Hayward Bait & Tackle Court Ruling

[alonzo buck]

Has this article made the local paper? If HB&T is an advertiser it probably won't. I will be boycotting them, and hope others do also.


http://wcco.com/local/bait.farming.b...2.1399199.html

[alonzo buck]

BTW, if anyone believes that Hayward Bait & Tackle only netted $15.000.00 on their bait business in 2008 there is a bridge out in Brooklyn that I will sell you cheap. I will also throw in some prime real estate in the Florida Everglades. Figures don't lie, but liars figure.

[Snizz]

Thanks for the info...This goes to show, it doesn't matter what industry, people will always try to take advantage of the system for personal gain...Just the nature of the beast!

[Ty Sennett]

I would bet that almost half the bait stores out there are cheating the new system. There are way too many restrictions on bait right now because of all the diseases. I'll still buy products from Hayward Bait and Tackle. They are just the ones that got caught. Do you think all these small out of the way tackle stores that used to trap their own minnows are going by the books now? Probably not.

Don't get me wrong there has to be some restrictions but the DNR makes it so selling live bait is going to cost enough to where it's not worth buying.

[Paul]

Ty, Your response astounds me. You said "almost half the bait stores out there are cheating the new system. There are way too many restrictions on bait right now because of all the diseases." You as a professional that relies on our natural resources shouldn't condone anything that threatens our fisheries. Look what's happening with the zebra mussels......... "almost half the guys" didn't rinse there boats down thoroughly, or at all..... just sayin... I will be fine with paying extra for bait. Zero Tolerance for law breakers! We are caretakers of the great outdoors for future generations.

[JohnN]

Can you even buy bait around Hayward that doesn't come through Hayward B&T? They're the major wholesaler that distributes to everyone from what I understand.

The article said that neither company intended to break the law and both fully cooperated with authorities. That's an important point to me whether other companies are complying with regulations or not.

I'd bet that of all the companies in Wisconsin, Hayward Bait and Tackle will do the best job of complying with the regulations after going through this. They should probably start a consulting business to help others comply with the regulations -- they're experts now!

[alonzo buck]

Ty, being the class guy that I honestly feel you are, and the fact that your livelihood depends 100% on our natural resources, I am completely shocked at your shallow and cavalier attitude towards this issue. I really don’t think you fully understand the ramifications that could result from the predatory practices of these businesses. John, you posted the quote: “The article said that neither company intended to break the law”. The article also stated that each company claims they netted $15,000 (HB&T) and $3,700 (FMF) while importing more than 2.5 million dollars of market value bait from out of state. I have been a business man way to long to buy that crock of sh*t, just as I don’t buy they didn’t know the law. They should both be shut down, end of story. Ty, I know you are a good guide, and I can personally attest that you produce great tackle, but you are wrong, wrong, wrong on this one.

[Snizz]

I think TY! is exactly right...this tackle company got caught and paid the price...he gave his opinion without getting overemotional, TYPING IN CAPS!, or pounding his fist...Everyone on this board cares about the fishing industry...

How many people went to buy suckers this past year and asked where they came from or if they had been tested for diseases...my guess would be no-one...what's done is done, it happened, steps have been taken to punish the law breakers and hopefully it's the end of this type of situation...(hopefully being the key word cuz we all know this is not an isolated incident)

[Mark Benson]

And to add to that, the bait company at the end of the article runs the bait over here in the Minocqua area. I know two of the more popular baitshops in the area and if I researched it was probably more that purchased their bait from them. I hope we as anglers gave every thought to the procedures the WDNR imposed on us two or three years ago and maybe that helped to bypass this problem.

By being very proactive, hopefully we kept VHS out of our system of lakes east and west. Until the article was written, we placed the confidence in the places we bought our bait from. And now I found out that the main place I bought them from was purchasing from a bad boy. Right now I have to have confidence in all of them, cause they are all still buying/selling bait. We do allow people who make mistakes to make restitution and allow them to function in society.

I don't think Ty was being cavalier in his thoughts, it is just until the item was posted, he, like all of the rest of us probably didn't put much thought into it. And right now he is in Chicago and won't probably have time to repost until next week. So let's not continue to hammer on him until he can get back and debate the issue along with us!!!

By way of the article, it would seem that probably the entire state was being provided bait by these three/four companies. I haven't had time to check with either/any of my network of baitshops in the area and probably won't for a while. I would be interested to find out their take on it before commenting in general.

