Fish Farms??

[amazinmoose]

im looking for a fish farm to buy a few pounds of minnows offa... anyone know of any??  i cant find a thing online...   thanks in advanced.. moose

[flapjack]

Theres someone in Western Mass.that supplies Ellis, and Tom's Wholesale Bait in Middleboro Mass. Both are a trek and you need to have a tank set-up to transport them home. We used to buy them off the back of the truck on delivery day but the shop owners used to get upset. We started to pick them up at a neutral site from Tom's on a pre-arranged phone call. They deliver in our area on Weds. afternoons. Not to undercut the bait shops, you do get more for your money by the pound, especially on pike bait, some shops have a tendancy to mix large in with the pike(trade secret) and some are honest(Ellis), but that seems to be more tword's resi season. A buck a shiner is getting a little crazy for pike bait. Try looking under Wholsale Bait distributors.

[EllisMarine]

Thanks for the little plug Jack.  As for getting bait from a wholesaler - to the best of my knowledge, they have permits to sell only to shops like mine, and I have to have a permit to buy from them.  I dont believe they are permitted to sell to the general public due to the regulations.  I occasionally get visited by the game wardens looking to view my permits and make sure they are up to date and they also ask me where I get them from and they follow up on them too.  I may be wrong, but that is my understanding.  Same thing goes for me trapping my own and then selling them to customers, I can't.   As for the price of shiners... yes, the price of the pike bait can get out of control, and I appreciate you recognizing that we adjust our price on them according to size.  I take a little hit on them sometimes because my supplier always charges me the same, but I like to be fair.  Looking forward to seeing you real soon!  Stay Cold    ~   Robyn

[amazinmoose]

ill be damed.. i got a 150 gal. rubbermade tub in my bastment.. also have a 200gallon tank.. wanted to pick up a few #s to last teh season maybe even springtime..    guess ill have to arange something with the baitshops..    robyn and i chatted lastyear about suckers..  ill be in to chat with you about the minnows too!  tightlines and thanks guys&girls!! moose

[flapjack]

I beleive that what the DF&W check for is that you are not selling trapped bait and some of these wholsalers are selling fish other than bait (illegally)for people to stock their own ponds, which was somewhat controversial up in Maine last year with the introduction of non-native species. You can, and I have done, buy bait at Tom's by the pound, driving to Middleboro (open to the public shop)and back and having a rig to get them home alive isn't really worth by the time it's all said and done, if you consider gas and time into the equation. The best you can hope for is finding a shop that can deliver your needs, consistent hours, good supply and honesty(ELLIS), I think Robyn would agree that there is not much profit to be made selling shiners, it's being open the time you advertise and what else you sell in your shop that makes the $$$Moose if I was you, I'd stick with buying em' when you need em' at the best shop in No. Worc. County(Ellis) Dependable and Honest saves money too!

[amazinmoose]

ellis is my baitshop of choice, dont get me wrong jack!! they have teh best shinners byfar!!    i just like the convience of having them on hand.  sometimes, id just liek to grab a few doz. and hit the pond.  with out the baitshop trip. and i figured since i have the tanks and all the pumps airraiders... the whole 9yds.   ah well  freshbait is best bait i guess.  im still destin to build the ultimate bait tub with cinderblocks  :-)  8'X4'X3'  8long,4wide, 3high..   nice and chillin in the bastment!!  -tighlines moose

[BassettBud]

Nice!! Ya know your an Ice freak when you talk about building a small pool in your basement to hold bait!! I was debating getting a fish tank, but I hear the water should remain pretty cold so that the bait is lively and not "shocked" when dropped thru the ice. How true is that?? -BassettBud

[amazinmoose]

indeeed i am!!!  year round bait in the bastment would be great!!  as for the bait going in shock.. iv had it happen...   damn little guys!

[flapjack]

Nice!! Ya know your an Ice freak when you talk about building a small pool in your basement to hold bait!! I was debating getting a fish tank, but I hear the water should remain pretty cold so that the bait is lively and not "shocked" when dropped thru the ice. How true is that?? -BassettBud

You need to temper your water, drain off half your bait pail and add water from the pond to your bucket slowly, don't ever change all your water at once while fishing, chances are if it is cold and the water is also, you'll have your bait belly up.

[Massfisher]

most of the time they come back to life just fine but it is just the initial "shock"

[TheBigPickerel]

yeah,  i catch my own bait using two minnow traps at a local pond which is loaded with shiners.  The water quality is to poor for bass or pickerel to survive, but the shiners thrive like crazy.  In the traps i get shiners up to about 2.5 inches long. The traps will catch me about 60 shiners in 24 hours, I keep the larger ones (unless i'm stocking up bait for trout or perch) i will toss the rest of the ones that are not up to size back.  On average i will only keep bring home a dozen and throw them in the tank i have set up in the garage.  But, if i do that two or three times a week, it adds up.  But sometimes it is more work than it is worth,  because ice will form around the traps and i have to use a spud to make a hole to pull the trap out.     

Once good ice forms the pond has shiners that are about 8 inches long and they will bite our smelt lures.   Between my brother, friend, and i we can jig up about 6-10 shiners in about an 2-3 hours.   they bite very light, and it's very tricky to hook them, so it takes practice and patience (and size 28 trebble hooks).  But 8 inch long shiners are much larger than the pike bait sold at my local shop.  And it can be fun catching them too. 

[Massfisher]

so if any body finds a number or place to do this could you post  or pm me becasue i have an 8x4x2 box on my dock that i keep my bait in that i catch and i can catch med-lerge shinners but want to buy a bag of x-large or pike bait for shinner so i can always have them on hand