Plastic Baits

[Baitbucket]

It amazes me that fellow fisherman (some of which are huge C&R proponents) would be so against a change. And the only reason I can see for this mindset, is because what they are doing isn't affecting the fish they actively target (Bass in particular). If bass were choking to death on these things, i can guarantee your tune would be different..  Heaven forbid u keep a bass to eat, but starve a trout to death on a plastic bait and thats ok..

Here is a novel idea.. If you dont want more government oversight, then do the right thing... The reason the govt steps in on these situations is because people dont do the right thing.

Bottom line here is these baits are harming fish, littering our waters, and causing more harm than good. Keep using them if you want, but when the govt steps in, just know you are the reason why. With the PLETHORA of other choices that are out there, im shocked that people dont just use common sense here..

[bucks-n-ducks]

I use them. Ill keep using them as long as theyre being sold. What i bring in, i take out.  Heres the answer to all the man made bait issues...use live bait, shiners and crawlers, crayfish etc etc etc if you are concerned about it. Long story short, im sick and tired of MORE govt oversight, im tired of others forcing their wants and beliefs on to me because of others who dont live their life with any sort of honor and to top it all off...if youre concerned about trash, start stopping on the side of the roads and picking it up. Hell, go look at the causeway at the Chu, its disgusting. The world is an inherently evil place. Trash is everywhere. Its not going away. I remember the commercials in the mid 70s about trash...think its changed anything? The answer is no.

x3

[SpaceGhost]

You posted a pic with with a metal lure hanging out of a trouts mouth the other day. Its no different. Im willing to bet that youve snapped a line or 2 before. Did you dive in to retrieve it?

[stripernut]

I would think that if we as anglers made a big push to educate all anglers that "trash" rubber/plastic baits that end up in the water are a possible danger to our fishery and possible right to use them in the future, would go a long way to controlling the problem. We don't hear about rubber/plastic baits being in fish with hooks in them, it looks as if most are litter/trash or lost, as in fall off the hook. With a small amount of effort and little cost the majority of rubber/plastic baits that end up in the water could be mitigated. I don't use a great deal of rubber/plastic baits in fresh water, but when I do now I will not try to get that "one more cast out of it", the one were it falls off the hook. I will dispose of it properly and re-bait a new one. This and proper disposal could make a BIG difference in what ends up on the bottom.

[deerhunter]

im with you on this one, will. and sounds like kieth kills more fish than he catches.

[Baitbucket]

You posted a pic with with a metal lure hanging out of a trouts mouth the other day. Its no different. Im willing to bet that youve snapped a line or 2 before. Did you dive in to retrieve it?

 
U mean the lake trout i caught. The same trout that had a 4in plastic bait in its stomach and looked sickly...
I have never in my entire life caught a fish with a metal or hard plastic lure in its stomach..ever...

[BASSQUATCH]

im with you on this one, will. and sounds like kieth kills more fish than he catches.

Sounds like you need to educate yourself about me! Get a clue & get a life! All my fish swim away happy! I don't keep anything, including the precious STOCKED trout! I know when to replace a worm! I know how to unhook my worms from the fish WITHOUT killing them! I like the clowns that just cut the line and let a fish swim away with a hook stuck in the throat sealing it up nice so it can't eat anymore! EVIL RUBBER WORMS, EVIL RUBBER WORMS, EVIL RUBBER WORMS! saying that only worms are harming fish! That's classic! Time to ban ALL ARTIFICIAL OR NONE!

[Baitbucket]

Keith, the problem is not everyone is you.. Your basing your opinion on how YOU do things. Not how the MAJORITY are doing things..

The way you do it is a select few. If there were more like you and I, this wouldn't be an issue.

[SpaceGhost]

"I would think that if we as anglers made a big push to educate all anglers that "trash" rubber/plastic baits that end up in the water are a possible danger to our fishery and possible right to use them in the future, would go a long way to controlling the problem."

I agree with this but how much more education can help? It doesnt take a rocket scientist to know that littering is bad and illegal yet people still do it regardless.

"I have never in my entire life caught a fish with a metal or hard plastic lure in its stomach..ever..."

So? Just because you havent caught one doesnt mean someone else hasnt or that it doesnt happen. Im willing to bet everything i have that if quabbin and the chu were drained, you would see more metal on the bottom than you would plastic or rubber baits. I guess they banned lead because it wasnt being eaten. HA...wrong, it was being eaten by loons. So screw the birds as long as the fish arent eating them its ok.

Screw it, ban everything man made. Go back to fishing with hooks from bones and some sort of natural line and may as well go hunting with a spear and rocks. Problem solved.

[SpaceGhost]

The majority? You taking polls? Im betting its the minority, not the majority. I believe the majority are responsible hunters and fishermen.

[Baitbucket]

So? Just because you havent caught one doesnt mean someone else hasnt or that it doesnt happen. Im willing to bet everything i have that if quabbin and the chu were drained, you would see more metal on the bottom than you would plastic or rubber baits. I guess they banned lead because it wasnt being eaten. HA...wrong, it was being eaten by loons. So screw the birds as long as the fish arent eating them its ok.

Law of averages states that if metal/hard plastic baits are harming fish in the same manner/rate as plastic worms, then I would have atleast come across one in my 25years of fishing. I can go out and catch 3 of each species of fish (bass, perch, trout, pickerel) and find atleast one plastic worm in atleast one of each.

How do i know this? I have seen it. People i fish with (and there are alot of them) have seen it. States are now funding studies into investigating it.. In Maine they have state divers surveying the lake and pond bottoms and their findings of plastic worms has been mind blowing. These things are simply not breaking down, being eaten by fish, and killing them..

Change is coming..

[SpaceGhost]

law of averages

I keep forgetting your a math expert. With no stats to back any of your claims up.

[Baitbucket]

law of averages

I keep forgetting your a math expert. With no stats to back any of your claims up.

Google is hard.. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1577/M08-085.1#preview
And more: http://www.bassmaster.com/news/dont-discard-soft-plastics-they-can-kill

[SpaceGhost]

Are you serious? You keep "googling" answers that have zero to do with the replies. You say that plastics are more harmful than metals. So you go and google a 5 year old study about plastics but nothing that has a metal to plastic harm study.

durka durka google. Youre the resident expert Will. Keep patting yourself on the back while you regurgitate everyone elses hard work and state the obvious.

[Baitbucket]

Wait a second, the whole premise of this post was plastic worms.. You then ask for proof because my personal findings are irrelevant (IE: My "hard work"). I provide that proof and im just regurgitating other peoples findings.. WTH? And your right that study was 5 years ago, if it was a problem 5 years ago, its definitely gotten better with plastics and fishing in general becoming more popular. Right??

There are no studies on metal vs plastic because metal hasnt had the same affect on the wildlife as plastic.. Tricky stuff, i know..

Its clear your just here to troll and derail this conversation. So do us all a favor and troll elsewhere.