Your Thoughts?

[idbefishing]

It boils down to guys don't care about the fish. There are many that don't carry ice, Rejuvenade, etc...and just don't think about what happens after the scale. How many leave their livewell running while waiting for the trailer? The ramp area water is warmer, contaminated with oil, gas and oxygen depleted. While you waiting, you replaced all the main lake water with the bad water. Tourny that don't have release boat dump their fish right at the ramp in the same bad water. The longer the weight line the longer the fish stay in a bag with nowhere near enough water for the fish to breath. To add to that, the fish are weight out of the water so they're being choke for some more. It is not the catch and release that killed the fish. It is the improper handling of the fish that killed them. In a small club where everyone trusts each other, the honor system works well. In bigger tourny where it's all about the money, it just won't work. We all know how money is the root of all evil.

[slimshad09]

I get crazy thinking about this stuff. Dead fish is a thing that can't totally be stopped. If you hook one deep it will die. If you weigh in a dead fish you get penalized. In my club there is always a person that will take the dead fish home for their family to eat. As for the really big tournys, maybe they need to be limited on the number of boats. It won't change so just try your best and move on I guess. You can keep your fish rejuved and hope for the best. I think I will donate some rejuve to some guys that don't have it in the next tourny. My problem is catchin them not keepin them alive!

[ClarkIR]

my comment was more in reference to hurricanebob and less to LJP.

I feel like this is one of those global warming debates... 50 fish died in a lake that has over 20,000 probably... Money isnt the root of all evil like someone else said.

Because really, money, is the best resolution to whatever is itching your back here. Pay for the top of the line scale to be on the boat... pay for a person to sit in your boat for 8 hours to weigh fish as you catch them... pay for the most advanced techniques to care for the fish..

Bass Elite fisherman go to these same lakes year after year and haul in large quantities of fish with no problem. The fish are going to repopulate, and years and years of tournament results is proof of this.

[ClarkIR]

Here are some tournaments held on Guntersville Lake over the last 6 years

2010: 1206 Fish, Approx 4800 lbs
2009: 1283 Fish, Approx 5300 lbs
2008: 1179 Fish, Approx 3700 lbs
2007: 977 Fish, Approx 2900 lbs
2006: 1158 Fish, Approx 3400 lbs
2005: 1067 Fish, Approx 3500 lbs

I feel like year after year, with all of this kill offs from big tourneys, youd see a steady decline in the fish caught, But the evidence here is pretty conclusive to me.

Not trying to be a **** here, but I mean you accept the fact that you are going to kill a fish or two when you hunt them with sharp objects to begin with. Conservation should be a big deal especially at the amatuer level and im not opposing that, also everyone can make a tourney any way they want and its up to the individual to decide if they want to enter or not.

Instead of running away from the problem (Lowering limits, no live well holding, ect) People should be looking for ways to improve the situation to maintain the traditional 5 fish limits.