Difference between daily and possession limits

Ontario fishing regulations specify the daily limit for northern pike is four for a regular limit licence and two for a conservation licence.
Of these none can be in the slot size of 27.5 to 35.4 inches in length and only one can be larger than 35.4 inches.
For walleyes, the daily limit is also four for a regular licence and two for a conservation licence.
Of these only one can be larger than 18 inches. There is no slot size.
Regulations also state you can not have more than one day's limit in your possession.
This means you can never have more than the above-mentioned limits for each species anywhere in your possession. This includes your boat, cooler, the camp freezer, your refrigerator or anywhere else.
While the numbers are the same for daily and possession these two terms have different meanings.
Daily limit means the number of fish you can keep in one day. Possession limit means the number of fish you have accumulated over a period of time.
The difference is best illustrated by taking the example of an angler who let's say is fishing with a conservation licence. He keeps two walleyes for lunch. After eating them they are no longer in his possession. So can he then catch two more in the afternoon and maybe this time put them in the freezer to take home?
The answer is no. By keeping two fish for lunch he caught his daily limit and cannot keep any more until the next day.
Now let's say he puts one fish in the freezer to take home. How many can he keep on the following days to eat for lunch. The answer, if he is fishing with a conservation licence, is one. That's because he can only have two fish in his possession.
However, after eating his walleye for lunch he can later keep one more that day to fill out his daily limit of two and without exceeding his possession limit of two.
The smart thing to do when you come to Bow Narrows Camp is to eat fish at camp the first 3-4 days you are at camp and save fish to take home the last day or two.
It's also good to realize how few fish it takes to make a meal. One walleye under 18 inches will feed one person. A northern pike 22-26 inches will feed two or three people.
These are the proper sizes of these species to keep. It's poor conservation practise to keep big fish as these are the ones that replenish the population.

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