sawbellies

[10lykedf]

I live in the Newark NY area & I'm looking for sawbellies. I've called a couple of bait dealers & to my surprise they don't sell them. Anybody know where I can go for them. Thanks in advance for any possible help.

[predator]

There's a lady in border city that sells them, just east of lowes on 5/20.

[Sk8man]

That is where I was going to say as well. She lives in the white house just east of where Churches (later Bob's Matresses) was and on the same side I think they are $10 a dozen.

[muskiedreams]

I believe they are hard to keep alive, are only sold on and for the waters they are caught from. Since they are not certified bait, they cannot be used on or transported to any other body of water other than the body of water they were caught in. Especially with alewives because they are an invasive species. They are not in all lakes in the state and they don't want them to be introduced into lakes that don't have them. See the rules on baitfish in the regulation guide.

 

Many years ago (more than 20) they used to sell them at the marina at the south end of Canandaigua Lake. I don't know if they still do. They used to pump water from the lake to keep them alive. Also, many anglers who used them were night fisherman and they would just shine a spotlight from the boat into the water that would bring them to the surface and they could just net them.

[predator]

These are all certified, friends of mine deliver them all over the Catskills & CT.

[Steve.e]

I agree,They are hard to keep alive. I used them a couple times on Keuka lake. I kept the water cold( dump some ice in now and then) and a bubbler, they stayed alive for a few days. And believe it or not, I heard they put a little bit of table salt in the water also. Beverage baron in PennYan might still sell them. Beer and sawbellies, good to go. 

Edited July 21, 2016 by Steve.e

[muskiedreams]

These are all certified, friends of mine deliver them all over the Catskills & CT.

Your friends could be contributing to the spread of an invasive species and possibly the spread of diseases.

 

According to the regulations, if your friends are transporting alewives around the state, they are breaking the law. Alewives cannot be certified as bait in New York State because they are an invasive species and only allowed to be used in the waters they are taken from, PERIOD. Maybe that lady sells other bait that is certified. Or maybe she is selling bait illegally. Also if you read the regulations, in New York State, you can only use alewives in the body of water they are caught in and the only places they can be transported by car is along narrow corridors along Lakes Ontario and Erie and along a narrow corridor along a certain part of the Hudson River. Transporting them anywhere else within the state is illegal even from one finger lake to another and technically, even from one end of a finger lake to the other end by car (by boat is ok). So technically, on the finger lakes, or anyplace in the state other than the transportation corridors, they can only be sold or purchased, on the lake shore (or trib. to first barrier) to be taken directly into the lake they were caught in to be used for bait.

 

I have a friend who has ponds and used to sell fathead minnows to fishermen years ago but now, since he would need to certify his ponds every year, for a fee, it is not worth it to him anymore. It is only worth it now to bait farms who sell mass quantities to bait shops. and hatcheries.

Edited July 21, 2016 by muskiedreams

[Sk8man]

The lady is certified for them and issues a receipt with the number sold, date and her signature on the receipt. It is totally legitimate and she has been in business for many years. The guy who supplies the bait  for years used to live next door to her and was a bait dealer too  and supplied nearly every shop in this area. You can transport bait that is certified and you have a receipt that is within 10 days old and contains the above info on the receipt. The provision regarding use within the same body of water is referring to bait caught in that body of water that is uncertified and can only be used in that water. There is however a prohibition of possession or use in certain bodies of water as listed in the DEC regs e.g. Honeoye and others.

Edited July 22, 2016 by Sk8man

[justtracytrolling]

Les is correct. Alewives are not on the green list to be used anywhere in the state, BUT they are sold as certified bait for many specific bodies of water. Best bet is to read the rules yourself as we are all expected too

[Sea-IV]

The lady is certified for them and issues a receipt with the number sold, date and her signature on the receipt. It is totally legitimate and she has been in business for many years. The guy who supplies the bait  for years used to live next door to her and was a bait dealer too  and supplied nearly every shop in this area.

I have to back Sk8 up as I know the woman we buy alewives(sawbellies) from her all the time. Her supplier gets them from Cayuga lake and IS certified by NYS to do so. Larry and Roys Marina is also certified and nets his alewives directly out of Seneca. There was a decline a couple years ago and she had a supplier from Ontario delivering to her.

[Frogger]

Gordy was his namo! Sea IV it was good chatting with you the other day up at Sandy.

[Sea-IV]

Gordy was his namo! Sea IV it was good chatting with you the other day up at Sandy.

Yes sir same here. Fishing tomorrow and Saturday ? We will be there bright and early unlike last week.

[Frogger]

Good luck up there during the shootout. Looks like an awesome event.

[10lykedf]

years ago we fished with sawbellies on the fingerlakes . I was thinking of using them ( frozen) on LakeOntario. You Guys are saying if I want to use them LO, I have to get them  LO. Thanks for all the advise

[Sk8man]

Gordy Clow. He was also a trapper and I used to get my bait from him at this place and he skinned his hides there and there would be all sorts of hides on the floor of his place . He was a real character and I ran into him last year at that sawbelly place when he delivered some so he is still at it.

