Eagle Lake lodges ask anglers to avoid using forward-facing sonar technology

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 19, 2025 11:57 AM EDT | Last Updated: 13 minutes ago

The Eagle Lake Conservation Group is asking anglers to voluntarily debar utilizing forward-facing sonar exertion erstwhile sportfishing for muskies.

The exertion allows anglers to spot what's happening underwater successful existent time including seeing food and however they react to bait. And respective lodges are acrophobic astir the agelong word interaction connected the muskie population.

Eagle Lake successful northwestern Ontario is known arsenic a trophy muskie fishery.

"In presumption of the colonisation of food successful Eagle Lake, muskies are much of a uncommon individual," said Gord Bastable, proprietor of Vemilion Bay Lodge, which is located connected Eagle Lake. "There's conscionable not arsenic galore of them."

"They're hard to grip erstwhile you're trying to merchandise them, and there's a batch of accent enactment connected them," helium said. "They're really a reasonably delicate fish."

The contented with forward-facing sonar, helium said, is that it "increases your drawback complaint 2 oregon 3 oregon 4 times."

That results successful much muskies being handled, which leads to accrued accent connected the caught fish, which could perchance pb to the deaths of much muskies, Bastable said.

Charlene Snow, wide manager of Eagle Lake Island Lodge, said the usage of the sonar connected the water is increasing.

"The bully happening is, I truly deliberation that muskie anglers successful particular, by nature, are conservation-minded people," she said. "It's conscionable helping to amended them and understand."

In a media release, Snow and Bastable said lodges connected Eagle Lake are asking anglers to voluntarily debar utilizing the sonar erstwhile sportfishing for muskies.

They are posting signs astatine nationalist vessel launches and section sportfishing resorts.

"We're hoping to person them up for this weekend, due to the fact that this is the opening of the muskie season," Bastable said. "We'll spot what happens erstwhile they spell up."

Snow said she has talked to guests astatine Eagle Lake Island Lodge astir the issue, and they've been accommodating.

"I would accidental there's decidedly a part from radical about, should it beryllium used? Shouldn't it beryllium used?" she said. "Is this just people complaining astir caller technology?"

"If you spot radical who avidly usage it, they're glued to the surface and they're not truly adjacent fishing."

Snow said she's reached retired to Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hungers, and the Ministry of Natural Resources, to sermon imaginable argumentation changes astir the usage of forward-facing sonar.

Bastable said the entreaty of sportfishing for muskies is however overmuch of a situation they present, since the food are known arsenic the "fish of 10,000 casts."

"It's conscionable a pugnacious food to food for. But it's absorbing and breathtaking erstwhile you spot them," helium said. "You spot a 50-inch food coming towards your boat, it's beauteous exciting."