Poor fish care

[Embrey]

Ppl like that have no business being on the water. The only time I've had fish belly up on me during a tournament I was lucky enough to have them survive to weigh in. Afterwards I turned them loose, they still went belly up. After I saw that I was chest deep in the water reviving these fish for almost 30 minutes and both survived. Ppl like these are the reason outdoorsmen and women get a bad name.

they probably died anyway still...at that point,its just time for a fish sandwich really...after june, theres just no real reason for tourneys . too hot

[stripernut1]

folks i couldnt agree more. But i have to put my own head on the chopping block here. Last friday morning i committed cardinal sin #1 ......i killed a 21 inch smallmouth ! I caught the fish at daylight and it cimpletely engulfed the lure, i cut the lure off, put the fish in a medicated livewell with chilled water and pro air and 02. After 30 minutes the fish seemed ok, i put it back in the lake and in 30 seconds it was floundering belly up. I touched it and it swam straight down. I fished another area and returned 15 minutes later out of curiosity , only to find the fish belly up again. In the cooler it went.....very difficult thing for me to deal with. I love respect and admire those smallmouth more than anrhing that swims flies or runs through the woods. I know first hand there is nothing more i could have done for this fish. I showed the fish to forum member KR, i enjoyed my plate of baked crow, it went well with my burnt pride cooked in a holier than thou sauce. Bad day....

[Bonefish]

Stress comes from a variety of factors beginning with the angling event itself. Fish exert a lot of energy during the fight. Their muscles produce lactic acid, much like our muscles do when we're running and our legs cramp up. Fish deal with that by breathing more oxygen from the water. Research suggests that prolonged use of livewells and excessive handling contribute to the delayed deaths of tournament-caught bass. Death rates are highest in warmer water, which holds less saturated oxygen. Also, handling of fish can remove some of the protective mucous covering their scales, making them susceptible to disease after release. Big bass are territorial and endure extreme stress and elevated heart rates when forced to touch against other big bass.

Here’s the question…if every fish caught in every tournament was killed, would it have an appreciable impact on fish populations? The most recent data from a study on a huge Texas impoundment tends to support the conclusion that population impacts do occur, but are not excessive. In a 2003 study of the impact of tournament mortality on F.J. Sayer Lake in Bald Eagle State Park in northcentral Pennsylvania, the state Fish and Boat Commission estimated about 12 percent of bass 12 inches or greater died annually following tournament releases. Non-tournament sport angling resulted in about 33 percent of overall losses. Some biologists think bass populations are routinely offset by yearly spawns. When the researchers used extreme estimated rates of exploitation and mortality, tournament fishing would kill 6 percent of legal-sized fish, accounting for 28 percent of total angling mortality. And when using more realistic exploitation and mortality rates, tournament fishing kills just 2 percent of legal fish, or 16 percent of total angling mortality.

Some of the ideas being kicked around are “paper tournaments” operating on the honor system. Another includes water weigh-ins requiring less handling; or, maybe video proof of catch on-boat weigh-ins. There just have not been any new technologies as yet to really tackle the problem. There are agents for livewells and backstage holding tanks that help heal wounds and calms fish.

At 16 percent, tournament-caught bass mortality is actually lower than that of catch-and-release fishing, which is 20 percent of total fishing mortality. Of course, mortality in the ice chest is 100 percent, and fish that are harvested by non-tournament anglers account for between 56 and 83 percent of total angling mortality. This study supports the idea that all types of bass fishing will affect populations – even 100 percent catch-and-release. How much impact occurs from tournament, catch-release or harvest fishing depends on local conditions, especially the time of year.

Still, some tournament anglers would prefer that no bass be brought to the table, while harvest-oriented fishermen are probably correct in assuming that fish that see lots of lures, and may have been caught before, are often difficult to catch. In fact, the authors of the current study provide some issues for further debate. Their data, like some previous work, indicates that the mortality from tournament bass fishing may be greatest for larger fish.