High School Tournament Fish Care

Since the weigh in for their tourney is off the lake today, who us responsible for returning the fish to the lake?

Do they have tanks to keep them alive until they are returned and someone to help with struggling fish? What means do they use to transport and return the fish to the lake? Is there some kind of permit or legal action to facilitate taking fish to an off the water weigh in site?

The weather is still hot and a lot of those fish will be stressed.

Yes, Doug they have a tank. Probably better than most circuits have. They have spared no expense on weigh in equipment.

Yet, at the last 2 tourneys at Sandlin, they've had little kids toting and throwing the fish into the water - After they ran around the bank holding them up and showing them off.
I also saw some older kids throwing them high in the air and watching them flip end over end before hitting the water... I said something to one of the aforementioned teams and their mom told me I should mind my own business and not bother her kid.."they were just kids and they were only fish" was her direct quote.
I left before I got myself into trouble. This is an issue that needs to be addressed at a club level.

"they are just fish"

If organizations are going to put forth all this effort to help kids fish they dang sure better be teaching them conservation too

Just curious if there is a permit to take that many fish from the lake to a remote location and then return them?

I would have def called the game warden, I know one of the wardens in that area wouldn't have found that too entertaining.

As for the mom I would have addressed her in the way she needed to be addressed

Gone are the days of "it takes a village". I grew up in a cul-de-sac & all the mommas and daddies were my surrogates. If I didn't mind them just as my own folks, I'd catch hell. Now you run the risk of a law suit if you look at someone else's kid.

I have never seen at tank in the west division but all weigh-ins were at the lake. They do need to do a better job of teaching how to care for bass but also no just teach the kid but teach the boat captain as well.

Same here. My mom used to whoop my [censored]....and all my friends asses too. Lol. They called her "mean Jean". Lol my friends got to where they would come over if my mom was home. Haha.

I just left the weigh in they had a release traiker and looks like they did a good job caring for their fish!

Yes we hire a fish care guy and tank for remote weigh in. No special permit is needed.
As far as fish care we can send stuff out and everything. In the end it is the boat captains and team advisor responsibilty. I have said the same thing to kids throwing fish as well. Do they get mad , yes but so be it. They need to learn. Guys we do everything we can to try and educate people. Unfortunately at some point someone has to take responsibility and learn on their own.

Hence my reason for denying to be a boat captain.....I have very little patience for immature behavior, mean rotten kids, or just plain ignorance.

Glad to read that you guys have a dedicated fish handling person. That's pretty cool. That, I might could handle....the fish are respectful and don't act like idiots. Lol.

There is not a tank at all events, if we can set up at the lake then we are usually close enough to be able to have fish runners.

It should be on all the Boat captains to help teach fish care, that is what the captains are for. Teach and educate the kids. Team advisors as well, contact a local game warden, tournament director or even a fish biologist, they are usually more than willing to come talk to a group.

There is tons of information out here on the ole inter web that is available.

Those guys do all the Texas Team trails, we use them at all the remote weigh ins.

This forum needs a fish care section

Refrigerator or freezer.....that is the question.

what won today?

At the tournaments I captained at where we had to carry fish to a remote weigh in, we had the proper permits.

For some of you guys that have formed opinions about how these tournaments are run or how over entitled and snotty nose these kids are, maybe you should go check one out and see 200 kids that got up at 4am, fished their butts off 8 hours, wait around and watch all their team mates weigh their fish, all the families that come out and watch the weigh in. Damn sight better than these young guys and gals zombied out on their phone all day or playing call of duty if you ask me. Lets turn down the hate dial a little bit please

So because of a few kids who need to be taught how to act and have someone take the time to teach them, you declined being a boat captain and helping a couple kids get on the water who want to fish? Man ...... wow

He may have just meant he did not want to deal with other's snotty kids, guess what there are a lot of them mixed in with the good kids.

SteezMacQueen has said several times on here that he did not have the personality or temperament to deal with HS anglers, if you go back and read his posts - you see that he's right,lol. He has been supportive of the program though.

Oh yes. I support the idea of the program. 100%. I just don't think I could handle some of the kids. That's all.

My wife is a teacher going on 25years. I see what she deals with daily. Most kids/parents are great. It's the few "entitled" kids and parents mixed in that would have me behind bars pretty quick. Some can deal with it, some can't. I can't. I've never been one to hide my opinion. Good or bad.

