Answer to plastic baits digesting in fish.

[dave bartlett]

I have no idea. Some companies are making plastic baits that are biodegradable, others are not. There is research underway to see if these baits are causing problems. You could do a literature search to see what the recent research reports.

 

The best thing anglers can do is dispose of old baits properly.

 

Chet MacKenzie

Fisheries Scientist IV

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Dept.

271 North Main St., Suite 215

Rutland, VT 05701-2423

802-786-3864

[woodyvt]

Dave- thanks for looking into this.  Certainly an interesting topic as it relates to the health of the fish and fisheries.

[dave bartlett]

      Your welcome.Due to health reasons and my accident i have free time to look into questions i see on here.I enjoy doing it and excited when i get reasonable explanations.If there is any time i can help somebody out with unanswered theory's or boggling questions ,just ask.I usually can get an answer within a week.Sometimes it takes longer when i refer them to the Fish & Game,but they always do answer.Thanks Again

[tracker one]

Dave,ask the state of Vermont why we can't get a decent fishing access area on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain,and I know that we have more accesses than New York and I know that they want to keep them "low impact" and I know money is tight,but you would think we could get just ONE decent access to lake champlain where a guy could launch a 18 foot boat without needing a stepladder to get in the d*&%$  thing and where there might even be a breakwater to protect you from a strong north or south wind.  Thanks for the rant.  whew!!

[PerchHawk]

Exactly what keywords would one use for a  literature search?

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=ingest+plastic+baits+mortality+&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=1%2C46

It seems like raccoons in Arkansas eat rubber worms they find along the shore

http://libinfo.uark.edu/aas/issues/2002v56/v56a31.pdf

But that is the best I could find.

[PerchHawk]

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/M08-085.1

Here is a study on trout and plastic baits

[motorfisher]

Tracker one, Mallet's Bay, Shelburne Bay, Winooski River, the West Addison (Newly redone) and soon to come the S. Hero launch at Apple Island are or will be perfectly good launches... They are workin' on it. Just be patient !

[ICE_HOOK]

PerchHawk , that's a good one [ study ]. I believe the state already knows all this info and doesn't want to reveal it to the public . They should put up warning signs and also publish it in their fish and game handbook about effects it has on fish! Properly disposing of used plastics and not throwing them back in the water.

[dave bartlett]

        Perch Hawk,
  Great job.I started to look and then saw you posted.That was the answer we were looking for.Thanks.

[dave bartlett]

      Tracker One,
  I will have a answer for you.I did write a long note on some personal information and yours.I know one answer will be is all the money fishing and Out of State fishing is mostly North of the Bridge.So they have to cater to where the money is.I was told this same thing when it came to a question on VT. stocking walleyes.The money was in the salmon and lake trout fishing.So they cater more to that side of the species.

[tracker one]

are you talking about the one under the bridge(west Addison)?   that is just a new ramp that is exactly as bad as the old one was,i.e.   not enough parking,no breakwater and no dock...Maybe they will put a dock in later.When I want to fish that area I just drive over to Port Henry and put in,,,,,nice  floating docks,rest rooms, large parking area and a nice breakwater.How patient do I have to be?  I've been waiting 40 years for a decent access on southern champlain,I may not have many left.

[mempfree]

I just wonder, where, all of our money, from our Hunting and Fishing Licences, are really being spent?  Is there a report, from the yearly, budget figures, where all of this money is being spent, in Vermont?

[dave bartlett]

          I believe it is the Crown Point Bridge.The one they just built a year or two ago.The installation of docks at all the launches would take care of 70% of the problem.

[IceSteelie]

Certainly we, as fishermen and women, should all take responsibility to respect our waters and wildlife.  This goes for litter, baits, rigs and the imprint we leave on waters when we leave.   If someone is not respectable of themselves, how can they be respectable to the fish they are after.   