Edited July 22, 2016 by Sk8man

[muskiedreams]

I like to go by what is defined in the regulation guide. That is what I have used to explain here what the regulations are. According to the rules, alewives are not allowed to be transported from the lake by anyone via motorized land transportation. Technically you can't even bring them home from the bait shop on the lake and then bring them back to the lake to fish with the next day. It sounds a little crazy but that is how it is written and intended. They are very serious about it because of possible huge negative impacts it can cause. A bait shop can have a license to net them in Cayuga Lake but they can only sell them at and to be used in Cayuga Lake and its tribs to the first barrier. The seller is required to provide a receipt that names the water body in which the uncertified baitfish can be used, and includes a warning to the purchaser that the baitfish may not be transported by car or other motorized vehicle.This is because they are uncertified baitfish.

 

Certified baitfish are baitfish that have been certified through specific laboratory testing to be free of a list of diseases including VHS. It is similar to certifying gamefish for stocking in NY state waters. Certified baitfish can be transported and used in most bodies of water throughout the state. I would think only pond raised baitfish would be practical to certify. I have never heard of anyone raising alewives in ponds. Too hard to maintain the right environment.

 

Like I said, it is best to read the regulations yourself.

 

Here is a link to the baitfish regulation page. http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/47282.html

 

Here is a link to a publication from the DEC that explains the rules in more detail and also explains the reasons for the rules. Look at page 5 through 7 but you might want to read more.

 

http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/baitfishofny.pdf

Edited July 22, 2016 by muskiedreams

[10lykedf]

When guys say they are using cut bait what are they using & where are they getting it?

[Sea-IV]

When guys say they are using cut bait what are they using & where are they getting it?

We are using a herring strip made by various companies like Familiar bite and Erie

[Frogger]

Muskie you have it right from your last post but I think what you were saying previously about the bait that Mariam was selling isn't certified because it couldn't be and therefore it couldn't be transported raised all of the hub bub. I'm glad you referenced the regs in your last post and have it correct now. No harm no foul.

[justtracytrolling]

Alewife are sold certfied but not on the green list. You are not reading the regs. correctly. Most of your post is correct.

[momay4000]

Alewife are sold certfied but not on the green list. You are not reading the regs. correctly. Most of your post is correct.

 

Your friends could be contributing to the spread of an invasive species and possibly the spread of diseases.

 

According to the regulations, if your friends are transporting alewives around the state, they are breaking the law. Alewives cannot be certified as bait in New York State because they are an invasive species and only allowed to be used in the waters they are taken from, PERIOD. Maybe that lady sells other bait that is certified. Or maybe she is selling bait illegally. Also if you read the regulations, in New York State, you can only use alewives in the body of water they are caught in and the only places they can be transported by car is along narrow corridors along Lakes Ontario and Erie and along a narrow corridor along a certain part of the Hudson River. Transporting them anywhere else within the state is illegal even from one finger lake to another and technically, even from one end of a finger lake to the other end by car (by boat is ok). So technically, on the finger lakes, or anyplace in the state other than the transportation corridors, they can only be sold or purchased, on the lake shore (or trib. to first barrier) to be taken directly into the lake they were caught in to be used for bait.

 

I have a friend who has ponds and used to sell fathead minnows to fishermen years ago but now, since he would need to certify his ponds every year, for a fee, it is not worth it to him anymore. It is only worth it now to bait farms who sell mass quantities to bait shops. and hatcheries.

 

I agree with Justtracy...

 

Muskie - maybe I'm misunderstanding your post, but it's completely legal to transport certified Alewives (i.e Familiar Bite products) in NY if I'm not mistaken? Am I missing something?

 

Please clarify - thanks,

 

Chris

[frontrowjoe20]

I am in southern NY and as you can see on the regulations I can transport and use them anywhere in the Hudson valley. Every tackle shop in the area (10-12) all carry certified alewife. The dealer is in the finger lakes region and sells to the 6-7 counties around me. So as long as you are on a body of water on that list and your bait is certified you are fine. I have been stopped many times by DEP and DEC and never a problem as long as I have a receipt.

[justtracytrolling]

If they are personally harvested and uncertified then everything he posted is correct.....but you CAN purchase certified alewives...in strips and live!

[justtracytrolling]

Exactly frontrowjoe!

[Sk8man]

Frozen bait  falls under the same regs too You still have to have a receipt for certified bait that is within 10 days old. As far as commercial prepared bait there is no date limitation but you have to have the original packaging for it. A potential problem with the uncertified bait reg when used in the water in which it was caught is that you have no proof that it was caught there so it would seem that it could possibly be risking a ticket using it even according to the  applicable regulations.

Edited July 22, 2016 by Sk8man