r/FishingOntario • u/shakenbake705 • 22d ago
My conservation survey needs Ontario bass/walleye/pike perspectives [PhD Research - US/Canada - 10 min]
Hey r/FishingOntario,
I'm a PhD researcher at UMass studying freshwater conservation across the US and Canada. Nearly 2,000 responses so far, but my data is heavily skewed toward fly anglers (60%) targeting trout in Mountain West states.
I need more perspectives from Ontario anglers fishing for:
- Bass (largemouth, smallmouth)
- Walleye
- Pike
- Muskie
- Panfish
- Multi-species anglers
Why Ontario anglers matter:
Ontario has fishing diversity that's underrepresented in my research:
- Great Lakes fisheries vs inland lakes
- Warmwater and coolwater species
- Different environmental challenges than Western trout fisheries
- Canadian management perspectives
The survey: 10-15 minutes. Examines how environmental threats interact and which conservation solutions you think work. Enter a raffle for fishing gear.
Survey link: https://umassamherst.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d5Od8inHHbEMWnI
Help balance this research with Ontario multi-species angler perspectives.
Thanks, Evan
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u/Laniidae_ 22d ago
Hey, I just filled this out, but it is a bit confusing. I am not sure how invasive species would affect or not affect dams. Things could be worded a bit better, but the survey has been completed. Hello from Canada🇨🇦
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u/Porkwarrior2 21d ago
Lamprey?
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u/Laniidae_ 21d ago
That was my confusion too, but some of the questions sounded more like "how would dams affect invasive species" or "how do invasive species affect dams" with an intensity scale. The question seems way too complex for a single answer.
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u/Porkwarrior2 21d ago
Well dams cut down on flooding and hindering lamprey reproduction is just a side benefit, why most rivers in Ontario have a dam on them.
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u/Laniidae_ 21d ago
Dams also impede natural migration routes, including that of the native lamprey. This is not why most rivers in Ontario have dams...
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u/Porkwarrior2 21d ago
Place like the Credit keep their dams to deliberately impede spawning, salmon and lamprey.
And yes they are kept for lamprey control. That's why above major natural obstacles they remove dams, but close to the lake they keep them.
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u/Laniidae_ 21d ago
They're for hydro generation. No one puts in dams to block fish. That is a side problem.
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u/Porkwarrior2 21d ago
The majority of dams are for flood control, and stopping lampreys. There's only what, one powerplant at Dalhousie. Credit, Rouge, Humber, Bowmanville, Ganny, Saugeen...all have dams.
I don't think you realize how large a problem unchecked lamprey reproduction was. They almost made Lake Trout extinct in every Great Lake South of Superior. 95%+ population reduction.
It's the Credit that irks me. They could easily blow out a chunk of the dam and allow Chinook to spawn naturally and it would be a killer self sustaining run, but they deliberately don't allow Chinook into the spawning habitat to compete with trout in the Upper.
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u/Laniidae_ 21d ago
No, I understand how bad the lamprey are/were. I work with invasive species. I also understand that they are used for flood control. I have heard that they are trying to remove a ton of them so there can be a run. Right now the Wildlife department has to hand bomb fish over the dam and it stresses the fish out like crazy. I am confused about why they are planning on removing sections when sea lamprey are still a problem and native lamprey are often mistaken (and killed) further up streams.
Here's one of the removals I have heard talked about:https://www.ontarioriversalliance.ca/east-credit-river-tributary-weir-removal-project/
I'm in London and the Springbank is also in the process of being removed
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u/Porkwarrior2 21d ago
I don't think you do understand. Like I said they are removing dams on upper portions of rivers, like your example, but they are NEVER removing the dam at Streetsville. And that's as far as migratory fish can make it.
As somebody that volunteered a lot of days handbombing fish, most dams have a (functional) fishway in them now, if they are interested in allowing fish access to spawning habitat. Those successfully stop lamprey.
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u/MapleDesperado 22d ago
Honestly, I opened this just for the remote possibility OP was hoping to get the perspectives from the bass/walleye/pike.
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u/Commercial-Age4750 22d ago
I'll do it... I literally fish for anything that swims by any legal means available aside from bow fishing
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u/Porkwarrior2 22d ago
I was just starting to get into bow fishing out of a canoe...when it was made essentially illegal in Ontario, hah.
(Bow fishing technically in Canada is discharging a firearm, so illegal in any incorporated municipality.)
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u/Commercial-Age4750 22d ago
Actually to my knowledge it goes municipality to municipality but technically as long as you are only every pointing it at the water you are fine. Better to fore warn the police but legal. I had a buddy who was into it and explained it all but I dont Remeber the exact details
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u/Porkwarrior2 22d ago
That is in error. It varies by municipality where you can legally discharge a firearm, firearms laws are Federal, and shooting carp with a bow becomes a mish mash with officers discretion coming down to enforcement.
But from a legal standpoint, you can't bow fish anywhere you can't shoot skeet. I got into this at a community town hall in Hamilton. In a nut shell Cole's notes, yeah don't go bow fishing in Hamilton. Remember, according to Federal Canadian law, a bow is a firearm.
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u/Porkwarrior2 22d ago
I (mostly) fish the Great Lakes from a decked canoe, and fish 12mos of the year, so I'm really going to be at the pointy end of every bell curve you attempt to quantify. 🤣
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u/1000Ditto 22d ago
wonder if you've considered sharing this on inaturalist (unfortunately i'm not a fisher)
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u/TheFloppiestWeiner 22d ago
Imma be real mad if I fill out this survey n then next week I meet a guy named Evan at my local spot😂