Baitfish regulations

[carv0]

Here is a letter I recently sent to the nys Conservation department. These new baitfish regulations seem very unfair to the "river fisherman" from my perspective. It is hard for me to fathom that contaminated bait fish is a big problem in the Susquehann or Chemung rivers................

As a resident of PA I have always applauded how NYS ran their hunting and fishing programs. I always felt they did not over legislate and allowed the sportsman the ability to be a sportsman.

I am extremely dissapointed to see the change in the baitfish regulations. As a user specifically of the Susqeuhanna River for fishing, this seems to make no sense at all to me. It is hard for me to believe this is a big issue within the Susquehanna watershed. The Susquehanna and it's tributaries are full of all sorts of natural bait. We are now unable to obtain this bait from it's tributaries and drive with it to the river for fishing. These changes will require me personally to travel 35 miles to obtain "certified" bait and it seems for no plausible reason. The other issue is that the certified bait is only certified for 7 days. Each weekend I want to fish I will have to take another 70 mile round trip to obtain the bait.

Again- I have always felt NY was a sportsman friendly state. It appears to me that instead of just addressing a problem that may be more specific to a certain part of the state, your commission has chosen to affect a large community of non-trout fisherman adversely. Why would you not consider lifting this rule for the Susquehanna and Chemung rivers and allow bait to be trapped and held from it's tributaries for use in these rivers?

I realize I am not a NYS resident but I live near it's border and appreciate the opportunities given to use the natural resources of your state. Baitcatching is not only method to catch fish in the river but also outdoor recreation on it's own. I just feel the non-trout fisherman out there who use these 2 rivers now have regulations put on them that make the fishing much more expensive and harder to find time to do. It is a shame if this is not really necessary for the health of the fish population in these rivers to have this happen. Thanks you for your time.

[GAMBLER]

carv0,

These bait regulations are to keep VHS disease from spreading to other lakes rivers and streams. Yes the new laws suck but I would rather deal with new regualtions over losing or damaging a fishery. Would you be happy if someone caught minnows out of an affected waterway and introduced them to these rivers? It is a statewide ban to keep everyone honest. People would catch bait out of an affected area and say they caught them somewhere else to save a buck. In a perfect world, selecting certain affected waters and banning bait would work. Unfortunatly we live in a society that has a ton of skumbags living in it. People don't care about anything but themselves. I have seen the damage in Conesus Lake and Lake Ontario. Lots of dead fish floating up all over the place. In Conesus, it seems to affect smallmouth bass and walleye the most. Conesus had 4-10 lb walleyes floating up on the shore daily in June a couple of years ago. Lake Ontario muskies, smallmouth, sturgeon, and other species took a hit from VHS. VHS seems to have died off mostly or completly. I have not seen the damage the past couple of Junes.

[carv0]

I honestly do not doubt the need for this in certain areas and certain types of water systems. I have fished this river each fall for the past 30 years. It seems that there are a heck of a lot more issues with runoff than there ever will be with diseased baitfish being brought in by someone. I can understand limiting species of bait. Baitfish already in the system is what should be able to be used in it.

I am not upset by just the expense of purchasing bait. I honestly in the past may have spent more money on gas trapping bait than I would if I just bought it. For me it is a hardship because there just are not all that many certified bait dealers who you can depend upon keeping shiners on hand for the fall fishing season. There may be two between Binghamton and the PA line. That is about 45 miles of water with possibly only 2 baitshops. The 7 day window for keeping means each weekend will require a trip to a one of these and keeping my fingers crossed that they have any. Like the other fishermen who have joined this site, I respect the waters I fish and would not want to see damage to these systems that can be prevented. I just really wonder if this really is a threat to the waters I am refering to here.

Possibly I do not know all the baitshops between Bing and Waverly. I know some of you guys fish this also- any help on other bait shops?

[GAMBLER]

carv0,

I hear ya on the bait cost. I spend a fortune on bait during the icefishing season. It sucks but it is here to stay. I was just as upset when it first happened. After seeing the die off of walleyes on Conesus (my favorite icefishing lake), it made me rethink what I thought about the regulations.

[Sluggo / NY]

Carv0.. I agree that the new reg. is a pain.. especially the time limit for keeping bait, but I also agree that there's probably good reason for doing it this way. I'm fortunate in that I drive right past Gander Mountain on my way to the river in Vestal, so getting bait is no problem. I do get tired of dumping my leftovers when I'll be going out in a few days though! Not sure where you fish, but Gander in Johnson City always seems to have a good supply of minnows. Good Fishing, Sluggo (Chris)