# ND G&F Reminder



## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department reminds anglers it is illegal
to use game fish, or parts of game fish, as bait. The only exceptions
are perch eyes, and trout and salmon eggs.

Fathead minnows, creek chubs, spottail shiners and sticklebacks are the
only legal live baitfish that can be used in most North Dakota waters.

On a recent radio broadcast, a Devils Lake fishing guide offered a tip
that anglers might catch perch from ponds and sloughs in the Devils Lake
area to use as bait in Devils Lake.

According to chief of enforcement Robert Timian, what was suggested is
illegal. "You cannot possess or use any species of game fish as bait,"
Timian said. "Perch have been illegal to use as bait for the past 15
years."

Even though it has been illegal to transport or use perch as bait for 15
years, Greg Power, fisheries chief, said, "We still had 20 lakes with
illegal perch introductions that have caused significant management
problems, and seven of these lakes had to be eradicated."


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