Bait Shop Raid

[Jack Hunter]

http://poststar.com/news/local/article_3bd812f2-593e-11df-9ad9-001cc4c03286.html

[james]

http://poststar.com/news/local/article_3bd812f2-593e-11df-9ad9-001cc4c03286.html

[jona]

Good!  It's been kind of a cough cough thing that people knew he was doing that.  I hope this helps clean things up.  I remember 2 seasons ago when the guys were busted for being 400 perch over their limit on George, I said the bigger problem is somebody out there is buying them.  I hope this helps, if the guys who keep over their limits don't have anywhere to sell to, they'll stop.

[prchslyr]

I've bought plenty of bait at his place over the years.
He always seemed like a cool dude.
Dunno if he's guilty or not. If he is, by all means sock it to him.
No matter what way you look at it, it sucks to hear.

[NateFishNY]

it seems pretty hush hush right now... ill wait for more info. before i make an opinion... i also have used that bait shop on my way to south bay

[trapper2000]

i got to say this ...and  prchslyr  if you   feel a need to  delete  it i understand , no hard feelings .....  seems the  dec  is more worried about a  fish  being sold  then  a  honest , american veteren  being beatin and almost  drowned  ...i'm sorry  .....  which is more  important??

[crappiekiller315]

Well put trap
How bout the non english speakin folks that don't get tickets cuz its more of a hassle then its worth for the dec??

[bluefin67]

I seen the same thing at the beach.I always wondered why they never get a ticket......I'm sure they have a fishing license too.....

[jimski2]

There is nothing wrong with perch fishing except the limits on their catch. Perch are so prolific that if you do not take enough of them they will stunt down. Perch feed on the fry of themselves and walleye etc. The limit should be what you need and can clean yourself. As far as selling them, this nation imports 3 trillion dollars of seafood annually. How about allowing America to buy American fish which belong to everybody, not just license buyers? The DEC knows that the walleye fishing declines when the perch are out of control. Lake Simcoe in Canada put a 50 perch limit on it and license sales dropped 6500 licenses. The perch stunted down and 50 perch would not fill a 5 gallon bucket. Lake Erie gill nets were stopped in 1986. We failed to have a good walleye hatch in the Eastern Basin till 2003. You have to remove the perch to have good walleye and perch fishing.

[1fish@atime]

While I can't say I have a problem with selling the perch. I have to agree with Trap. Seems NY(DEC) makes a bigger deal out of offenses that regard money not going into the states pocket. I'm sure next you will see a license requirement for selling fish.
I have a couple questions, were the perch from VT. caught on Champlain? We have license overlaps on this lake. Plus if it is the same body of water as the perch the NY. guys were selling him whats the deal. As long as no one was exceeding limits?
Second, are the maybe few thousand dollars the state may get in fines really worth what they have spent to take this guy in and charge him. Article said it has been an ongoing investigation, Wouldn't that money be better spent investigating companies and industry that continue to pollute our waters. Last raid they portrayed in the papers showed dozens of officers, investigators and a whole lot of taxpayer dollars.

[The River Rat]

on page 19 of the NYS fishing guide for 2009-10 it lists transportation of fish.

Transportation of fish as designated below is permitted, except while fishing in NY waters:
: No more than 2 days legal take of non-salable fish may be transported unless a permit is obtained from a DEC regional office, or the fish are frozen, precessed and packaged for storage.
: Salable fish may be transported in ANY number!!!!!!!!!!!

You can not keep over your limit of panfish that are salable while on the water fishing, but you may transport any number of salable fish once off the water.

:fish that are salable at any time include.

:Those species in the STATEWIDE ANGLING REGULATIONS table for which there is no closed season or no minimum length.

The state and federal wildlife agencies through scientific research and public opinion set, regulate and oversee fish and game laws. Selling panfish and rough fish IS LEGAL, and is viable for many people on both sides of buying and selling. There are many things in conservation law that I do and dont agree with but selling fish is legal, and if someone is operating outside of the law then they need to be punished accordingly, but lets not make out that fish buyers or sellers are the anti-christ

MTF

[trapper2000]

i have  spent more  time teaching kids to fish  ,taking old people ,and  helping with stocking  then most people have ....i am saying i am a sportsmen ....i also sell panfish...i will never  get rich doing so  but i will never  hurt the  envoriment  or the fish population either!
 every time you   see a restrant  that offers  bullhead  or perch dinners,or  fire  deptments having  fish frys,guess what ?
 legally selling  a  legal limit  hurts  no one  , don't  blame a whole  group  for the actions  of a few  that is the  exact way  laws  get imposed on all of  us and gives  anti outdoors groups  ammo and  fuel  for the fire

[Gamma Fish]

When all is said and done, we'll find that the issue will have been that Lenny was being watched and charged for dealing in illegal crappies.
   Even though it's not his responsibility to police his customers, the issue will be that he was buying crappies from New York fishermen with a Vermont fishing license.  These guys catch crappies in Champlain and Saratoga and sell them to Lenny and tell him they were caught in Vermont and all they have to do is show their Vermont fishing license to make the sale legitimate.....ot what they believe to be legitimate.
  This has been going on since they made the crappie a game fish back in early 90's (size and number limits)
It created a HUGE black market that is still present today and it's a market that is fueled by demand.     

  I've known Lenny for more than 25 years.  Honeys Bait & Tackle has been a huge benefit to the local economy out there but instead of helping these small businesses stay fluent, the Gov't / DEC tries to sink them every chance they get when there are real violators of much more serious laws that always seem to go overlooked / unseen 

   This whole fish buying situation could be a benefit to the states economy if they'd just open their eyes and do what's right.     NY should offer / require a $50 to $100 Hook & Line commercial fishing license with a card system just like food stamps or public assistance.
   You can't sell fish unless you have the card and it needs to be swiped through a scanner for every sale !       # .1, this would eliminate much of the riff raff who fish and sell illegally from coming into these bait shops to sell their fish as most of them are too cheap to buy a commercial license and/or they won't buy one because they're collecting disability, SSI, Welfare, Unemployment and fear of loosing their gravy benefits.    It would take a huge burden off the bait shop owners backs plus, it would allow the DEC to monitor the amount of fish (different species) being sold which would help them in their research.   
  Maybe a small fee from each fisherman's catch and from each dealer from every sale could go to restocking programs or habitat improvement programs for the waters where the fish are being taken !
  I know it's adding more laws/fee's to the books and I hate the thought of it but they could be laws/fee's that help both the fishermen/women who never sells a fish to the guys who sell everything (Within the Legal Limits) that they catch.
   
    Having been part of the fish buying/selling system for many years, I see things from both sides of the fence.    Good and bad on both sides.   The one thing that would be bad for both sides is if they totally ban the sale of all fish.
  Not only would it have an impact on the quality of the fishing that we have here in New York but it would create a black market so big that the DEC could never control it and by their track record in recent years, they're not know for their stellar performance in enforcing the fish laws "according to the book".
   

[trapper2000]

and i have to  say , i have  known gamma for  years  and  he  is a honest sportsmen  and  he may  know  a little  bit on this  subject ...... 

[Gamma Fish]

and i have to  say , i have  known gamma for  years  and  he  is a honest sportsmen  and  he may  know  a little  bit on this  subject ......  

Thanks old timer but........did you bang you head getting out of bed this morning ?    

 All BS'ing aside,    I've been on both sides of this issue and both sides of the law while partaking in the business.  Seen it all ....many times     The people you rely on to be the good guys (Gang Green) end up being the bad guys becuase they don't know and understand the laws they're trying to enforce !
     Trapper is right on the money with his last post !