I'd like to hear both sides of the story relative to a couple of items......

1) Should tournaments have to pay retribution to the state for "damaging" fish stocks? This would include mortality at weigh ins, mortality for catch and release, as well as "potential damage" relative to fish caught and "educated"....now making it more difficult for licensees to catch those fish. Poachers and those breaking the law pay retribution to restock resources that were removed...above are resources removed.

2) Should tournament anglers be required to pay for a "permit" in a given state and or pay "taxes" on winnings just like a plumber has to be licensed or a company has to pay franchise taxes? Could it be argued that public resources are being utilized in a for profit manner and those participating are not providing any additional reimbursement or retribution?

Yes, I know, everyone buys a fishing license and tournaments are good for the local economies around the lakes, etc. I'm not questioning those things. What I'm asking about is where does "recreational angler" stop and some definition of "commerical or For Profit" start.....commercial fisherman don't pay the same license fees as recreational anglers, etc, etc.

I'm also not questioning the federal income tax aspect....we all know that every fisherman is a good, upstanding citizen and reports everything fairly to the IRS.

I'm talking about the state, the local community, and the lakes in particular.

What do they get once the circus leaves town?

Why shouldn't a non-tournament bass angler look down upon tournament bass fishing as a for profit use of public resources which makes it more difficult for the average joe to enjoy a day on the water?

This post can go one of two ways....it could be locked up or deleted within a couple of hours or it couold be a very informative, educational post that could potentially help tournament organizers and non-tournament anglers alike.....ya'll decide.


P.S. I don't consider myself a bass fisherman...the green bigmouths don't excite me that much so I'm trying to look at it from the outside in....Bass Tournaments are the big thing now, next it could be crappie or something else.

Personally the way I feel is I buy a license each year which entitles me to catch and keep 1825 fish. Of course I practice catch and release but I cannot see how I am not already "paying" for my right to do so.
In addition as a boater I pay the state a fee to be able operate my boat on public water so again I am already paying for that right too. I also usually have to pay state, local and/or private launch fees at lakes I frequent.
To answer your question I feel like we as tournament anglers are already paying the state to participate. as a whole we usually pay more in to the state to enjoy our sport than most other anglers. In addition we bring revenue into local economies when we have these events so the public actually benefits both directly and indirectly. We positively impact the situation far more than we get credit for.

""damaging" fish stocks" ........ This isn't happening for one thing

"What do they get once the circus leaves town" That Circus spent $ in that town, should they get more $?

I think this is an irrelevant discussion.

I couldn't have said it better myself Mr. Perry.

"I'm talking about the state, the local community, and the lakes in particular".

"What do they get once the circus leaves town"?

They have the revenue from the anglers. The fact is weather you like it or not is that tournament anglers drive the bass fishing industry. Without them their would be less boat and tackle sales, motels, diners, marinas etc,etc. It is the nature of the beast.

Tournaments, and especially large tournaments, give fishing and the state more money in promotion than they would ever collect in a permit or fee.

The recent Falcon tournament will bring anglers to Texas from all over the country and all over the world, generating millions in all aspects of revenue.

The Falcon tournament will obviously cause BASS to take a look at their fish care system. I think the real problem happened on the water. Reducing co-anglers to 3 fish will do nothing if a similar situation occurs again. 35 to 40 pounds of fish in a livewell is pushing it under any conditions.

Tournaments also need to cull bass from release that they know are going to die. Go ahead and fillet that sucker rather than leaving a floating fish in the lake.

Great response JP, you answered the questions rather than spitting out the "canned" responses.

Keep em coming.

Commercial fishermen sell their catches, we don't.

Also, the efforts that BASS supported in the grass roots movements has made bassing better for the recreational angler.

Forget the big boys, Look at the efforts that Tim Cook does for ALL ANGLERS, tournament guys and recreational anglers in Texas.

AS for taxes, I guess you have never cashed a good check, cause I pay mine on my winnings.

How often do you see a bunch of recreational anglers organizing any kind of lake clean ups? Promoting take a kid, a soldier, and or a disabled angler fishing? That happens on Forums like the TFF, were that is accomplished by all, tourney guys and recreational.

I'm sorry, the tournament guys drive the bus and most recreational guys are just passengers, except on the TFF.

Tim Cook, thank you for looking after Texas waters for us. Just one example of what a Bass fishing organization does for all of us.

Did most of us look forward to the circus coming to town as a kid? I guess it wasn't used in that context on this occassion.

That circus is our passion! I still love the circus! LOL

1) All dead fish I have seen in Media tournaments go in a cooler to be consumed. Technically each angler has the right to KEEP 5 legal bass, if the State and City start making tournaments pay for the dead fish then what if all anglers kept their limit? Instead of say mabey 30 dead fish you have 100 teams keeping their limit. I believe that would shut em up real quick!

2)Tournament anglers that make above $700 in a year are mailed a 1099 by their tournament trail, so if you are winning money you will pay uncle sam a chunk of it. Gas, truck, boat, licensing, tags boat trailer and truck, rods&reels, tackle, ect... I think we ALL pay plenty of taxes and fee's.

Are you from California? That is something I would expect out there in LOONY LAND.

I just wanted to add that. Everyone elses comments were on the money. 10% of all sprting goods is SUPPOSED to go to Texas Parks and Wildlife. Unfortunately the majority goes into the States general operating fund.

So, if any non-fisherman ever asks this same question, we as fishermen and sportsmen generally teach and live by wildlife resource conservation and are always willing to teach this along with our skills to the next generation.

The people you should be worried about draining our wildlife resources are all the people that fish on the banks without licences, multiple poles and have absolutley no regard to size limits and restrictions. I have seen these people take home undersized fish and fish WAY over the limit that one person would need in a year.

I am done

Maybe the "canned" responses are how some truly feel. Just because they are not what you want to hear does not make them less credible. If you want a truly open discussion I would hold off dismissing other opinions because the may not agree with yours.

right you are Mark..I wouldn't give this troll anymore time...

I'd like to see BASS give back a little to TPWD for re-stocking at each lake they visit. Not just in Texas either. That way the recreational angler does benifit some from big tournaments.

I also agree with JP about changing the format some. Reducing the co-angler limit ect...

^^^^"potential damage" relative to fish caught and "educated"....now making it more difficult for licensees to catch those fish.^^^^


Now that is funny.



What do they get once the circus leaves town? Ask the businesses around the lake what they get when the "Circus" leaves town...