Tournaments, A thing of the past?

[Herdbull]

Not my opinion, just a question??

Do you think in a few years tournaments will change and become strictly regulated because of the increasing pressure on ramps, parking lots and the waters themselves? Or Do you think they will remain the same?

Sometimes it is so jammed with boats at the early hours of the morning that even if your not tournament fishing, it's hard to launch. Multiple permits are given out and you find out there are 3 clubs launching from the same ramp.

I do both, tournament fish and fish for pleasure and have heard reply's from people who expressed concern over this.

Again, just a question. What are your thoughts?

[JB]

We see as many as 3 tourneys a week on most of the lake/rivers here.
The urge for so many guys 20-50 years of age to get out of the house an prove themselves will never end...the only thing that will weed out some is the rising fuel prices..tourneys will go on and on IMO

[bass kicker]

were you launching out of buffalo last weekend at the small boat harbour

[WTL]

I almost wish the popularity of tournaments would wane a bit. I think its getting a little bit overboard. I don't think much can or will legally be done to curtail their popularity, and tourneys have a good deal that is good about them, but I've seen enough weigh ins where too many fish floated away to have a completly positive outlook on tournament fishing.

[cullin8s]

Originally Posted by WTL

I almost wish the popularity of tournaments would wane a bit. I think its getting a little bit overboard. I don't think much can or will legally be done to curtail their popularity, and tourneys have a good deal that is good about them, but I've seen enough weigh ins where too many fish floated away to have a completly positive outlook on tournament fishing.

Imagine how many fish would have been legally harvested on that day by the same anglers had they not been tournament fishing? I know a lot of tournament guys are strictly C&R, myself included, but many are not. The day they make tournaments illegal is the day i keep every legal fish i catch from then on, and persuade others to do the same in protest.

[WTL]

Dwain, I'm not suggesting making them illegal...I'm not even sure under what authority that can be done. I just wish they werent so prevalent and sometimes destructive, both to the resource and morale.

[KenDammit]

Do you think that eventually, god willing that we're on this Earth long enough before someone blows it up, that there will be lakes created just for tournaments..kind of like stadiums and arena's for our other sports?

Honestly, I think that with so much pressure being put on our fish, we're not growing the sport, we're slowly killing it. I'm not suggesting that tournaments be stopped, but I think there needs to be A LOT more emphasis put on conservation and betterment of the waterbodies we have. There are ways to improve fishing, which right now gets hurt by so many tournaments and anglers on the same water, and we need to step that part of the game up.

[bassintom]

tourney fishing is one way to find better ways to improve fisheries.it's also a proving ground for equip.used to keep fish alive..if every tourney angler had well insulated livewells with a good strong recirculating system backed up with a pro air system or oxygen injection system used in conjuction with additives such as rejuvenade you would see a lot more healthy fish released at tourneys.and all these different systems were developed through tourney fishing.
some state fisheries managment ask for info gathered at tourneys to help them monitor the fisheries themselves.without tourneys the underfunded,understaffed wildlife management would have much more legwork to do and they would never even get close to accomplishing anything near what they have gotten from tourney fishermen.
fish and game just does not have the manpower to regulate so many tourneys on so many different bodies of water.
just my 2 cents.

[flfireman]

I dont think they will ever go away. Like stated above, most tourneys Ive been in they record weights and numbers then send them to the FWC for numbers. Ive been at one or two where they have actually gone in depth as to where and what time they caught them. Fortunately for us, Fl weather dictates that the universities can pretty much do research all year long. Agaain, this research goes to the FWC for their use in conservation needs and impact to certain areas. There are lakes and areas in Fl where slot limits vary to what legal size is. There are also growing areas of C&R only.

[KenDammit]

I wasn't speaking from a governmental point of view..but a fisherman point of view. There are a lot of things that the everyday fisherman can do to help improve fisheries and the areas surrounding the water. Its not terribly hard for a fisherman who goes to a particular lake many times in a year to take notes and give that information to F&W, or have marina's setup observation systems that allow many anglers to report info on what they see on the water, with the fish they catch..so on and so forth. However, not all states are really up to snuff on how they take care of fish and wildlife. It just irks me that everyday theres another piece of undisturbed land being dug up to put a parking lot or a subdivision or something on it. We have to really protect what land we have now and make it the best we possibly can.

