Any reports from the 2 day tourney @ Fork

15 lbs won it. Buddy that fished it said one was brought in that was 24" on one side and 23.75" on other. I was under the belief that if one side touched 24 it was considered an over.

If it touches on one side it is a legal fish

I only heard of one fish that was brought in that was in the slot, and I heard an odd story about that fish (multiple sources, same story, which is rare, lol). The boat captain was using a tape measure. When the fish was laid on an actual measuring board, it was 23 1/4 inches, which is not even close. It is unfortunate that the adult's careless error got those kids DQ'd.

Alex is right. The fish in question was measured with a tape measure (following the contour of the fish) that is why it measured 24. Then when brought to the scales it was short when measured correctly.

There are a lot of volunteer boat captains that have never fished for bass, yes they should no how to measure a fish and have the correct equipment to do so. I am sure they will next time.

Shouldnt the boys fishing know how to measure a fish?

Yes, but it is my feeling that it is our responsibility as boat captains (adults) to teach them how to do things the correct way. This was my first opportunity to be a captain, and it was the first tournament for the kids that went out with me. I made it a point to show them some of the other aspects that go into fishing a tournament. Fish care and making sure they understood the rules, for example.

Alex is right again. There are many 1st year anglers this year. Slot lakes are tough on experienced anglers sometimes. This is what we as boat captains and leaders in the sport are here to do. Try and teach the kids the right and wrong of fishing .

It s deffinantly a lesson learned for the kids and captain.

See that's why I asked. My buddy didn't know the whole story either and was curious. Just an inexperienced mistake

I hear ya. Didnt mean thst to sound rude. I dont know how the HS fishing teams work. I take it they don't have like a coach at each school? Just seems like these boys would know how to properly measure a fish since they are tourney fishing.

tolerance and acceptance Louie, geez stop beating a bunch of children up...

They have someone that is a advisor,but this is usually someones parent that wants to help get a program started. There are alot of things that we need be to teaching these kids. Alot of themhave never tournament fished, just keep this in mind when they come on here in the near future and start asking questions.


Louie, I didnt take it as rude, just FYI. Ken

Oh man I'm def not one of the guys on here that give these kids carp on here when they ask questions....

You would be suprised some kids just haven't been around fishing that much and just have no idea. Congrats to the anglers who caught that 23imch bass though still a monster and better than my best on fork

This high school event was much different than any we have fished. Incoming 9th graders could fish. No affiliation to a HS program where there might have been a chance to teach kids. They just had to show they were in school and a report card to show they were passing. So there were representatives from schools that don't have programs yet. This is a good thing because just maybe those schools will get programs going. Only draw back is they haven't been taught all the ins & outs of tournament fishing. If any representing schools are interested in a program in North Texas give Jeff Lobaugh a shout. Or, any of us that are advisors and we can get you and your school going in the right direction.