Cost of Minnows in Canada?

[Hemlock]

Jackfish, very good points. Cost of bait in the big scheme of things isn't all that bad.

There are always going to be those people who go the extra mile (literally) to save a few bucks. There are always going to be those that complain about the price too.

I think alot of the previous talk was "off the cuff" or somewhat sarcastic.

Do you live in FF or just fish there?

BTW, I don't think I've ever killed a walleye I wanted to release becasue I was using live bait.

[tntn3]

Your right. If you have all that stuff you should not care about the price of minnows. But, I don't have any of that stuff and was asking so I could tell the other guys in my group how much cash we would need to take with us. I was just trying to set a budget. Sorry it seems so trival for you.

[danfall]

It isn't really about price at all for me. It is all about availability. Where I stay we just can't get bigger minnows on arrival at final destination, and even the leeches are a bit small. I usually buy minnows on the way in, but keeping them alive for 8 days is a bigger chore than it is worth.

Leeches keep well and you get a lot of doubles and triples on the same one.

Let's be a little realistic, too. Live bait can outfish artificials when the fish aren't on.

The bottom line for me is Ontario is a blast, great fishing, and worth the extra trouble dealing with bait; within reason.

[Benfishin]

Here's a little tip. Try beef heart. Cut in a small strip and put it on a jig. My bro-in law uses it exclusively and catches a ton of fish. Bring the beef heart up frozen and thaw it when you get there and keep it cool. The stuff smells terribly when it sits in the boat and not in the cooler. Try it you'll be pleasantly surprised. I sure was.

[Northlander]

Hemlock I have a print I would like a Oak frame and some matting for. I think its 28" wide by 20" tall. Im just wondering about how much something like that would cost me. Please e-mail me some info. [email protected] If you want I can bring it to Rainy and you can take a look? Thanks

[Hemlock]

Steve, you've got mail....

[Northlander]

Thanks I will check it out when I get off work. Cant get my e-mails here because of the school districts filtering systems. But I get FM!!!

[Hemlock]

What would you do without it??? Scary eh?

[jackfish]

I have found that the further you travel north, the less consistent the minnows become. Get them at the border and have a good look at what the seller has. Don't just ask of 5 dozen mediums, you should check and see what the vendors considers 'meduim'. I have bought meduims north of Dryden that barely pass as panfish bait. I ended up buying large minnows and jumbos and that saved my trip.

Hope this helps.

[jackfish]

Hemlock, I am a resident of the area and fish Rainy or LOW daily during the open water season. (Canadian Side). Like I said in my earlier post, guys should learn not to rely on live bait. There are so many artificial bait options that can be used over and over without having to reach into a bait bucket after every bite. In the past 7 years all of the largest walleye my clients have caught have been on artificial baits. Big walleye love larger baits that match the predominate forage. Chubs,shinners and dace are not always the the predominate food source. If you throw a dace into areas of Rainy where the walleye are eating smelt, you'll have a long lonely day. Anyone ever experience a frog bite in the marshy areas in the fall? Believe me minnows or live bite won't help you there. Or during the Mayfly hatches. Or the Emerald shinner run or the smelt run. Live bait is just another tool, it was hard for me to get off the live bait habit too, but once I did fishing got cheaper, better and more fun.

Please pardon my bluntness in my last post, no offence was intended.

Good fishing

[korn_fish]

When we are up in CA, we are usually targeting trophy class pike and muskie. Walleyes are the "fish them for an hour to get dinner". So bait usually isn't a big deal.

However, reading this thread, I have heard about the salting method and bringing dead bait into CA. I just read this on another site. " A new regulation says non-residents, mostly American cottagers, fishing in Canada can no longer take baitfish, which will force them to buy minnows from local dealers. [Don't shoot the messenger. I think it's silly!]

Any truth to this? Just thought I would through that out there as it sounds like it could affect some people.