[George_Welcome]

Originally Posted by cullin8s

Imagine how many fish would have been legally harvested on that day by the same anglers had they not been tournament fishing? I know a lot of tournament guys are strictly C&R, myself included, but many are not. The day they make tournaments illegal is the day i keep every legal fish i catch from then on, and persuade others to do the same in protest.

Brilliant answer! You basically just put the "I" in "I" stronger than anyone could.

[1FASTLASER]

All very good points. IMHO I dont see tourneys going away. I do see them more regulated and not always for the same reason. Non fisherman have put pressure on regulatory laws as well as animal activasts. I have seen laws inacted for there benefit and not the fishermans. The feedback from tourneys is a valuable to used by many different organizations. I do hope that they continue to be very strigent in tourneys so that the sport will NOT become strictly about the money such as football,basketball etc havs. I never hope to see a headline such as "KVD cited for drug abuse and dq'd for the next 2 tourneys" To much of that in other major sports.

[Herdbull]

Great answers guy's. I've been fishing tournaments for over 23 years and have seen the good, bad, and ugly in them. Fish with guys anytime anywhere and you can have a blast. Throw money in the pot and watch it turn ugly in a heartbeat. I've quit a club because of it, and I know guy's personally that have done the same.

Also, and I have seen this on TV as well. The way fish get handled. Guys in a hurry to make the next cast, tearing the hook out of a fishes mouth or just pitching it back in the water. Sticking their fingers up through the gills to show me what a bass looks like on a fishing show disgusts me. We all have to set positive examples in our sport, much like hunting.

I don't have problems with tournaments and I agree with most that it monitors the fisheries somewhat. What I do have a problem with is the attitudes and greed that I see that come from them.

[cullin8s]

The only reason that the "tree huggers" haven't gotten any farther in getting our fishing rights taken away from us for cruelty to animals is the $$$ issue. The fishing industry is a multi billion dollar industry and thats why its going to stick around. Tournament popularity growing is nothing that can be avoided, thats the nature of anything that involves $$$, no matter how noble the pursuit is that money has become involved in. Fishing is big business these days and if you look at the number of tournament anglers vs. the number of fishing licences sold were a very small minority, were just much more visible because we are a group.

Inevitability doesn't make it right, but theres nothing that will stop it without stepping on the other side of the fence with the people who want no one to fish at all and helping their cause. If we police ourselves (happens every day, compare fish handling today compared to 10 years ago at weigh-ins) and show that we can take care of the fisheries they will be around for everyone to enjoy.

Its hard to point fingers at Tournaments over dead fish, without BASS the "Don't kill your catch" (later revamped to Catch and Release) movement would have started many years later when fisheries began to die out from overfishing, because it was started by tournament organization B.A.S.S. before that many fisheries were saved before they were fished out, and in fact today the bioligists feel that C&R is actually hurting many fisheries with slot limits and minimum length limits because not enough of the smaller fish are taken to thin the heard and let the bass grow to their full potential. The new buzzword that bioligists are using is "Selective Harvest" and I have to admit I don't keep fish at all, but I am just pointing this out to make a point.

The big thing I see here is people not liking other people fishing in their lake, its easy to point at tournament anglers and say its them because they are a group and easily targeted, but the sport of fishing is growing and so is the population. My best suggestion if you want to fish less pressured lakes is to fish smaller lakes that don't draw the big tournaments, not exclusively, but when you want to get away from the crowds. I fish a small lake in my 2 man bass boat 2 to 3 times a week thats 7 minutes from my house, and also fish a tournament trail that has over 300 boats in it. I love both, and the bottom line is I would be fishing as much as i can afford and get away with (as often as the wife lets me) no matter if its a tournament or just fun fishing, but i promise you If I didnt fish the larger tournaments I would cause more fishing pressure than I do now on the lakes because I would have more money to fish on lol.

[JB]

The dead bass is the most common and legit complaint locals have at all lakes, and its true, a percentage that get brought in have died. The better tournies have several airated tubs along with pontoon boats with tanks, to release the fish in the middle of the lake.
One area I always target on lakes is the launch ramp, where I see small club tournies release the fish once the weigh in is over, it tends to relocate lake fish to that ramp area for awhile.