2015 fishing regulations

[Woodsman]

This may help some. A nephew of a good friend of mine recently got his outfitters license and had posted a picture of a nice Walleye caught that was well over the slot. I sent him a note cautioning him about posting pictures of non legal fish saying that technically there was a chance he could get in trouble for not immediately releasing the fish. Here is his response.

"Thank you for your concern, I had this discussion with my local Mnr officer Shawn Kennedy and a few others last winter when the stayed at my family's resort last winter, because I once had the same interpretation. I am allowed to take a picture of a non keeper fish and take the appropriate measurements in order to have a graphite replica done. All fish we catch spend limited time of out of the water and I make sure all my guests are aware of proper fish handling techniques."

So take that as it is, but it would still be nice to see it written down clearly in the regs.

Cheers

Last year was before the new expanded explanation of the regulations.

[Woodsman]

I guess thinking about it I don't find the new paragraph in the regs that helpful. What confuses me about it is it lumps in OOS fish together with fish caught past your limit and prohibited sizes.
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Of course ALL fish being released should be released quickly and carefully enough to maximize chances of recovery, even legal keepers that are being released voluntarily. But they're just talking about non-legal keepers here.

The reason they are all lumped together is because under the law there is no difference as far as releasing them.
And the requirement is to release immediately not quickly.
immediate = occurring or accomplished without delay; instant
Posing for a picture does not meet this definition.
A picture taken by a buddy while the fish is being released would not be considered a violation.

[Pat32rf]

Ok gang....So I have just landed an OOS , out of slot trophy and want to remove my lure from its jaw....How do I prevent my buddy from snapping a picture while I do this???

[Woodsman]

No problem with your buddy taking a photo while your in the process of releasing the fish.
Where you could run into a problem is if you stop to pose with the fish for a photo.