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Tommy cod rules

4658 Views 16 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  HebertOutdoors
hey guys,

I was just wondering if anybody knew about ice fishing rules on tommy cods? I cant find any but I know that we are allowed to fish em?
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That's a good question. I know people do keep them, however they are not listed in the ice fishing regulations. The best thing to do is to call DNR and ask them directly.
Atoqwa'su has the best answer, but to add to it: all of the guidance I've ever heard from some very reliable sources is that you are allowed to both target and keep them while ice fishing. Tommy cod and any other fish not listed on the ice fishing regulations are non-regulated fish. This means there is no limit on their size or quantity retention in tidal waters. This also applies to flounder - I caught several through the ice last year on the Kennebecasis, although none of any size.

They are often tossed on the ice by smelt fishermen in numbers because they compete for the bait.

I find them delicious, easy to clean, and boneless while fried dressed and head-on. That being said, the flesh is VERY delicate so the small ones that seem to be around more in winter have a tendency to come apart while frying and make for challenging eating. I had several meals of the somewhat larger "baitstealers" this fall that I caught in numbers while targeting other fish.
That is true retroboy! They are an amazing fish for taste! Its my favorite fish eat during winter time after eel! And thats something I was saddened to see when i used to live in quispamsis is that most people just throw them for the seagull wich I find is a huge waste! Because over in Bathurst most of the people prize them even more then smelt! we do allot of spear fishing for them in the rivers. Thats why I was wondering if we had any special rule to follow.

But I will follow your guys tip and ill contact the DNR just in case

Thanks allot guys!
Tommy cod and any other fish not listed on the ice fishing regulations are non-regulated fish. This means there is no limit on their size or quantity retention in tidal waters. .
I always heard the same thing, Retroboy, but have wondered about it. For instance, sturgeon are not listen in the ice fishing regulations, so by that standard we should be able to keep as many as we want and without size restrictions. However, in the regular season guidelines there is only one month that we cannot target them, and throughout their season the size limits apply. That is why in these instances I always check with DNR or DFO (depending on the situation) for clarification.
Sturgeon are a very good example, Atoqwa'su. However they ARE listed in the Fish 2015 guide with guidance dates of January.

I'd submit that having them in that other resources as follows:

Sturgeon Open season. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 1 - May 31, July 1 - December 31

Daily bag and possession limit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No limit

Minimum size limit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 cm (TL)

makes them "regulated" because they have size and quantity limits mentioned during ice fishing season dates. So you kind of have to look at both.

On the other hand Tommycod are not mentioned in either guide, nor are chub, so those are "unregulated" as a result.

But this raises another problem: the NB Fishing guide for THIS YEAR, 2016, hasn't been released yet. These are regulations from 2015. So do they still apply now?

The best answer is still "call DNR or DFO and ask."
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ahahah ya i guess its gonna be both just to make sure :p
When in doubt , for tidal especially, look at DFO's maritime regulation (link already posted many times on this site). That is all the rules, not just the guide.

Retroboy i'm sure you know this (and of course it was notnyou doing it), but for everyone's benefit, wasting a fish (throwing on the ice or in the woods) is illegal. There is no 'junk' fish and it's all important to the ecosystem. As anglers we are the public stewards of the resource and should be respecting it and ensuring a good example of resource management to others.

If you have a fish who's flesh gets mushy when frying it, try baking instead and it should stay together.
When in doubt , for tidal especially, look at DFO's maritime regulation (link already posted many times on this site). That is all the rules, not just the guide.

Retroboy i'm sure you know this (and of course it was notnyou doing it), but for everyone's benefit, wasting a fish (throwing on the ice or in the woods) is illegal. There is no 'junk' fish and it's all important to the ecosystem. As anglers we are the public stewards of the resource and should be respecting it and ensuring a good example of resource management to others.

