By Pepper Parr
February 7th, 2020
BURLINGTON, ON
Family Day is a relatively new event for the people of Ontario.
Everyone seems to want to exploit the day by offering the public something.
The province has jumped on that bandwagon and is letting people fish for free – by that they mean you don’t need a license.
We didn’t know you needed a license to put a hook at the end of a piece of string and put a worm on the hook, drop it into the water and see if a fish bites.
Apparently you need a license.
Family Day is February 17th – given the weather today there is every reason to believe that it will be just as cold on the 17th.
So if you are fishing – it will be out of a little hut on a frozen lake.
There are hundreds of people who bundle up, head out onto the ice, cut a hole in the ice and drop a fishing line down.
These people seem to know where the fish are.
Most drive out onto the ice in a snowmobile – every year we read of someone who waited a little too long when Spring came around and their snowmobile sunk through what ice was left.
Usually these people have a little hut, sometime with a heating device or something in a bottle that makes you feel warm inside. Ontarians do some strange things to occupy their time.
The provincial government see this as an occasion when they can make spending time with family more affordable and invites families to fish for free on Family Day weekend.
This is about as Canadian as you can get – especially if they can watch a hockey game while they wait for a fish to bite.
From February 15 to 17, Canadian residents of all ages can enjoy fishing in Ontario without having to purchase a licence or carry an Outdoors Card.
“Our government is making it easier for families to spend quality time together while enjoying Ontario’s world-class lakes, rivers and streams,” said John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. “We have made life more affordable by doubling the number of free fishing events to also include the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day weekends.”
Now the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day weekends are not a bad idea – but fishing in February?
Veterans and active Canadian Armed Forces members residing in Ontario can enjoy year-round recreational fishing without having to purchase a fishing licence.
