BC Family Fishing Weekend

[sparkyew]

http://www.bcfamilyfishing.com/

Does anyone know the details about this? No fishing licences needed? There must be some fine print somewhere.

 

[Peahead]

There absolutely is fine print so basically the no licence is kinda bogus IMO. The marketing of the idea of family fishing is great but forget the no licence idea because its only partially true . For example in tidal waters you can fish in any open area without a Licence for this weekend HOWEVER if you wish to retain a Chinook salmon or any other fish that requires recording on the license, you need to buy a licence and record the fish on it. For any Salmon you need to also buy a salmon stamp if you wish to keep it. If you want to fish you likely will want to later anyway so might as well just buy a licence and be done with it.

Tidal Waters (saltwater) Fishing Licences are not required during the weekend although certain regulations apply that may require a licence to record your catch upon. And, if you would like to retain a salmon a stamp must be purchased.

 

[Cuba Libre]

Peahead--this is a great program to get people involved in sport fishing. It is NOT bogus!!! And as a volunteer that has headed up the Courtenay Fish and Game Family Fishing event for years, I can tell you we have given the opportunity for thousands of folks of all ages to get out and enjoy trout fishing. Speaking of which-- the Fresh Water Fisheries Society of B C (GoFishBC) was the originator of this program in BC which mirrors other programs in North America. It was started as a FRESH WATER program, DFO was invited for years to get on board and gave all sorts of legality BS reasons why they couldnt waive the license requirement. Now they are slowly getting involved. But the salmon stamp still reminds. Because the johnny-come-latelys dont fully meet your needs , there is no reason the diss a program that has made so many people happy all over the province. Get after DFO if you want, but the program as a whole is fantastic.

Here is what Cam Aronetz , the coodinator of the LaFarge Lake event put up on FaceBook today:


the 14th annual family fishing weekend is now upon us, you can fish today, and on the weekend for free, no licence needed in any lake stream and ocean.To celebrate this, MY 14th annual free fishing event at Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam is going on 830 am saturday, the weather will be good , the fish will be horny and the prizes butt kicking, i hope all peeps have a great weekend, if nada going on Saturday, as bob barker says,,,,,,,,,,,come on down, lol, its a lot of fun to see kids hook their first fish, any questions ask, ill get back to you,,later gators

But people will miss the point if they feel its just about catching a fish.... there is much more to it. I have seen kids of all ages, from 1yr to 92 , getting outdoors on Fathers day weekend and enjoying the festivities with Dads, Moms, grandparents etc..... if they do go home with a fish or two, its a bonus. Its an even bigger bonus if they are given one of the entry level rod and reel combos that the Family Fishing Society supplies us with..... over 250 given away so far where there is a child with an obvious interest in fishing. One of the main aims of the program is to get more people using our fresh water fishing resources. Its starts with a worm and bobber and as many here know, the passion can bloom with just a little bit of support. Thats what we are providing.

In the Comox valley Area?? Come up to the Courtenay and District Fish and Game club pond and fish for a couple of the 1500 triploid RBTs on Saterday and Sunday . 9am to 4pm. If you dont have any gear (not likely on this site!) we have a bunch of rigged rods for loan too. We clean, bag and ice your catch so dinner gets home in top shape. Thrifty Foods will be giving away approx 2000 hot dogs and water and pop. Whats not to like?? !!! PM me if you have any questions
Bryan

additional info on saltwater fishing.... http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/weekend-eng.html

 

[Peahead]

CL I think you missed my point which was to provide my answer to first post here - a question by sparkview' about there being no fishing license needed this weekend and his asking the question if he is missing anything in any fine print. My answer was yes, there is fine print that he and everyone absolutely must read re: "no license needed".
I absolutely think its fantastic event and I respect all the volunteers work including yours of course. You are correct my comments about needing no license were of course directed at DFO, not the event. I did write that I felt the family weekend idea was great ( to increase fish/fishing interest and awareness) . The advertising of not needing a license will be misinterpreted by many people unless they read the fine print so that aspect is a misfire and misleading IMO. It is only partially true - hence my opinion and comments in my first post. Our families needing to buy fishing licenses and stamps this weekend completely depends on what your family intends to do with a catch , depending on species. Tidal licenses are free for my family under 16 anyway so no difference on family weekend other than they don't need to carry it with them ( unless they intend to retain certain species !)
Can you imagine a family goes out fishing off west van for a fun trip on family fishing weekend in their 12' tinny with no licenses - all good right? ...their little 7 year old daughter lands her first fish ever, a nice 63cm Chinook that she wants to keep. She is so proud and just beaming ear to ear...... ok you probably know where this is going .... fisheries officer just happens to be at the ramp . Oops no fishing license on family fishing weekend suddenly doesn't work too well.
As I said before just go buy a fishing license and Salmon stamp and be done with it...... but go enjoy Family Fishing Weekend for everything else it is.

Greg