2 questions...

[tcon]

Does anybody know if it is legal to transport dead bait..like dead sunfish to cut and use for catfish bait..and has there been any documented success...or are they having any luck with the re-population of the lake sturgeon in lake ontario?

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Someone on here will know for certain, but I don't believe there is any problem with utilizing or transporting sunfish as bait. As for Sturgeon, there is definitely a spike in the population in the lower Niagara river, and many are hooked in the fall while we are drifting for Salmon. The federal FWS is around alot taking counts on their numbers as well.

[tcon]

Thanks Capt. Vince

Tom

[GAMBLER]

The only way you can use dead bait is if it is on the green list and has been perserved commercially by means other than just freezing.

[tcon]

Talked to the guy in fisheries at the DEC he told me you could use sunfish for bait but they count toward your total creel, and they may not be transported over land from one body of water to the next....and I said so I cant catch them in a pond and take them to the River to fish just so we are clear, and he said you are correct you may not. I guess so much for that Idea might have to cut up a sheep head or something...

Tom

[Tim Bromund]

Talked to the guy in fisheries at the DEC he told me you could use sunfish for bait but they count toward your total creel, and they may not be transported over land from one body of water to the next....and I said so I cant catch them in a pond and take them to the River to fish just so we are clear, and he said you are correct you may not. I guess so much for that Idea might have to cut up a sheep head or something...

Tom

That is consistent both with what I see in the regs and that I got from DEC. We like to use dink perch we catch in the Buffalo Small Boat Harbor (yearling 2-3" perch) to bait our tip ups with for northerns. I wanted to make sure we weren't doing anything wrong so I looked itnto it several years ago and that is what I was told as well. Ok to use as bait on the same body of water, but they count towards your daily perch limit. Not sure how anyone would know once a pike ate it, but at the SBH it doesn't really matter as I've been ice fishing there for 35 years and can probably count the number of times I caught a limit of keeper perch there on one hand.

Tim

[tcon]

Thanks for the info Tim...anyone know anything about how the sturgeon are doing?

[Tim Bromund]

not sure on the lake, but the sturgeon populations on both the upper and lower niagara rivers is quite healthy and seems to be improving every year. I know the DEC has been stocking them in the Genny, but I haven't heard anything about how that is going.

Tim

[tcon]

Thanks for the info Tim...I think we're gonna hit the the Gene. lower falls...fishing at nights better than no fishing at all...

[Tim Bromund]

Thanks for the info Tim...I think we're gonna hit the the Gene. lower falls...fishing at nights better than no fishing at all...

Tom,

if you are talking about going to the Genny to fish for Sturgeon, you might want to reconsider that. They are a protected species and I believe it is illegal to target them. The ones caught in the Niagara are incidental catches while people are fishing for something else.

Tim

[tcon]

Gotcha thanks for the heads up...we're actually targeting Catfish and Walleye I assumed the chances of catching a Sturgeon were pretty slim anyway.

Tom