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  1. #1
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    Summer bass tournament fish kills and the “BUBBA MENTALITY”

    Anytime 1 bass dies in your livewell, that 1 dead fish may cause you to be a bass tournament loser. That 1 dead fish has cost many “could be” tournament winners a lot of money and every tournament bass fisherman tremendous angst all day long on their bass boat hoping and praying that a fish don’t die and will just stay alive to the afternoon till he can get it to the weigh-in scales. If he can do that, well, there a chance of being a winner.


    The fisherman’s point of the bass tournament experience is to win the contest and avoid the dead fish punishment. If you can keep your catch alive all day in you bass boat livewell, you have a chance to win the tournament, the money, the trophy, the boat and motor and be a proud winner on the stage holding your catch for photo ops and a speech, you know the rite in the winner’s circle. If you can’t avoid the dead fish punishment… you will most probably be just another loser and you know there are many. Many losers in summer bass tournaments because 1 fish died in their livewell.

    Was it bad luck or just plain old bad fish care in the boat livewell all day?
    It’s only a fish, if all the tournament caught bass were killed, all these dead bass would not negatively affect the fishery. That’s a biological fact, check it out, just call and ask any of your State DNR officials knowledgeable of tournament bass fishing in the State and they will all tell you this same thing. Just get over it and rig up for next week’s bass tournament… tournaments will go on summer after summer as usual besides the grief and gnashing of teeth when hundreds of big bass wash up around the release site and that’s the reality of summer bass tournament fishing boys.

    The only major change that really improved bass tournament survival was implemented a few years ago. The BassMaster Classic tournament date was changed from the 1st week in August, the absolute hottest time of the year (hottest environmental water) to the dead of winter, the middle of February (coldest environmental water).

    Tournament bass fishing is all about make ‘in money with the least amount of bad press possible about dead bass making a stinking mess.

    Check out the Ray Scotts “BUBBA MENTALITY”, B.A.S.S. and why “catch and release” tournament bass fishing was invented… it had nothing to do with conservation of resources -

    According to State Directors of Inland Fisheries, tournament bass mortality and bass tournament fish kills do not and have never negatively impacted bass fisheries. Our State Bass Fisheries are effectively managed by State Fish and Game Department and DNR professionals. Fisheries are continuously restocked with healthy supplies of new bass (financed by our tax dollars).

    The focus of “catch and release” tournament bass fishing was and is, all about a creating a positive public relations image out of a negative, bad public relations image. A brilliant PR stunt to win hearts and minds.

    Ray Scott invented “Bubba Power.” Get the good ol’ boys turned on to the bass fishing sport, and make a lot of money off the “Bubbas,” [and air bubbles]. This proved to be a lucrative concept that made billions in profits for four decades. A new fishing industry was born – Tournament Bass Fishing for profit and fun called B.A.S.S. http://www.rayscott.net/bio/bio.php

    “Catch and Release, how it all began,” Bill Dance Outdoors – http://www.billdanceoutdoors.com/bills-blog__2.php?p=406 Posted February 18, 2014

    During the early days of B.A.S.S, 1971. , all the tournament bass were routinely killed, weighed and given to charities (feeding the hungry). The bass kill during these fishing tournaments became a liability and a serious public relations problem when the locals started complaining.

    Scott talked with Bob Cobb, and both agreed that something needed to be done to change the image of “boat loads of dead bass” the public saw at B.A.S.S. tournaments.

    Bob Cobb wrote a press release that beginning in 1972, the B.A.S.S. Catch and Release program would be initiated to release 90% of the tournament catch alive and which would improve the public relations image of tournament bass fishing.

    They even invented and implemented a new bass tournament rule, the “dead-fish penalty.” Anglers were punished for every dead bass they presented to the weigh-master by weight reduction for each dead bass. Their hope was this fine would motivate contestants to make some effort to keep their catch alive all day in bass boat livewells. The killer was that all-day ride in the anglers’ bass boat livewell where the fish suffocated.

    The question and challenge for Scott and Cobb now – how do their members keep bass alive all day in their boat’s livewell? How are contestants going to keep bass alive after they are hooked, fought and landed then hauled all day (7-8 hours) in a bass boat livewell or ice chest?

    So here’s what they decided… and it worked very well.

