Might be time to re-think those "gone fishing" signs.
As of July 24, roadside fishing within the RM of Three Lakes is strictly prohibited.
The bylaw came into effect in the wake of what Humboldt RCMP constable Randy Wittig has deemed an excellent fishing season.
"In the spring, there'd be a hundred or so people crowded alongside the highway fishing," Wittig said.
He's referring to the roadways stretching past Lenore Lake.
With the lake's water levels at a historical high, the water now creeps up to the shoulder of roads going past it; a symptom of an even greater issue, but a convenient makeshift fishing hole.
"It's become a popular fishing destination and drivers know that. When they're going along the highway, they know to slow down for the fishermen at the roadside but still, it's not safe," Wittig said.
"What about if they make a catch? When you're reeling a fish in, you step back quite a bit. They could easily fall into oncoming traffic," he added.
Wittig said that safety is the sole reason for the new bylaw.
Before being implemented, fishermen casting off the highway's shoulder used to get no more than a finger wagging.
"There was a sign prohibiting fishing off the road but no bylaw in place to enforce it," Wittig said.
"Kind of defeats the purpose."
The new bylaw states that "no person shall fish from any road, roadway or road allowance within the Rural Municipality of Three Lakes No. 400."
The road allowance is from the middle of the highway to 65 feet out into lakes in the RM, Lenore Lake being the primary focus.
Any person contravening the bylaw is liable to a $200 fine and a $500 fine for each subsequent offence.
Wittig said since people are still learning of the bylaw's existence, he hasn't handed out a fine yet, instead shooing fishermen off the roads, warning them about its consequences.
But that will now change.
With a new sign in place alerting passerbys of the new bylaw, those out looking to catch some pickerel can't play dumb if they're caught fishing off the RM's highway.
Saskatoon fishermen Victor Khmilyar and Yuriy Kutsyuruba were in the clear, though.
On a grey, drizzling weekday, the two men were fishing off a small area of land jetting out from the highway into the lake.
Wittig explained the bylaw didn't apply to them, since they were off the highway out of harm's way, but the problem is that on a sunny day in May or June, prime fishing season, the crowds of those eager to reel in their catch of the day can't fit onto those little strips of land.
So they disperse along the shoulders.
Although the early summer months are primarily the best times to go fishing, Wittig says the bylaw can still be effective even for this summer, noting that fishing in the area has been uncharacteristically good this year.
"My friend has a cabin on Humboldt Lake and he caught about 20 fish last weekend," Wittig says.
Then it seems the bylaw has been enacted at just the right time, hoping to maintain the safety of fishermen flocking to the Three Lakes area.
People like Khmilyar and Kutsyuruba, who were hoping to recreate something similar to the biggest catch they'd ever experienced.
"A 60-pound sturgeon," Khmilyar said, stretching his arms out to show how big it was.
"It was enormous," he added, Kutsyuruba nodding excitedly behind him.
