Calling all Sportsmen

[dave b.]

I also miss the days when you could catch your own bait and take them where ever you wanted to fish.But we have to protect our resources and until the threat of this disease goes away I don't think that the law should be repealed.

[CJiceaddict]

I!!
What is the penalty for not following the bait laws? (I always have, for those wondering) It seems like the fine would almost cost less then the money lost on bait- don't want to lose my license though

[razzledazzle]

it means only 10.8% (26÷241×100 for those mathamatically challenged) of icefishers that visited the thread support the call to revoke the bait laws

i'm gonna be the first to buck the trend here among those who posted and say i DONT say "aye".. i might not like 'em too much but i do understnad the reason and need, last thing i want is disease and dead fish

Harkness busted me...
I was one of them that read but didn't vote.
And...I agree with his philosophy (and the state Biologists!)

[gatornation]

My biggest problem is the lack of large bait available.  For a state that prides itself on being environmentally conscious, why we have bait regulations that make us import bait from frickin ARKANSAS when we have our own fish hatcheries being shut down is beyond common sense.

[vticeman]

I !!!!!

[Chiefbush]

I

[fishinaround]

I... dont think so. I do agree that it seems a bit ridiculous...It seems to me that potentially introducing non-native bait fish could prove to be just as destructive as a disease. Just my thoughts. I think VT use/sell baitfish for certain lakes that are native to those water bodies...

[Icehunter1]

I

[Rat-Man]

I VOTE NO.  VHS Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia is a serious disease and we as GOOD SPORTSMEN must do our part to help.

[mempfree]

Well, all I can say is, by a good source, that has fished on the Pulaski river, in NY, a few years back, and who was working in a State run fish hatchery. That our State Fish and Game Dept, was getting fish from there hatchery.  This was before, the State Fish and Game Dept, decided, to put these new laws, about baitfish in effect.

[trtman]

Revoke!!!  Aye!!

[mempfree]

"Oh, the Sky is falling, and its been falling, since they put in these bait regulations.  It fell, when the Vermont Fish and Game bio's, started, placing stocked fish, in the Willoughby river, etc.  Where did those stocked fish come from? Alot of questions, but not alot of answers, from our State Fish and Game Dept.  

[nachoo]

I

[Cub]

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

[grampieshanty]

 I

[bud-fish-er]

I also miss the days when you could catch your own bait and take them where ever you wanted to fish.But we have to protect our resources and until the threat of this disease goes away I don't think that the law should be repealed.

i agree

[Vtgooseman]

I.

[rawrightII]

I VOTE NO.  VHS Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia is a serious disease and we as GOOD SPORTSMEN must do our part to help.

 I am under the impression that the disease which was in the great lakes is in the decline. Champlain hasnt been affected. Take a look at the maniacs page.  According to those boys, their legislature, Fish and Wildlife, they have the best fishing in the northeast.  They arent worried about VHS disease. NH hasnt instituted any bait laws. NY hasnt instituted any bait laws...  
  The way Im looking at it right now. The state now has control over the bait process.  We as sportsman are paying outrageous money for bait (5-18 dollars a dozen).  The price of bait has gone up for the bait shops.  What is everyone complaining about these days?  How small the bait is.  How its not what people want  As much as we bit**, were still buying bait.  Why? B/c we want to hit the hardwater....  This bait law seems to be helping out everyone involved but us I think.  We bought "pike bait" and had a weekend full of perch eating our bait all weekend.  Its not the bait shops fault.  They can only go through one source to provide all icefishermen..  I just think the state of Vt had to get a hand in it to generate some revenue.  When these bait shops were trapping there own bait and had options for providing us fisherman with great bait at a resonable price, the state did not have a huge part in what was being sold...
  I think as long as we trap anywhere, smelt, goldens, whatever baitfish we should be able to fish wherever in the state.  If bait shops put in the hard work to trap bait, why not sell it in the state?  

Need more realists/outdoorsmen in montpelier...
 

[ifslob28]

I

[Riverr2]

Yes!

[fishysmell]

I

[ice hole bill]

I

[Zorros shack]

YES!

[DyingBreed]

All for regs that do something. NO THOUGHT INTO THIS ONE............ I !

[drfhaha123]

I,I,I,I,I.

[monkeys]

Aye.....

Yeah it sucks to spend $40.00 in bait... fish all day...
have $15.00 in bait left over and have to dump in a hole
at the end of a day...

This is precisely why the law needs to be in place.  Just sayin...

[Hockeymanvt]

I am going to have to buck the trend of people who risk a reply. When I first read the regulations I knew nothing of the disease that is being battled.  Any time I read regulations I bristle - I am a Vermonter after all. After learning about the disease, it became clear to me that, although the regulations seem arbitrary, it is likely to be the only reasonable way that a law can be enforced. It would be great if we could simply state that "you should not use diseased bait and destroy the fish population in the waters we love." In order to work in this imperfect world, the regulations have to be written to be enforced.  You have to have some assurance that the bait being used is disease free. You must have some evidence that the bait is from a secure source.

We should take a moment and consider seriously the intent of the regulations.

[bradroy55]

it means only 10.8% (26÷241×100 for those mathamatically challenged) of icefishers that visited the thread support the call to revoke the bait laws

i'm gonna be the first to buck the trend here among those who posted and say i DONT say "aye".. i might not like 'em too much but i do understnad the reason and need, last thing i want is disease and dead fish

Now obviously you are more "mathematically challenged" than you think, or else you would have taken into account the fact that their are about a million variables and your "logic" is extremely flawed. Just because someone doesn't reply does not largely suggest that they are for the bait laws, their is a certain percentage of men and women who 1)didn't feel like replying 2)didn't care either way 3)don't know what the thread is talking about 4)don't want to put themselves on the line on this website, but may be doing other things to encourage the revocation the laws... and many many more. Your post shows us how so called "Statistics" can be manipulated to reflect the Statisticians views in a much better light, The same way bait laws can  Grin
So if we take the 10.8% of people who visited this thread and voiced their dismay for the current bait laws, and account for an unaccounted 89.2% (or the 100% total minus the known 10.8% of people with the definite opinion that they do not like the bait law) then we have your 10.8% you came up with, but with 89.2% in an undefined, un-opinionated, or other area of uncertainty. Just to lay the math out for you.

And oh yeah, I!! (count that as a vote)
believe precautions must be taken to prevent the spread of the VHS virus in order to protect out fisheries, but we are being over cautious and the laws we have now are extremely detrimental to Vermont's Sport fishing.

[tench]

and can the moderator please edit that bloody post on page 3 of this thread with a million "!!!" im getting tired of scrolling over 5 screen widths to read posts below it

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