Black Salties could ease the no live herring dilemma
 

Black Salties , goldfish like , live bait will be available in bait shops this spring. They are hardy fresh water fish that can live up to 2 hours in salt water. From what I'm told they can be taken to the shore in a bucket with some 02 tabs in it and of course a live well in a boat. They come in different sizes, some big for stripers and smaller ones for fluke. The big ones (5 in or so) will be about 1.50 just about the same as an eel. I know they work cuz a 50 lb striper was taken on one last year.

SSSSSHHHH!!!!!!!


:hidin:

www.blacksalty.com


they are the new thing...even though they caught on strong last year

Rigged Salties are $11 :D

I am a fan of farm raised bait, but I have a concern with black salties. Won't be a preoblem in the salt, but what happens to a freshwater lake when a bunch of these come off the hook or get dumped... I would like it if they came with a self destruct button. :skulz:

just saw they are illegal in freshwater in Ca and FL...

Why not just become a better plugger? If eels get banned, will people start live lining garden snakes?

What do you mean start? Also Black Racers are bigger and blacker :laugha:

I'm with you on this one. Too many "exotics" (plants and fish) are really causing havoc. Everyone...PLEASE use common sense and be careful!

It'll be OK the snakeheads will take care of them.:hihi:

I think Garden snakes is a bit of a stretch....However I dont care how "good" a plugger anyone is, you will never beat Live bait. Thats the one hurdle a hunk of plastic or wood will never get over.Toss a live well in the truck, catch some scup and put a hook in there nose=Big bass...

Yup, they work, only thing is, they have to be 10.5" to keep which is fine with me, just trim the fins so the bass can suck 'em in easier.

I heard that they may not be legal in MA? Sounds like an accident waiting to happen to me. Once they get into fresh water they could become a problem. And rest assured some yo-yo is going to dump a bucket load into fresh water.

I know nothing about Black Salties but why aren't they sterilized during the fish farming process? This would solve the problem of them being released into freshwater bodies of water.

They may be, for gods sake its a Shiner...Lighten up! What is tossed in freshwater will be sucked up by largemouths. Thats all it is a Shiner, How many Shiners are baught at baitshops each season and tossed into the water? Whos knows where the bait supplier got them? and in what type of water conditions they were in?

I love the video on that website! It's like, yeah no chit a largemouth is going to eat it! :rotf2:

im with you #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& whats the big deal with these shiners being in fresh water? Maybe I missed some fine print but more bait fish sounds like a good thing to me. Hell lets farm some pogies and fatten up the cows:)

Its just something else to cry about, its a shiner plain and simple, raised in the USA and just like any other shiner there is.........

Some use them,Some don't ....I WILL USE THEM..............THEY WORK................

Good give me all ur lures. :hihi:

We went over this last year, Unless the fish and game had made changes. They are not legal to possese in MA and I doubt if they are legal in RI.

Not Legal? Since when did they put a ban on Shiners?:confused:

I know of a tackle shop in RI that sold them last year......so i would say that they are legal

Wildwood outfitters will be carying them starting next week i beleive.

i had a saltwater grade one in my hand today and while i was impressed, i have reservations... they arent that big, so even a large schoolie can snarf them up, while a large shad or scup will cull out the smaller bass who can not fit them in their maw.

They are not a shiner.

Alls I got to say is Tom's in Middleboro was fined over $50,000 for importing into MA.
It is up to the person to know his law of importing them into his state.
I'm not going to get into it any further. Look it up before you do it.

Correct.

They're in the goldfish family and if allowed to grow can become quite large like any of the other species in the goldfish family.They're very hardy,the fact that they can live in saltwater for up to two hours demonstrates that.This is also what makes them easy to raise.

Letting non-native species propagate,especially in a closed freshwater environment,is never a good idea.You can never know what the resulting consequences could be.White perch in Moosehead lake,zebra mussels in the Great Lakes etc.These fish were designed and developed in a lab and have a patent pending.They're non-native everywhere on the planet.

Out of all the concientious local fisherman who'll use them only in saltwater there'll always be someone who'll want his own private stock and'll drop a few dozen in the local pond.

Now with all that being said they haven't posed any problem whereever they've been used so far and may very well be the ticket to allow those who fish live bait to continue to do so and will take the pressure off the native species and allow them to rebound.

Come on. if you guys can't catch a decent bass on a Danny or a Surf Hog you should hang it up. You still have eels and Scup

I talked to dave at Ocean State tackle yesterday and he said they will be carrying them starting next week.

Just got off the phone with the division of fisheries and wildlife. They said the only way that fish in allowed in MA is DEAD.
Any person having posession of it will be subject to fines and jail.
It is a nonnative species and is not allowed period.
Any person selling the fish in the state will be fined severly & or jail and licences suspended.
They said that selling it for saltwater does not make a differance. It is the fact that it could be introduced to the freshwater lakes and streams.

Hi Guys,

Lurked here for a while, never posted as didn't feel appropriate with my profession while not being a sponsor. Like the information exchanged, and the obvious passion you all share for fishing.