    Scott contacted his buddy, Sam Spencer, with the Alabama Fish and Game Department. Scott wanted Sam’s expert advice about how to keep tournament caught bass alive during and after tournaments. Both knew that bass needed dissolved oxygen so they talked about [air] using small pumps for aerators, like small aquarium pumps that made [air] bubbles for aquarium fish [guppies, goldfish, clown fish, etc.]. They figured that when the air bubbles burst at the surface of the water, the air bubbles left dissolved oxygen in the water. Scott had an epiphany then, an acute awakening and said, “Then the secret is just putting [air] bubbles in the water.” Sam, Alabama Fish and Game Department replied, “the more [air] bubbles the better” and the race was on.

    It’s easy to confuse air with oxygen and nitrogen because these gases are all colorless, odorless and tasteless and they all make clear bubbles in livewell water. FACT: Oxygen is Not Air http://oxyedge-chum.com/oxygen-is-not-air/

    Scott and Sam both assumed that air bubbles made plenty of oxygen and air bubbles were the “key” to keeping tournament bass alive in bass boat livewells. Keeping fish alive and live release would solve this bad tournament PR image and make bass fishing tournaments acceptable to the public… this PR problem was solved.

    Scott built a prototype spray bar aeration system with a round lawn sprinkler and garden hose that sprayed streams of water into the air. He attached the water sprinkler inside the bass boat livewell at the top. The water hose was attached to a bilge pump and the pump placed in the bottom of the livewell. The water was pumped through the sprinkler and jetted to the water surface, filled the livewell with [air] bubbles. He claimed the new aeration device would ensure plenty of dissolved oxygen and livewell suffocation would be eliminated… the myth was born and not questioned for decades. Boat manufacturers, bass fishermen and the media bought and promoted this myth hook, line and sinker making millions of dollars.

    At this time Ray Coyle, an engineer and member of B.A.S.S., modified Scotts’ water sprinkler aeration prototype with PVC pipe with holes bored in it and then claimed his new “aeration device raised the dissolved oxygen 300% more than lake water.” This is when they began to use the words air and oxygen interchangeably, ignoring the fact that oxygen and air are two different gases.

    Read the gas law and understand the science how gases that can be dissolved in water are limited:

    Henry’s Gas Law – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry%27s_law

    After all, without expensive scientific instrumentation, the average fishermen, politician or fishery biologist cannot tell the difference between air, nitrogen or oxygen because these gases are colorless, odorless and tasteless and all make bubbles in livewell water. So who would ever question this or challenge their story?

    The air bubble story was not scientifically challenged for 27 years from 1972 to 1999 when a savvy fishery biologist started testing bass boat livewell water at bass tournaments with his dissolved oxygen meter… and the air bubble myth was confirmed when the truth popped out, the DO meter exposed the truth about air bubbles and summer death well water quality…

    Tournament fish were suffocating in bass boat livewells in summer tournaments by the thousands because of insufficient dissolved oxygen in livewell water.

    Their claim was, with anglers using their new aeration device, tournament bass kills could be reduced from 100% kill to only 10% kill… so that was their story and they have stuck to it over 4 decades. Tournament bass kills were and continue to be a fishing tournament public relations problem.

    Email your State Fish and Game /DNR Director of your State’s Inland Fishery and ask two questions… (1) Do tournament bass kills negatively impact the state’s bass fishery? (2) Would the state’s bass fishery be negatively impacted if ALL the tournament bass were killed in every tournament in your state?

    The Best Tournament Bass Care possible is not to suffocate the summer tournament catch in live release boat haul tanks, weigh-in holding tanks or angler bass boat livewells where the catch is confined for 7-8 hours on a summer day. Chronic oxygen deprivation and 7-8 hour suffocation in a bass boat livewell has been scientifically proven to be the primary cause of Summer Bass Tournament Acute and Delayed Mortality.

    In order to reduce their tournament bass kills, B.A.S.S./ESPN now hold the BassMaster Classic Tournament in February, the dead of winter when the environment water temperature is cold. There will be no more BassMaster Classic fishing tournaments in August, the hottest time of the year.

    This PR move based in scientific research and fishery science thanks to professionals like B.A.S.S. Conservation Director, Gene Gilliland, http://newsok.com/gene-gilliland-goi...rticle/3875313 and Dr. Hal Schramm, Jr. http://www.coopunits.org/Mississippi...amm/index.html and many other professionals concerned and actively involved in new methods that improve summer tournament survival by reducing excessive summer tournament bass kills.

