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[hrenya]

I was fishing at garry point  ,after fraser was shutdown for salmon fishing , for pike minnows and chubs . Had 2 sets of rods on me , 1 for bottom with 2 hooks , and 1 spinning . After using bottom with no luck for a bit , I saw a few pikes jumped by rocks, I ran there with my spinning set up . At this time DFO was walking by . There were 2 of them , 1 was checking my buddy , other one was checking me . He asked me what am I fishing for , and I told him that since fraser is closed for salmon , I fish for pike minnows and chubs . I had silver spoon with orange strip on it (similar to the ones Rod uses in his videos) , the guy told me that hook is very big and I fish pink salmon (I had ultra light rod and 4 lbs mono on my little spinning reel) , I tried to explained him that I know that fraser is closed for fishing salmon , and im trying to catch pike minnow , he said pretty much - I don't believe you , u fishing for pink salmon and your hook is too big for pike minnow . I`ve landed few pikes on that lure , and a hook size is 2/0 . After he had a look at my bottom rig with 2 hooks size 10 , he said that's the set up for pike minnow . I didn't want to argue with him and showed him all my spoons I had on me , all are similar : copper with colored strip or silver with strip .  He didn't want to check them out . 

question :

which lures are consider to be for salmon only (I couldn`t find it on DFO`s web site) / does the hook size really matter(It doesn`t say on DFO`s web site) if you fish for another kind of fish other than salmon ? (You may still fish for for trout, sturgeon,
Cutthroat , Dolly Varden as well as other species) - that's from berry`s report .


p.s. I had 7-8 chubs in my cooler , and he saw that ....

[Fish Assassin]

Specific lures for salmon are not stated in the regulations.

[hrenya]

yeah I know that , so what was the problem ?!

[hrenya]

I would really see Rod`s thoughts about this , cuz he is using gear a lot in tidal fraser

[Fish Assassin]

yeah I know that , so what was the problem ?!

The problem is the size of the lure and hook is generally associated with salmon or trout. Imagine if you will if you see someone using a #5/0 hook and a sturgeon outfit during a sturgeon closure and he claims he's fishing for pike minnows. Would you believe him ?

[hrenya]

The problem is the size of the lure and hook is generally associated with salmon or trout. Imagine if you will if you see someone using a #5/0 hook and a sturgeon outfit during a sturgeon closure and he claims he's fishing for pike minnows. Would you believe him ?

(You may still fish for for trout, sturgeon,
Cutthroat , Dolly Varden as well as other species) - that's from berry`s report .

[hrenya]

just cuz u r oldtimer , should I tell next time to dfo - whats berrys report say ? or what should I do ? I actually mentioned that I had some chubs in my cooler , and I was aiming white fish only .

[cutthroat22]

They were just doing their job and they didn't ticket you.  Sounds like they would prefer if you put a smaller hook on which which sounds pretty reasonable.

[kevzabob]

He was probably just busting your balls, there is nothing in the regulations that state what size hook must be used for what species. It is also in the regulations that the closure is to salmon only.

[kevzabob]

And I also agree with cutthroat, they were doing their jobs and giving you a recommendation and did not ticket you

[Tylsie]

You did nothing wrong, and there is not much you can do. It is a pretty common police technique to put a person on the defensive in the hopes they will mess up and admit to wrong doing. If you did nothing wrong then all you can do is answer their questions, smile, and enjoy your catch.

While a 2/0 hook may seem too big to some I have had sculpins take lures that are as big as they, and a decent size pike minnow has a good size mouth, bigger than a pink in my opinion. As far as it goes, I think that #10 hooks are a but small for pike minnow as they are too likely to swallow it.  Perfect size for chub though.

[hrenya]

They were just doing their job and they didn't ticket you.  Sounds like they would prefer if you put a smaller hook on which which sounds pretty reasonable.

your sound exactly like that guy , that makes me think you guys think of pike minnow like fish under 10-12 inches , but in reality those creatures grow up over pinks , and as the last member mentioned , their head is like 30%+ of their body .

p.s. I`ll do it for fun , I`ll put a #10 hook on couple of my spoons and keep casting them , but I think it would look SOOOO WROOONG ...

[Tangles]

Good points! I fished the other day for pikeminnows to show my 3yr old. My smallest rod is super light 6ft trout rod fished on the bottom with #8 hooks. At one point I andmade a few casts with a 1/8 croc and stopped right away, feeling like a criminal LOL

[hrenya]

Good points! I fished the other day for pikeminnows to show my 3yr old. My smallest rod is super light 6ft trout rod fished on the bottom with #8 hooks. At one point I andmade a few casts with a 1/8 croc and stopped right away, feeling like a criminal LOL

exactly  , but why you stopped if closure is for salmon only ? I still think some people including DFO cant imagine a pike bigger than pink I think same goes with dollys/bulls . biggest one I got in spring was over 8lbs , and they are salmonoids (pretty sure in one of the articles Rod mentioned that) and you CAN fish for them . Its one of those little things that gives BIG pain and makes no sense .

[Sandman]

Before I went out myself I called DFO and asked them this very thing, if I want to fish for trout and pike minnow, how do I ensure a fisheries officer isn't going to claim I am targeting salmon.  It took them some time and a few off the hook discussions before coming back with a very luke warm response.  They basically said that as long as you are using gear suited for other species, that is to say you are not using gear specific to catching salmon, you are ok. This is particularly troublesome for me as I use my 6 weight rod for fishing all manner of fish, including salmon.  He told me I would be fine.  Now if I was to use my 8 weight and a big zonker fly and claim I was targeting big Dollies and monster pike minnow, I would be ticketed for certain. It doesn't matter that pike minnow can grow large enough to take a 2/0 hook, what matters is that people use a hook that size when fishing salmon.  Use a small lure and hook, suitable for small trout and small like minnow.  If you happen to hook a big dolly or pike minnow, it will be ample enough to bring it in.