No size is....

Next time, hold that tournament on Lake Austin. Get rid of some of those monster carp out there.

or tourneys are catch and release only....if the fish isn't over 10lbs or if the fish "handled with care" IE weighed in a special weigh sling unhooked on a unhooking mat it would not be counted....lake austin dosent have a 20mile strech of fishable bank space that we could use and I think alot of those are grass carp that they have stocked in there I have caught commons to 30lbs there and some huge buffalo

I didn't read six pages of responses so, this may of already been covered.

I think the bass rose to the top of "the fish to catch" because it tasted better than the rough fish. Not because of fight or the tactics it took to catch them.

Before tournements, the bass was looked at as the premier eating fish, and that sentiment just transgressed into the targeted fish to catch. If you caught a buffalo, grinnel, bream, catfish or whatever, it would feed the family but, they most wanted a bass to eat and therefore, most folks started targeting catching bass.

Thats my 2 copper disks.

I like the thrill of me against the fish. Bass are one of the most wiley predators out there. The same argument can be made for many other species, but bass are my preference. With more people targeting bass on our lakes and pond, the competetion against other anglers in addition to the fish is what has me hooked.

"the competetion against other anglers in addition to the fish is what has me hooked"

I think that has alot to do with it as well.

Gotta love a tournament where fish under ten pounds don't even count. Lol. That's great.

The competetion factor is actually very big for me. It makes me learn more about my sport.

Bass fishing holds a special place in my heart, but not the majority of it. Bass fishing is awesome because they are very elusive, and being able to get out there and catch some decent fish is a very rewarding feeling. Im only 18 and i just fished my first tourney last weekend on Lake Austin, and it was pretty much the first time I have run the boat by myself. 18th out of 32 boats. Not good, but not to bad. Offshore fishing is where I am at home. We fish the SKA and there is nothing like it. Leaving check out to be greeted with 4-5's going 40 knots, getting to your spot and having a smoker king sky your bait, that is what I am addicted to.

Bozo hit the nail on the head as to how things got to be as they now are.

Tournaments are fine, but let's face it...the thrill is to a large degree in the gambling, with the enjoyment of the sport being secondary. Why else would otherwise sane and rational adults put that much effort and expense into catching a few mediocre sized fish. (or large fish in the case of Carp tourneys). No different than a good game of poker.