What I feel is an alarming trend

[mhall]

I think that managing a lake for tournaments and managing a lake for quality fish can be one and the same. We live in KY. A 15" bass IS a quality fish in this state. It's not like 5 pounders are as much common place in lakes here as compared to Guntersville, Chick, or lakes in Florida and Texas. Dale Hollow is regulated to be a Trophy Smallmouth lake. Cumberland has an 18" size limit on SM and that is, without a doubt, a quality fish. I think a lot of you guys that want a slot limit on Cumberland only want it to run off the tournament guys. It won't! Look at Dale. It gets heavy tournament pressure and it has a slot limit.

Also, if you look at the tournament pressure that the previously mentioned lakes like Guntersville and Chickamauga get, you would see that the pressure put on Cumberland is not even close to theirs.

Your wrong about me I want the slot for several reasons.

1. To increase the average size and increase the number of quality fish. I love catching 18 smallmouth I have caught more than you can haul in a truck but 21 inch plus fish make me MUCH happier.
2. It will stop the 400 million Striper guides clients from taking every 18 inch fish home to a skillet they catch. Believe me that is huge on that lake. BTW I am not slamming the guides they are doing what is legal and most encourage their clients to release these fish but most do not.
3. And this is dead last to decrease some of the tournaments and yes it will slow them down just like it did at Dale and still is to a degree.

[mhall]

Has been a very nice discussion fellas and that never hurts as it makes us ''ALL'' think. There are two to three of you on here that think I hate tourney's...you are wrong. My original post and one I stand by states or at least I hope implied accumulative yes I know all about making 300 boats disappear on Cumberland I was boating there when a few of you that are reminding me that was in grade school dreaming of getting your first bass boat.

When is to much of anything....''to much''.....it has to be thought about and it has to be anwsered at some point. Yes there are A holes in all walks of life and this is not a good ole boy versus the Saturday KVD contest it is bigger than that in my opinion. I catch all kinds of fish and I am not worrying about that or blaming anybody I am trying to look at the big picture.

Stripernut and I talk about this often and he lives there and sees the madness every week. Trust me he has no problem catching fish either, LOL......

[Bobby Headrick]

That saturday in question there was 100 to 125 boats that took off from the dam, it was two tourneys and you could weigh your fish in both if you wanted, also that same sat there was a KBF, two high school, a local and maybe a renagade that took out at Conley, yes there was a lot of boats, but you can hide a lot on cland, lol. It is a shame that some that participate in this sport are a holes, but a holes are everywhere, the trouble is lack of respect. It seems that some people have no respect anymore. It is sad.

[Shellkat]

After the big tx 2 Saturday ago, I had to wait for an hour to get to the ramp. They had the weigh in at the top of the ramp shutting down most access with 75 people standing around and boats that wouldn't even get off the ramp. I picked up 3 side swimmming kys and put them in the cooler. That's my biggest gripe with tx, those fish might swim off but how many go belly up in an hour.

[Shellkat]

And I forgot the one that got must have got back to late to weigh in or knew his sack was too small flung his back in the water like they were snakes. And if you pull up close enough for me to step in your boat I probably will

[GeoFisher]

After the big tx 2 Saturday ago, I had to wait for an hour to get to the ramp. They had the weigh in at the top of the ramp shutting down most access with 75 people standing around and boats that wouldn't even get off the ramp. I picked up 3 side swimmming kys and put them in the cooler. That's my biggest gripe with tx, those fish might swim off but how many go belly up in an hour.

Na.............None of those tourney fish die......Not a single one. NEVER..........even in the middle of August when they catch them 50 miles away and run in 10 ft sees. NOTHING DIES, or they were close to dead anyways.

[mhall]

I would love to know the true mortality rate of red nosing a bass from daylight until 3 pm going 70 mph everywhere you go and then place it in a bag and stand in line for an hour then weigh it and bounce it around some more then show it off and take 20 pictures and then and only then walk down and chuck it back in churned up poor water where a hundred boat motors just peeded used water and then..................of course they swim off just as good as new.

[GeoFisher]

I would love to know the true mortality rate of red nosing a bass from daylight until 3 pm going 70 mph everywhere you go and then place it in a bag and stand in line for an hour then weigh it and bounce it around some more then show it off and take 20 pictures and then and only then walk down and chuck it back in churned up poor water where a hundred boat motors just peeded used water and then..................of course they swim off just as good as new.

HIGH...but no one ever talks about that.. I have personally witnessed weigh ins for local tourneys on local lakes where they don't have 50,000 dollar holding tanks, and the mortality is UNREAL.....And if you do that stuff in July, August, September.........well You all have seen what happens.

[dabassking]

Na.............None of those tourney fish die......Not a single one. NEVER..........even in the middle of August when they catch them 50 miles away and run in 10 ft sees. NOTHING DIES, or they were close to dead anyways.

Come on, now... There's not a single tournament fisherman that has that mindset that you just so sarcastically alluded to. Yes, fish die due to tournament transport. Do enough die for people to make a big stink about it? Nope. Personally, I like to see those belly up fish go home with someone instead of them just float out and die for nothing. I know at every BFL that I have fished, there is a cooler that keeps the dead ones. They are supposed to get taken away to support the less fortunate. I'm not one that puts a knife to them, so I don't know if that really happens, but that's what is supposed to happen.

[bassmaster]

Na.............None of those tourney fish die......Not a single one. NEVER..........even in the middle of August when they catch them 50 miles away and run in 10 ft sees. NOTHING DIES, or they were close to dead anyways.

Well, I thought they all did....LOL. Seriously, better chance releasing them alive from ANY situation than putting them in a livewell and knifing them (A chance of survival versus NO chance of survival). I for one tourney fish as I have stated AND (OH NO HERE IT COMES)......I keep some to eat as well.............AS does StriperNut (Good friend) and some others on here as well. Catch and release works (I do this more than anything). EVEN catch and release in tournaments......
Some fish die at the hands of us ALL not just a few....................And if anyone thinks otherwise they are kidding themselves.

[mhall]

Well, I thought they all did....LOL. Seriously, better chance releasing them alive from ANY situation than putting them in a livewell and knifing them (A chance of survival versus NO chance of survival). I for one tourney fish as I have stated AND (OH NO HERE IT COMES)......I keep some to eat as well.............AS does StriperNut (Good friend) and some others on here as well. Catch and release works (I do this more than anything). EVEN catch and release in tournaments......
Some fish die at the hands of us ALL not just a few....................And if anyone thinks otherwise they are kidding themselves.

Every Spot that comes in my boat that is worthy I eat....well almost. Some days I'm to lazy to fool with them. I never keep smallmouth and very rarely keep largemouth its a personal choice and I don't slam anybody that does if they are legal. I also eat Stripers, Whites, Crappie, Bluegill, Catfish, Sauger and Walleye.....

[Shellkat]

Any bass (large,small or spotted) over 15 inches doesn't taste good to me. My boat is a eating vessel , if its legal it goes straight on ice, no hauling dead fish around in hot water for me. Those big bass get a picture and sent back to the lake. I would personally like to see the big c get stocked will walleye. I wish they would take the trout hatchery and make it a walleye one.