I did not mean to break the advertising rules (I did not give my business name), I am just looking for feedback on behalf of the whole lake. I will look into advertising with you.
> BTW, the "cost of passports" has been mentioned. Full passports are not reguired to/from Canada. Passport cards ($45-) are fine and kids under 16 can just show birth certificates, no passports or cards required. Check State Dept. website.



Sorry Didn't mean to come across Harsh . I read something wrong ..A.D.D. kicking in I guess 
I'm no owner of the site and You didn't break any rules that i know of. I was just stating that before you did. Send me that PM .Would like to look you up next year .I'll be up July 2nd to July 12


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## Rice Resort Owner (Jul 14, 2005)

mirrocraft mike said:


> Sorry Didn't mean to come across Harsh . I read something wrong ..A.D.D. kicking in I guess
> I'm no owner of the site and You didn't break any rules that i know of. I was just stating that before you did. Send me that PM .Would like to look you up next year .I'll be up July 2nd to July 12


Hi, tried PM to you but told I must have had 5 postings before I can PM. Will PM ASAP


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## Rice Resort Owner (Jul 14, 2005)

Dfrenzy said:


> I think 300 bluegills would be a more than fair limit per license. When you look at Ohio's Lake Erie Perch limit of 30 per person per day. That would only be 210 per week. Now the difference looks to me as your kids that don't require a license would fall under that license as well. I still think that 300 is a fair number of fish for anyone. Remember it's a lake not the ocean. There are also a lot of other species to fish for as well. How is ice season on rice lake?


Rice Lake will have ice fishing for the first time in 2010, until now the lake has closed 15th November. Regarding the allowed catch, many groups over the years are used to "no limits" and have said they will not visit if limits are introduced. I think it is human nature, if you live somewhere with no speed limits and then 100mph limit is introduced, many people will be upset.........


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## roger23 (Mar 7, 2007)

Rice Resort Owner said:


> Rice Lake will have ice fishing for the first time in 2010, until now the lake has closed 15th November. Regarding the allowed catch, many groups over the years are used to "no limits" and have said they will not visit if limits are introduced. I think it is human nature, if you live somewhere with no speed limits and then 100mph limit is introduced, many people will be upset.........


does it start Jan 1 2010 ??? it is about time,,


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## Rice Resort Owner (Jul 14, 2005)

roger23 said:


> does it start Jan 1 2010 ??? it is about time,,


Yes, January 1st but with weather these days, no guarantee there will be ice..........


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## Whopper (Apr 28, 2006)

Been fishing Rice Lake since 1977 and the limit of pan fish will not keep me from returning. Don't really understand why anyone would want to keep more than that in the first place with the way the rules are as far as transporting them ie; individually wrapped with the skin on for identification and counting in case one is checked. Another thing you did not mentioned is that of the 300 only a certain number of those fish can be over 7.1 inches
Copied and pasted from new regs


> Limit of 300 sunfish, only 30 may be greater than
> 18cm (7.1 in.). Conservation license holders have a
> limit of 15 any size.


IMHO I always felt the "catching" was so good on Rice due to the fact there was no ice fishing allowed and they had closed seasons on certain species of game fish, now with the season being open all year so to speak what happens to all the incidental catches? I'm sure anglers that jerk out of season game fish through the ice will take proper care and release all of these fish unharmed :dont-know: 
I do understand that the new rules changes opens up things for resort owners/tourism and will also relieve pressure from place Lake Simcoe but I have to wonder at what cost to places like Rice Lake
For those interested in checking out the new changes here's the link from the MNR
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/278711.pdf
Rice Resort Owner please feel free to pm me with a link to your website.

Cheers


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## Dfrenzy (Dec 18, 2008)

First off who wants Gills under 7.1 inches? Second who would individually wrap them? Your kidding me rite. No thank you they can keep the Bluegills. Thats just insane.


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## roger23 (Mar 7, 2007)

This can be a real pain if you get the wrong guy,,

Transporting Sport Fish in Ontario

Anglers need to ensure they are transporting fish in compliance with the regulations, which are designed to protect fisheries resources. The fish that you catch and keep may be cleaned. However, please remember that fish taken from waterbodies where size limits are in effect must be readily measurable at all times, unless the fish are:



Being prepared for immediate consumption 
Prepared at an overnight accommodation for storage 
Being transported on the water from a temporary overnight accommodation to your residence and you are not engaged in sport fishing 
Being transported overland.

In addition, when packaging fish you must ensure that a Conservation Officer can easily determine:


The number of fish in your possession 
The species of fish in your possession.

Tips for Packaging Fish



1. All fish, not just those with limits, must be packaged so that they can be easily counted and identified.


2. To ensure fish can be easily counted, package each fish separately, or arrange fillets spread flat in a clear freezer bag. DO NOT freeze fillets in a milk carton, margarine tub or other container. A large lump of fillets frozen together in bags is also unacceptable.


3. Since anglers often transport various species of fish, its their responsibility to ensure every fillet of their catch can be easily identified. Ensure you leave at least a large patch of skin on all fish fillets for identification purposes.


4. Conservation Officers may inspect your catch at any time. Always have your fish and your licence easily accessible and place coolers of fish where they can be easily inspected. No one wants to unload a vehicle to find licences and coolers.


5. If a Conservation Officer inspects the sport fish youre transporting and they are improperly packaged:

 Your catch may be seized for evidence
 You could get a ticket and be fined
 You may have to attend court, usually close to where the inspection took place, which may be far from where you live.



Related Links

Transporting Sport Fish Fact Sheet: Transporting Sport Fish in Ontario


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## Whopper (Apr 28, 2006)

> This can be a real pain if you get the wrong guy,,


Roger23, you got that right, I know a fella that got popped because he had a gallon bag of fillets (panfish) and they weren't even frozen but still had their skins on and he still got nabbed for $240 and lost his fish to boot, the thing about it is you couldn't find a more law abiding citizen if you tried, it all boiled down to being able to readily count them.

Dfrenzy wake up man I guess you've never seen the white bucket brigade fisherman, we could never have a lake like Rice in the state of Ohio with the regs we have and the attitude of a lot of meat hunters, again that's just my opinion


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