Rice Lake walleye 5 charged for illegal fishing

(KAWARTHA LAKES) A Bobcaygeon man is one of five Rice Lake anglers who have been fined a total of $5,000 for illegal fishing activities.

Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) officials say Donald Mowry of Bobcaygeon, Vincent Vanstone of Newcastle, John Rundle of Bowmanville, Gregory Topolie of Courtice and Cornelieus Koppens of Port Hope pleaded guilty in court on Jan. 28. The men were fined $1,000 each for catching and keeping over-sized walleye.

Court heard that conservation officers observed a group of anglers staying at a Rice Lake cabin from November 1 to 3, 2013. Officers stopped the men as they left and discovered they had caught and kept a number of walleye larger than the fishing regulations allowed.

Justice of the Peace Jack LeBlanc heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice in Port Hope.

For further information on fishing regulations, please consult the 2014 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary, available at ontario.ca/fishing.

To report a natural resources violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll-free any time or contact your local ministry office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Job well done by the MNR but again the fine's are way too low. Hope they at least confiscated all their gear as well.

good! screw those guys!

Can't play by the rules don't play at all

Good to hear as a constant fisherman of Rice lake this pleases me to hear. The rules are set in place for a reason! Good job MNR!

Agreed: The slot size is there for a good reason, stick to it!. Hopefully down the road we will be allowed to Ice fish for walleye on Rice.

Awsome!!f##@#@#g poachers!!

its a good thing there are guys still out there who care about the fish populations cause I don't know what you guys think but the ice fishing is f**ked in the great lakes because of people keeping too many fish

they should get some wardens out on the great lakes the piers and docks cause if they don't, the fishing will be over

people think they can play against the rules so GOOD RIDANCE to them

im actually thinking about calling these guys to put limits on all of the sport fish in the great lakes and the harbours they should have a 12 inch max on perch and no keeping the walleye till the population gets back up on its feet. I know it will break hearts but come on! no one f**king cares anymore!!!!!!!!

just to add to the great lake out fishing, they have got to rid of the cormorants yeah those black fish eating birds

should take their gear and lic away forever!

where does it say RICE Lake was open to walleye this year?????????

When has it ever been closed? They were charged during the open water season, not ice fishing.