DRYDEN — A simmering debate over the use of forward-facing sonar (FFS) to catch fish is heating up on Northwestern Ontario's Eagle Lake with its world-class muskie fishery.
A group of lodge owners on the lake is urging anglers to voluntarily avoid using the advanced technology, out of fear it's threatening the health of the muskellunge population there.
"FFS allows anglers to 'sharpshoot' deep-water muskies with unprecedented precision and effectiveness," said Cal Ritchie, a local fishing guide. "That repeated targeting and handling, especially of large fish, leads to increased stress, delayed mortality (where death occurs after release back to the water), and potential long-term impacts on the lake's size structure and trophy potential."
The technology delivers real-time information including depth over distance, cover, fish location, an angler's lure or bait presentation, and how fish react to that presentation.
Some FFS units can see muskies up to a distance of 150 feet.
Charlene Snow, general manager of Eagle Lake Island Lodge, speaks for the businesses leading a campaign to dissuade anglers from using the equipment.
"Muskies are known as the fish of 10,000 casts. It's a fish that is elusive. The bigger ones have lived a long time," she told Newswatch. "It's a fish that you earn by the time you put into it."
Lodge operators around Eagle Lake say the fishery is sustained by natural reproduction and decades of careful catch-and-release practices.
They're concerned because FFS decreases the need for time, patience and expertise to catch muskies, increases catch rates, and leads to a risk of higher mortality rates for larger, older fish in particular.
The largest trophy muskie reported caught in Ontario weighed 65 pounds and measured 58 inches in length.
New signage posted at public boat launches and fishing resorts around Eagle Lake outlines recommended practices for "responsible" muskie angling, including avoiding fish deeper than 25 feet, limiting their exposure to the air, and using proper release tools.
"Protect the resource now, or risk losing what makes Eagle Lake special," the signs say.
Gord Bastable, a lodge owner at Vermilion Bay, said "This is about maintaining the spirit of muskie fishing and ensuring future generations can experience it too. Drone hunting is technology that went too far in the hunting world. In my opinion FFS has crossed the same line and we have to take a stand to protect this incredible fishery."
Lodge operators are asking their clients – who are mostly from the U.S. – not to bring their FFS units to Eagle Lake.
"So far, the guests that I've personally talked to have respected what we're doing, and they appreciate the conservation efforts," Snow said.
The Northwestern Ontario Sportsmen's Alliance has not taken an official position on the issue so far.
But John Kaplanis, executive director, feels the mounting opposition to the use of FFS on Eagle Lake shows it may be time for the Ministry of Natural Resources to commission a study.
"You have to take a look and see if there's merit behind it, first of all, and I think one of the things that MNR would need to look at is monitoring muskie populations and measuring the effect of the use of the sonar in unfairly or excessively targeting muskie...because muskies are a vulnerable species."
Muskies, he noted, are not pursued because they're good to eat.
Ontario regulations allow anglers to keep one muskie over 40 inches in length per day, but Kaplanis said "if you talk to any hardcore muskie angler, they'll tell you it's a catch-and-release species generally. It's a trophy, right? You're targeting a very large fish, and if you were to keep it, you're not going to eat it."
He said he's never hooked one, but "they're very challenging to catch, and when you do get one, they're very exhilarating, and it's a lot of excitement as I understand... it's a unique species."
Newswatch reached out to the MNR for comment, and was told the ministry does not believe there's a need at present to regulate the use of forward-facing sonar.
"The science around FFS and the potential effects on recreational fishing of muskellunge is still emerging. We are actively collecting data on angler behaviour and the use of FFS through creel surveys that involve direct interviews with anglers, province-wide surveys, and fisheries management programs," it stated.
The MNR said if evidence indicates changes are needed in the future, decisions will be guided by its management planning framework which includes consultation with Indigenous communities, other stakeholders and the general public.
But Eagle Lake lodge owners contend experts in the field believe by the time science provides evidence of the harm the technology is causing for the fishery there, it will be too late.
They point out numerous muskie tournaments in the U.S. already ban their use.
"We don't want to wait for things to go past a point of no return. So we are taking this year to bring education and ask for a pledge from anglers to leave their FFS at home when fishing for muskie on Eagle Lake," Snow said.
