01-17-2019, 07:10 PM
"you talk, and talk, and talk -- but never get anywhere because you have no valid arguments. Give us a risk analysis on using live bait fish. Pros and cons. What are some reasons to use and the risks associated with them. Lets have an intelligent conversation about this."
[#4040FF]Hey, if I approached fishing from a purely scienterrific standpoint...and removed the emotion and fun from it...'twouldn't be no more reason to fish.[/#4040FF]
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[#4040FF]That being said, I am not entirely without some input and eddication from fisheries biologists from several states. I am aware of most of the reasons pro and con for and against using live minnows. And those reasons and arguments change from state to state and biologist to biologist.[/#4040FF]
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[#4040FF]Obviously, one of the big reasons for curtailing the use of baitfish...especially from other waters...is to prevent the spread of the nasty fish diseases. Some of them have only become factors in recent years but all should be avoided if possible. And, of course there is a good argument against the introduction of any species that might upset the ecology or affect any part of the life cycle of a more desirable species (like hatchery pets).[/#4040FF]
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[#4040FF]But if those considerations are not considerations...as in being able to use live minnows captured in the waters you fish...then it boils down to "what if". What if a doofus angler transports the minnows to another water...even if conditions are essentially the same as where they were obtained? (Like Strawberry to Scofield) Or what if they are transported to already messed up systems like Utah Lake? Where's the potential harm...even to June Suckers? And why not be able to use whole live small white bass in Utah Lake? They are not protected by limits and wholesale reduction is encouraged.
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[#4040FF]The best example I can think of...for "what if" laws...is the new Utah blood alcohol limit of .05. Do the legislators really believe they will deter the folks who routinely get blasted and then get behind the wheel? I doubt it. Although the law just recently became active there have been remarkably few impairment arrests in which blood alcohol levels were not above the old mark of .08. And there continue to be horrendous accidents caused by drivers who are substantially greater than that.[/#4040FF]
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[#4040FF]I do not wish to be able to use live minnows just to flout the law. I have countless personal experiences from around the country in which the use of live minnows vastly outproduced using dead ones...or any kind of flies or lures. In simple terms, if it helps catch more fish and enjoy the day of fishing more then I'm down widdat. But, lest there be any misunderstanding, I am also sensitive to the potential for misuse and problems which could be created by unlimited use of live minnows.[/#4040FF]
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[#4040FF]In short, I would love to be able to use live minnows. But I accept that I now live in Utah and that I must set my watch back about a hundred years.[/#4040FF]
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[#4040FF]Hey, if I approached fishing from a purely scienterrific standpoint...and removed the emotion and fun from it...'twouldn't be no more reason to fish.[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]
[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]That being said, I am not entirely without some input and eddication from fisheries biologists from several states. I am aware of most of the reasons pro and con for and against using live minnows. And those reasons and arguments change from state to state and biologist to biologist.[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]
[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]Obviously, one of the big reasons for curtailing the use of baitfish...especially from other waters...is to prevent the spread of the nasty fish diseases. Some of them have only become factors in recent years but all should be avoided if possible. And, of course there is a good argument against the introduction of any species that might upset the ecology or affect any part of the life cycle of a more desirable species (like hatchery pets).[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]
[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]But if those considerations are not considerations...as in being able to use live minnows captured in the waters you fish...then it boils down to "what if". What if a doofus angler transports the minnows to another water...even if conditions are essentially the same as where they were obtained? (Like Strawberry to Scofield) Or what if they are transported to already messed up systems like Utah Lake? Where's the potential harm...even to June Suckers? And why not be able to use whole live small white bass in Utah Lake? They are not protected by limits and wholesale reduction is encouraged.
[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]
[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]The best example I can think of...for "what if" laws...is the new Utah blood alcohol limit of .05. Do the legislators really believe they will deter the folks who routinely get blasted and then get behind the wheel? I doubt it. Although the law just recently became active there have been remarkably few impairment arrests in which blood alcohol levels were not above the old mark of .08. And there continue to be horrendous accidents caused by drivers who are substantially greater than that.[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]
[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]I do not wish to be able to use live minnows just to flout the law. I have countless personal experiences from around the country in which the use of live minnows vastly outproduced using dead ones...or any kind of flies or lures. In simple terms, if it helps catch more fish and enjoy the day of fishing more then I'm down widdat. But, lest there be any misunderstanding, I am also sensitive to the potential for misuse and problems which could be created by unlimited use of live minnows.[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]
[/#4040FF]
[#4040FF]In short, I would love to be able to use live minnows. But I accept that I now live in Utah and that I must set my watch back about a hundred years.[/#4040FF]
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