DEAD bass was up after Tourney on KY Lake.

[SLP]

Just because something has worked in a small scale in the past doesn't mean it will scale up nicely. That is the problem, the scale of the tournaments has increased and it is causing problems. If someone fishes one tournament a year or 100 tournaments there is no additional fishing license being purchased, which means no additional resources for Fish and Wildlife to manage the fisheries, infrastructure, and anglers. There has been a huge increase in the use of resources, wear and tear on the boat ramps/docks, and on the fish caught due to the increase in tournaments and tournament size.

It really is the organizations fault because they aren't taking responsibility for every negative impact the increased tournament scale has caused. Have you ever heard the saying "this is why we can't have nice things"? Well if they don't start managing themselves better the government will step in and increase the regulations/fees on tournaments. Like it or not that is the reality of the situation. It would be a shame if that happened as I'm all for smaller government and fewer regulations but if people don't take responsibility for the negative impact their actions have then the government will step in and do it for them.

If the tournament organizers continue to ignore the negative impacts they are causing, continue to increase the number of boats involved, and increase the frequency of tournaments then I would be fine with something like the following:
1-10 boat tournament no regulation/fees
11 - 25 boat - tournament fee to cover 4 hours of a conservation officers time to watch the launch and weigh in
26 - 50 boat - tournament fee to cover the cost of a conservation officer for the entire tournament including launch and weigh in
51+ boats - tournament fee to cover the cost of a conservation officer for the entire tournament including launch and weigh in plus the cost of an additional officer on the water watching the anglers
Or there could just be a flat $5-$10 fee for every tournament angler for every tournament and Fish and Wildlife would just show up randomly to watch people, behavior, and verify the tournament fee has been paid.

Some type of regulation like that is in the future of tournaments if the organizers don't start taking responsibility for the negative impacts they are causing. The only people who can prevent that are the tournament organizers and tournament anglers.

OK so now you have officers there watching them. Unless you believe they are breaking any regulations and not being caught what good does that really do with regards to loss of fish that don't survive after being released?

For that matter you might even get some angry pushback from some smaller groups that will simply KEEP their fish as it is their right to do.

I'm all for charging them a fee if there was reason to believe the tournaments were causing a financial burden but I haven't seen that charged or indicated anywhere.

I have never fished a tournament in my life and I am not a fan of some of the things that at times seem to happen as a result of them. However the Fish and Wildlife set and determine the limits each year for a species based on their following and testing of that body of water. If any body of water needs for it to happen the limits could be tightened in order to better ensure a healthy population.

IMO rather than us looking for more regulation directed towards fisherman we should be raising awareness so that tournament organizers start looking at available technology and ways to alter tournament procedures to better ensure less loss of fish.

And to those that say well this has been going on for many years so it can't be a problem I would ask for statistics of how many tournaments and fisherman participating in them has increased over the past twenty or thirty years. I don't have that information but it would be useful and I am guess the increase would be considerable so it isn't as simple as saying well we have always done it this way.

Fisherman should want to lead on this and be out front self examining and looking for ways to best ensure the long term success of the sport. But be careful what you wish for when you seek for more regulations and enforcement.

[adriancretired]

if you could turn the clock back 45 years, this would take care of itself. most people were fishing out of 14 foot boats with about a 25 hp motor. didnt use a trolling motor, either. oared or skulled. wouldnt think of stopping within a quarter mile of somebody else fishing. there was a ten inch size limit on bass, and they ate every legal fish they caught. people just enjoying a day on the water and if lucky, some supper. it was about more than catching more fish than the next guy

[adam7456]

OK so now you have officers there watching them. Unless you believe they are breaking any regulations and not being caught what good does that really do with regards to loss of fish that don't survive after being released?

For that matter you might even get some angry pushback from some smaller groups that will simply KEEP their fish as it is their right to do.

Fish and Wildlife is charged with managing the fishery and implementing regulations in order to keep them viable. The complaints about tournaments are blocked ramps, aggressive/hostile anglers, and dead fish. With the officers observing things, documenting tournament use, counting dead fish, and fielding complaints from others trying to use the lake they will have direct first hand information that can be used to properly manage the fishery. That is for the benefit of everyone including the tournament anglers. Or would you rather have them implement regulations based on viral news story and public complaints?

People were over fishing the catfish on Taylorsville lake. Fish and Wildlife gathered first hand information and implemented creel limits to keep the fishery in good shape. That is how things are supposed to work. If tournaments want to start keeping all the fish they catch, then I imagine more restrictive creel limits will be implemented which would be a negative things for tournaments. Again the only people who can prevent the regulations are the people causing the problem in the first place. If the tournament organizers aren't going to take responsibility for the negative impacts their tournaments are causing then they will have to deal with additional regulations and fees that will come.

Fisherman should want to lead on this and be out front self examining and looking for ways to best ensure the long term success of the sport. But be careful what you wish for when you seek for more regulations and enforcement.

That is my whole point. The tournament organizers and anglers should be pro-active in reducing any type of negative impact or complaint and keep the government out of it.

[SLP]

Fish and Wildlife is charged with managing the fishery and implementing regulations in order to keep them viable. The complaints about tournaments are blocked ramps, aggressive/hostile anglers, and dead fish.

I was under the impression this discussion was abut the loss of fish not bad behavior. IMO that is an spereate discussion entirely.

Or would you rather have them implement regulations based on viral news story and public complaints?

My point has been consistently that I don't desire any additional regulations.

People were over fishing the catfish on Taylorsville lake. Fish and Wildlife gathered first hand information and implemented creel limits to keep the fishery in good shape. That is how things are supposed to work. If tournaments want to start keeping all the fish they catch, then I imagine more restrictive creel limits will be implemented which would be a negative things for tournaments. Again the only people who can prevent the regulations are the people causing the problem in the first place. If the tournament organizers aren't going to take responsibility for the negative impacts their tournaments are causing then they will have to deal with additional regulations and fees that will come.

That was my point. There is really no need for new additional regulations. Limits may change if fish populations decline and those that run the tournaments should desire to best implement tournament rules that don't help lead to that occurring.

That is my whole point. The tournament organizers and anglers should be pro-active in reducing any type of negative impact or complaint and keep the government out of it.

That is the point I have been trying to make throughout this entire thread.

[Drew1233]

I like the idea of paying a small fee for the tournaments but I don't know about paying different fees for the size of the tournaments. What about making it like a trout stamp where you have to buy your normal fishing license but if you choose to fish tournaments that year you have to buy a "tournament stamp". You could make it only a $5-$10 "stamp" but if you think about how many of us fish tournaments it would add up real quick. I personally am glad to buy a fishing license at the beginning of every year because I know that it's helping the waters I fish. Also it's Kind of ironic but as I typed this out a triton commercial came on the tv lol.