[johndeere540]

I just wonder, where, all of our money, from our Hunting and Fishing Licences, are really being spent?  Is there a report, from the yearly, budget figures, where all of this money is being spent, in Vermont?
Our money is being wasted on paying the wardens 70,000 per year and putting them in new trucks, snowmachines, and four wheelers every other year. What the heck is wrong with driving a vehicle for five or more years like the rest of us do or walking on the lake or woods instead of a snowmachine or four wheeler. errr

[tracker one]

OK,,,,here's my point on the condition of Vt. fishing access areas.  I do not begrudge the Vt. game wardens their due,they have a tough job,are understaffed and do well with what they have.Their salary is not the issue here.  What is the issue is that for years we have lived with substandard boat launches under the guise that they somehow have a low  impact to the environment.Now, I have noticed some real improvements made over the years to places like Waterhouses on Lake Dunmore and even Benson landing on Lake Champlain,however,in no way do these improvements compare to just one New York access area on Lake Champlain.Personally,I think we have waited long enough.Are we not big enough to do it right in at least one place on Lake Champlain? Just my opinion and my own private obsession with the way things are here,sorry if I stole your thread,I just feel this is important because the boating fishing season is almost upon us.

[MRwalleye]

I have noticed some real improvements made over the years to places like Waterhouses on Lake Dunmore and even Benson landing on Lake Champlain,however,in no way do these improvements compare to just one New York access area on Lake Champlain.Personally,I think we have waited long enough.Are we not big enough to do it right in at least one place on Lake Champlain? Just my opinion and my own private obsession with the way things are here,sorry if I stole your thread,I just feel this is important because the boating fishing season is almost upon us.

I'm willing to bet that NY has a lot lot more money to spend on there access area's. It a lot bigger state and they see a lot more money going into there F&W departments. How many of us go to NY to hunt and fish? a lot more than come to VT from out of state. NY's Deer herd and King Salmon fishery attracts a lot more than VT's hunting and fishery dose and that = more money for them.

[flagfishon]

So to bring this back around....Vermont's crappy access areas are partially responsible for fisherman throwing their used plastic baits into the water, where the trout eat them; and as one study mentioned, they loose weight, become lethargic and are generally less healthy. 

Solution: 

Tax the ditty on all plastic baits( which should reduce their usage) and use the extra money to improve access areas. 

[PerchHawk]

I Have to say it. Vermont has great public access to Lake Champlain. NY state is broke. Do  you buy gas for your boat in NY? NYS has double the gas tax of Vermont  I would rather have the wide access and low taxes on my boat gas.

[pikeaddict]

So to bring this back around....Vermont's crappy access areas are partially responsible for fisherman throwing their used plastic baits into the water, where the trout eat them; and as one study mentioned, they loose weight, become lethargic and are generally less healthy. 

Solution: 

Tax the ditty on all plastic baits( which should reduce their usage) and use the extra money to improve access areas.

The state taxes my *** enough already, thanks.
 
Take a look at overall license sales and you will find that the number of hunting and fishing license sales have been on the decline for quite sometime.  With license sales declining, that decreases the overall budget, but the same amount or more pressure is put on the department to do certain things.  Such as improvements to fishing accesses.  In order to to get what we want done, WE NEED TO get more adults and kids involved in hunting and fishing.  If the department didn't have budget shortfalls, there would have been no need for youth hunting, mentored licenses, or the Let's Go Fishing program. 

As far as the plastics dilema is concerned.  I feel the state needs to do a good job of informing fisherman of the problems with using plastics, and how to properly dispose of them.  Much better job then they did informing them of the VHS disease anyways.  Maybe thru meetings, information at access points, and radio would be a few good methods of doing so. 

[pikeaddict]

Flagfishon, I was not directing that rant at you btw.

[flagfishon]

I agree with everything you said.  I never knew about the problem with plastics before reading about it in this forum.  They definitely need to do a better job informing fisherman of these things.