Hello again! I have had just about as much hassle as I can handle! I have been asked many times to re-start my weekly column in “This Week” and I have succumbed to the pressure. I did not know that I had as much of a following and now that the swelling in my head has gone down, it is time to start discussing the state of our environment. As before, if you have any questions or concerns, please drop me a line and I will do my best to answer them for you.

Quite a lot has happened in the Ministry of Environment since my last column over three years ago. Since we are now into July, I will take this opportunity to discuss some of the issues and regulations related to angling and angling limits. In the Weyburn area, the Rafferty Reservoir is the only water body with a reduced limit of three walleye, six pike and 10 perch. In all other water bodies around Weyburn the provincial limit applies, which is five walleye, six pike and 25 perch.

One must remember that those limits are your possession limits as well. Back in the early 1990’s, possession limits were twice the daily limit. However, that is no longer the case. Your daily limit and possession limit are the same. This also includes any fish that you consume during a shore lunch or fish that you give away. That's right! If you are catching walleye on Nickle Lake and are blessed to have five walleye in your possession and you catch three more and give them to a person sitting next to you, those fish would be part of your limit. This would put you in violation for being over the limit. If you catch five walleye on Jan Lake during the morning and you eat three as part of a shore lunch, it does not mean you can go out and catch another three to bring your limit up to five. Those three fish you ate are part of your daily limit. If you have five walleye in your freezer at home, you cannot go out and catch an additional five as those fish in your freezer are part of your possession limit.

What about the question of who needs a license? All persons under 16 years of age do not require a license to angle in Saskatchewan. The day that they turn 16 is the day the free ride is over and they have to purchase an angling license. Seniors over the age of 65 do not require a license and only have to show proof of age to an officer. One common misconception is that if you want to take your kids out fishing, you as the adult have to have a license. This is not the case. If your only intention is to help the child out then you do not require a license. Here is a common scenario - an adult with a young child are out fishing, the adult is simply assisting the child with casting and baiting and removal of the fish. This would not require a license. If you cast out for the child and let them reel it in, this is fine, or even assist them in reeling it in is fine. The issue will be when you as the adult take over the fishing activity. We all know our kids and their lack of attention - SQUIRREL!!!!. (For those of you with young kids, you will get this reference.) We know if they do not catch fish their enthusiasm may dwindle a bit, so the best advice I can give you is to stop fishing when the child no longer wants to fish.

Please make sure that you carry your license with you when you are out fishing. An officer has the option to issue you a request to produce this document, which would compel you to show your license to the officer within a day or two. But keep in mind, it is an offence under the Fisheries Regulations to not carry your license. If you have lost your license, you must come into our office and get a duplicate. If I check you in the field and you tell me you have lost your license, there is a pretty good chance that you are going to get a ticket for failing to carry as the only way to confirm you purchased a license is to go through the thousands of licenses sold in Saskatchewan to find the one that belongs to you. At this time Saskatchewan does not have an automated computerized licensing system, however it is coming.

During the open water fishing (summer) you are only allowed to use one line while angling. In the winter months when ice-fishing, you can use two. When filleting your fish, you have to ensure that you package them in a manner where an officer can identify and count them. This means leaving a patch of skin on each fillet and packaging them one fish to a bag.

Regarding, liquor and litter, I don't even have to go there. Leave the booze at home and pick up the litter when you are done. Well, that should do it for another week, until then keep your rod tip up!