Should I hate tournaments?

[Astrobass]

I fish tournaments. I'm not a wannabe pro fisherman, I know my limitations and the friendly competition is what I like, a little money wagered, not a lot. I don't have a wrapped, stickered, or power poled boat. In fact my boat probably isn't as expensive/fancy as some of you on here talking about "hating tournament fishermen". Have any of you ever engaged in a friendly game of poker? Shot trap with friends? or Played a pick up game of basketball? Any of those for the bragging rights until next time? What is the difference? Yeah, so tournaments start early and they beat you to some spots? So what? Either get there earlier or go elsewhere. No point in complaining about it, you have just as much right as they do to be there, beat them to that spot.

I have had no trouble with people fishing tournaments. I have fished tournaments on medium sized lakes and small lakes without any issue. Most tournaments, I talk with competitors in my tournament, or in other tournaments if they happen to be in the same cove. I enjoy the challenge of trying to catch a limit in a given amount of time. It's just fun for me.

As stated above, I've had more trouble out of pleasure boaters in runabouts than I have tournament fishermen. I was pleasure fishing on Green River Lake last year along a bluff wall and had a guy drive his pleasure boat within 100 feet of me, drop off a wakeboarder, then proceed to hammer down, turn right around and blast past me at full speed. I was almost washed into the bluff wall. This was in a spot that for at least 2000-2500 ft. across the lake was at least 30' deep. That's what makes me angry, not someone beating me to a spot.


Of course, I don't fish KY/Barkley, so maybe there is a different set of people down there than I see here in central KY...

[Astrobass]

The problem is twofold. I'm a tourney fisherman and I also fish for fun. I occassionally keep fish to eat and yes sometimes they are bass. I expect a barrage of "holier than thou" attitudes about keeping some to eat on occassion but I'm gonna continue to do that because we like to eat fish. Now, I fish 20 or more tourneys each year and have been fairly successful. I enjoy the competition and attribute my success to the competition. It has forced me to be a better fisherman because I wanted to be more consistent. So, as a tourney fisherman, I don't hate tourneys but I do hate some of the "fishermans" attitude. And while this can be either a recreational or a tourney fisherman it is more times associated with the tourney fisherman. Remember, one shouldn't judge everyone and put a label on all beacuse of the actions of a few.

Good fishing and God Bless,
See ya'll on the water,

Tim
bassmaster

Very well said.

My dad is one of those "holier than thou" attitudes towards eating bass.... I pissed him off good when I caught a good largemouth and a good smallmouth out of the river and me and my brother filleted them up. LOL It's just a fish, are you gonna pass up a 180" monster whitetail buck, just because he's "too pretty to kill"?? Nope. LOL We are at the top of the food chain for a reason.

I catch and release 95% of the time, and I am definitely not looking down at someone catching to eat them.

[smashdn]

Totally up to you. Guess we could all go back to the days of catching a stringer of bass and putting the fillet knife to them.

What is wrong with that? They fry the same as a catfish or crappie do.

I don't like the fact that some of the tourney guys find it necessary to run on plane all the way to the back of a cove or small creek arm.

[Fishin is life]

How can you complain about somebody being in "your" spot....I've been on most of the lakes in KY and am yet to see a sign designating that particular spot as somebodys.....If you're a pleasure fisherman and a tournament fisherman is in your spot go somewhere else....if you're a tournament fisherman and a pleasure fisherman is in your spot go somewhere else....it works both ways....I've seen tournament fisherman pull right in on top of pleasure fisherman and it pissed me off....i've seen pleasure fisherman pull right in on top of a tournament fisherman and it pissed me off....

[DJD]

Your right we are all stuck with it so why hate what you can't change? I fish them once in a while and just understand it's just part of fishing....Just fish around it or with it and remember just because your a bass fisherman (tournaments or recreational).... doesn't mean you immediatly become a thoughtful considerate boater and angler. You have good, bad and ugly in every aspect of life what makes bass fishing any different?

Your assuming too many things...not all anglers are making money off tournaments, in fact most don't make money and it's a huge loss if you add up all your expenses. Maybe you should fish a few before you really make your mind up. It can be fun. Get a buddy who does well in them and try it....you might be very good at it.

[barkleyhawggitter]

There are thousands of acers of water between ky and barkley, that's two lakes that will never fish small, green river lake maybe I would believe, and I agree with earlier comments fish weekdays they are better and one last thing Ive always had a problem with run about boats and baja boats not wrapped pro pole "wanna be" professional fisherman

dude, i live down here on barkley and fish both lakes combined about 100 days per year. the fishing pressure is incredible. the only time i the pressure is off is in december january and february. the fishing is great in the winter and very light pressure. only about 10 percent of any lake has any quality fish in it. i hate it when the big tourneys are here and i have to drive around to find a ledge to fish in the summer because the boats are literally in line to fish a spot. i watch them, one leaves and another drives right to the spot when he leaves and then it repeats itself, rediculous. it is getting worse every year. at least the crappie fisherman have thinned out a lot since the crappie fishing went down the tubes four years ago.

[Fntsyfbgod]

Fishing is much better off because of tournament fishing. Because of the competition of tournaments the equipement we have keeps improving and the boats and technology keeps improving. Not only that tournament fishing were a big component in the improvement of fisheries management.

Then there is the impact tournament money has on the economy. Thats been mentioned so I won't get into that. So if you ask me are the benifits of tournaments worth some people crying about the number of boats on the lake I say yes its worth it.

If you want to get away from the tournament boats fish a small 150 acre or less they don't have many tournaments. Or fish waters that are electric only.

[roughscott]

Look at the pay out , 100% and try it or sit on our computer and cry .

[Bobby Headrick]

Good answer there Don. People dont need to hate on all tourney guys, we are not all PRIO WANNA BE,s, and a lot of use do not make any money at it, I haved cashed several checks in various tourneys and they did not pay my expences for those tourneys. I fish them because I love the competion and comradary, yes there are some bad seeds out there, but they are every where, on the golf course, at the bowling alley, at the kids little league games. I have seen pelasure boaters run all the way back in coves, and if you do notice a bass boat at full plane does not leave a wake like a pleasure boat or big v bottom at half throttle. Tourneys likeit has been mentioned above buy Art, bring in a lot of money for the local businesses around an area, fisherpeople in general bring a lot of money in, sorry that some of you think all tourney guys are bad, but if it was not for tourneys then you would not have all the things out there to help you catch fish. So before you start hating. get the facts. There are even some pleasure fishermen ouy there that are rudier than a lot of tourneys guys out there, and the pleasure boaters well the twice a year put the boat in the water and take 30 mins to launch or load, ever see a tourney or pleasure fisherperson take that long to load or unload. Pros and cons in all of life just live with it.

[newriver]

Yes by all means hate them. Or just avoid them which is not easy in KY. When I left the largemouth lakes and started fishing rivers that bassboats can't run in life got better. Now the onlytime my bassboat goes out is Nov-March on lakes that don't get greenfish pressure

[Oldlures]

Good answer!

[Rudypoo4444]

Here is my take on it:

Bass tournaments have done for fishing what counting antler "inches" has done for deer hunting. While some good has come out of each, what it has mostly done is create a whole new group of goons that think the only thing that matters is how much the fish weighs or how many inches the antlers have.

They care nothing about the sport a lot of times, and do just about anything to get that "trophy", even if it means pissing people off, being rude, and breaking the rules.

I want to go back to the days of deer camps and stringers full of bass so bad I can't hardly stand it.