Closed for the remainder of the 2022 season!
Please call 249-878-7938 for restaurant reservations
Protecting fish in Lake Nipissing for future generations is a key goal at Lakair. Naming our restaurant “The Barbless Hook” is aimed at bringing awareness to the fishing community that the use of a barbless hook significantly increases the chances that a fish can be safely released, particularly when the water is warm during the summer months
Several provinces (5 in fact) in Canada where catch and release is required, have instituted progressive regulation requiring all lures to have a single barbless hook. Treble hooks have been eliminated for several species and replaced with a lure with a single barbless hook. This regulation facilitates a rapid safe release of any fish species that cannot be retained. Any Newfoundlander will tell you just because you have no barb and a single hook it is still easy to land a fish. Some small amount of experience will have people landing fish like a pro.
Lakair is advocating the use of barbless hooks in Lake Nipissing where slot limits exist on walleye. Any walleye less then 18.1” must be released and a single barbless hook will allow rapid safe removal of a lure from a fish that legally cannot be retained. It will eliminate the time the fish is out of water and damage done to the fish. Remember when the fish is out of the water it is suffocating. Think of it from the fish’s point of view… it is akin to you running a marathon (the fish fighting for its life) and after crossing the finishing line out of breath someone holds your head under water for a couple of minutes.
Keep them wet, use a single barbless hook for a quick, safe release.