If you have a fish who's flesh gets mushy when frying it, try baking instead and it should stay together.
Thats true no angler or hunter should waste anything of the fish or game you caught! we should take note from the first natives that use to use everything of them! that way the public couldn't do anything then respect the anglers and fisher!
Don't get your hopes up about respect from the public,Almost 100% of the money raised during those "oh so sad" commercials about abused animals from the American S.P.C.A. goes directly to the organizations that are trying to ban hunting and fishing around the world.Hardly 1 red cent is used from these tear- jerkers to help local animals in trouble,these folks have to rely on local donations in their respective areas. That's the sad part! I remember one day I was standing in line at the check out in a local grocery store,a buddy in front of me was telling another buddy about the great day he had on his last fishing trip when right out of the blue,this lady in the line next to him hollers out loud ,how can you be so cruel to those poor fish,they deserve to live the same as anything else,you don't look like you're starving! Well you could have heard a pin drop for a second or two! The buddy thought he had the right answer for her,he shouts back,I don't keep the fish,I throw them back after I catch them. Well without missing a beat,the lady grabs her bag of groceries and starts to leave,but on the way by the buddy she hollers back,that's even worse,you just like to torture them,that's disgraceful! It's gotten so bad,if you read the game laws,they want you not to have your deer,moose etc out in plain view when transporting them because you might offend someone.Also you shouldn't brag about your results to anyone,again you might offend someone! It's almost like we belong to a secret society,I don't things are going to bode well down the road for us hunters and fishers,just another reason to band together and help each other out instead of getting involved with petty squabbling in the ranks.
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I never worry about those types of people gmac. I just look at them like they have two heads, might say "wow" incredulously as I look at them.

And in extreme cases if they really p*ss me off and I can be assured that they're just thick and not actually mentally ill, I might say "Do you have any idea how much I work toward a more sustainable environment, toting other people's plastic garbage out from the woods, using good hunting and fishing practices, and raising my children to respect the world they'll inherit from us? Do you? Then stop embarrassing yourself through this shameful public display."

I wouldn't ever assume that the presence of some crazy person or two like that represents the opinion of the majority enough to change the hunting and fishing traditions of our province. There's always vocal wackos, and I'd like to believe that most people understand that.
Tell that to the thousands of members of PETA who contribute millions each year to try and shut down people's livelihood like the sealers or the fur trappers who first opened up this country.There are a lot more out there than you think!
Those people aren't all the same as the single nutjob in a supermarket that you described though. Sure, a lot of people are conservation-minded, many of us here are too in our own way, but not that many are militant-minded or would protest loud and hard enough or let it influence their vote in elections to make a party besides maybe the Green one try to pass laws that would wreck responsible hunting and fishing in the province. .

But I'd bet that an awful lot of their supporters don't even know what PETA does with the money they contribute to it. They'd probably stop funding them if they did.
THEY ARE A LOT CLOSER THAN YOU THINK! They actually had members at the hoopla in Hampton last year over the new deer culling season and wrote several letters to the editor in the local papers. If they think they have a just cause and can recruit more paying members,they won't be too far away. I have a feeling that we haven't heard the last of them,hope I'm wrong!~
> They actually had members at the hoopla in Hampton last year over the new deer culling season and wrote several letters to the editor in the local papers.

Gotta point out that this was as a protest to a change in legislation, not some kind of attempt to revoke hunting and fishing in general for New Brunswickers. My point in this thread still stands that they won't get very far if they try and challenge the current and widely accepted hunting and fishing laws that are already in place.

I wouldn't be too worried about letters to the editor, they actually seem to attract the fringe. Some papers print pretty much anything that gets submitted, and seems to thrive on people that say "I don't trust the scientists", or some variation of "I don't understand it and it's too hard to figure out so it must be wrong!". Heck, some of the less rational global warming deniers get their cringe-worthy stuff printed all the time.
either way hunting fishing and trapping is in the roots of every single human that exist. Our ancestors had to do it to survive, and thats one of the reasons why any human is alive! the firsts humans where able to learn how to hunt and fish for their own food. And people that hunt or fish responsably and respectfully and have a true connection with nature and its surrondings are the ones that knows what nature is and are the ones that respect nature wayyyy more than the PETA folks. Most of them dont have any connections with nature and dont know how it actually works.


Here Steve Rinella responding to a Vegan in a very very professional and respectfull way!
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