    Summer bass tournament kills are only bad PR, that's all.
    Last edited by Triton Tom; 07-01-2015 at 09:08 AM. Reason: font

  2. #2
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    wrong!!!

    if you, for one single minute think that cumberland could sustain 100% tournament mortality on smallmouth without a negative impact then you are as out of touch with reality as your "article".
    and as far as the statement goes about "lakes being restocked with bass from our sportsmens dollars"????????
    i have NEVER seen a kdfwr truck pull up and start dumping smallmouth in to lake cumberland in 45 years of fishing/living on this lake.
    NOW, FIND ME ONE FISHERIES BIOLOGIST THAT WILL STATE THAT 100% TOURNAMENT BASS MORTALITY IF SUSTAINED OVER A PERIOD OF TIME WILL NOT HAVE A LONGTERM NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE FISHERY.....I WANT TO TALK TO HIS BOSS, WE NEED TO DRUG TEST HIM

    those statements alone reduce the credibility of the rest of the "article'

  3. #3
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    I just have one question for you, Triton Tom: what have you been smoking and can you get any more of it?
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  4. #4
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    Either someone bumped their head or they have started on the holiday sauce early!
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  5. #5
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    If Triton Tom is as smart as he thinks he is then the wannabe bass fisherman needs to quit talking out both sides of their mouth. They'll squeal worse than a cut pig when they someone keep a bass for supper. If bank full of dead fish after a 350 boat weigh in don't hurt then a few for the table shouldn't hurt either.
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by floatntiny View Post
    If Triton Tom is as smart as he thinks he is then the wannabe bass fisherman needs to quit talking out both sides of their mouth. They'll squeal worse than a cut pig when they someone keep a bass for supper. If bank full of dead fish after a 350 boat weigh in don't hurt then a few for the table shouldn't hurt either.
    You're right that premise works both ways. mortality can be a good thing for a fishery, but every fishery is different. Some can handle it, some can't, some need to have some fish removed others don't. There is no one size fits all rules. But your point remains valid a small percentage of fish dying from a tournament is the same as a few meat eaters keeping some...only difference is that the ones that die from the tourney get "wasted"...sort of...birds gotta eat too!

  7. #7
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    The bass “BUBBA MENTALITY” - I still chuckle about it

    I had the bass "BUBBA MENTALITY" too a long time ago.

    Ray Scott’s brilliant PR strategy, and it’s still working like a champ over 4 decades later.

    OK, stripernut1, you got to make a little effort too… so show me.[/COLOR][/FONT]

    I’ll help you find ferret out the real truth about bass tournament kills so I’ll provide you with the Kentucky Fish Hatcheries resources and what to ask the Hatchery Managers. All you or anyone else needs to do is cut and past the 3 questions to an email addressed to these 3 Fish Hatchery managers and click the send button with your mouse and that’s all the effort you need to make.

    I’ve looked up and posted the Hatcheries and the managers email address and 3 questions below for you. You or anyone else can email these managers. Ask these Kentucky State fish Hatchery Managers these 3 very simple questions, the answers are simply yes or no.

    I was interested, I’ve already taken my time and effort to email them and ask these 3 questions, they responded and I already know how they will answer these questions.

    I don’t think you’re going to like what these 3 hatchery managers are going to tell you. I believe they are going to bust your bubble about all this bass tournament bass kills. Rest assured, you can bet your house keys and first born child that your State bass fishery is and always has been on top of this fish kill matter; our bass fishery is very well managed and the Fishery Managers will certainly not allow the bass tournament industry (all the bass tournaments in the state) to negatively impact the bass fishery by killing a few tournament fish every year. If there should ever be an issue with tournament bass kills, there would be new rules and strict regulation that would effectively reduce the kills.

    The BassMaster Classic was recently changed to mid-February (the coldest time and coldest water of the year). This B.A.S.S. tournament was historically held for decades the 1st week of August (the hottest time of the year, the hottest water in the year, the highest bass kills of the year). Tournament kills are markedly higher when held in the heat of summer and tournament kills are very, very bad PR although the fish are usually well cared for the final 20 minutes of captivity or so at the weigh-in in ER hospital tanks and on release boats that also have ER tanks in a few tournament circuits.

    Can you guess why the Bassmaster Classic tournament in held in February, the dead coldest time of every winter north of the equator in the USA? Anyone with Ray Scott's bass “BUBBA MENTALITY” should be able to figure this out if I can figured it out… I personally think this tournament was changed to the winter to reduce the tournament kills, another outstanding PR hallmark implemented by B.A.S.S. after years of research and publishing the bass care booklet “KEEPING BASS ALIVE.” B.A.S.S. Directors under the guidance and recommendations of Gene Gilliland, B.A.S.S. Conservation Director and expert Fishery Biologist and other experts chose to have this “Super-Bowl” bass fishing tournament in the winter. This drastic change was not forced on B.A.S.S. by any DNR regulations.

