Bait shops for us and against us
 

Info from a recent RISAA e-mail:

Shops AGAINST the menhaden bill prohibiting purse seining pogies in Narragansett Bay:

Sam's Bait & Tackle (Middletown, RI)
Ocean State Tackle (Providence/Bristol)

Shops that wish to remain NEUTRAL, which in my mind is the same as being AGAINST THE BILL

Breachway Bait & Tackle (Charlestown)
Edward's Bait & Tackle (Newport)
Lucky Bait & Tackle (Warren)
Riverside Marine (Tiverton)

**
So far shops that are FOR the menhaden bill prohibiting purse seining pogies in Narragansett Bay:

The good guys:-
Archie's Bait & Tackle (Riverside, RI)
Continental Bait & Tackle (Cranston, RI)
#^&#^&#^&#^&'s Sport & Hobby (Pawtucket, RI)
Erickson's Bait & Tackle (Warwick, RI)
Marine & Auto Savings (Providence, RI)
Quaker Lane Outfitters (North Kingstown, RI)
Ray's Bait & Tackle (Warwick, RI)
Saltwater Edge (Middletown, RI)
Sandy Bottom Bait & Tackle (Coventry, RI)
Snug Harbor Marina (Wakefield, RI)
Wildwood Outfitters (Wakefield, RI)

To me this makes it clear who cares about the bay and who doesn't. I'll plan my spending accordingly by avoiding those shops that don't support the bill.

Gotta be a tough call for some of these guys, I know Riverside sells a lot of fresh bunker when they can get it.

Combine this with a the possibility of an eel ban and you may put some shops under.

-spence

Not to hijack but what's gonna happen to Riverside with the bridge construction?

I wouldn't think much of anything. He's on the north and the bridge is going to the south. Perhaps when it's time to demo the old bridge?

But the traffic disruption is sure to hurt his business, especially if there's any limitations put on the boat ramp.

-spence

If you really want to do something, call those shops and let them know where you plan on doing business.

Are there any restrictions against gill netting them?

I know Dave at Ocean State,he's a great guy,and cares about fisheries management issues.He also sells a lot of bunker,and he's a small shop,in a competitve market.
I guess it's a tough call for these guys when it comes down to feeding your family.As much as I support the bills passage,I can't trash the guy for being in front of a bullseye.I will however keep doing all I can to ensure its passage.

The study pertaining to eel stocks conclude that they were not endangered. These results were published in several newspapers and magazines.

Looks like RISAA is trying to hold the shops hostage to their view - shame on RISAA.

These shops are trying to survive any way they can. They have their reasons not to support the ban and its probably economic. Respect their view.

DZ

I agree with Dennis on the hostage thing, I said the same thing. Them saying this will cost these shops alot of money...

Stuff is driven by the almighty dollar...

But then there is the side that says there won't be any more dollars when the fish are gone too, and with the amount of bitching about these boats and what they do in the bay to these schools of fish...

Would be nice to see a comeback of these fish for the health of the stripers etc. but where do you draw the line?

If these guys care so much about fisheries stuff then why not stop selling them or put a limit on them or something? Seems to me that there's a majority of people who support this stuff? I don't fish bait but there are alot of other ways to fish?

ditto.

where did this info come from?

I understand that, but it doesn't mean there's not potential in the future. It's still a business risk that should be factored in.

-spence

Since when is publishing information holding someone hostage? People are free to decide for themselves. I applaud RISAA volunteers for getting this information. Shame on those that want this information hidden to protect their own vested interest - in typical Rhode Island fashion.:smash:

Frankly, I think these shops are being short sighted. It's only fresh bunker that won't be available. Frozen will be. More bass available in the bay for longer periods should help these shops. More people fish when there is word of a good bite, not based on the bait available in the shops.

I wonder what some of these shops did before Ark Bait started raping the bay of all the pogies?

The shops will improvise and sell other types of bait.

Thanks for posting Roger. People can use the information and decide for themselves.

A man of reason as usual. Hats off to you Dennis for common sense.:claps:

I still don't understand why everyone thinks that the shops won't be able to get fresh pogies. The shop I work at consistently has fresh pogies that do not come from ark bait or anyother big time operation. They come from single man operations. Its not hard for someone to get bait, and if the shop is willing to pay a little more per fish they will get pogies.

