catching bait in ny

[serveprotect]

I am wondering how everyone in NY catches and uses bait with the new baitfish regs in place.  The law reads that you are not able to transport bait caught, which means you have to catch it while out fishing.  The regs make it pretty impractical to catch your own.  We caught this fish 10"+  that might be a chub, not sure if anyone else can ID it, while jigging for perch (on st lawrence).  We threw it out for pike and had flags immediately.  Is there a way to target fish like this?  This was the only fish of the kind for the day.  I was thinking it may be possible to trap them but when everything is iced up, and not being able to transport them I dont know if it's worth it.  Just seeing what everyone else does?

[Prchmike]

looks like spot tail shiner excellent bait for pike and muskys use them up to 8" long for big walleyes too

[ICE WANDERER]

         Here's what happened to us. We caught some smelt 1 day, since you can't take them home & bring them back, we put them in a zip lock bag, drilled 1/2 way into the ice & covered them up. A couple of days later we went back to that spot & uncovered the smelt & used them. Some fish will take a dead bait as well as live. Well any way when we left the ice 1 of the guys forgot to bury his bait, as we came off the lake we were stopped & checked by a warden. When he saw the frozen bait he was ready to hand put a ticket. We explained what we did, luckily for us he recognized my truck from the previous days, his comment was he couldn't prove that we took them off & we couldn't prove that we had left them there. He said it was a gray area of the rules & it was up to his discresion, we could have taken back out & showed the other bait we left behind. We did not get a ticket.

[pot-belly-perch]

it look like a fall-fish to me

[missfishy]

looks like a fall fish to me also. There are a lot of new regs on bait the state created an area along the lake ontario shore line were you can catch and transport bait i think you can catch them well anyway you can transport boughten wild bait but you better not get caught with it outside that area and your best bet is to figure out were you want to fish and check the dec web site for the latest regs and follow them our fisheries depend on it 

[fishon35]

I had my fishing buddy ask his roommate who is a DEC officer out of Watertown... he said that you can trap/catch your bait and transport it only in your corridor and it must be used on the same body of water that it came out of.  If you have any specific questions, post them and I'll have him ask...

[Raquettedacker]

Baitfish Regulations
Purchased Baitfish
Green List Baitfish
The following baitfish are the only species that can be purchased and used in any water body in New York where it is legal to use fish as bait. These baitfish are commonly used throughout New York and are not considered to be a threat to other native New York fish species (except for trout in waters where baitfish use is prohibited). Limiting the use of baitfish to the Green List will help prevent the accidental introduction of unwanted species.

•Golden shiner
•Northern redbelly dace
•Emerald shiner
•Blacknose dace
•Common shiner
•Longnose dace
•Spottail shiner
•White sucker
•Banded killifish
•Northern hogsucker
•Fathead minnow
•Creek chub
•Bluntnose minnow
•Fallfish
•Logperch
•Eastern silvery minnow
Other Baitfish
In addition to the Green List, the following baitfish may be purchased and used in specified water bodies only. They are not included on the Green List for a variety of reasons including potential negative impacts on native fish populations (i.e. alewife predation on walleye fry) or they are Marine District species.

•Alewife: Canandaigua Lake; Cannonsville Reservoir; Cayuga Lake; Cayuta Lake; Conesus Lake; Hemlock Lake; Canadice Lake; Waneta Lake; Hudson River downstream from the Federal Dam at Troy to the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan Island; Keuka Lake; Otsego Lake; Otisco Lake; Owasco Lake; Lake Ontario; Lake Erie; Lamoka Lake; Pepacton Reservoir; Seneca Lake; St. Lawrence River; Niagara River; Mohawk River; and all waters in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties.
•Rainbow smelt: Canandaigua Lake; Cayuga Lake; Cayuta Lake; Hemlock Lake; Canadice Lake; Honeoye Lake; Conesus Lake; First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Lakes of the Fulton Chain; Keuka Lake; Owasco Lake; Lake Champlain; Lamoka Lake; Lake Ontario; Lake Erie; Seneca Lake; Star Lake (St. Lawrence County); Waneta Lake; the St. Lawrence River; and the Niagara River.
•Mummichog: Hudson River downstream from the Federal Dam at Troy to the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan Island; and all waters in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
•Blueback herring and Atlantic menhaden: Hudson River downstream from the Federal Dam at Troy to the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, New York; and the Mohawk River and tributaries to the first barrier impassable by fish.
•American eel: Delaware River and tributaries to the first barrier impassable by fish, 6 inch minimum size limit; and the Hudson River downstream from the Federal Dam at Troy to the Battery at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, between 6 and 14 inches.
Use, Possession and Transportation of Purchased Baitfish
Certified Baitfish
Certified baitfish are those that have been tested and found to be free of specified diseases. Use of certified baitfish helps prevent the spread of fish diseases. Certified baitfish purchased from a bait dealer can be transported overland in a motorized vehicle and used on any body of water where it is legal to do so.

For baitfish to be considered certified, the seller must provide a receipt that contains:

•the seller's name,
•date of sale,
•the species of fish, and
•the number of each species sold.
The buyer must retain that receipt while in possession of the baitfish. Baitfish without a receipt or with a receipt that is older than 10 days shall be considered uncertified bait.


Uncertified Baitfish
Uncertified baitfish are those that have not been tested to verify that they are free of specified diseases. These uncertified fish may carry diseases that could be harmful to native fish species. Uncertified baitfish purchased from a bait dealer can only be used on the same body of water that they were collected in. Uncertified baitfish cannot be transported overland by a motorized vehicle (i.e. car) except within a designated overland transportation corridor (see below). The seller of uncertified baitfish outside of an overland transportation corridor is required to provide the same receipt information as for certified baitfish and also include the name of the water body in which the uncertified bait fish can be used and a warning to the purchaser that the baitfish may not be transported by motorized vehicle.

Please Note: A baitfish license is required to sell baitfish in New York.
Collection, Use and Transportation of Personally Harvested Baitfish
Any person who has a fishing license or is entitled to fish without a license may collect* minnows (except carp and goldfish), killifish, mudminnows, darters, sticklebacks, stonecats, smelt, alewives, suckers and blueback herring for personal use (sale prohibited) as follows:

Baitfish Collection Table Gear Time Waters
Seine or scap net:maximum size - 36 square feet Sunrise to sunset All non-trout waters
Minnow trap:maximum length - 20 inches, maximum entrance diameter 1 inch, must be marked with owner's name and address Anytime Waters open to baitfish use
Seine: maximum size - 36 square feet Anytime Lake Erie & Ontario excluding their inlets, outlets, bays
Niagara River
Hudson River below Troy Dam
Cast net: maximum 10 feet in diameter Anytime Hudson River below Troy Dam including tributaries to first barrier
In addition, alewives are the only fish that may be taken as follows:
Gill nets:maximum length - 25 feet,maximum size - 1 inch bar Anytime Canadice, Canandaigua, Cayuga, Hemlock, Keuka, Owasco, Otisco and Seneca lakes.

Stunning may be used to collect stonecats. Stunning means tapping a stone with an implement or other stone.

*Possession of endangered or threatened fish species is prohibited.

Baitfish or other legally taken fish species intended to be used as bait taken may only be used in the same water body from which they were caught for bait in hook-and-line fishing. Transportation of personally harvested baitfish overland by a motorized vehicle is prohibited (see exceptions for smelt, suckers, alewives and blueback herring taken for human consumption and overland baitfish transporation corridors).

Baitfish collection exceptions
Possession or use of minnow traps and nets is prohibited on units of state land/waters where the use or possession of baitfish is prohibited (see Special Regulations by County).

In the Hudson River downstream of the Troy Dam and in Lake Champlain, Upper and Lower Saranac Lakes, Lake Clear (Franklin Co.), Chazy Lake, Upper Saranac Lake and their tributaries to the first barrier, smelt may be taken only by angling)

Restricted Baitfish Species
Carp, goldfish, lamprey larvae and round goby may not be collected or used for bait.

Restrictions on Use and Possession of Marine Baitfish
Baitfish collected in the Marine and Coastal District may be transported overland only for use in the Marine and Coastal District in the following counties: Queens, Kings, Richmond, New York, Bronx, Suffolk, Nassau, Rockland and Westchester. The Marine and Coastal District includes waters of the Atlantic Ocean within 3 miles of the coast line and all other tidal waters including the Hudson River upstream to the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Use of Dead Fish as Bait
Any dead fish, or parts thereof excluding eggs, that are legal to possess and are not prohibited for use as bait (see restricted baitfish species), that have been packaged for commercial sale and have been preserved by methods other than by freezing only (i.e. salted minnows) can be used in any water body were it is legal to use fish as bait and do not require a receipt. Each package of dead bait fish must be individually labeled, identifying the name of the packager B processor, the name of the species, the quantity of fish contained and the means of preservation.

