# HMMMMMMmmmmm Corn Nibblets



## southernman (Nov 14, 2007)

i see a few people using corn once in a while, is it a good bait for planters? catfish maybe?

sm


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## milenine (Nov 25, 2007)

For some reason it is one of the only baits that is illegal... I dont know why they would ban a particular bait like that though. I cant imagine it harms the environment and it doesn't make sense to ban something because it works good. Seems like the fish limit is what keeps the population in check, not limiting the use of certain baits.


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## fishmanjustfish (Oct 29, 2007)

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure corn and its meal products are used in fish hatcheries. I guess DWR thinks the fish would be too attracted to it. You can buy corn scented nibblets and gels but I didn't see any difference than the standard glitter stuff when fished.


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## chuckmiester (Sep 9, 2007)

if it is corn it is illegal. the reason is it kills any fish that eat it. we [humans] can't digest it why should fish be able to. if they take it in it clogs their digestive system, makes them constipated, and then because they cant get rid of anything they die and get bloated.

fishman, if they use corn meal it is just that MEAL. it is ground up and added to grain and such.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Whoa! Are you guys joking?

Sorry, let me explain. Corn is illegal to use as bait or to even have in your possession while fishing. First off, I understand that it's very effective, but that's not the real issue.

The real issue comes from how bad the corn is for the fish. Think about it...When you eat corn, it goes through your entire digestive system without getting broken down very much. If you don't believe me, eat some corn and watch your toilet for the next 24hrs or so. I'm sure you'll see little nibblets in your stuff once it passes.

Same thing goes for fish, but they don't have an anus or tract large enough to pass the kernels. 

They plug up and eventually die.

Every helping of corn I eat, I have to laugh and say, "See ya tomorrow!"

I know, graphic, but I bet your question is answered. :lol: 

If you use corn, you're risking some serious trouble if you get caught and you're hurting the fish.

Thanks for asking, though. If anyone else was unclear about that, now they know.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Oops. Sorry Chuck...didn't know you were already on it.


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

It, corn, does *not* harm fish. They eat snails that are both bigger, and harder to digest and pass than corn kernels. It is illegal because Utahns use to use it as chum. Back when it was legal to chum, there were bays at Strawberry that got literally thousands of cans of corn tossed out as chum. It covered the bottom of several bays. It added to the problems of water quality, and promoted the algae blooms that everybody hates up there. A cousin of mine was scuba diving while we were fishing in a boat. He surfaced, took off his mask, and said.."You can put away the corn, it's already this deep all over". He was using his hands to show that he had stuck his hand into the corn from the tip of his fingers to the base of his palm.

In the late "70s, the drought lowered the water level at Strawberry to the point that Mud Creek Bay had a yellow bottom. It was corn. It doesn't decompose very fast, and was covering most of the bay. It had a very distinct "corn squeezin's" odor too. Because of the water quality issue, the UDWR outlawed chumming. In order to prevent someone from having a few cans of corn on board, and succumbing to the temptation to chum, they also outlawed the use of corn for bait, and the possession of it while fishing.

Fishrmn


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## chuckmiester (Sep 9, 2007)

if that is the real reason corn is illegal than everyone i have ever talked to about this issue is full of crap.

my only question is then why can't other animals digest corn? cats cant yet they can digest bones.


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## milenine (Nov 25, 2007)

i think my vote is for the "chum" explanation. I remember fishing with my grandfather as a child and he and a lot of the other fishermen in the area would make slingshots with giant pouches that were capable of flipping hand fulls of corn into the water at a time. It worked very well. We did most of our fishing in ID, not sure if it was illegal there. I am not a fisheries expert but I tend to agree that the snail shells would be much harder on the digestive tracks than corn kernals.


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## Fishrmn (Sep 14, 2007)

> Re: HMMMMMMmmmmm Corn Nibblets
> by chuckmiester on Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:27 pm
> 
> if that is the real reason corn is illegal than everyone i have ever talked to about this issue is full of crap.
> ...


You can't digest it either, unless it is well chewed. But it passes right through you. and it 
passes through the fish too.

