So I get all excited about cathing a 7 pounder and take to the dock to show my buds and thats wrong. you guys have 150 boat tournament that usually kills quite a few fish and tell me I'm the one in the wrong. I just dont get the logic. and I'm not bashing I really dont get how you guys make the jump to I'm in the wrong and your tournaments are ok.

Bazz...once again I agree with you totally. What I do not agree with is people believing that tournament fishing is having a HUGE negative impact on our fisheries. We all know that some fish die after weigh in. But what are those numbers in comparison to how many are legally caught and cleaned annualy or simply die from being deep hooked while recreational fishing.

If people want to work togther to change the laws on quantity and size of bass that can be legally kept and cleaned then I think that is a great idea. But changing the way bass tournaments are run simply because you don't fish them and don't care is something that I will speak out against. The overall impact will be minimal.

I like tournament fishing, I like catching 5 fish and carrying them to weigh in. In 10+ years of tournament fishing I have weighed in 1 dead fish. I have weighed in quite a few more that I am sure didn't make it. But that compared to how many bass I would catch, clean and eat if I did not tournament fish is a difference of 1000's!

Don't jack with something simply because it is not something you do, compete in or enjoy. Suggesting going to a 3 fish tournament limit or a paper tournament is just the beginning of messing with something that I am passionate about. To me, this is the same thing as people just wanting to ban automatic rifles...it is just the beginning.

Troy

It's everybody problem on many levels and yes there are plenty of tournament anglers that are guilty of bad fish handling. I was not trying to single out recreational fishermen but I think you will find a lot more of them have less fish conservation skils/education.

You will see it a lot on slot lakes like Fork where they are not used to turning 16-24" fish loose. You would also be surprized at how many folks fish slot lakes with no idea there is a size limit to what they can and can't keep. They carry slot fish around all day because they are going to take them home until they have someone tells them about the slot.

You can get together with your tournament directors and give them your Ideas. They can put it to a vote and some changes can be made to help conserve our Bass.

We need to reach out to all of them at all levels when we see the opportunity to make a difference in fish mortality.

You're wrong......again. You catch just as many fish in a 3 fish tournament. You just bring your best 3 to the ramp. How does that hurt you?

FZ1....I am trying to think of a simple way to explain this to you without coming across as too much of an a$$ because I honestly think you believe it is the same.

The difference is that it is harder to catch 5 fish than it is to catch 3 fish. If 10 anglers went fishing.....and 8 of them caught only 3 fish that were 2 lbs a piece...1 of them caught 4 fish that were 2 pounds a piece and only one angler caught 5 fish that were 2 pounds a piece. The angler that caught the 5 fish is obviously the better angler (on that day, under those conditions, on that lake) If the limit in that tournament had only been 3 fish....it would have been a 10 way tie.

One giant in a 3 fish bag almost guarantees a win, where as one giant and 4 swimmers wont hold up against a guy on 4-5lb fish with a 5 fish limit. Stringer tournaments are supposed to reward consistency not the lucky bite, if you want a lucky bite tournament enter big fish tournaments. Just my .02

Either way, we all need to quit pointing fingers and spread the word about fish care to everyone. Its not a tournament problem, its not a recreational fisherman problem, its a Bass Fisherman problem that involves all of us. Proper handling of big fish, proper livewell treatment, and basic respect for the resource is not to much to ask.

I thought it was a crime to kill any women?!?

Either way, we all need to quit pointing fingers and spread the word about fish care to everyone. Its not a tournament problem, its not a recreational fisherman problem, its a Bass Fisherman problem that involves all of us. Proper handling of big fish, proper livewell treatment, and basic respect for the resource is not to much to ask. [/quote]

Well said.

Thanks Buda...another good way to explain it. And I totally agree with fish care whether tournament fishing or carrying one around so that you can show it to your friends at the end of the day...and I believe that any recreational fisherman that catches a big fish and wants to take it to show his/her friends, take pics at the ramp, or just admire it one more time before release has every right to do that and should do that for the memories and enjoyment.....but do everything you can to keep that fish healthy so that you might catch it again when it gets bigger

Just don't mess with tournaments!!!! If it weren't for bass tournaments there would be a lot more of us that caught, kept and ate our limit everytime we went out....I know that I would because I love the taste of bass but I don't do that now simply because I want/need those fish the next time I am tournament fishing on that lake.

Funny! Actually, it is a crime to kill any person, pregnant or not!

Bazz, I like your post! I can tell you are a person that respects the differences of others even though you might not agree with them.

My opinion is that we all need to constantly improve in the area of fish conservation. This means individuals, tournys, Sharelunker, and TPWD. Constructive criticism and change to create a better result does not hurt anyone!

It all starts with the individual but the bigger organizations such as BassChamps, Sharelunker, etc. can do a lot to influence the game. It is my opionion that many of our organization in fishing have become complacent in the way that they do things. I think it is time that new improvements are made. Bass fishing is becoming HUGE and is growning more and more each year. New procedures and methods needs to be introduced to counter the growing numbers of fisherman. Right now, we are taking a little more than we should in my opinion.

For instance, tourny fishing is just absolutely huge! I call it the "Tourny Craze!" Just look at how many different tourny trails are out there. Most of the major lakes have some sort of tourny every week, not to mention countless small club tournys. Many of todays bass fisherman do not fish unless a tourny is involved, and thats the truth.

Now, I too enjoy to fish tournaments, they are very fun. However, you are lieing to yourself if you dont think that these tournaments are putting enourmous pressure on certain lakes.

Now, tourny pressure is un-evenly placed on just a few lakes in TX: Choke, Amistad, Falcon, and Fork! With the exception of Falcon, all of these lakes have had a noticable decline in the past couple years. What saves Falcon is its imense size and far proximity from most bass clubs! I dont understand why event organizers cant spread out the events and fish some other lakes. TX is filled with awesome fishing. Also, I believe spreading it out would help create a more level playing field and a more interesting season. Its cool going to new lakes. Now I understand that a lot of smaller events have to be a these lakes to draw a crowd, but organizations like BassChamps can draw people anywhere with their name and payouts!

Just to show you how tourny pressure can hurt a lake, picture this: some of these lakes have a major tourny (200 boats) every week, lets each boat avg. 3 fish. Thats 600 fish per tourny, now if you ever been to a tourny you know that not all the fish make it, so lets say that 1/3 die, thats 200 dead fish. Now over the entire month the number grows to 800, over the year your looking at about 10,000 fish. Thats a lot of adult fish to kill each year, especially on lakes like choke that dont get regular stocking!

Along with spreading out the burden, event organizer can format events to promote healthier released fish. It is very easy to hold open weigh-ins for the duration of the tournament and encourage participants to way fish in every few hours, especially the big ones! Its easy to keep tallies, and anglers can be allowed to replace existing marks if a larger fish is caught, it will still be your top 5 fish that counts in the end!

Or, more 3 fish formats can start being adopted. Its easier to keep 3 alive then 5.

These are just my opinions on how to run a more responsible tournament and to keep their impact on bass as low as possible! This way we can enjoy fun tournys for years to come!

I think this is fine for me...

Putting a post out there that indicates a 1/3 fish kill on all tournaments throughout all months of the year is so far off fact that it is irresponsible.