Shiners?

[Bucksnort101]

Am about to head out for the first Ice Fishing trip of the season and was wondering if Shiners are still on the Minnesota DNR's no-no list for import?

Sure did miss using Shiners last year.

[BuckKiller]

That is a good question. I would probably give the DNR a call just to be sure.

[Bucksnort101]

Could not find anything on the DNR Web-site. I bought a dozen last Winter and the Baitshop owner told me to make sure I had my receipt on me when fishing in case a Warden checked me.

Guess I'll find out when I hit the Bait Shop tomorrow.

[BuckKiller]

okay cool. let us know what you find out. all i know is bait shops might be a little short handed again this year... not sure why (probably just an excuse to raise prices)

[chickeywing]

Our local bait shop said the out of town minnows are still outlawed. Shiners will be available until the lakes and streams freeze up and trapping is too hard. No more Arkansas shiners. Bummer!

[polarsusd81]

Yeah, big bummer. My uncle is an Arkansas fish farmer and the border crossing with baitfish is still no-go. He has 30 ponds chock full of em, they can't get pennies a piece for them down there because there are so many, but we pay a buck or more each up here cause they have to trap them through the ice. I bet he has more than 3-4 million of them in his ponds right now, along with some very happy crappies, bluegills, and bass.

[BuckKiller]

OIC, well that kind of sucks. but id rather have this then a disease spreading around

[Bucksnort101]

I wish I could find a substitute for winter fishing, Shiners seem to catch everything in the lakes I fish, Bass, Pike, Walleye, and Perch.

Suckers just seem to work well with the Pike, Bass and Walleyes don't seem to take them as readily.

[BuckKiller]

fat heads work farely well for all those species... no shortage there

[Gus]

Does anybody think that this is going to be even worse for our fisheries? By this I mean outlawing imported minnows.

Hear me out,

We used to import X many thousands of minnows to feed our needs. Some were trapped locally, but when times get tough they get imported. Now with the laws banning the importing, our local trappers will be pulling double duty trying to make a living and keeping our thirst for minnows satisfied. So now we are taking X many MORE minnows locally. Could this possibly hurt the local lakes and rivers ecology? Will fish populations decline in these attached waters because there is a sharp decline in baitfish? Will the lower available number of spawning minnows be enough to keep up to the demand?

Just some food for thought I guess.

[Fever]

Buckkiller, I sent you a text yesterday... did you get it? If not I'm looking for a few minnows. Your Bro said you may have a couple to spare. I'll be at school. Let me know.

[BuckKiller]

Buckkiller, I sent you a text yesterday... did you get it? If not I'm looking for a few minnows. Your Bro said you may have a couple to spare. I'll be at school. Let me know.

no I didn't get it. try calling me tomorrow... ill probably be out on waconia. 952 836 8035

[morpho]

so why can't a guy have a minnow pond in mn ? seems like a good way to make a living esp with so many people having large amounts of land in this state

[BuckKiller]

IDK I think it has something to do with the weather... don't quote me, not sure

[polarsusd81]

Minnow ponds are generally shallow, less than 4 feet. Arkansas has always been a climate where the fish farmers could thrive. Most of the winters they get a max of 2" of ice on the ponds. Freezing out is one killer of minnow ponds, the other is heat. In the summer they have to run aerators on the ponds to keep the DO levels high enough to keep sensitive fish alive. Crappies and shiners are two of the most sensitive species so those ponds typically have aerators. Up here, we probably would not need the aerators, but you might still need it. One other thing that helps them out is the amount of clay in the ground down there. When a pond is built with the clay, it holds the water very well. Another advantage of the clay, is that weeds do not grow well in there, so pond maintenance is pretty minimal. Ask any DNR officer about rearing ponds here in Minnesota, one of the biggest problems is the amount of weeds that grow in them. It is very difficult to seine a pond when the weeds are thick, next to impossible. There are a lot of things that go into keeping ponds, and with optimal conditions a person could make a killing. Its that whole freezing issue we have here in Minnesota that keeps a lot of people from doing it.