The Angling season for dippnetting or Bowhunting Carp and Suckers is Year round.. As long as you have a License...That comes out of the Mouth a MCOA...

 

That's where the confusion comes in, under the bowfishing description it says something along the lines of 'angling seasons and license requirements apply'... so that would lead one to believe bowfishing is prohibited during the general closure... I've been told both ways by various COs when I ask...

It might just be a poorly printed wording in the guide. That is why I'm seeking clarification.

 

No answer for you but thanks for the reminder. Coming into the city tomorrow, think I'm gonna buy a fishing setup for my bow

 

That is correct you cannot bow fish for suckers during the closure, the reasoning for this is the possibility of other species spawning at the same time and accidently hitting them. The Manitoba fishery regulations allows the Minister to restrict equipment use during a specific period. This is why only dip netting is only allowed so if a none target species is caught it can be released unharmed.

 

Are you a CO? I'm just wondering where you got this info from. I have always been told I can bowfishing and spearfish for suckers during the general closure. It says "angling seasons and limits apply"... Since the season for carp and sucker is year round, that's when you can bowfish/spearfish for them.... Manitoba outdoors even have a segment on YouTube about bowfishing for suckers in April.... So I'm going to stick with what the regs tell me, the CO's tell me, and what the province tells me. :thumb:

 

Where does it sain the regs that targeting carp and sucker is year-round except for netting? This is what I found:

DIP NETTING, SEINING, AND MINNOW TRAPPING
An angling licence is required while dip netting, seining, or minnow trapping. In most waters these activities are allowed at any time of the year. Check for closures on specific waters in the divisional sections of this guide.

Species that may be kept include suckers, common carp...

BOW FISHING
Bow fishing (the shooting of fish with archery equipment) is permitted for common carp and suckers only. Angling seasons and licence requirements apply.

 

He seems the confusion. Realistically, you can't bowfish for suckers outside of the spring spawn, which mostly takes place during the general closure... that, and it makes no sense to allow you to take them one way but not another...

 

"Angling seasons and license requirements apply"...... The season for these species does not close, ever. Government regulations and guides always make sure to add redundant information to confuse you. But as the CO's explained to me, "For bowfishing, you need to follow season and license requirements..... But the license is the same and the season never closes (for these species), so have at 'er".... You have to think of it more like other provinces where certain fish have certain seasons... Since you can only bowfish carp and sucker, and the season for them doesn't end, you can bowfish for them whenever you want....
I apologize for repeating myself so much, I guess I just have a harder time with a keyboard rather than words.

 

By your interpretation of what the CO's told you, and since "the season for them doesn't end" in regards to carp and sucker, would you also legally be able to angle for them at this time?

 

Can some point out where is says that carp and sucker are open all year? I see it for netting, but not angling (bowfishing is considered angling).

 

You point out where bowfishing is called angling.

 

If bow fishing is allowed year-round then that also means that I can use a set up for carp and go angling for them year-round. Why would that be any different???

 

Now we can see why this needs a definitive answer from an expert...

 

Well, like I said, it gets a little cloudy in the regs... the only one who's going to suffer will be the guy given a ticket For Bowfishing a few suckers, right or wrong, even though others are netting them by the dozen and it makes no sense.

To me, with sucker being one of the only two species allowed for bowfishing, it only makes sense to allow the activity during the spring run, but as we see, there are two ways to interpret the guide.

 

I have a strong suspicion that the courts would side with the bowfisher as the guide is so bloody difficult to understand. Until they write it in plain English and specifically mention open and close dates and activities allowed without contradictions it is irrational to expect Joe Blow to interpret what that book says.

 

Well, I believe the average joe shouldn't be put into a position where he's faced with defending his actions in court, wasting his time and money, if he didn't do anything wrong in the first place. Not to mention the possibility of fines, restitution fees, bans...


That, and I really want to try my new recurve bowfishing bow... lol

 

Personally, I'd like it in writing because if a CO gives Jo Blow a ticket then Jo Blow is the one that has to defend his actions. Obviously the CO would have interpreted the regs differently and it would be up to the courts to see which side they believe more (Joe or the Officer). If the judge fishes (s)he would probably dismiss it, but if they don't they may view it from a different lens.

 

to me, it makes no sense to limit the methods of catching an unprotected fish... it doesn't matter if you spear them, arrow them, net them or catch them on a hook and line, all methods allow you to selectively harvested what you want and let others swim away... but that's the whole point. If it made sense, there wouldn't be three pages of speculation...

 

And then there's the fact that Manitoba Outdoors shot a segment and had an article in their magazine about bowfishing suckers and encouraged everyone to dust off their bows and enjoy the sucker run....

 

True... but a magazine article and internet video isn't exactly proper legal advice

 

Of course, I'd just be really surprised since that video has some big names in the fishing community. Donovan, offshoreonly, and some others, who were all moderators of this forum at some point. It would be weird to think after all these years, that all of a sudden someone realizes that everyone is interpreting it wrong.

I once lost it on some guy on YouTube... His video was titled "Spearfishing Smallmouth Bass in Manitoba".... It clearly says in the regs which fish you can hunt and Smallies aren't one of them....

 

Yes, but in that case it is actually clearly spelled out. It's a little muddy in this case, awe we can see by the both way arguing on this thread... I think a little clearing up in the regs could be a good thing...

 

Here is some wording that can make bowfishing clearer to those reading he regs...

'Bowfishing is allowed for carp and suckers only. It is generally allowed year round. Check regional regulations for closures on specific bodies of water.'

 

The guide does spell it out: bowfishing is considered recreational fishing so there is no bowfishing during the general closed season. In the dip netting section it saws that for sucker, carp and other listed species dip netting is allowed in most areas and to check for closures in specific area. Also I am a CO.

 

The Angling season for dippnetting or Bowhunting Carp and Suckers is Year round.. As long as you have a License...???

 

Hello,

After speaking with senior Conservation Officers...

I can confirm that bowfishing for Common Carp and suckers is only permissible during an open angling season.

That means in the Southern Division you can not bowfish for suckers until until May 13th 2017. It also means you can bowfish for suckers in the Northwest and North Central Divisions until May 1st. (You have to stop between May 1st and May 20th). You can bowfish for suckers year-round in the North East Division.

You need to check the lake-specific regulations in each region for further restrictions.

You can dipnet, cast net, seining net, or minnow trap at any time of the year for suckers (as well as the species listed on page 4 of the guide).

We are under constant pressure to keep the 'regulations' portion of the annual guide as short and concise as possible.

Perhaps wording such as "Bowfishing may only occur during an open angling season and under authority of an angling license" would be better?

Derek

 

Thanks Derek.

 

Well, then you might as well just take suckers of the list of fish you can bowfish for. It ain't happening in most areas outside of the spring sucker run...

This rule should change. It should be more like what I proposed en an earlier post.

 

 

So then it is legal? Lol.

This is confusing.

 

It seems legal... what's confusing is poorly written guides and misleading advice from resident conservation officers on the board and 'senior COs'...

Good going 99...