Lake Erie Perch

[Wulfonce]

I live in Alberta. Im going to be visiting my parents in Ontario in the coming weeks. My dad and I had planed a fishing trip in Lake Erie. Im thinking about catching a few small Perch for my 90gal tank. Would It be possible to keep them alive in a cooler for 4 or more days while I drive 3500km (2175 mi) back to Alberta?

My intention is not to kill them. If this is a bad idea or if their chances of survival are slim, just say so and I'll scrap the whole idea. I really don't want to kill them.

 

[ewurm]

Check the laws on doing so before you do it. Other than that, you need to provide aeration. I would recommend a cycled sponge filter in the cooler. You can absolutely do it.

 

[Wulfonce]

Check the laws on doing so before you do it. Other than that, you need to provide aeration. I would recommend a cycled sponge filter in the cooler. You can absolutely do it.

The rule last year for Long Point Bay, Lake Erie (where were fishing) was you can keep any amount you catch. There was an explosion in the fish population last year that environmental experts predicted could harm the balance of the ecosystem, I doubt its changed for this year but I'll look into it. I went fishing there 3 times last year and I agree the population of fish was noticeably higher then any other time I've ever fished there. I remember tossing my line in and catching a perch in less then 10 seconds. That same day I swear a bass jumped for my worm before it even toughed the water. BS I know but it was damn fast. Im looking forward to it and I think were long overdue for some father son bonding time. What better way then to fish?

Regarding the sponge filter. Well the simple fact is I dont have one. If I took out the 2 (cycled) sponges in my 90 could they be floated in the cooler the whole time? or is a small filtration system a must? Furthermore how do I treat the injouries that the fish will get from being hooked?

 

[Konigwolf]

Get either a battery or cigerette lighter airpump (most larger aquarium stores should sell battery powered ones). Use this to power the sponge filter. As for the injuries, I'd use a touch of melafix and/or a touch of salt but thats it as a preventative, deal with anything that comes up as it does, I'd just try to keep them as low stressed as possible.

KW

 

[Cisc]

I know the fish and game regulations in Alberta prohibit catching fish and moving them to an aquarium. I'm not sure about catching them in Ontario and moving them to Alberta. I'm going to guess it's still not legal without paperwork proving they were caught in Ontario.

That said how many times have fish and game raided your place?

 

[fatboy123]

Hey im ten minutes from long point and the perch are bitting very good right now and you can even catch them off of the docks easily..if you go to london to big als you can get what you need from there for ariation.. Good luck and have fun!

 

[andyjs]

To minimize the injuries from being caught, use barbless hooks for the ones you intend to take alive.

 

[Noto]

Adding a product like 'Baitsaver' can decrease mortality. Also add Prime periodically to sequester ammonia.

 

[Wulfonce]

Well I just got back from the fishing trip yesterday. Man what an abortion!

First off the boat had motor problems and it took us nearly an hour to get it started. Because of that we didn't go to far offshore just incase we'd be paddling back. Not me nor my buddy got a single bite in the 8 hours we were fishing, in fact the only fish we saw the whole day was one that jumped out of the water about 100 feet from the boat. Compare that to last summer. Together we probably caught 40 fish between the two of us.

Wrong time of year I guess.