# Did the price of minnows go through the roof



## Plainsman

I'm wondering if I just had two inexperienced people or if minnow price just went nuts. I stopped at Dan's here in Jamestown about fifteen minutes ago and asked for a scoop of minnows. I got 16 minnows for $3.75, and only about four cups of water. No way would they live long enough to make it to the lake. When I asked for more water she looked at me like I flew in from Mars. I had to kick out $7.50 to get enough minnows to fish for a couple of hours. Is it the same all over?


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## magnum3.5

My daughter works at a local bait shop and she says they are still $ 1.50 for a scoop and it's a big scoop.


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## Plainsman

We have always been high down here in Jamestown, but we always got a real scoop before. I think I'll bring a big tank to Devils Lake next time I am up that way.


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## holmsvc

My buddy went to Jamestown last week to pick up minnows, because the bait vendor hadn't brought any to Valley City yet. :******: 
He went to the bait shop in the NW part of town and paid $2 a scoop for minnows. They had a good assortment of sizes and would guess each scoop was about 2 dozen minnows. I don't buy bait that often in Jamestown, but when I do I always go to that bait shop. They have a good assortment of bait and tackle.


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## Honkerhornet

In some places in Detroit Lakes they are charging 7.00 bucks a dozen for shiners..and in the summer a lot of the places were charging 9 bucks for a dozen redtails...


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## Duckslayer100

Honkerhornet said:


> In some places in Detroit Lakes they are charging 7.00 bucks a dozen for shiners..and in the summer a lot of the places were charging 9 bucks for a dozen redtails...


That's shiners though. In N.D. we're pretty much stuck with crappie minnows and fatheads. 
Last winter I went up to Lake of the Woods and paid around that price for shiners. They actually counted out 12 minnows. Usually a "dozen" is pretty broad. I've never actually gotten the exact number.

Crazy what we'll do for a bunch of cigar-sized saugers... :roll:


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## Plainsman

holmsvc said:


> My buddy went to Jamestown last week to pick up minnows, because the bait vendor hadn't brought any to Valley City yet. :ticked:
> He went to the bait shop in the NW part of town and paid $2 a scoop for minnows. They had a good assortment of sizes and would guess each scoop was about 2 dozen minnows. I don't buy bait that often in Jamestown, but when I do I always go to that bait shop. They have a good assortment of bait and tackle.


Thanks, I'll try that place. I posted, because I wanted to know what was reasonable. Then I talked to the owner. I guess I'll get a free scoop of minnows next time I go in. I'll see how many are in that scoop. I talked to a fellow from Bismarck that says for $2.50 you get a scoop, but the scoop is so big you can fish for a few days on it.

Thanks for all the replies.


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## Norm70

bait in general has gone through the roof. I have caught my own crawlers for years and off and on caught my own minnows. I remember 50 cents a scoop for minnows and dollar a dozen for crawlers and this was not that long ago (i am under 30).

pretty soon people are going to have to buy cases of busch light instead of bud light just to afford minnows for the trip. its madness!!!!!:eyeroll:


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## ndgooseslayer

I had a buddy call me this afternoon and said we need more minnows for tommorow, so I ran across town to Dan's for some bait. They had two sizes...the large ones were huge and the small ones were big...bigger than i prefer to use. $3.75 got me 15 of the "small" minnows.

I usually trap my own minnows or pick them up in Kulm since I hunt/fish around my hometown. Not sure what they are at this year, but usually for a couple bucks you get a huge scoop with 2.5-3 dozen minnows.


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## blhunter3

Plainsman, talk to Dan and he will make everything right. Also was it an employee that wouldn't give you water or his wife? Just tell him what happened and I will guarantee he will make it right, he is a good guy.


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## gamberc

1.50 for a nice big scoop here i normallly get two scoops just in case and thats more then plenty!


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## MOB

2 bucks a scoop here on the honor system. They used to have a sign that said "Take plenty".


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## Norm70

plainsman the baitshop on the NW side of town right at the base of the hill right as you enter town(west of the tennis courts) was cheap. Thats where i got my minnows all the time in college. it was white?? house with a little sign that advertised in front of it. it was open still when drove by it last yearr. usually you just ring the doorbell if they are not in the garage/baitshop


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## Duckslayer04

Your looking at 320 for a scoop of 6 doz.. crappies, or about 350 for 4 doz. scoop of fatties in MSP area


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## fishnhuntngirl

Don't feel bad, bait went up here in Wisconsin too! Except, on Lake Winnebago (where I live) you can't take your minnows home after a day of fishing. You're supposed to dump 'em in the lake & buy more every day.... because of the whole VHS thing. Let me tell you!!! It gets expensive buying bait!!!


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## Backwater Eddy

Very tough winter minnow trapping conditions has driven up the coast of bait. Very tough, the big bait dealers are having a very tough time getting traps up and in to get the bait out and this has increased the cost. And the supply is very low on bait right now.

Bait prices for minnows should level off once the ice if off. But new import and export restrictions on some types of bait may raise more havoc on our wallets due to efforts to control disease and unwanted invasive species. Hard to say just what impact that may have yet?


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## kingcanada

be grateful for the dirt cheap minnows you have! i am in the supply end of that game here in wyoming. i catch 'em for the sporting goods store as best as i can. try catching minnows in a state with no water! most of the streams we do have don't cough up much. fall harvest will cost me several hundred dollars in gas alone. that is for 10 days of running real hard. it is a race to get bait when the irrigation canals get shut off for the year. an hour or two can make or break you if someone gets ahead of you. this year i was breaking ice to run the net a few days. supply has been declining for years. i ran out weeks ago. they pay me $3 per dozen. retail is around $4 per dozen. one guy was selling them for $7.50 per dozen the week of the fishing derby! i wish our game and fish didn't make it so hard and expensive to build a bait hatchery. i am sick of the stress of wondering where the next batch will come from. i have lost money a few times. crazy thing is that we are only allowed to use them in a few bodies of water. just something to think about.


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## Backwater Eddy

*FYI:* Gander in Fargo was out of bait due to supply issues, but now got a large load of nice Fatheads and Crappie minnows in. $3.99 to $2.99 a scoop.

Spikes and waxies too.


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## gaddyshooter

Must be another one of those regional differences. Never ever heard of buying a "scoop" of minnows. What does that actually mean? Do they have a scoop that they get the minnows out with, or is that just what they call the net?

Anyway...down south here, a dozen minnows will run you about $3.00 for the smalls. Some places are higher, but that is probably average.


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## KEN W

Most bait dealers here sell crappie minnows by the scoop or small net.They dip it in and you get a scoopful.Tough to count the smaller ones.


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## Plainsman

Yes, a small net full usually means your going to get 50 to 60 minnows.


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