Anglers in the Lakeland may now break out the rod and reel. (Ronald Quaroni/paNOW Staff)

By Ronald Quaroni

Big Fish to Fry

Fishing season opens door for northern economy

May 15, 2019 | 12:50 PM

Saskatchewan gets a bad rap for being flat, but our province makes up for that stigma with great natural resources, including fishing.

Anglers in the Lakeland had May 15, marked on their calendar as the kickoff date for the central fishing zone, which combined with the southern zone, encompasses the majority of accessible lakes in the province.

One man who is particularly excited is Barry Howe. Howe and his wife are co-owners of North Country Lodge, a year round fishing camp 30 miles from La Ronge, located in Hunters Bay.

“All the outfitters are excited to start another season and welcome back guests from previous years,” Howe told paNOW. “You’re inviting friends back to your business.”

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Howe said residents are lucky to have fish as an abundant resource.

“We’ve definitely got great opportunities, right here in our backyard,” Howe said. “We’ve got tremendous fisheries and it’s a great way to get out with family and friends.”

Howe said fishing is important to the province and the North.

“It’s huge up here. There are so many economic benefits of the fishing industry,” Howe said. “People travelling, spending money in restaurants, gas stations, stores, it all adds up to support local business.”

Murray Koob, a fisheries biologist with the Ministry of Environment said over $300 million gets spent each year in the province on activities related to sport fishing.

“It’s an important activity that contributes economically as well as to the social wellbeing of not only residents, but visitors as well,” Koob said. “Typically in Saskatchewan each year there’s about 200,000 licenses that are sold.”

Saskatchewan residents make up 80 per cent of the licenses purchased. Fifteen per cent are purchased by Canadians outside the province, while the other five is international.

Koob hopes anglers continue to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species like zebra and quagga mussels by following the clean, drain and dry rule on watercraft and equipment.

Koob reminded all who fish the North and South Saskatchewan river of a fish you are not allowed to keep.

“There’s a zero limit catch on lake sturgeon. If you incidentally catch a sturgeon out of the river you have to immediately release it back to the river unharmed,” Koob told paNOW.

He also hopes anglers continue to follow rules, laws and guidelines when it comes to limits.

“The regulations are in place to help manage the fish resource so that everyone can benefit for not only today, but into the future,” Koob said.

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ron.quaroni@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @RonaldQuaroni