BELWOOD LAKE – It’s midway through an overcast afternoon during the Belwood Lions Pike and Walleye Derby when Darryl Unger brings a 17-foot-long Harbercraft to an idle port side of a Crestliner fishing boat.
Conservation officer Joel Pegg, dressed in the Ministry of Natural Resource’s olive green drabs, stands steady on the bow and chats with two men and a child aboard, while Unger, a Wellington OPP officer, keeps the two aluminum vessels aligned.
An earlier downpour on May 25 chased many anglers from Belwood Lake by 3pm, but the remaining true believers curiously eye the officers from afar while casting about in hopes of hooking the big one.
The officers focus primarily on keeping potential problems from becoming deadly: proper life jackets, sober operators, complete boating safety kits, and the like.
Wellington OPP’s marine unit is out on Conestogo, Guelph, Puslinch and Belwood lakes on weekends and holidays, and more sporadically throughout the week.
Conservation officer Joel Pegg and Wellington OPP officer Darryl Unger conduct a check and speak with anglers on Belwood Lake on May 25. Photo by Jordan Snobelen
An unrecognizable life jacket brand prompts Unger to check for labels showing the jacket to be approved by Transportation Canada.
In the past, police have come across jackets sold by online retailers such as Amazon that weren’t approved, he says.
Pegg checks out fishing licences, bait buckets, and inquires about anglers’ luck on the water.
Once checks are done, questions from the boaters come up at stops; there’s a heavy education component to what the officers do.
Pegg passes on advice about spotting the invasive round goby (fused pelvic fins), and where to seek out elusive Walleyes (below 10 feet with plenty of cover).
Unger answers a question about when a fire extinguisher is required on a fishing boat versus when it’s not (those with an inboard motor or fixed fuel tank require one).
Conservation officer Joel Pegg passes on advice about spotting the invasive round goby, which has fused pelvic fins that act like a suction cup. Photo by Jordan Snobelen
The routine accounts for the vast majority of interactions on the water, the officers tell the Advertiser.
Along with a love for the outdoors, it’s one of the reasons Unger, a 12-year member who is currently with Wellington OPP’s traffic unit, is also one of Wellington OPP’s five boat operators.
“I got a big one,” a man from Brampton proudly says, standing aboard a boat named “The Rodfather II.”
The big one is a 27” pike, caught nearby the lake’s cottages.
“We fought the rain for a while,” he says.
Pegg checks a licence: “We got a problem.”
The man’s face drops, before Pegg quickly lets on he’s just having fun. (The man says he has been bitten before.)
Anglers participate in the Belwood Lions Pike and Walley Derby at Belwood Lake on May 25. Photo by Jordan Snobelen
A check of the boat’s safety kit, however, reveals a non-functioning flashlight, but Pegg lets it go with a warning to replace the batteries.
What if there was open alcohol on the boat, and how is it different from a car, a man asks.
Just like you can’t have open alcohol or be intoxicated behind the wheel of a car, you can’t have open alcohol or be intoxicated when operating a boat.
“Any beer on the boat?” Unger asks.
Despite the curious questions, it’s just sports drinks and ice tea on board.
Pegg says boaters have come to expect the officers’ presence on the derby weekend, to the point where most are fishing out licences as the police-emblazoned boat nears.
“I expect really high compliance here,” Pegg says.
Wellington OPP officer Darryl Unger steers the OPP’s Harbercraft onto a submerged trailer at Belwood Lake following an eight-hour shift on the water on May 25. Photo by Jordan Snobelen
Throughout the eight-hour shift, a single $200 ticket was issued – for fishing without a licence.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry increased the fine for fishing without a licence, along with many others, in 2019. It also created more than 200 new fines under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act the same year.
At 4pm, Unger steered the boat onto a trailer hooked to an OPP vehicle, and drained water from the boat and motor to prevent inadvertently transporting invasive species from the lake to another.
“It’s a perfect boat for what we need,” Unger says.
More than 460 people registered for the Belwood Lions tournament, with a $2,000 prize for the longest pike (measured at 29.38” on May 25) and a $1,500 prize for the longest walleye (measured at 23.94” on May 25). The club donated $10,000 to Groves Memorial Community Hospital.
