Against The Law?

[john.wells]

I can't believe this- I just spent 15 fricken minutes typing a heartfelt response only to be told there was an error, and when I hit the back button my post was gone! I have been noticing a lot of error dump lately with the site, what's going on?

[john.wells]

here's an abridged version of what I wanted to say:

Ducks and geese are transporting more than we ever could

I had MUCH more to say than that, but it kind of steers a little off course and has something to do with the Anti's chipping away at our rights.

[slipperybob]

Sooo, are they gonna install boat cleaning stations at every ramp now? I wouldn't mind a boot cleaning station...how about a fish cleaning station?

draw straws...who's gonna stay on shore with the minnows

[mojocatt]

I can't remember the last time a refreshed the water in my minnow bucket with lake water. It's one of those popular insulated boxes with the aerator. They stay frisky all day in there on the bait shop water. I do change the water once home and I’m keeping them, and that’s either well water or Minneapolis water.

[Sutty]

Maybe we could come up with a new community minnow cooler at every landing. Instead of killing them you just put them in the cooler when you are done for the next guy.

Or better yet the DNR could just trap them from the lake and dump them in there so nobody was bringing in foreign bait. Win Win!

[slipperybob]

Porto Bait check in station:

Take a bait, leave a bait, at the lauch site.

No guilty conscience, littering, or wasting resources.

[eyebjim]

sounds great but I bet the local bait shop would pour antifreeze in the bucket

[Grant Pearson]

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sounds great but I bet the local bait shop would pour antifreeze in the bucket

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beat out the competition, eh?

[blackdog1101]

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Remember also that you have to get rid of your minnow water. You cannot transport that once on the water!! You must throw your minnows away!!

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The law says "unless the fish are bait" so I think minnows are ok

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For what it's worth, if you're fishing in Wisconsin you must now kill your bait before you lesve a lake, and you may not transfer water from one lake to another. This is due to the spread of Viral Hemmoragic Septicemia (VHS).

I've been told that the DNR is going to be enforcing this law vigorously this year. Due to VHS (Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia), live minnows used as bait may not be tranported from one lake to another. You must kill your minnows before you leave the lake, whether the water is open or frozen. This will impact both ice anglers who save their unused bait from one fishing trip to the next and boat anglers who normally keep unused bait in a live well. From the WI DNR HSOforum:

http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/pages/vhs_qaanglers.html#6

Can I leave the bulk of my minnows in my vehicle at the landing and take a few minnows out on the lake at a time so I will not have to kill all of them at the end of the day?

Yes. Any minnows that are never possessed on the water, or the shore or bank of the water, can be transported to other locations, such as home at the end of the day. Any minnows possessed on the water, bank of shore, may not be transported away live. Minnows in a vehicle parked on the bank or shore, including while launching or loading a boat would be considered possessed on the bank or shore and may not be transported away live. For instance, you can leave a cooler of minnows in your vehicle at the landing and return to the vehicle to stock up on minnows as you run out. One thing to remember is that to comply with this rule you must remove the container holding the minnows from the vehicle before using that vehicle to launch or load your boat so they won’t be possessed on the bank or shore of the water.

Are minnows that are brought onto the ice still considered on the lake and do they have to be killed before I leave the shore?

Yes, when you bring minnows to the shore, whether the water is open or frozen, those minnows may not be transported away live.

Besides draining the water from my boat, trailer, motor, bilge, live wells, bait containers, etc., what else can I do to make sure I do not transport this disease to other waters I also use my boat on?

The virus that causes VHS can survive in water for up to 2 weeks. You can sanitize your boat, trailer and equipment by washing it with a mixture of 1/2 cup of household bleach per 5 gallons of water. Allowing your boat and trailer to completely dry out will reduce the risk of infecting other waters.

Are there any additional restrictions on the use of other types of live bait, such as worms, leeches, insects or their larva?

Other types of live baits such as worms, leeches, insects, larvae, are generally still legal to use. However, under the emergency rules, all water is required to be drained from all equipment and containers used for fishing. This includes water in containers that may contain leeches or aquatic insects.

[zamboni]

Like I said in an earlier post, the water in your bait bucket is from the bait shop, not the lakes. Maybe the cheeseheads will figure that one out and make an amendment stating minnows trapped, then the water cannot be transported, but like I said, if the waters from a bait shop, what diff does it make?

[blackdog1101]

I agree there are some holes in the WI law, but many people freshen the water in their bait bucket over the course of a day with water from the lake, so there is some chance that water could get transported from one lake to another.

The WI law, though, is pertinent preventing the spread of VHS rather than the spread of exotic plants and animals. VHS is apread by bodily fluids excreted by the fish, such as urine, which would be in the bait shop water if the fish are infected. It's inconvenient, but better than spreading disease and exotics that will harm our fisheries.