Heads up to MN catfishermen using live bait

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Joel - I think I speak for everyone on here that we appreciate what you do for us with your research on Catfish. Not only that but you join the Catfishing forum and keep us posted with new stuff including these laws (which were created by legislators, not DNR).

I hope you don't take any of the hostility personally, because I know we all enjoy you being here.

The only real problem I have with this law is that politicians drafted it. Do they really know what works and what doesn't? Do they even fish regularly and know the difficulty and cost involved in the sport.

[mainbutter]

So the thing to do to save bait is to bring fresh water in a second container to transfer your leftover bait into?

[TruthWalleyes]

Thats correct. Keep that container out of your boat at all times.

[rbs]

Wonder if this will put a stop to the Franklin Catfish Derby? You have to bring the fish in alive. Kind of hard to do that if you can't use the river water.

[Scott K]

Or the Belle Plaine contest! Good point!

[rushing]

Wasn't really legal to transport them in the first place during the contests....but the dnr kinda makes an allowance for it when they get a permit for the contests I believe.

[Comit 2]

Quote:

I dont know how they will enforce this law,When the existing laws aren't enforced.It seems as though just another law thrown in among other unenforced laws.Kinda like TIP, the only way they really enforce the existing laws it getting citizen aginst citizen.Remindes me of the 30s and 40s ever hear about in Germany and the SS pitting the citizens aginst the citizens? and the only reward was not being jailed or worse!

And we wonder how so many lakes are infested waters.

It all starts with you and me. The laws are not just for the other guys. I think it is a good law because new pages are added to the regulation every year just to cover the newly infested water. Something has to be done!

[MNcz]

I am too bored to read this whole post, but I say whatever whatever and I don't care how much trouble it is. I'll do whatever I have to to stay within regs. My drinking water, to be more specific my mom's since I live in Robbinsdale, has water that comes from Vadnais Lake. I didn't know it was even Zebra infested till I fished the between the lakes park yesterday. I was sort of horrified Those things are nasty. Just like the reg book said it looked like they were living on a native muscle. They are NASTY!

[dan z]

Here is my 2 cents on all this. so if i catch some and keep them and i forgot a cooler what do i do. because im not going empty my livewell and let them fish go to waste and your suppose to throw them back in the lake once there in the livewell.

whats next power wash are boats at the landing to. because my boat gets really dirty from up in and out of it.

[Gordie]

Wonder if this will put a stop to the Franklin Catfish Derby? You have to bring the fish in alive. Kind of hard to do that if you can't use the river water.

they give you permit to transport the live fish from the DNR and BP does this as well dont know why BP does it thou

[dan z]

Here is my 2 cents on all this. so if i catch some and keep them and i forgot a cooler what do i do. because im not going empty my livewell and let them fish go to waste and your not suppose to throw them back in the lake once there in the livewell.

whats next power wash are boats at the landing to. because my boat gets really dirty from getting in and out of it.

[half-dutch]

Be clear once bait goes into infested water whether in a flowthrough over the side or in a live well that pumps out of the lake or river, that bait has always been contaminated if that body of water was infested.

That is nothing new, and any such bait was not supposed to be taken away from the infested body of water regardless of how clean the water you used to transport it even before this new law. Once you pumped into that livewell, changed water on the minnow bucket one time, or tossed the flowthrough over the side, it and the bait in it shared the status of the lake you were on.

You river guys and your bullheads (same for musky fishermen and chubs and suckers in many lakes): There shouldn't have been any bullies coming off the river at the end of a fishing session for some years now. You always could and still can bring extra baits down in your vehicle and get them as needed, and still take away the extra, just so long as you don't return any to the truck's holding tanks or add any infested water to your holding tanks. Bait is supposed to have been a one way trip onto infested waters for some years. Now if you really want to bring this to somebody's attention, start following the actual law and putting extra bullies, suckers and minnows into the local trash cans. In this heat someone important is going to get a nose full real quick.

I don't see that this is really all that much change, however, but I do see that a whole lot of folks were very unclear about what the law actually has been for a while.

[Shack]

half-dutch I will give you Pool 2 & the Croix, but 90% of the cat guys in here fish the MN river which is still not listed to have any invasive species?

Do you have any written language from the MN DNR that says bait placed in a circulated live well is reduced to "infested"? The new regs and most all regs pertaining to bait transportation (minus taking bait/minnows from infested state waters) surround transporting the water not the bait/minnow.

What has been stated here and what I have been told on the phone from downtown St. Paul is taking your bait from infested "state water" (I.E. live well or bait container) and placing it in non infested state water is perfectly legal, as long as the bait/minnows where taken from a legal source of state water...

[MNcz]

i read another 10 posts. yeah this law does seem really annoying. it's the transfer from the boat landing to car that's a pain. what do you do? also, i don't think there is a way to get bullies or such stuff from non-infested waters. also, there's water in leech containers. do leech containers have to be drained too? yeah, chipping away at freedoms. scratch my earlier remark.

[Grant]

lmao...I guess it is what it is, just so long as it isn't the FULL monte

*groan*