[QUOTE=Roger;467658]Since when is publishing information holding someone hostage? People are free to decide for themselves. I applaud RISAA volunteers for getting this information. Shame on those that want this information hidden to protect their own vested interest - in typical Rhode Island fashion.:smash:

Frankly, I think these shops are being short sighted. :claps:

I disagree, bait shops make most of there profits from bait. Big ticket items such as rods and reels have a very small mark up. Look at it from their point of view. And to say that these tackle shops are "Against Us" is ridiculous. Sounds more like you are after the bait shops then attempting to get the bill passed.

we need the pogies just to clean up the bay, never mind bait. i used to own a bait shop and i could get all the pogies i wanted from the 1man boats. they were no where my top 3 sellers as far as bait was concerned. eels, worms, then crabs. we have let the bay become a sewer. ther is no eelgrass left. 40 years ago, i go fishing in any of the upper bay hot spots and it would be loaded with grass. no more. let the pogies do the work that we should be doing. namely, filtering the bay water. just my 2 cents.

Nothing's as simple as "You're either with us, or against us."
You start dealing in absolutes and you're on your way to extremism.

slow_eddie,

You're so right about keeping the bay clean. IMHO the bait shops will not suffer if Ark Bait is kept out of the bay or is significantly restricted...nature abhors a vacuum and guys with gill nets would spring up like mushrooms in the rain. We would probably see just as much fresh bait available, and perhaps in better condition.

Fish-eye and eddie.
One thing that gets NO MENTION is this.

First off, I'm a geologist not a biologist so this is my SWAG (scientific wild-ass guess)

The claim is that 1million pogies will filter out 31Million lbs of crap (or somewhat there about)

That is the GROSS uptake of pogies. What gets no mention is the NET benefit. My sense is that any benefit is much much smaller, maybe 10% of that 31Million pounds.... remember.. Pogies eat but Pogies SH_T too!

I think any gain, while important will probably be much less than the benefits the CSO tunnel will provide, OR if all the coastal homes on Septic in the bay are put on Sewer and treated.

I supported the bill by emailing the reps, but I am skeptical of what if any science went into this claim.

As far as the bait shops... They are entitled to their opinion. I disagree at times, and these get voiced at Advisory panel meetings or RIMFC meetings, and not patronizing them because of this isnt a great thing IMHO...

Some shops DO well w/o bait, a la SWE, but for most shops it is a very important item to have bait to sell, be it eels, pogies, squid, whatever

I hope I'm not out of my area here, but as a bait seller and in many cases harvester, I can't see any problem with limiting purse seining menhaden anywhere. True in my area of NJ, pogies aren't a preferred bait but in Delaware Bay and Raritan Bay they are the standard fare.

Unforutnately in those two big bays purse seining for bait is still permitted which from my understanding at least in the Raritan Bay tends to push remaining pogies north to NY along with the bass.

No mater how many sportfishermen you have those pogies are for lobster and crab bait for the most part. I don't know exactly what other gear types are permitted in Narragansett Bay, but if you take the big purse seine operations out of the equasion gill nets and cast nets can easily supply any striper bait and probably any local commercial baits you need at a higher quality.

All I know is that the more menhaden you send south the fatter the bass will be when they get here.

Cast netted bait is going to be of much better quality than purse seined fish. I would think that with the elimination of the seiners, a small fishery would sprout up - selective, small scale targeting of pogies to supply the bait shops. This might even provide some $ for smaller commercial fisherman, and keep the bait shops in business (minus the wholesale elimination that the seiners cause).
Although the price might be a bit higher than the seined fish, the increase will hopefully be passed on to the consumer, keeping the shops margins the same.

Getting the Pogie boats out will change things alot!
 

RI is where Jersey was just 3-5 years ago...Fighting to get the out of state Party boats out. What happened, the bunker reduction boats were booted, and the NJ coast heas been getting some of the best fishing in the spring EVER experienced. Guys that have been fishing 20, 30, 40 years have never seen some of the runs that we have been having. thats both boat and beach. Shame on the Tackle shop owners who won't stand up because they are afraid they wont have a bait supply, or because they are worried that people will be able to get their own bait. That is the Fact. Funny thing is, most people werent even using bait of the surf and there were many, 30, 40, and 50lb bass caught on plugs. Googans were bangin' 30's and 40's. Many of these fish don't even make it up North, They stay with the bait...Question...Why do you think the fishing is spiraling downward every year from the cape to Watch Hill???

Just my Humble opinion

I would be interesting to see what would happen north(or east or whatever upstream) of the bay if more bait could make it past the purse seiners in RI...

Davey Who??

It will take more than just these Menhaden to Help the Bass..........You are Right DZ...............

So keep adding to the problem and keep killing millions of pounds of menhaden for lobster bait and keep catching anorexic bass grubbing grubbing for food....