First decent bass of the year

[justin.benji]

largemouth bass 5.jpg
Fish was caught on private property and released. Weighed in at 4 lbs even.

[Newbie on the fly]

Nice size bass! I cant wait for the season to open.

[ph13]

Is it not illegal to target OOS bass? Let alone take a picture with it, even if released?

[Fox]

Is it not illegal to target OOS bass? Let alone take a picture with it, even if released?

You cannot target them, if you catch one you are to release it immediately, meaning no pictures unless your friend is taking a picture of you letting it go.

[Paddy]

If you fish on PRIVATE PROPERTY on a PRIVATELY stocked pond, you can do whatever you want.

Although I see where you guys are coming from. Posting a photo of a fat bass in May is not a good idea. Most people don't read the post. They look at the photo and freak out.

[duckduckgoose]

Justin, I think you're going to learn that you hated making this post. LOL

If you fish on PRIVATE PROPERTY on a PRIVATELY stocked pond, you can do whatever you want.

Here's the gov. clarification on this:

WATERS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY – APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS

Question Re: Private Property
I own a large parcel of land with a good sized spring-fed pond on it, the pond drains off of my land into a near-by river. I know there are fishing the pond, do I need a licence to fish in the pond and do the seasons apply on my property?

Answer:
Because your pond has an outflow the laws requiring a licence and the various fishing seasons would apply to your pond. The Ontario Fishery Regulations, which contain the rules for sport fishing in Ontario, apply to all water in the province with the exception of National Parks, waters that are licenced under an aquaculture licence and waters that occur on private lands that meet all of the following conditions:

• The waters are not on a regional flood plain,
• The waters lie wholly on privately owned land,
• The waters are not connected to natural waters,
• The waters contain water from run-off, springs, ground water or water pumped from a stream or lake; AND
• The waters have been artificially created.

If the pond meets all of the list above the fish must then come from a licenced aquaculture facility or a licenced commercial fish operation; they cannot be caught by sport-fishing and transferred to the pond.

[patvetzal]

I like Newbie's answer the best....although ddg's answered a lot of questions as well.

[chris1395]

I like Newbie's answer the best....although ddg's answered a lot of questions as well.

I liked that one too

This thread was gone for awhile, now its back? She looks fat with eggs, not enough detail in the post to know whether this is a private pond fish or caught in the north, location says brantford so probably not. But still serves to get a rise by posting bass pics on the interweb in early May.

[Paddy]

Good post duckduckgoose, but it was unfair for everyone to assume this guy was in the wrong when he said the pond was private. There are many private ponds around that fit all of the above criteria.

[400bigbear]

Other than saying it has to be immediately released there is nothing in the regs that states your not allowed to take a pic . That imaginary rule is just that . Imaginary .

Werner , I understand your point and yes some really do target bass on the nests under the guise they are releasing anyways . That's a no,no in many jurisdictions . Usually gills , rockbass etc are hovering close by and as soon as the male is yanked off the nest they scoot right in and destroy the nest . Bass on the nest are absolutely no challenge . I don't even like to pull one accidently although it does happen .

Personally I try not to judge bass pics at anytime to harshly since they could be from a self contained pond or jurisdiction where they are allowed to be targetted . Some tourneys in the states are even held while they are nesting .

TD