That being said, I want to clear up a few things in regards to the Black Salty. These fish are farm raised members of the goldfish family, and were developed in aquaculture ponds in Arkansas, not in a lab. They have not been genetically altered in any way, they have simply been acclimated to salt water immersion over a 7 year process, and the heartiest specimens were then bred and retained. They stay alive in salt water up to 2 hours, then will die from overexposure to the salinity. I introduced a scientist at the RI DEM to Neil Anderson, owner of the minnow farm, and the 2 of them exchanged information including scientific workups, stats, and pertinent info. DEM then gave permission for them to be shipped into the state for retail sale. No baitshops sold them last year, Myself and 1 other person in RI used them on a trial basis only.
They are legal in many states already, even for freshwater useage. Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi all allow them for dual purpose bait, and they have many more tributaries, ponds, lakes, and other impoundments then New England combined. They have had absolutely no problems with these fish altering in any way the current biological distribution of native species, as they have a tough time getting a foothold in any body of water where a predatory fish lives. CA and FL have allowed the use as saltwater bait while prohibiting fresh water useage, for whatever reasons, but obviously it is possible to get legal status as saltwater bait while not freshwater, as precedence in these states shows.
These baits will be available starting this weekend at Wildwood distributors, Ocean State Tackle, and Sam's Bait and Tackle, while many others are making necessary preparations to have them available in coming weeks. They are an extremely effective alternative to wild harvested bait, and for those of you with doubts as to their effectiveness on large fish, I took a 52.8 pound striper on one in late Oct. , a 49 pound yellowfin out on the edge in Sept. as well as numerous mahi that same trip, and countless jumbo sea bass all year long, along with many other stripers from schoolie up to 38 pounds.
Currently the magnum size of 7-8 inch baits are in limited supply, but by July will be readily available as the farm has devoted a few ponds to get them to that size and even bigger by then. The inshore size is a sure fire bait for sea bass and fluke, and stripers will readily take all 3 sizes. Anyone with any other questions or reservations can contact Anderson farms direct at www.blacksalty.com, or PM me and I'll be happy to help in any way I can.
For those of you concerned that these fish will ruin any freshwater areas, rest assured that extensive sales in freshwater rich states has yielded nothing but positive results. Think of it this way.... how many legally sold Koi or goldfish are transacted in RI each year, and how many ponds do you know of where monster goldfish lurk awaiting your every cast???

What a great post. Thank God there is a voice of reason.

I understand that the non-availability or high price of native baits make us search for alternatives but think about the potential for problems with these Black Salties.

Thirty years ago someone said "I'm going to plant this pretty Kudzo in my backyard, what's the harm"

In the 1920's, someone said "Lets let these 10 Starlings fly around Central Park"

"This Water Hyacnth is so pretty" "There's too much Water Hyacnth, lets release some Nutria"

So, while they die in saltwater after a couple hours, in fresh water, given time and perhaps the perfect set of circumstances, they may completely decimate native populations. Ecosystems are balanced things and small things can cause problems.

The removal of wolves in Yellowstone Park in the 1940's led to the erosion of river banks and trout breeding problems.

Throw plugs, they die.

Actually Kudzo was planted by the highway depts to control erosion...

Great post CaptDom! I cant wait to use these things! very exited:drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: Livewell.....Boat.....Bassssssssssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssss

Basswipe, you hit the nail on the head! CaptDom, thank you for allaying my fears of non-native species over taking bodies of water.
Too many horror shows have come to be by bringing in species that are not part of the eco system and having them destroy the native species through predation or even simple competition for food.

real fishermen use artificials :hihi:

Real fisherman like Block Island Jeff use their bare hands...

Dom... good to hear Sammy is carrying these.... congrats on the 50 last year... I live on that spot/area in May-June... never gave it a thought in October....

Hey Bryan,

Thanks for the congrat wishes, You probably threw countless casts there all year, I was just in the right place right time. That fish had 2 trailers with it, so keep at it later in the year, you might get 1 of his buddies! There was a big run of larger fish that whole week, I got mine the night before that big noreaster.

Navy Chief, I understand your concerns, but this fish would have an extremely difficult time establishing itself in any body of water where a predatory fish resides. There are situations where non native species can actually benefit an ecosystem. Take for the prime example, the Large and Small mouth basses. These are actually members of the sunfish family, and due to their popularity, were introduced as non native species all over the world, with great success. The striped bass has been introduced to many larger freshwater impoundments with great success as well, and these are predatory, top of the food chain fish. People need to understand that man has already imbalanced the natural distribution of ecosystems on land and in water, so almost all habitats have some sort of non native species in it. There is no way we can go back to the way it was before man meddled, but we can certainly use knowledge, science, and responsibility to stregthen certain habitats by introducing forage species and predator species that will flourish without dramatically altering or harming in any way that particular ecosystem. These fish would only help supply forage if by some dramatic circumstances were introduced, whether purposely or by accident into fresh water.( A scenario that in my opinion would be very very unlikely)

This fish has been used in many states with freshwater bodies for some time now, and it has only improved the fishing. Recreational fishing is a 60 billion $$ plus economy with well over 40 million participants. These fish will take great pressure off a strained baitfish population, a good thing as pogies, eels, and herring are in serious trouble. :hee:

And live bait fisherman catch fish:rotf2:

& country western woman are awesome :lm: