So far we have 195 teams signed up for this sat on lake fork,please come out and support these kids at the weigh in at lake fork marina around 3 pm...they are the future of our sport

Can you tell me what time the weigh-in starts? I plan to be there.

Also, any chance the start/end times change due to the cold weather? Thanks.

Stop fishing time is 3 PM. The first flight is due in by 3:15. I think they have 25 boats due in every 15 minutes or so. At the last tournament, teams in later flights had to wait until their flight was due to weigh-in because of a stipulation that you have to use their weigh-in bags. We sat on the bank for 30 minutes waiting for a bag. With this many teams, I hope that they either got more bags or deviate from that dumb rule. Either way, if start/stop times are pushed back then kids will be weighing in the dark.

I have personally never been in a tournament that was delayed because of cold weather, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened or won't happen here.

The "dumb rule" you speak of is in place to make sure that fish spend minimal time in bags. Use of the trails bags is essential in limiting the number of people standing at the tanks with fish in "personal" bags. Fish are better off in the live wells than in personal bags. It takes only 7-9 minutes for the O2 in a bag to deplete.

If the bags are submerged in tanks then they aren't exactly relying on the water in the bags. I don't think a hot livewell that is 20 gallons is better than a shaded, cooled and well aerated tank that is a hundred gallons. Fish are better off getting weighed in and released back into the lake as soon as possible.

The rule could impact the tournament outcome and benefits the teams that weigh-in during an early flight. If one of the fish dies while a team is waiting to weigh-in, it could cost a kid the tournament.

I haven't seen this rule in place at ANY tournament I've fished. If they want us to use sponsor bags, then so be it. But I don't think it has anything to do with conservation.

I'm the Vice-President of the THSBA, and I originally was against forcing the kids to use our bags. But we need to do everything we can to teach these kids about taking care of fish. A bunch of our kids have only fished to take stuff home and eat it and they really need to understand the concept of "catch and release". A kid at Texoma brought a fish to the tanks in an empty bag and had no idea that was wrong. So anything we can do to show these kids that keeping the fish alive is important, is a good thing. I will be there Saturday and I'm hoping we have some fish to weigh.

Nothing wrong with eating fish; it's their choice.

I would like to donate some door prize vouchers for this. $100.00 in free labor for ANY REPAIR at our shop. Who do I need to send the voucher too?

Todd Finley
FINLEY'S TOTAL BOAT RESTORATIONS
5023 NE 28th St.
Haltom City, TX 76117
817-726-9998

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Finleys-Total-Boat-Restorations/149306865136225?ref=bookmarks

There is also a fall open on LBJ this weekend.

Todd, you can send it to me. I will pm my info

It takes that long to weigh in the fish. 200 boats, it will take 1 - 1 1/2 hours to weigh fish. We will be as fast as possible to weigh them. The fish have been in a livewell all day. It isnt going to hurt them to be in there for another 30 minutes.

I dont know who you are Alex, but if you are a Team advisor , I hope that you will be at the december meeting for ALL Team advisors to discuss the issues and growing pains from this year. If you are not then Please make sure someone from your school will be there.

We all know the issues we have and are doing the best we can at the moment.

Thanks
Ken

Ken, where is the meeting? I am not a team advisor; I captain a team. I understand that this is the first year with this kind of turnout and there are always opportunities for improvement. I think you guys made a HUGE improvement by allowing boat checks to be done on Friday evening instead of only on Saturday morning. Glad you are planning to have an advisor meeting. If I can't make it, I will be sure to speak with our advisor in advance.

I know you guys are working extremely hard, and I appreciate what you're doing for the kids. This is a great opportunity for them to learn and grow.

All info has been sent to the team advisors. If yours hasn't received it let me know. I will make sure they do. I appreciate the kind words. We have purchased new scales and computer program as well. So we will see how those help speed up things as well.

This is truly larger than any of us expected, I promise.


Thank you

Ken

I sure wish I could be there. These are good tournaments and these kids can catch some good fish! I fished with them last year and know first hand just how good.

Alex Finch, first off let me say thank you for giving your time to help whatever school it is that you are a boat captain for. It's folks like you that really make this whole thing run like it does.

However, please let me re-visit the "dumb rule" that you are not happy with. If you have fished tournaments in the past, then you know like I do that not all teams come in at their assigned times, as there are several reasons teams do this. It is even more so with the high school fishing scene. So picture this, all of a sudden, when the flight calls for 25 teams to check in at weigh-in and a bunch of teams come in before their assigned flight times (which happens a lot in high school fishing), and now you have 50-60 teams in line to weigh fish. Let's say it takes just 1 minute to get a team on stage and weigh their fish, the kids at the back of the line have now been in line for 50-60 minutes. Do you really think the fish have a better mortality rate in a weigh-in bag or in a live well with the recirculation pumps running. If you think the first scenario is better on the fish, then perhaps it is time to get your live wells checked by a mechanic.

Part of the high school fishing scene is the education aspect. Part of that is the conservation and care of the fish. So, I happen to feel that the rule of having to use our weigh-in bags is a good rule, not a dumb rule.

I will tell you that we are already in talks of expanding our divisions next year to cut down on the amount of teams in each tournament, as we are up to 200 for Lake Fork. Adding more divisions will cut down on the traffic at the weigh-in tanks and will more than likely go a long way to correcting the "very good for fish conservation" rule that will remain in place.