I will have to disagree as well. I have a friend that has a 7 acre pond that is loaded with bass. We have had 50-75 fish days and not once have I seen a dead fish. This is NOT to say there aren't fish that do not die from improper handling, caught deep or in the gills. But 43%, "NO WAY"!

You aren't handling the pond fish multiple times and moving them around as much as a tourney... or at least I would think you aren't. I have done my share of pond fishing as well. I guess I can't 100% trust a study from some Okies either though. To me 43% doesn't seem all that crazy though.

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2...es/200908020169

In 2009 these guys found 601 dead largemouth in a 6 mile stretch.

Can't we just fast forward past the % that is gonna die in a tournament and how many broken jaws there are...

Sorry for turning the discussion from something thoughtful to the good old "Tournaments cause mortality!; No they don't!" pissing match. My point was that what mortality does occur at these events could in fact be thinning the herd in a similar way that harvest would (which could be benefiting size structure of a fishery in some cases).

I agree.

I dont tourney fish, a cleanly hooked fish I catch is back in the water in 15 seconds and I am sure 99% of those are fine.

But 5% or so, get hooked funny, still go back into the water quickly, but their survival is highly suspect to me in many cases. So tourneys might fill in for that "harvest" thats not happening I guess in theory.

Back to the original post, I think the limits have a lot to do with the amount of people that target a species. This is just a thought based on scientific nothing. It would make sense to me that there are a lot less people fishing specifically for white bass and catfish so the limits are much higher on those in order to control populations and have balanced fisheries. A combination of tournament mortality, meat fisherman that keep bass, and just plain pressure probably do a better than good job of keeping the bass population in check thus the 5 fish limits. Just my

Bottom line is that the anglers don't never keep more than five so it really don't matter if some die or not. I personally don't understand why the tournaments don't allow people to keep what they catch, no rules or laws are being broken.

Agree, you can't argue that some mortality doesn't happen. Size structure to me is related to pressure, spawning #'s, food and habitat. I think these events are probably scared to attempt a ''keep what you catch''. I think some people would really be heated, but maybe not. Also.. sorry for getting so many tourney people heated LOL

If you look at the history, years of what you see in the picture DID start to impact fisheries negatively.

So the pendulum swung all the way to the other side and has stayed there.

Bonus points to who can name the angler pictured.

Mr. Bill Dance

How did you get that without his Tennessee hat on!?!

Well done buddy.

"Up to 43%".

That's the loophole in that comment.

Just like "all credit accepted"....doesn't mean approved. Lol. Lies and drama are always in the verbiage.

"Up to 43%" translates into average around 2-4%, but there was this one tourney where two limits were turned in and the one guys livewell wasn't working and 4 of his 5 died.

It's the same as saying EVERY BASS I CATCH IS UP TO 13lbs!!! It's happened once.

Alan Henry needs 12" or no size and no limit on the Kentucky bass. Then you would see more big large mouth out of that lake.

I don't go for survey results much, especially from govt agencies, but its just common sense that more fish are going to die from being handled and kept out of their natural environment more. Be it not for me to stomp on what one guy wants to do with his fish compared to the rest. I would just like to see those who are getting a payout from the resource that belongs to us all contribute more $ toward the conservation and restocking efforts.
And maybe a little restraint on how many tournaments you can throw at any given body of water.