Stewardship Tip July 20th, 2010- Don’t Dump Your Bait Bucket
Knowing your state’s regulations regarding bait fish is important. It is essential to know what species of bait fish are legal and where you can use them. It is also imperative to know which species are not legal (check with your local Department of Fish and Game, find yours at the USFWS Website).
Check your bait bucket: If you harvest or purchase bait fish, inspect your bait bucket to to ensure the fish you have can be legally used as bait. Check for any restricted or illegal bait fish. Also, check your bucket for any sticklebacks, carp, goldfish, or suckers. Dispose of any illegal or unwanted bait fish in accordance with local regulations.
Make sure, also, that you are transporting your bait fish legally. Regulations regarding transportation of live bait fish are designed to prevent the spread of a species from one body of water to another where they may become a problem.
Also, when you bait your hook, perform yet another inspection to make sure that you are using the proper species. If you find that you are baiting your hook with an illegal or unwanted fish, dispose of it properly and in accordance with local regulations.
Why it is important to the fish: As recently reported in Fly Rod and Reel Magazine, aquatic biologists for the Colorado Division of Wildlife sampled live bait from sixty bait shops. They found that “only two of those shops had mono-specific cultures, like all fathead minnows.” Many of the samples contained goldfish, small carp, suckers, yellow perch, and sticklebacks. Sticklebacks are especially pernicious as they can promptly take over new habitat.
Whether you buy or harvest, inspect your bait fish. Make sure that you have the proper species and that they are legal where you are fishing. Augment your initial inspection with a second inspection each time you bait your hook. Dispose of any illegal or unwanted bait fish properly.
When you inspect your bait fish, you keep the problem fish out of the water.
And, of course, at the end of the day, don’t dump your bait bucket in the lake.
Ultimately, these actions will help to prevent the spread of unwanted species through “bucket biology.”
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