Hunt's minnows from Michael's wholesale bait are illegal in New York

[DA-Bait]

I own a Tackle shop just over the NY border in Mass. I also used to be a sales rep for the Uncle Josh Bait Company in Wisconsin, do product demos at Bass Pro Shops accross the country, and be Conservation Director for the Massachusetts BASS federation.
I know what a pain in the butt all the new regs are about certified bait. I go through it with my customers everyday. But what I Can tell you is this. VHS is the real deal. I have seen lakes down south and in the midwest with 100% fishkill from it. I always hear people say "well my bait isnt dead so it must not have it". What people do not realize is that VHS does not show itself until the fish reaches breeding maturity and the sex organs are developed. VHS is also only one of a handful of diseases that are currently affecting lakes in the northeast. New York is on the forefront of what will soon be a nationwide requirement for bait certification within a few years.
I have spoken directly to Major Pajak from the Mass Environmental Police about the circumstances at Michaels. Just FYI to everyone, This is not the first Major Violation at Michaels, in fact it is the third in 10 years. That is why they EP's came down so hard so quick. Without being able to directly comment on an ongoing investigation he also informed me that the Hunts Minnow was not the only thing that they were looking for.
I have been informed by Major Pajak that it will be a minimum of 2 to 4 weeks before all is cleared up IF it gets cleared up. If you are a tackle shop, or know the owner of a tackle shop, you may want to try to locate another supplier of bait at least in the short term. Lets face it, as tackle shop owners we rely on ice fishing as a money maker for us, we only have a few weeks left in the season and if you are loyal to michaels or not, you need to cut hay while the sun is shining.
I do not want to post more info than is necessary about michaels because I like the people there and they have always been nice even if they are not the best at customer service. Anyone who reads this feel free to contact me with any questions and I can put you directly in touch with Major Pajak if you would like. I have his home and cell numbers so that I can reach him with concerns.

Thank you for the info here we are not getting much info from local news and Michaels isn't telling us much either.  As soon as I heard about the raid I was on the horn to another wholesaler and had secured my needs that day.  Thanks again!
DA-Bait Shop

[Bailbuster]

This post was started 2/17.Michael's was raided on by local wardens and feds 2/25 .It looks like he has more trouble than hunts at this time. What has he done now?BB

[tafts ta]

yes but thats not southern waters it has also been found in the fingerlakes  original believed to have  came from lake erie from  the bait industry (emerald shinners) now it's not that clear  i'm just interested he said southern lakes with complete kill off ,i live on lake ontario  and i assure you it wasn't a complete  kill also many waters have (fish) have tested positive with no die offs

Many waters can sustain the virus without 100%kill, some can not. If any of you are BASS fisherman, or follow bass fishing at all you may remember major publicity being made only a few years ago about the Massive fish kill at Lake Fork in Texas. Also from the Viral Hemmoragic Septicemia VHS virus, all breeding sized fish in a major part of the lake were killed over a two year strain. First it was thought to be caused by Largemouth Bass Mosaic Virus LMBMV, but later after other species started to show signs of mortality, it was linked to VHS and was the first reported case of VHS in the south.

So to say it is only a great lakes issue is naive. One of the major reasons why all these laws were implimented was because up until a few years ago, most golden shiners, shad, chubs, etc that were used for bait were harvested out of the great lakes, and then resold throughout new england, the midwest, and surrounding areas.

The idea that since the lake I fish on now doesn't have a problem so I am going to continue as usual should be a thing of the past. These issues ARE problems, we as anglers did not create them, but we should do and be doing what we can to stop and hopefully prevent them.

[tafts ta]

This page is a little dated, but still highly useful.

This forum has gotten way off track too, sorry, i guess that is my bad

http://dnr.wi.gov/fish/vhs/vhs_qaaboutvhs.html#1

[trapper2000]

Many waters can sustain the virus without 100%kill, some can not. If any of you are BASS fisherman, or follow bass fishing at all you may remember major publicity being made only a few years ago about the Massive fish kill at Lake Fork in Texas. Also from the Viral Hemmoragic Septicemia VHS virus, all breeding sized fish in a major part of the lake were killed over a two year strain. First it was thought to be caused by Largemouth Bass Mosaic Virus LMBMV, but later after other species started to show signs of mortality, it was linked to VHS and was the first reported case of VHS in the south.

So to say it is only a great lakes issue is naive. One of the major reasons why all these laws were implimented was because up until a few years ago, most golden shiners, shad, chubs, etc that were used for bait were harvested out of the great lakes, and then resold throughout new england, the midwest, and surrounding areas.

The idea that since the lake I fish on now doesn't have a problem so I am going to continue as usual should be a thing of the past. These issues ARE problems, we as anglers did not create them, but we should do and be doing what we can to stop and hopefully prevent them.

i don't believe that was a vhs kill off sorry as far as great lakes VHS it has been only confirmed in and around the great lakes areas this is from lake fork


AUSTIN, Texas--The deaths this summer of up to 4,000 largemouth bass on one of the nation's premier trophy bass fisheries, Lake Fork, were most likely caused by a virus similar to one implicated in fish kills in four southeastern states, according to an investigative report released this week by Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW).

The findings point to several stress-related factors that may have influenced the onset of an iridovirus strain similar to the Largemouth Bass Virus (LMBV) that affected adult bass almost exclusively on several popular fisheries in the Southeast. But the report draws few conclusions other than to suggest the Lake Fork fish kill may be an isolated event that is coming to an end.

THIS WAS NOT VHS!!!!!!

                                                                                                                                                     trap

[JJ]

Here's a link to a "Timeline of Reported VHS Events":

http://www.focusonfishhealth.org/vhs-timeline.php

Lot's of other good VHS info on this site also:

http://www.focusonfishhealth.org/index.php

[Hop-Sing]

Thank you for the info here we are not getting much info from local news and Michaels isn't telling us much either.  As soon as I heard about the raid I was on the horn to another wholesaler and had secured my needs that day.  Thanks again!
DA-Bait Shop

Paul (from Michael's) told me we would have our regular bait delivery on Wednesday ............