LOT OF PEOPLE WITH NOT ENOUGH TO DO.!!!! IT'S JUST A FISH !!!!!

Thanks Mark,I was also informed by ESPN that if another event comes to the area we would be asked for again to work with them on the event.

Great job, I thought ALL the volunteers did a great job!!!

If I may add something to this post. I was the on board observer with KVD when he caught THE FISH. I can say that he was very concerned about the well being of it. He had his livewell timer set to recirculate the water every 5 minutes. Every hour to hour and a half he would open the live wells and check on his catch and he also added Bass Medics to the water every time he checked them. He admitted that keeping a bass that size alive is hard and he did his best to make sure it survived. It was still full of life when he pulled it out of his livewell and during the weigh in back stage.

GBrooks

gbrooks ... all I can say is I don't know how you got lucky enough to be in the boat with KVD .. but I'm jealous !

My initals are RDB. That has a good sound to it. I think I will have to go by that now

Steven From Texas, what do you think about the RDB??

I think you better delete your post before everyone goes "Huh?" Then I'll delete mine. Then, start this new name stuff up in the "Off Topic" section.

_Hey Mark: On the subject of Fish handeling. I caught a fish at Cedar Creek with 5 fresh hook spots on it's mouth and several older healed ones from other catches it had endured. It was maybe 14" long but obviously very agressive and hearty. A true testiment that Catch And Release does work and PETA is Wrong!

_We all understand that Kevin Van Dam was excited and doing some Showmanship for the ESPN BASS MASTERS Cameras. No One is arguing his accomplishments or how much He, other BASS Pros, and BASS MASTERS has contributed to the Sport of Bass Fishing. Luckily the fish was Reportedly safe and sound when released.

_The thing is this does'nt set a very positive example to the younger uneducated public about handeling a Large Fish... that is entended to be Released. :p

_Peace Yall!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Bazztex<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

He shook the piss out of that fish...

I was there on Thursday, Day 2 of the weigh-in. There were some questions about the 11lber and Tripp himself said the fish was doing fine before she was released.

What most of you don't see is the series of aerated livewells that the fish gets staged in until they reach the stage. There are livewells on the stage and another one after they are taken off stage. After coming off stage they immediately get transported to the release boat. I was very impressed with the system.

These guys are pros in every aspect of the word.

I was working the weigh in Wednesday when Kevin caught that fish. I can guarantee you that fish is doing just fine. In fact the big fish was one of the healthiest fish handed to us from the stage that day. She was an honery sucker, she did not want my hand in her mouth when I tried to put her in the bag that we carry her to the boat with. BASS uses a huge Triton Pontoon boat, loaded with livewells to store all the bass after weigh in. They then transport the fish back out into the lake in a couple different spots. More than likely they drove that 11 pounder right back to where she was caught, and probably released a couple in that area with her.

I talked to Trip on Thursday and he assured me that the fish swam off under her own power and was very healthy.

So having seen and touched that fish firsthand, I will tell you she was very healthy.

You would be very impressed, with BASS's aeration systems etc... I noticed nothing wrong with that fishes jaw, seemed plenty strong to me, she didn't want to open her mouth for me very easily, lol.

Bazztex, I think we need a program to put fish like that 14 incher into so we have plenty of stupid fish in our lakes...heck I bet I could get a limit of those...

cbob,
Let�s not omit the fact that tournament mortality not only includes minimal acute kill at the weigh-in site, so let�s not leave stop in the middle of the stream and leave out the rest total tournament bass kill story which includes delayed mortality which is considerably high in summer tournaments� if a bass is released and can possibly in any way swim below the murky water surface out of site (12�-18� deep) the fish is out of site out of mind for the time being. What you are seeing and reporting may not be that much of a success story in summer tournaments.

Here�s a professional example: 2002 Bass Master Classic, Montgomery, AL� 90% kill after only 6 days post tournament. The bass kill was documented by the Alabama Department of Natural Resources, Inland Fishery Division. All the pro bass fishermen are good at catching bass when they find the fish. They�re good enough to make a living fishing.

Aerated boat livewells, aerated holding tanks at the weigh-in site and aerated holding tanks on release boats and even aerated plastic fish bags may look impressive to many, but there are certainly much better ways fishermen and weigh-masters and release boat captains may care for the catch while the catch is in their captivity and exclusively within their control if they choose to. Sounds like what you saw was a good show.

Have you ever read the B.A.S.S. / ESPN fish care book; KEEPING BASS ALIVE? The book describes several methods of keeping bass alive in the hottest most adverse summertime tournament conditions and what you saw and are describing certainly is not the best method of bass care possible by any stretch of the imagination. Just because a fisherman claims to be a pro does not mean he is willing to do what is necessary to keep bass healthy from the catch to the final release.

By the way, TP&WD says that the Texas bass fishery would not be negatively impacted even if all the tournament bass were killed in every bass tournament. So, if all the bass were killed in every Texas bass tournament in Texas and tournament bass kill is not a bass fishery conservation issue or problem in Texas says TP&WD, what do you think the Texas tournament bass kill issues are really all about? Maybe it�s only the show that�s important. That�s something to think about�

Here we go again. Should make for an interesting read when it gets slow around work. I'm outta here.

<")>>><