Willow cats now illegal????

Here is a heads up for those who use willow cats. Our new game warden here in Winona has decided that this is his major issue and now thanks to a loop-hole in the law this year will make it illegal to sell or scoop willow cats in Minnesota. The 2 bait shops in Winona both have running petitions and Rep. Gene Pellowski has been contacted and is on our side in this matter. You can also call the Minnesota DNR. Anyone with questions can contact either Brad at West End Bait or Stacy at The Bait Shack in Winona. We need as much help on this matter that we can get so everyone that we can get to join the fight is welcomed and needed.

Well, to have this corrected and knowing the law, a fisherman may use willow cats yet when fishing, it is just unlawful to sell them commercially, when netting your own willowcats you have to use or bring your own water from home it is illegal to transport river water. and not to give the local warden a bad reputation, he is the one who has lauched a process to get willow cats on the baitfish list so people can use them in inland waters, as well as sell them at the baitstores, yes people on the river have used them forever and still can, you just have to do the work yourself. so before you get to hasty and get mad at the local warden, give him a at-a-boy for helping us get the willowcat on the baitfish list, from my understandment that may be as soon as next fall.

Willowcats are currently under scruninty because of 2 reasons:
1. If they are taken from the Mississippi River, they cannot be transported anywhere else. Any fish from the MS River cannot be transported anywhere due to the river being labled infested with foreign species of plants (milfoil) and animals (zebra muzzels & ruffe). You can use willow cats on the MS River if you catch them yourself and use them right away. They are considered a minnow on any boarder waters.
2. Willow Cats are considered a member of the bullhead family on inland waters, and as such are considered a game fish. It is illegal to use game fish for bait.

The DNR is working to get this issue resolved ASAP. It is not the fault of any Conservation Officers, they are just enforcing existing laws.

I’ve got a few left and have not received any notification that I cannot sell them, but I suppose that could change in a hurry. Come and get them while you can!

Good Fishing,
Mike

Many of the willow cats sold by the shops in Winona are netted in N. MN. How would this affect this descision? I also did not know that a willow cat, a member of the madtom family, was considered a member of the bullhead family by the state of MN?

Also, I thought a bullhead under 7″ inches was legal for use as a baitfish in MN? If this is not the case there’s a TON of flathead catfisherman out there fishing with bullheads at night that have been doing so due to bad info.

OK guys, you’ve got me again. What the heck is a willow cat. I’ve heard mention of them a few times before but never bothered to aks. Now you’ve got my curiosity up.

Bullheads under 7 inches are considered a “minnow” and legal to use as bait in MN. I had a very recent “up close and personal” discussion with a warden on this subject. Someone turned me in for taking “large” amounts of bullheads from a stream and thought I was a poacher. He gave me a warning because some of the fish were a tish over 7 inches and should not have been “transported alive” because they were not consdered a minnow. Very strange because the 18 inch suckers in my baitwell were just fine but the 7 and 1/4 inch bullys were not -go figure.

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OK guys, you’ve got me again. What the heck is a willow cat. I’ve heard mention of them a few times before but never bothered to aks. Now you’ve got my curiosity up.

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Here is a link to the WI DNR site that has a page of info on willow cats – aka Madtoms.

Willow Cats.

Well I gave Tom, our local warden, a pm and hopefully he will come on line and address any questions that you have. as far as I know willowcats are not classed as bullheads, that is why they are currently not on the baitfish list for minnesota, our local warden I beleive has started the ball rolling to get them added to the list, people around here have used them for so many years, it is a technical law, and soon it will be changed. h20 you are right about them being in the madtom family as well. I will try to keep the answers coming on this issue. i know alot of people are up set about it, but I belive in the end things will work out. Keep the Questions coming.

The information I shared above was obtained from the DNR.

Good Fishing,
Mike

Thanks for the link on the willowcats. Very interesting. Believe it or not I had never heard of them before.

My guess is we’ll see a crackdown on willow cats that are netted from the river to be sold commercially. I hate to see someone’s livelyhood impacted but the threat of spreading exotic species to other bodies of water is very real.

Since many if not most of the cats sold by the shops in Winona are reportedly netted in N. MN, areas I can only assume to be free of exotic species concerns, I would imagine baitfish obtained from these areas would be OK for re-sale.

Keep us informed minigrub. Lots of guys use this bait on the river and will be interested in this outcome.

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Well I gave Tom, our local warden, a pm and hopefully he will come on line and address any questions that you have. as far as I know willowcats are not classed as bullheads, that is why they are currently not on the baitfish list for minnesota, our local warden I beleive has started the ball rolling to get them added to the list, people around here have used them for so many years, it is a technical law, and soon it will be changed. h20 you are right about them being in the madtom family as well. I will try to keep the answers coming on this issue. i know alot of people are up set about it, but I belive in the end things will work out. Keep the Questions coming.

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