Overland Transportation Corridors
Three defined overland transportation corridors were designated for the purposes of allowing the transport and use of uncertified baitfish by anglers in specific areas of the state. The three overland transportation corridors are intended to primarily serve anglers fishing three major water bodies: the Lake Erie-Upper Niagara River; the Lower Niagara River-Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River; and the Tidal Hudson River. To protect against the spread of fish diseases into uninfected waters through the use of baitfish, uncertified baitfish are only allowed to be used on the same body of water where they were collected within these corridors.
Transportation of Purchased Uncertified Baitfish within an Overland Transportation Corridor
Uncertified baitfish purchased from a bait dealer may be transported within a designated overland transportation corridor provided a receipt, issued by the seller and retained by the purchaser while in possession of the baitfish, contains the following information:

•the seller's name,
•date of sale,
•the species of fish,
•the number of each species sold,
•the water body the baitfish must be used in,
•the overland transportation corridor the baitfish must be transported within, and
•a warning that the baitfish may only be transported within that overland transportation corridor.

Transportation of Personally Collected Baitfish within an Overland Transportation Corridor
Personally collected baitfish taken from a water body within an overland transportation corridor may be transported within that corridor. These baitfish may only be used in the same water body they were collected in.

Designated Overland Transportation Corridors
The three overland transportation corridors are defined as follows:

Upper Niagara River/Lake Erie Overland Transportation Corridor shall mean the geographical area associated with the New York portion of Lake Erie and the Upper Niagara River west of and including a line starting at I-90 at the Pennsylvania border, then continuing east to its intersection with I-290, then continuing north along I-290 to its intersection with State Route 62, then continuing west to its intersection with I-190, then north to its intersection with the Lower Niagara River. Baitfish collected from the New York portion of the Upper Niagara River/Lake Erie water body may be transported within this corridor.

Map of Upper Niagara River/Lake Erie Overland Transportation Corridor (PDF) (146 kB)

Lower Niagara River/Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River Overland Transportation Corridor shall mean the geographical area associated with New York portion of the Lower Niagara River, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River starting at the intersection of I-190 and the Lower Niagara River, then continuing eastward to its intersection with State Route 104, then continuing eastward to its intersection with State Route 3, then continuing east on State Route 3 to its intersection with State Route 104, then continuing eastward on State Route 104 to its intersection with State Route 11, then continuing north on State Route 11 to its intersection with State Route 56 , then continuing north along State Route 56 to its intersection with State Route 37, then continuing east along State Route 37 to its intersection with Racquette Point Road, then continuing north on Racquette Point Road to its intersection with Ransom Road, and then continuing west on Ransom Road and terminating at the St. Lawrence River. Baitfish collected from the New York portion of the Lower Niagara River/Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River water body may be transported within this corridor.

Map of Lower Niagara River/Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River Overland Transportation Corridor (PDF) (146 kB)


Hudson River Overland Transportation Corridor shall mean the geographical area associated with the Hudson River South of the Federal Dam at Troy starting at the eastern shore of the Hudson River at the Federal Dam in Troy, continuing east on W Glenn Avenue in Troy to its intersection with State Route 4, then continuing south on State Route 4 to its intersection with State Routes 9 & 20, then continuing easterly to its intersection with State Route 9, then continuing east on State Route 82, then continuing east on State Route 82 to its intersection with the Taconic State Parkway, then continuing south on the Taconic State Parkway to its intersection with the Sprain Brook Parkway, then continuing south on the Sprain Brook Parkway to its intersection with I-287, then continuing west on I-287 across the Tappan Zee Bridge to I-87 North, then continuing north on I-87 to where State Route 9W crosses I-87 in Greene County, then continuing north on State Route 9W to where State Route 9W crosses I-87 in Albany County, then continuing north on I-87 its intersection with State Route 7, and then continuing east on State Route 7 to its intersection with I-787, and then continuing north on I-787 to its intersection with Tibbets Avenue, and then continuing east on Tibbets Avenue to its intersection with Delaware Avenue, then proceeding in a straight line to the west edge of the Troy Dam. Baitfish collected from the New York portion of the Tidal Hudson River water body may be transported within this corridor.

Map of Hudson River Overland Transportation Corridor (PDF) (300 kB)




Outdoor Activities

[serveprotect]

Alright, I read the rules thoroughly.  Since I live in St lawrence County and I am within the corridor, I should be good to trap bait out out of the st lawrence.  Since I live, within the corridor, I am able to transport the fish, eg. back to the house for future use, as long as I use them in the same body of water.  Am I reading this correctly guys?  The rules seem a little ridiculous.  Also,  I have caught fall fish in the grasse river, and the minnow that we jigged up was about the same size but it was pure silver with no dark color to it.  I have never seen a fish like that and would like to either jig or trap more of them.

[adkmtnman76]

all those rules say is wah wa wah wa wah wahw wah wa

[wert]

(yes) serve and protect your safe!!!!!