DEAD bass was up after Tourney on KY Lake.

[GeoFisher]

Pic you reference showed 43 dead bass. Let's assume there were 200 dead bass. That's the equivalent of 33 anglers keeping a limit of bass.

Tournament fishermen overall have done more for the economy and our lakes/rivers than any other group. If it weren't for us, commercial fishermen would be running gill nets in other lakes besides Ky/Barkley right now. I had a personal stake in keeping that from happening, along with other KBF and fishing club members across the state.

Find a new cause Geo.

I will be the first to state that tourney fishing has done a TON to help the sport fisherman. Better equipment, better boats, better management, better, all around........

It doesn't change the fact that fishing tourneys this time of year leads to a lot of DEAD fish. And I GUARANTEE that the 43 floaters was a fraction of the dead loss from this tourney. We will never know......which is unfortunate.

Oh, and there is nothing wrong with raising awareness to this issue....It is an issue and as a concerned citizen I'm ALLOWED to have my opinion.....

[NKYFISHING]

I think we should hear from Tim Farmer from the Kentucky fish and Wildlife on what he thinks about these big Bass kills that go on during these BIG summer tournaments. If you want to kill a bunch of fish go kill some Asian carp.

[Devils Horse]

I will be the first to state that tourney fishing has done a TON to help the sport fisherman. Better equipment, better boats, better management, better, all around........

It doesn't change the fact that fishing tourneys this time of year leads to a lot of DEAD fish. And I GUARANTEE that the 43 floaters was a fraction of the dead loss from this tourney. We will never know......which is unfortunate.

Oh, and there is nothing wrong with raising awareness to this issue....It is an issue and as a concerned citizen I'm ALLOWED to have my opinion.....

Yes, you are certainly allowed to state your opinion. Wish I had a nickel for every time people ask for more laws to address an 'issue'.

Due to the outcry for more laws to protect our fish by yourself and many other concerned citizens, there will eventually be laws governing tournaments. That has already happened in many other states. In fact other states have gone much further to protect the fish.

Many states don't allow bass fishing at all for several months of the year, and their rule book resembles federal income tax code.

I wonder how you'll feel when you're snared in the same net you want the government to cast over the tournament bad guys?

[SLP]

Yes, you are certainly allowed to state your opinion. Wish I had a nickel for every time people ask for more laws to address an 'issue'.

Due to the outcry for more laws to protect our fish by yourself and many other concerned citizens, there will eventually be laws governing tournaments. That has already happened in many other states. In fact other states have gone much further to protect the fish.

Many states don't allow bass fishing at all for several months of the year, and their rule book resembles federal income tax code.

I wonder how you'll feel when you're snared in the same net you want the government to cast over the tournament bad guys?

I agree 100% and it's not very different from other issues in our country like environmental, gun control etc, where peoples passion and outcry have lead to more government involvement. These things tend to snowball once the government get it's tentacles into a situation.

However in todays age of awareness because things like social media etc whether tournament fisherman agree about whether how many died is significant number or not, or if there is a problem or not is really irrelevant. Debating things like whether it was 3800 fish our pounds of fish won't win the argument because if this continues the appearance of a problem and abuse will take hold and once it does there is no putting that back in the bottle.

This is why many have suggested that tournament organizers are better off taking the lead and look to make the necessary changes to head this off while they have the power to make changes themselves and not other people making the changes for them.

Regardless whether anyone believes if there is an actual genuine "fish" problem with tournaments they apparently are starting to have an image problem and the sooner they accept that the better off they will probably be when looking at the long term. Right now this type of complaints pop up occasionally on fishing boards and now some local Facebook. If it ever goes viral and becomes "news" the pressure will be 1000 fold and that's when government may decide to step in. Doing nothing is like Russian Roulette, maybe it never happens, maybe it takes ten years, maybe only one. IMO fisherman should be the ones out in front of this making the necessary improvements while they have the power to do so.

[Devils Horse]

I agree 100% and it's not very different from other issues in our country like environmental, gun control etc, where peoples passion and outcry have lead to more government involvement. These things tend to snowball once the government get it's tentacles into a situation.

However in todays age of awareness because things like social media etc whether tournament fisherman agree about whether how many died is significant number or not, or if there is a problem or not is really irrelevant. Debating things like whether it was 3800 fish our pounds of fish won't win the argument because if this continues the appearance of a problem and abuse will take hold and once it does there is no putting that back in the bottle.

This is why many have suggested that tournament organizers are better off taking the lead and look to make the necessary changes to head this off while they have the power to make changes themselves and not other people making the changes for them.

Regardless whether anyone believes if there is an actual genuine "fish" problem with tournaments they apparently are starting to have an image problem and the sooner they accept that the better off they will probably be when looking at the long term. Right now this type of complaints pop up occasionally on fishing boards and now some local Facebook. If it ever goes viral and becomes "news" the pressure will be 1000 fold and that's when government may decide to step in. Doing nothing is like Russian Roulette, maybe it never happens, maybe it takes ten years, maybe only one. IMO fisherman should be the ones out in front of this making the necessary improvements while they have the power to do so.

Agree. Well stated.

[kc]

Agree. Well stated.

Amen. I think SLP is right on that it will be much better if tournament organizers and anglers take the lead on this image issue rather than have a solution forced on them. We don't need more rules, regulations, fees, and taxes which usually don't get the desired results any way...


kc

[GeoFisher]

Yes, you are certainly allowed to state your opinion. Wish I had a nickel for every time people ask for more laws to address an 'issue'.

Due to the outcry for more laws to protect our fish by yourself and many other concerned citizens, there will eventually be laws governing tournaments. That has already happened in many other states. In fact other states have gone much further to protect the fish.

Many states don't allow bass fishing at all for several months of the year, and their rule book resembles federal income tax code.

I wonder how you'll feel when you're snared in the same net you want the government to cast over the tournament bad guys?

With a little common sense, we would not need ANYTHING......unfortunately, common sense is a long lost commodity in our country.