Fishrmn


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Fishrmn said:


> It, corn, does *not* harm fish. They eat snails that are both bigger, and harder to digest and pass than corn kernels. It is illegal because Utahns use to use it as chum. Back when it was legal to chum, there were bays at Strawberry that got literally thousands of cans of corn tossed out as chum. It covered the bottom of several bays. It added to the problems of water quality, and promoted the algae blooms that everybody hates up there. A cousin of mine was scuba diving while we were fishing in a boat. He surfaced, took off his mask, and said.."You can put away the corn, it's already this deep all over". He was using his hands to show that he had stuck his hand into the corn from the tip of his fingers to the base of his palm.
> 
> In the late "70s, the drought lowered the water level at Strawberry to the point that Mud Creek Bay had a yellow bottom. It was corn. It doesn't decompose very fast, and was covering most of the bay. It had a very distinct "corn squeezin's" odor too. Because of the water quality issue, the UDWR outlawed chumming. In order to prevent someone from having a few cans of corn on board, and succumbing to the temptation to chum, they also outlawed the use of corn for bait, and the possession of it while fishing.
> 
> Fishrmn


It sure was good 'bait' in those day's.....nobody went fishing without it... :wink:


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## fishmanjustfish (Oct 29, 2007)

I don't know about this guys but dang, eat corn then check out your bung. I've pulled out a bzillion crawfish out of the mouths of fish over the years and partially digested ones in the guts. How about this, eat a crap load of whole crawfish then check out your bung. You'll need your Preparation H. OUCH!!!!!


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

LOAH said:


> Whoa! Are you guys joking?
> 
> Sorry, let me explain. Corn is illegal to use as bait or to even have in your possession while fishing. First off, I understand that it's very effective, but that's not the real issue.
> 
> ...


Hmmm...I'm not convinced yet. I am going to need to see photographic evidence. But I am connvinced it is bad for the fish.


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## Nibble Nuts (Sep 12, 2007)

fishmanjustfish said:


> I don't know about this guys but dang, eat corn then check out your bung. I've pulled out a bzillion crawfish out of the mouths of fish over the years and partially digested ones in the guts. How about this, eat a crap load of whole crawfish then check out your bung. You'll need your Preparation H. OUCH!!!!!


Hmmmm.............I'm gonna need photographic evidence of that too.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

I'm sure the chumming part has plenty to do with the legalities of using corn, but there's just something about how corn that just doesn't dissolve right.

I'm sure you've all opened up a fish's gut and seen the leftovers from what they've eaten right? How often (in bigger fish) do you see the remains of a smaller fish? I see that all the time where much of the bones are dissolved and rounded off. They eat crayfish and those shells must break down somehow. Humans eat plenty that you wouldn't think would break down very well, but it does.

Somehow still...Corn shows up tomorrow. There's just something about it. The skin around corn seems almost like plastic.

I _would_ be interested in hearing the official word since I easily be wrong.


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## fishmanjustfish (Oct 29, 2007)

I think the boys that voted for chumming were right. I downloaded this off the internet and the link is below. My god guys, I hope the ice forms soon. I'm google (ing) fish digestion in the middle of the night. My wife and kids are starting to worry LOL!

http://www.rtsapa.org/fishqa.htm

During the last few years, I have seen more and more people using corn for bait. But it seems as if they are now being so bold as to sow the stream with handfuls at a time before casting their lines. I have always had the understanding corn cannot be digested by the trout and they would die from ingesting it. If this is the case, is it illegal to sow corn?

Commission fisheries biologist Tom Bender at our Benner Spring Fish Research Station conducted a study in 1992 that examined the impact of corn on trout. For the study, two groups of hatchery rainbow trout were held in separate tanks and tested for 54 days. In one tank, 20 rainbow trout (average size 8.3 inches) were fed a diet of whole kernel corn. In the second tank, 20 rainbow trout of the same size were fed a standard trout pellet diet. 
During the 54 day study period, no mortalities occurred from trout of either study group. However, study results did show that the trout fed with a corn diet did not digest the corn particularly well. The growth observed by the corn-fed trout during the study period was only about half of that observed from the trout that were fed the standard trout pellet diet.

The conclusion from this study was that there appears to be little reason for concern about the short term health hazards for rainbow trout when whole kernel corn is used for bait. Although there are better diets for trout than whole kernel corn, this study confirms that mortality does not occur when trout ingest whole kernel corn.

You also asked about the practice of anglers using handfuls of corn to attract fish - a practice sometimes called "chumming." For waters managed under statewide regulations, chumming with corn or other bait to attract fish would be considered a legal practice, providing that anglers don't get carried away and liberally coat the bottom of the stream with corn. If this were the case, then it could be considered littering. The Commission does not recommend chumming.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Great post. I'm glad you took it upon yourself (and your family's patience) to look into it. It's nice to know that the corn doesn't kill the fish. Thanks.


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## milenine (Nov 25, 2007)

i think they should do the same study but feed one tank of fish nothing but nutritious Berkley's PowerBait, preferably the rainbow color since it probably has more food groups.


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## BrookTroutKid (Oct 10, 2007)

milenine said:


> i think they should do the same study but feed one tank of fish nothing but nutritious Berkley's PowerBait, preferably the rainbow color since it probably has more food groups.


MMMMMMMM.............powerbait (gurgle gurgle gurgll)


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