    No disrespect to your current ideas and opinions, but if you contact these managers and learn the truth like I did, this may really shock you… “in your face - reality” so to speak.

    Please post the correspondence you receive from the managers on the forum.

    Do tournament bass kills negatively impact Kentucky’s bass fishery?

    Would Kentucky’s bass fishery be negatively impacted if ALL the tournament bass were killed in every bass tournament in Kentucky?

    Do Kentucky State Fish Hatcheries use a portion of State and/or Federal tax money and yearly fishing license fees to support bass restocking in Kentucky?

    Minor Clark Fish Hatchery
    Rod Middleton, Manger
    Rod.Middleton@ky.gov

    Peter W. Pfeiffer Fish Hatchery

    Steve Marple, Manager
    Steve Marple@ky.gov

    Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery
    James Gray, Manager
    James.Gray@FWS.gov

    When you receive the Hatchery Managers response to these simple 3 questions, please post their answers on the forum.

    I bet if you ask these hatcheries manager to post their response to these 3 questions on this forum under this thread, they would kindly do that for all interested bass fisherman to see.

    The url is: http://www.fishin.com/forums2/showth...089#post548089

    Hope you guys have a Great 4th of July weekend.
    Last edited by Triton Tom; 07-03-2015 at 07:58 AM. Reason: reduce clutter - delete html font/coding

  8. #8
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    wrong species...

    tom i find your info on hatchery contacts to be completely useless....why would a TROUT hatchery biologist have any info on bass tournament mortality???
    and thanks for the wolf creek contact info, but i will just use the speed dial on my phone as they are all very close friends of mine, heck i might even ask during the cookout tommorrow.
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  9. #9
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    clarify...

    to clarify my response....i didnt disagree with you about "normal" tournament mortality not having a huge impact on the fishery.
    my objection is over the comment about "100% tournament mortality" not hurting......that is not the question you want me to ask the above mentioned hatchery directors. and frankly i would be too embarrassed to even ask such a question
    and as far as that goes i would get as much accurate info about tournament mortality from the lady at the local greenhouse as i would from a "hatchery director"....friend the hatchery directors have ZERO to do with bass tournaments....ZERO. ive never seen one in attendance, so how would they even have ANY info, much less hard hands on data from a long term sample population???
    also, you might look a little closer at your hatchery references, wolf creek NATIONAL fish hatchery doesnt have one single thing to do with bass fishing regs on lake cumberland or any other lake in the state for that matter. and i did call and ask 2 different hatchery technicians if wolfe creek has EVER stocked any kind of bass in lake cumberland....and you guessed it....nope.
    those regs are determined by a completely different entity, the KENTUCKY DEPT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE.
    but if you feel your info is founded ,then heck im your biggest fan
    im done arguing hypothetical questions, just know that when you make such outlandish comments somebody on here is going to smell it and call it.
    now, its time to quit typing and start casting.
    you have a safe and happy 4th as well

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by stripernut1 View Post
    tom i find your info on hatchery contacts to be completely useless....why would a TROUT hatchery biologist have any info on bass tournament mortality???
    and thanks for the wolf creek contact info, but i will just use the speed dial on my phone as they are all very close friends of mine, heck i might even ask during the cookout tommorrow.
    I can tell you why the Classic was moved to February...because people were sick and tired of seeing 3 day weight totals of 20-25 pounds on waters that made no sense to fish. I for one viewed it as a challenge. I liked seeing them duke it out on polluted rivers and recreation Meccas in the scorching heat of summer. 2 years ago had a small rogue cold front not hot Guntersville the night before day 1...a few 100 pound sacks would have been highly possible. I was there all three days fishing and it was stellar but could have been crazy!!! So no I do not think fish kill had anything to do with the movement from August to February. Now I will call James gray and find out how much my trout grilling from the past 2 wells has hurt the numbers of the cumberland River...and see to it that he puts some more trout in for the ones that now live in my septic tank!!! Thanks!!!

  11. #11
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    First, Ray Scott got the idea for catch and release fishing from the Federation of Fly Fishers he talks about it in his book Bass Boss. Also, the Classic was moved to winter to help the catch weights go up and it was done by ESPN, long after Ray Scott was gone from BASS.
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  12. #12
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    Here's what the BOSS and top state expert says about it...

    It does take a little effort to ferret out the truth, get past the shucking and jiving so common on the internet, print media and boat ramp arguments among tournament fishermen, sport fishermen, meat hunters and tournament officials, but the facts and data are solid as a rock regarding the negative effects tournament bass kills have on a State’s bass fishery… NONE.

