Ok, as it stands today there is a penalty for dead fish so if you have a dead fish you are going to cull it anyway,,my problem is you can bring a 5lb smallmouth to the weigh in that looks like it's been dead for several hours and you would be rewarded if it was big fish without any penalty..I've seen this happen time and time again and alot of times that is the only fish that they weigh in. So there is no penalty and you are rewarded for your negligence and I have had one dead smallmouth in the last 3 - 4 years, summer, winter spring or fall. I take care of my fish by leaving the aerator on constantly when there is fish in the livewell. I cool the water with bottles of frozen water and use a chemical called Rejuvinade to help keep the fish alive and all I fish for in tournaments is smallmouth. So when I see people bringing dead fish to the scales on a regular basis I know they don't care about the fish as much as the tournament & danny you are right , The local tournaments are the problem . Laurel Lake have local tournaments on Tues. Wed, Thurs. fri and Sat. nites,,how long do you think the fish can stand that pressure without an emphasis placed on the most important think which is ,,,keep your catch alive.. This is the concept of tournament fishing which is Catch and Release alive not dead !! I have fished tournaments for over 30 years and I am not against them but I do believe that tournament organizers and tournament rules need to keep the fish as the main priority when the 18" limit was presented to the Fish and Wildlife commission in Franfkort a few years back..Charlie Evans from FLW threatened the committee if you vote this in we will not bring our tournaments to Lake Cumberland..He has since changed his mind with a little help from his sponsors but the point I am making...these people who run these major tournaments can make changes that would help the fishery and the smaller tournaments would follow. john