waterfowl hunting lake's / shoreline

Kondor

CGN Regular
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Location
Barrie Area 705
Hello, i am a new waterfowl hunter and goose opener for the southern district is this Thursday. I have no decoys and no permisson for land to hunt on, a buddy of mine lives right off lake simcoe, he has called the ministry and they said its fine floating in a canoe to shoot on lake simcoe (out in oro). Everytime I call I get someone who sadly usually has a heavy accent, I was wondering if anyone know's the regs / has a link or know where to find them for hunting on a lake. A canoe is very hard for me as I have a BAD back, how far off shore do you have to be if you do not own the waterfront ?we know some sand bars that i can wear waders and stand in aslong as we dont have to be like 200yard off shore. Thanks! appreciate it ( I have looked and could not find regs myself):redface:
 
You'd be very hard pressed to hunt open water with no decoys. Usually when you pass shoot you do so on fence rows or bushlines between roost and loafing areas.

But if there are public areas and they aren't provincial parks or beaches in use you should be fine to shoot from land as long as there is no by law in the area that says otherwise. I think on open water you can't hunt any more than 300 meters from the shore.

Can't shoot from a boat with a motor that is running or moving.

However you can shoot from a moving canoe that is manually propelled.
 
You'd be very hard pressed to hunt open water with no decoys. Usually when you pass shoot you do so on fence rows or bushlines between roost and loafing areas.

But if there are public areas and they aren't provincial parks or beaches in use you should be fine to shoot from land as long as there is no by law in the area that says otherwise. I think on open water you can't hunt any more than 300 meters from the shore.

Can't shoot from a boat with a motor that is running or moving.

However you can shoot from a moving canoe that is manually propelled.

thank you :) did not know the moving canoe although i knew about the motor, i heard it has to be detatched when the guns are loaded!

I will definitely look into the township's ruling!
 
Ontario provincial law states waters may not be owned by the municipality. They are owned by the crown which in the case of Lake Simcoe would be the province of Ontario. There is not set distance stating how far in the water you must be, in fact in Ontario under provincial law you are allowed to hunt to the high water mark. That could mean dry shoreline depending upon time of year/current water levels. There is though a provincial law which states you may not hunt or discharge a firearm within 100 yards of an occupied dwelling and there may also be discharge of firearms by-laws in rural areas for you to comply with, some of which may include areas of the lake you may not shoot from. Those by-laws are enacted with permisdion from the crown and are usually due to heavy human population. You should get a copy of the by-laws in the area you intend to shoot from. Take it from someone who went through this with a fine tooth comb and spent weeks in phone calls and research gathering to get whiny citiots and uneducated local police off his back. Your best bet is not the MNR for information. They're concern is game laws only. The OPP are your best source of information and like me you may have to go through several before you hit one willing to do the proper digging to give you answers or who knows the law. Another thing, carry the maps and copies of the by-laws with you. It's a bacon saver in Ontario. I am glad to be out of there. I miss the bush and lakes but sure don't miss the bull#### that comes with hunting there.
 
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