Bad news for tournaments... delayed mortality

[DJD]

Makes you wonder that if the mortality rate can be so high then how can lakes down south be so awesome? It sure gets warmer in Fla for a longer period of time than the far north. For every study or opinion against tourny's you can find a study for tourny's.

[kc]

Maybe they run their tournaments better in the south than they tend to be run here and they take better care of the fish. Plus the success of a fishery is far more complicated than fishing pressure - tournament or otherwise. The big, flat, weedy lakes of the south have oodles of cover and the fish per square acre is most likely much higher than average and they can sustain more fishing pressure. Same goes for KY and Barkley in our home waters. Although the fishing pressure is high on those two there is so much off-shore cover and just sheer acreage of habitable bass areas that they can handle pressure better than smaller lakes like Nolin, Barren, Rough, Taylorsville, etc. Spawining success of a lake is a factor as well. The bottom line for me is I have fished avidly all my life and there has been a noticeable decline in bass fishing quality in most of KY's lakes. You can't blame all of that on T-fishing but in the last 20 years the growth and impact of T-fishing has sky-rocketed and when I constantly see dead fish around marinas after tournaments (in the summer) and hear countless stories and studies that back that observation up it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what I know. I am not against tournaments - I fish a few myself but as a life-long resident and avid fisherman of this state I would like to see tournaments in this state do a better job of taking care of their fish. Catch-and-release ain't good enough when there are so many floaters (remember for tournaments it is catch, haul around for hours, weigh-in, release). If it takes a moratorium during the heat of the summer so be it. But I believe steps can be taken short of that to minimize the damage. It's just a shame that we can't have a constructive discussion over this topic. It just seems many T-fisherman just bristle up at any thought that they have to do anything differently. The arrogance and selfishness seems to rule and that is what is going to bring down regulations that will really get their ire. What happened to the constructive thread a couple of weeks ago by the concerned T-anglers who had just experienced the loss of big fish at their T? Is it really too much to ask to care about the very souce of what T-fishing and pleasure fishing is all about --- THE FISH!!!!


kc

[DJD]

KC,
I agree with some of what you stated in your reply. More care of the catch is always needed. I believe that the fishing industry will continue to get better since there is so much money at stake. The thing that bothers me the most is that media coverage (good or bad) is taken as the gospel when that simply is not true. This is a great example of that. So you have to see the side of tournament anglers (i know you do a few) when surveys are thrown out on just about every aspect of bass fishing. Most have a negative slant on tournaments. No bed fishing or stopping tournaments during the hot summer months are just a few. The worst cases of fish loss i have seen are from pollution or nature, not anglers. Hurricanes(stirring up the polluted bottom and eating up the oxygen), sewage or excessive fertilizer draining into waterways and droughts. That article would lead someone to believe that the evil bass tournaments are killing all the bass and that is dangerous. Almost smells of PETA influences...

[kc]

I agree completely with media coverage being overblown and slanted and can see why some feel that way about this article. I also understand about PETA and their warped agenda but I assure you I am not PETA nor the slanted media. I am a born and bred KY fisherman whose only agenda is better fishing (for me and all of us). These threads have popped up pretty regulary over the past few years especially when the floaters show up in the summer and the tone of them has changed some over time. I do believe many T-fisherman are starting to understand the impact and maybe some seeds are sown. I just get wound up at times when the "not me" attitudes pop up. I think my position is abundantly clear so I am signing off this thread. I hope I haven't offended anyone that was never my intent. Good fishin to all (just keep them alive, please)!

kc