    All you have to do is ask the DNR experts. That requires a phone call, an email or a letter. For most folks that’s way too much trouble. There’s nothing more to debate about this matter when the truth is exposed. Tournament bass kills are a public relations problem for tournament directors, bass kills do not and will not ever endanger Kentucky’s largemouth bass fishery.

    I emailed Ron Brook’s, Director of Fisheries Division, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Although there have been some relative small bass kills this summer generating reams of bad public relations, these tournament bass kills certainly have not negatively impacted the Kentucky largemouth bass fishery. The fishery is managed extremely well and rest assures although these bass kills may get a lot of bad press, all is well.

    I ask Mr. Brook’s these questions:

    1. Do tournament bass kills negatively impact Kentucky’s bass fishery?

    Mr. Brook’s response: **We have no data that indicates Kentucky’s bass fisheries are negatively impacted by tournament fishing.

    Bass populations can experience a certain amount of total (natural and fishing related combined) mortality without negative consequences to annual mortality rates. In other words, if there were no fishing-related mortality, natural mortality would either be greater (compensatory mortality), or more likely, most bass populations would be more susceptible to becoming overcrowded. As such, a certain amount of mortality is useful to promote a larger size structure with bass (and most other sport fish) populations.

    Our regulations are structured to account for a certain amount of total mortality and still maintain quality fisheries. At times, we structure our regulations to promote the taking of smaller bass to make the overall population size structure larger; at other times, we have regulations to limit the take of bass when recruitment is historically low or total mortality is historically high. There are many regulatory tools to help us structure bass harvest rates around their population dynamics. Every lake is different in terms of its capacity to hold numbers of predator fish and the sizes that those fish can reach. Fishing pressure is but one factor in that complicated equation.

    2. Would Kentucky’s largemouth bass fishery be negatively impacted if ALL the tournament bass were killed in every bass tournament in Kentucky and eaten?


    Mr. Brook’s response: ** Without any data, I can only speculate on this,

    but I would suspect that to be true; however, I also know that almost all tournament fishermen revere bass and would not intentionally kill them; during a tournament or any other time.

    I would also suspect that if every non-tournament fisherman kept every bass they caught (even within the current regulations), overharvest would be an issue; regardless of tournaments. We manage our bass populations based on data collected routinely and by population trends that the collected data provide.

    ** If it became apparent that changing regulations would improve a bass fishery (or any other sport species), we would (and often do) implement regulation changes. This includes regulations that affect all anglers, including tournaments.

    ** If we had evidence that tournaments were detrimental to one or more bass fisheries, we would be compelled to make regulations that would not be optimal for tournament fishing in those lakes. We understand very well that outlawing tournaments is not feasible or enforceable; creel regulations that would deter the desire to hold tournaments are feasible.

    However, I need to be clear that we do not intend make regulations that deter people from wanting to go fishing; tournament or otherwise. I also want to be clear that we have never, to date, made a regulation aimed at deterring tournaments from fishing any of our lakes.

    ** We have some regulations (in some reservoirs) that are not tournament friendly, but those regulations were made to improve the bass fisheries, not to discourage tournament fishing.

    3. Are largemouth bass supported with State and/or Federal tax money and yearly fishing license fees that support culturing and restocking in Kentucky public fishing waters?


    Mr. Brook’s response: All fish stocked by KDFWR in Kentucky are paid for by a combination of funds procured through the 1950 Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (amended several times and commonly called the Dingle-Johnson and Wallop Breaux funds) and by funds KDFWR receives directly from fishing licenses and permits. We receive no general state or federal tax dollars... End

    So rest easy fellows and be assured that the Kentucky largemouth bass fishery is kept safe and is well taken care of by professionals like Mr. Brook’s and other state fishery experts. Kentucky is not going to run short of bass on Mr. Brook’s watch nor is the support money going run short that goes to the Minor Clark Fish Hatchery in Morehead, KY where professional fishery managers like Ron Middleton grow and distribute largemouth bass throughout the Great State of Kentucky.

    Now you know facts about Kentucky’s largemouth bass fishery in relation tournament bass kills this summer or any summer… there is no data that indicates Kentucky’s bass fisheries are negatively impacted by tournament fishing.

    But, you can bet your last $100 with confidence that tournament bass kills are always a major, major public relations problem for bass tournament Directors, organizers and sponsors dating back over 40 years... and that PR problem does requires a reaction.

    Tom
    Last edited by Triton Tom; 07-08-2015 at 06:33 AM. Reason: font

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