|
|
Posts: 1316
Location: Madison, WI | I posted this on Icefirst but thought i get a few more comments here.
Am I reading this correctly? No smelt next year, no matter where it's from?
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=590941
• Be careful with dead bait. Restrictions apply to dead fish, eggs, crayfish or frogs. Such dead bait may be used on the lake or stream where it was captured. Dead bait may also be used on Lake Michigan and Green Bay (including tributaries up to the first dam), as VHS may already be in those waters. The use of frozen or refrigerated dead bait is prohibited in all other waters. This includes frozen smelt taken from any waters. Dead bait may be used if preserved by means other than refrigeration or freezing.
How else can we preserve smelt? Pickle it?
|
|
| |
|
Location: Des Moines IA | You could smoke it, but it doesn't roll very well  |
|
| |
|
Posts: 52
| That's the new regulations from the State. If the States do not want to do it the Feds, the USDA, will make it happen. The impact of VHS is really not here yet or if it will get to dramatic proportions. With the millions of fish in the Great Lakes system the current die-off rates are relatively low.
Way it goes but the smelt cannot be taken and frozen for bait for use outside the Lake they came from. We'll have to see if this happens since it normal shows sign in the late spring to early summer.
Edited by lakesuperiorkid 4/18/2007 1:01 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 32885
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | This will shrink a source for ice fishing bait pretty severely unless there's a process that kills that virus. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 52
| For the Lakes no. There bait dealers along the Lake that will have smelt. As far as use off the Lake they come from, no doubt going to be hurt for bait people inland. I suspect it's going to spread inland like this or maybe some steelhead or salmon guy cleaning fish and throwing the remains into some water some place.
I've not seen it yet on Lake Superior....spring will tell. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1316
Location: Madison, WI | I'm guessing it doesn't matter when the bait was bought either. One of the baits shops in the area still has over 150 smelt sitting the in freezer. I wonder how long I'd have to toss them in the microwave for to kill the virus. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 52
| Whatever it is, it cannot be used outside its Great Lakes home waters. Never thought of nuking them.
I've been up and got into lots of small coho and nothing showed any signs of this. They were smaller than normal. That might be a worry. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1529
| vhs will appear wherever the great lakes flow. here in ontario the bait dealers are being hampered from uneducated policticians. just think if they were pro-active we would not even be talking about this. remember zebra mussels era 1989. if the smelts are frozen im quite sure your baits safe. why not try salting them. minnows work great this way. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 52
| Could be woodie.....not sure what the Canadian politicians are thinking (do they not think like ours?) but it might end up to be the same in the end like the mussels. They are saying the virus is not affected by freezing and can be transmitted if they are.
Asked someone about salting them....no response yet. My guess.....they will still say the rule applies. By now, it's in Lake Superior with the ship traffic. Easy....stops things before they leave the canals or enter them. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1529
| vhs has influenced huron and michigan. its common knowledge ships carry ballast water and dump when loading.. in canada there was a best practice suggestion years back.. no law... shipping companies cry foul over cost. of course time and time again goverments wiffle when it comes to resources.. notably the only line to draw is the artic watershed where all waters flow north. . even inland waters can be affected as fish move in spring high water periods,, ex. spring runoffs. here in ontario bait dealers cannot seine minnows for sale . but a citizen holding a sporting license can dip his own. make sense NOT. once again the dept of fisheries and oceans in canada aka federal goverment is totally useless and seemingly uneducated.. they could not even print new fishing regulation books for 07. they said they would in 08... when this is said and done the goverments will realize little can be done for now. but new laws for the future are needed or fishing as we know will change forever |
|
| |
|
Posts: 52
| It's sure not anything knew about problems coming into the Lake and not stopping them with the ships that bring them. They always get by with it because of the bottom line. Well, someday the bottom is not going help the fishery. There was another problem that came in last year I believe. NO action with ship travel again.
VHS seems to like cold-water so maybe even the far north is not safe. I'd not say they are not thinking but more like listening to the bottom line which would be international travel out of the Great Lakes system. Lamprey caused nearly the loss of lake trout and years to get them back and there is still a lamprey threat out there.
We have some warrnings and new rules here but I doubt it's going to stop it. More politcs than anything else.
Edited by lakesuperiorkid 4/21/2007 8:50 PM
|
|
| |
Smelt and VHS