Haven't been able to fish for last 6 weeks or so due to work. How's the lake level and is anybody doing any good. One day off is not enough time for a six hour round trip driving. I'm getting to old for that stuff. Gimme some good news.

WTTT was there today. 28.15 won it it and 24.55 was second. 20.60, 19.50, and 17.47 were 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Big bass were 9.58, 8.86, 8.63, 8.36, and 7.55. The lake is dropping a lot but is still in much better shape than it was this time last year.

Alot of big fish being caught on that lake. All depths and all techniques. Just gotta find a group of fish or a pattern. Topwaters, C-rig, square bills, deep cranks, I even caught some on a spoon in 22-25 ft last Thursday

Thanks for the update guys. Just saw the pictures of the 12lb'r from last weekend. Hope to get down there soon.

Nobody talking about these big fish that died yesterday. Big fish at WTTT died along with a few others. I just got off the lake and saw a fish near 8lb and another around 3lb floating. Pretty sad seeing these bigger fish dead, when the numbers are down.

sometimes it happens !!!

Wow, now there's some insight!

Have to agree with pk, it does happen. Chance, I wonder how many fish you have killed and didn't know it????? The hotter it gets on weekends with tourneys the more fish you will see floating. This happened a couple of years ago on Hubbard at the 180 ramp. Monday and Tuesday after a tx there would be floaters all along the bridge.

Maybe the ppl in charge of tournaments should being in charge of having a tank of slightly cooler water that the fish stay in for cpl of hours b4 sending them back into lake. Not to mention fisherman doing their part!! I met a man from dfw and his club is real flexible and has some good ideas. For one in the summer they split it up morning then take long break then fish then evening.

Most of the big fish are caught early and hauling them around all day takes a toll on them. I try to freeze 16 oz. bottles of water and drop one in live well during the day,seems to help.TD could have some one at the dock to weigh fish during the day on smaller lakes and keep the weights. To me all tournaments should start in January and end by May and start back up in late September. I know they have oxygen systems that help some but their are a lot of fish killed in the summer months and having dead or dying fish released around docks should be stopped.Might as well put them under the knife.

I had a conversation with Jerry at elm creek yesterday and he said he would be more than happy to weigh a big fish for a guy, hand them a weigh slip and then release the fish ASAP. This would give the fish better odds of making it. That old theory of "well, it happens" is an ignorant statement. There are things that can be done to cut down on the chance of this happening.

TPWD did an extensive study on delayed mortality of tournament released fish. Delayed mortality was defined as fish dying within 3 days of being released after a tournament. The results showed that when water temps reach the range pf 70-80 degrees, there is an average of 50% mortality of tournament released fish.

With that said, there are many recommendations on fish care, but the limiting factor to all of those recommendations is the angler himself.
Fish are going to die. But as tournament anglers and stuards of the environment it is our resposibility to take care of our resources.

Two Common adjustments that can be made to drastically improve summertime mortality, and should be implimented by all tournament trails are:
1. Decrease the limit from 5 to 3 during the months of June to August
2. Carry the fish to be released out to open water rather than releasing them in the stagnated water at the ramps and marinas.

Lastly, if you do have fish that are dead or almost dead, dont throw them in the lake. Take them home or give them to a bank fisherman.

Most of the fish That Die in Summer tourney aren't because of the Heat. It is because they weren't Fizzed when first brought into the boat out of deep water and had to fight to stay upright all day. If the Freaking surface Temperature is below 80-84 heat is not killing these fish.

Ya, it does happen. Do the best you can and keep the waste minimal...but it does happen. You prima donna's who think everyone kills fish except you would be shocked to find out some of your fish die too. News flash, they rarely die while unhooking or in a livewell. Some of yours die after you release them also. Kind of the "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it..." scenario. Heve fun and enjoy the resource!