On another AIS issue, I was most disappointed when leaving Mille Lacs last year to find out that Zebra mussels had been found the year before... So did we bring our boats without knowing, dumped 'em back in the water over here and infest waters here??? And how about the closing of the shipping canal in Chicago to keep the Asian Carp from Lake Michigan???

Enough for now, lets have a good discussion and not hammer on anyone!!!

Mark

[alonzo buck]

Mark, I appreciate your well thought out post, but I feel compelled to make two points. First off, I don’t feel anyone is being “hammered on”. It involves viewpoints. You stated concerning Ty’s response: “just until the item was posted, he, like all of the rest of us probably didn't put much thought into it.” That was exactly my point: Put some thought into it. To quote Snizz “We all care about the fishing industry”.

[Ty Sennett]

I am not saying that I would like VHS to spread but I do understand why these tackle stores do what they do. Hayward Bait And Tackle bought bait from the same places for a few years and to all of the sudden say they have to be tested didn't make sense to them so they kept their ways. Sometimes old ways die hard. I think everyone should talk to their bait shop owners and hear what they are saying about the testing and cost of testing to fully understand what is going on.

Again, I am not against trying to stop the spread of VHS but I am also a realist and understand why people do what they do.

As a side note, I hope everyone dumps their minnows/fall suckers/ice fishing minnows on shore at the end of the day even when you know you will be using them on the same body of water the next day. And if you believe this is happening you also believe the bait stores are testing all of their bait.

And Alonzo I am an environmentalist. It'd be hard to find someone that picks up more garbage from the Chip than I do. I consider it a good deed to the muskie gods and hopefully they reward me for it.

Better get to the muskie show,

[muskymeyer]

Hey Ty, when you use the term "pick up garbage" does that include me at the campground dock as well?
I had a long talk with Betty both last and this year about the new hoops for sucker suppliers. Pretty crazy regulations, but apparently warranted. The days of 6-8 dollar suckers is long gone.

Corey Meyer

[Jason L.]

.....TYPING IN CAPS!..........

[Downsouth]

I don't see any reason whatsoever to boycott Hayward bait and tackle. They paid their fine; so let's let 'em move on. As a matter of fact, they should be one of the 'safest' bait shops to buy from out there now, because part of the ruling requires that their baits be monitored for the next few years.

[Cold Front]

No question we all care deeply about fishing and preserving the resource for the future, I'm quite sure the folks at Hayward Bait and Tackle care as much as any of us. In matters of the environment we walk an incredibly fine line, most of trying to do as little damage as possible, while we use the environmet for recreation. The folks that make their living in the environment have added further difficulty to the path they tread, they need to live from the environment as well as protect it the to the best of their ability. Making your living from the environment, supplying anglers, boaters, hunters, birdwatchers, etc.etc. with the bait and equipment they want at prices they're willing to pay is a difficult task at best. Everyone of you knows of two or more baitshop/sporting goods stores that have failed over the last two years, don't immediatly say you don't think about it for a while. We all have, or aspire to have, equipment that is hard on that the environment which we have purchased specifically for use when we are in the environment. I don't think boycotting HBT is an answer. We all need to think about what our individual impact is, reduce that impact as much as possible and move forward. I think the rules surrounding all these issues are likely to get more and more complicated at some point you will find out that you've violated some rule that you wern't aware existed or misinterpreted. I, for myself, will give HBT another chance to get it right. I'll continue to use the service they provide and I'll pay attention, I won't suffer the same mistake twice.

Cold Fornt

[Ty Sennett]

Here's a question that maybe a biologist reading this could maybe answer:

Why was red spot disease not given the same awareness as VHS? Is one more destructive than the other or is there not as much known about VHS?

[Ty Sennett]

I did some research, maybe the red spot disease was not given the same attention around here because it was not prevalent in this area. I can't find anywhere that gives the mortality percent on VHS but I did find the mortality on Blue Spot Disease and Lymphosarcoma. Nowhere does it state anything about being transferred via bait wells or anything to that effect. I'll look some more.

[Snizz]

maybe the red spot disease was not given the same attention around here because it was not prevalent in this area.

I remember every pike I caught having a "red spot"...I think one or two muskellunge had it too!

[Ty Sennett]

I'm pretty sure that was Lymphosarcoma. I don't think red spot disease was around here.