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Tournament Bass Mortality
#10811948
05/01/15 07:35 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 451
Hobbs McAvoy
OP
Angler
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OP
Angler
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 451 |
I fished a tournament last weekend and the weigh-in was at a marina that for the most part is enclosed from the lake except for a boat run. Temperatures were in the upper 80's and I added a little ice to my live well just to keep the water from getting hot. All 5 of my bass were alive at weigh-in and in fact most of the bass that came in were alive. I only saw one fish that was dead. The TD is a good guy and so is the trail so I'm not going to bash them but he was taking his time weighing the fish, chit chatting and such while the fish were out of the water. After being weighed the fish were released into the marina. The next day there were 5-6 bass floating dead in the marina. Two were over 5 lbs. There were no dead fish floating the day before. There is no doubt in my mind that those bass were some of the bass that came in from the tournament. It was sad to see it first hand. The only problem I saw was how long the fish were kept out of water being weighed. They were already stressed from being caught and it was hot on top of that. I guess I should have said something to the TD about how long he was keeping the fish out of water but I didn't want to stir anything up. Those dead bass might have died anyway but they would have had a better chance of making it if the weigh-in could have went a little faster. I'm no expert on fish care just thought I would raise a little awareness. Let's do all we can to keep them alive to be caught another day.
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Re: Tournament Bass Mortality
[Re: Hobbs McAvoy]
#10812032
05/01/15 08:12 PM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,753
Outdoordude
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,753 |
I'd suggest voicing your thoughts with the director. Something like this can be discussed in a constructive way without criticizing how he likes to run the weigh-in. And, depending on how large the tournament was, 5 or 6 floaters isn't too bad. Stuff happens.
Scott Jones
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Re: Tournament Bass Mortality
[Re: Hobbs McAvoy]
#10812081
05/01/15 08:36 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 451
Hobbs McAvoy
OP
Angler
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OP
Angler
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 451 |
Yeah, it probably wasn't a high percentage maybe 5-10% death rate but there were only 5 over 5 lbs weighed in and 2 of those died. Much higher percentage on the bigger fish.
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Re: Tournament Bass Mortality
[Re: Hobbs McAvoy]
#10812496
05/01/15 11:31 PM
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Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 365
CenTexan
Angler
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Angler
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 365 |
One prior to weigh in and maybe 5 afterwards. That sounds low to me. I've seen 15-20 weighed in dead at various tournaments over the course of many years. But normally someone was releasing the fish immediately after weigh in while interviews were going on.
Last edited by CenTexan; 05/02/15 02:30 AM.
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Re: Tournament Bass Mortality
[Re: Hobbs McAvoy]
#10812668
05/02/15 01:19 AM
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 50,908
Trickster
Super Freak
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Super Freak
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 50,908 |
I think this is a good post. I get ribbed for the amount of water I have in my weigh in bag....if I ever weigh in.... I see so many in bags with very little water, bags leaking and those fish are stressed...There is no doubt about it. You should have enough water in your bag to keep the fish upright and at least an inch or two over their backs.
Last edited by Trickster; 05/02/15 01:19 AM.
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Re: Tournament Bass Mortality
[Re: Hobbs McAvoy]
#10813083
05/02/15 04:22 AM
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 36,469
Allison1
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 36,469 |
I would talk or call the tournament director and tell him what you saw. No matter how few fish died if they don't practice good fish handling and its affecting the catch you can at least put it in their head that they might be harming the fish.
I've no complaint about most of the tourneys I fished in back when I was tourney fishing. Another plus would be to have a good aerator system in any holding tank they have. A good oxygen system is pretty cheap and it will help the fish.
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Re: Tournament Bass Mortality
[Re: Hobbs McAvoy]
#10813398
05/02/15 02:11 PM
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,683
Bruce Allen
TFF Team Angler
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TFF Team Angler
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,683 |
one thing that can really help large bass in a bag of water is making sure the head is down in the water and it is the tail sticking out when you carry it in.
Sitting in the live release boat watching contestants come in the marinas with large bass a lot of times they are so excited they forget which ends needs to be in the water.
And what Allison said.
Last edited by Bruce Allen; 05/02/15 02:11 PM.
Lake Fork Anglers Every Thursday Daytime Tournaments. Lake Fork Sportsman's Association www.lakeforksa.com/We are VERY PROUD of our Induction into the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame.
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Re: Tournament Bass Mortality
[Re: Hobbs McAvoy]
#10813439
05/02/15 02:40 PM
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 541
Falcon Native
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 541 |
I have also found that using a livewell treatment helps a lot
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