That said, I have done work with unprivileged inner city youth a few times. Took kids fishing. Had a blast. But these kids have never seen a boat from the inside and on the water. They rarely get to experience fishing or outdoors stuff. They are the "bad" kids that no one wants to deal with. Funny thing, they are far more respectful than one would give them credit for. The "privileged" kids are the ones that get under my skin. The ones that have had everything handed to them, without having to work for it. These are the kids that I feel do not deserve a break. They've had a break their whole lives.

Steez, I never thought you hadn't supported the program, I agree there are some kids that I some may not want to deal with. More than not it is the other way around. There are a whole lot of great kids in the group. I had some on my team that I didn't want to be in the boat with lol.

It's all good. Like said above find a team and help them out if at all possible.

Gotcha. Good on ya Steez. I have seen you helping with inner city kids and I have had the same experience that sometimes those kids are more respectful than "the Southlake or Highland Park" kids who's daddy has a brand new Ranger and a jacked up 4-wheel drive and wears white Costas and just glares at you at the ramp while he struggles to get into to the truck because he's only 5'6"

Been in this 3 years as a captain, our school has around 20 teams, of those teams around 40 kids there might be 1 I would hesitate on. Though I think once on the boat and rules established all would be well.

As an organization I agree we need to take a look at better ways to handle the fish after weigh in, sandlin we were close to the water for weigh in but the fish being put in at waters edge might need to be addressed. It really all starts with the boat captains teaching the younger ones how to handle their catch during the boat ride all the way to the weigh in. Advisers teaching new captains at meetings is the best way to make this better.
No one wants dead fish.

All in all this is very good for the kids and 99% of the captains enjoy spending time on water and teaching as much as we can.

Frank, also it took 19 # and change to win, they had a 8.01 to anchor . There was a tie for big bass for a bit @ 7.36 . I think 2nd was around 16-17 and 3rd was 15.

The 3rd place team was their first tournament, one of the kids had never thrown a baitcast er till yesterday. He was a nervous wreck at weigh in. That's what it's all about.

Look at it as an opportunity to maybe teach them a thing or two, about respect and the things you don't want to deal with. I had my fist tournament yesterday and had two young men that when they were on my campus (I'm an AP at a 5/6 campus) they were toots and kinda what you described. Not a problem out of them while fishing. They needed a boat and i laid down the rules and they followed them. One of them lost his dad and when he was very young so I see it as an opportunity. I made them wipe the boat down and clean it up and never a word, they said yes sir and went to it. You would be surprised at how different they act in certain situations. The only thing they did that was remotely inappropriate was they got excited we were boat #69. I didn't say anything and had to chuckle a little.

Steez, agree with the attitude of the entitled kids, my sons group fished against at team from a private school, new truck new boat and their dad would pay a guide to captain and prefish for them. Angered the kids but it also made them better fishermen, they saw it as a challenge to beat a guide on his own lakes.

We also had to implement a few rules for behavior in the captains boats. First complaint on angler your name on bottom list for captains, second you sat for a tournament and if went to third your were voted on to remain in club. At first, had a couple push it, but when we dismissed one angler we've had no issues.

Ray Hubbard was the only tournament last year in the west division with a tank as it was a remote weigh in. All of the other weigh ins were close to the water.

After captaining for four years, I have seen it all. From jackwagon dads that set a terrible example by leaving 5 minutes early at trailering tourneys leaving 15 boats watching them go to parking the boat near a stock pond near the lake bank for kids to get on land to go catch fish and run them back to the livewell, hiring the lake ringer under the table just because they have the money and can, etc. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree on some of that stuff.

I have found that the kid whose dad is not captaining is generally very appreciative, would not have had the opportunity otherwise, and are on the whole very appreciative unless the dads son or daughter is copping a bad attitude that spills over to the more novice angler. Would hope that two kids that don't have an opportunity otherwise except for a volunteer would act right (and parents would reinforce every tourney how they should act), but I guess you never know.
All that said, from my experience, if you are considering volunteering as a captain, you have better than 80% odds of getting a solid pair of kids that want to learn and you probably will find it fulfilling if you can deal with lost lures, missed bites, etc...good kids want to get better. I can tell you I miss it already with my youngest off to college and will continue to volunteer for my school.

I caught a fish today with only one jaw

Don't they all only have 1 jaw?