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Member
Posts: 188
Location: Westland, Mich. | this question and answer was posted on the wbr site.
I received many emails regarding the use of minnows now that the "VHS" disease is in our waters. All the info I could find on the internet is very cloudy so I sent
567
an email to Gary Towns of the DNR asking for some clarity. Here is his response:
Right now there are no regulations on where minnows can be used within the state. This will likely change, but it is not in our orders right now. However, we know the disease (VHS) is in the St. Clair System (Port Huron south to Lake Erie), and we know that emerald shiners are carriers of the disease. So, the "environmentally responsible" thing to do for the resource is that minnows which are caught in the St. Clair System -SHOULD ONLY BE USED IN THE ST. CLAIR SYSTEM. IE - anglers should not take any minnows caught in this system to inland lakes for use as bait, or release these minnows or other fish into inland lakes or rivers. Anglers should be careful not to allow livewell water to enter inland waters when they transport their fish back home from the St.Clair System. I am told that we have people who are working on new orders that will address this very issue.
Hope this helps. Good fishing! Gary L. Towns, Supervisor Lake Erie Management Unit
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Member
Posts: 2680
Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. |
Jake.
Thank's for the info. If you don't mind, I'm going to copy and paste it on other web sites for the general information of all. This is going to put a real crimp on good bait, as most of the emeralds come from the St. Claire and Lake Erie, and are shipped and sold virtually every in the State. And these businesses stay alive for the most part on a Hand to Mouth basis. Once they're gone or go broke, this special breed of minnow harvestors, along with their unique skills and knowledge of where and when to seign these minnows will be lost forever. I know, because it took me 4 years to even start to find the places and times to get some of my own minnows when I owned my bait shop. |
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Member
Posts: 188
Location: Westland, Mich. | by all means, pass this around. it's a little ray of hope that at least we will be able to get localy trapped bait. i think the new rules that will be coming out wont be for a couple of months yet, but hopfully they will be doing the right thing when they do. personally i don't see a problem with selling bait, that is trapped in an infected system, within the same system.
walleye express - 2/6/2007 11:12 AM
Jake.
Thank's for the info. If you don't mind, I'm going to copy and paste it on other web sites for the general information of all. This is going to put a real crimp on good bait, as most of the emeralds come from the St. Claire and Lake Erie, and are shipped and sold virtually every in the State. And these businesses stay alive for the most part on a Hand to Mouth basis. Once they're gone or go broke, this special breed of minnow harvestors, along with their unique skills and knowledge of where and when to seign these minnows will be lost forever. I know, because it took me 4 years to even start to find the places and times to get some of my own minnows when I owned my bait shop. |
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| All of a sudden, the bait shops in NY all have legal Emerald shinners again. They are getting them from a operation in Wis. that netted the minnows in a river, put them in a pond. They had them tested for VHS , got the paper work and can now sell them all over the Great Lake States. The price is higher though, and their coloration is just a little different from the Lake Erie Emeralds. |
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Member
Posts: 188
Location: Westland, Mich. | i'm guessing that we will see a lot of farm raised bait as this thing goes along. just wondering if it will have the same appeal to the fish? and how pricey will it get? in the past i could go into a bait shop here and ask for 2 doz. i'd pay $5 and get about 6 doz actual count. |
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| <All of a sudden, the bait shops in NY all have legal Emerald shinners again. They are getting them from a operation in Wis. that netted the minnows in a river, put them in a pond. They had them tested for VHS , got the paper work and can now sell them all over the Great Lake States. The price is higher though, and their coloration is just a little different from the Lake Erie Emeralds.>
Hmmmmm, sound familiar Bill? I guess it's substanciated now? 
Don't shoot the messenger.  |
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Member
Posts: 188
Location: Westland, Mich. | Hmmmmm, sound familiar Bill? I guess it's substanciated now?
Don't shoot the messenger. ;-)
huh?
the wbr rumor is still unsubstantiated. management unit supervisor towns statment concerns potential new rules for bait trapped within the infected systems waters. stay tuned for facts in the next 4-6 weeks.
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| Yeah, we'll have to wait for an official statement. Bet I'm right though! What I'm trying to get through to you is that Gary's statement is in regards to the general public and that Kathy's post itself was before any hearings, if you want to talk about old news. Unsubstantiated? It's from the man who holds the contract and license for the WBR. Don't believe us? Talk to Bill at Bottom Line. This youngin can be right every once in a while.  Has nothing to do with years of fishing. |
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