Lake Joseph opener

I agree with what you said about the lurkers But naming a big lake like joe, rosseau or muskoka isn’t a horrible thing. Lots of people know about them already just like Simcoe. Now if you name the bay or access point that’s another thing. I used to do reports from joe with no background, no location just to help others on the board. But there were always a few guys “poopooing” on my posts or pm so I just stopped. Don’t do as I did. Post away and congrats on your success!

If anyone is looking for 4 cents...I'll throw my own two in the pot.

Not picking fights...just an observation.....

If there are a million lurkers(which I agree 100% there are) Is the above mentioned 'posting Lake names etc.' really any different than a guy with a profile pic of a 30lb. laker, who just so happens to respond to almost every post mentioning 'Joseph'? Maybe I'm wrong but logic would lead to putting 2 and 2 together. Where do we draw the line at what brings too much publicity?

Bear in mind as well that we have many tools on the internet----Fish_On, sat pix etc that lets people more easily figure out where targeted species are and identify likely access pts.

It's no secret that the big 3 Muskoka lakes have lake trout.Just posting the lake name does not narrow it down very much.

I will say the 3 big muskoka lakes have been getting more fishing pressure the last 5 years compared to the past and as return fish catching and size of fish has dropped. Seems people are willing to drive further to go fishing for the day compared to the past. Yes they are big lakes but they are not stocked at all like simcoe. Parking is getting harder to get. The more people talk about the lakes the more people read it and will want to fish them. Facebook and the internet has made it so much easier for people to figure out lakes.

Ice fishing in general has grown in popularity over the last 10 years or so and is gaining momentum. So there will be more pressure on these "big" lakes as well as smaller lakes that freeze first and thaw last. If more people are buying licenses there should be more money going into stocking the more popular lakes...hopefully

SS77

Sometimes you don't just stock more fish to replace overharvest. Sometimes it's about keeping a natural genetic perhaps unique strain, helping them thrive and be more successfu reproducers. Certain stocked strains don't do nearly as well as naturally occurring strains. Kind of a narrow view to just think we can catch more and stock more. If it was that easy, wouldn't they just keep the lakes open all year and pour the fish in every other month to keep up with demand?

Unfortunately we cant control that. It is in the hands of the mnr where and how they want to use the funds. Joe doesn't see near the pressure of the other 2 "big" lakes not to mention Simcoe or Nipissing which are stocked and thriving. The short season definitely helps on Joe. Why do they stock Muskoka but not the other 2? Why is Joe a sanctuary until family day while the others are not? Im sure our money is going to good use. Either way I fish Joe all year when permitted as we have a family cottage on the lake and the pressure is minimal any other season other than winter.

I think ice fishing in general has become more popular on all lakes. I see huts on many different lakes where 5 years ago there were none. I believe Covid has added to that as well.

Some of you guys just don't get it and really need to stop being oblivious. My buddy is on joe right now and he bumped into a group of 8 guys that said are fishing there because of a post they saw on Facebook. Yes fish online exists but it still requires interpretation and trial and error to figure out which lake to fish which limits pressure. Make a post saying great opener on lake joe caught x fish every yoyo that sees the post who doesn't even know the regs will flock over and rape the resource. Joe is only one of my lakes that got screwed over with social media. There was another area I fished that would have 6 guys fishing the whole Lake for years. Now this year two guys made posts on social media about the spots and there's bloody 60 guys fishing there now. Give your heads a shake if you really think this is a good thing or it has no impact.

This isn't aimed at the original poster btw, just the overall fishing community that we need to as a group understand the impact of our actions and whether it's worth it for a few seconds of social fame.

The post on Facebook they're probably referring to is a ice fishing outfitter on rosseau. I saw those pictures too I'm sure it generated alot of business for them and for local bait shops. Good for them and doesnt bother me any.

I’ll be totally honest with you
I had a cottage on Joe since 1979.
Fished the lake since 1969
Back in the day , the season did open on January 1
Back then , the winters were colder and we were able to get out January 1 to fish anywhere on the lake.
Opening day the fishing was crazy
You could drop your line on deer the ice and catch a big laker
Over the years the MNR guys and the biologists got to know me and asked for my assistance in keeping catch Records all year.
With the ever increasing fishing pressure, they were starting to worry about the natural lake trout population in the lake.
Also over the years my group had noticed that fishing was always excellent from January 1 to mid February
Working with the MNR, they made the proposal to help the fish population by cutting off fishing until February 15.

So there you have it
That if why it is a sanctuary until that date.
It’s all my fault.
I have since sold my cottage but you’ll still see me out there.

Is that the cottage that Goldie Hawn bought??

Goldie and Kurt had to move, I heard somebody posted their cottage on Facebook and millions of trout fishers set up in front of the place

That is excellent news and deserves thanks. Thank god for that sanctuary otherwise the lake would be struggling by now.

That was Rosseau