Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Bassmasters this weekend

Well, my smallies got put into the Bassmasters Classic aquarium earlier today. I was standing on the show's production floor while the crew were doing early rehearsals. They really look great in this tank!

My fish guy and I went out early Tuesday morning and fished for the smallies and other LMB. We caught (7) SMB in the +/- 4 lb. range, and (1) LMB that was about 5 lbs. and 21" long. The SMB were from 18" to 20" long. We would have caught a total of (11) SMB, but my fish supplier doesn't fish as much as he should; well he lost three that he fought for a few minutes and I lost one, meaning they got off the hook. It was about 94 degrees and very humid. Tough day to be out, but better than working.

In addition to my fish, there are a few other 12" SMB and about (20) LMB in the same length range that are also in the tank.

The show airs on ESPN2 most all day Saturday and Sunday, July 30 & 31, '05. At certain times, it will be on ESPN also.

Also got to meet Lusk and Ray Scott earlier today.
Needless to say, very impressive & nice people.

I had previously invited Lusk to my pond. He insists that he is up for going but says that he needs to be back in Pittsburgh around 10AM to 11AM for tomorrow, Saturday or Sunday. So he's saying that he's all for getting up around 4:30 AM and hitting it. He also has another Pond Boss member's pond to visit along the way.

That's brutally early for me, but I know better than to pass up the opportunity.

Hope you guys can tune in for a little bit.

Sunil :

Great job . Know you are proud and rightfully so. I will be looking for your fish. I know you will represent all us Pondbossers well. ewest

Sunil, were all proud of your success and I send my congratulations for the selection of your fish. I will not be able to see the Bassmasters but would really love to see those hog smallmouths, please post a photo in this thread of the tank if you get the chance. Catching that many lunkers on a hot day is a testiment to your "Pond Boss'iness"!

Good work and many comps Sunil,

I'll be sure and set up the DVR this weekend!

Interesting article in USA Today, coinciding with the BASS activities.

Anti-fishing folks are hooked on a feeling
By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY

PITTSBURGH - The Citgo Bassmaster Classic, sometimes known as the Super Bowl of fishing tournaments, will be held this weekend on the three rivers.

A billboard that just went up south of here on Route 51 isn't part of the promotional effort. It's a digitally altered depiction of a dog being yanked by a hook in its mouth.

"If you wouldn't do this to a dog, why do it to a fish?" asks the billboard, funded by the Fish Empathy Project. That is a campaign launched last fall by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), stepping up earlier anti-fishing efforts.

Sean Teets, 20, employed at a custom auto shop located right under the billboard, says workers finished putting it up Wednesday morning.

"It's totally uncalled for. It makes no sense at all," says Teets, an avid fisherman.

Meagan Barker, 23, co-owner of the shop, says she was more upset by the sign than whether fishing is cruel. "The picture of the dog shocked me. I thought it was mean," she says.

But whether fish feel pain when hooked is a point of debate. On opposing ends: Karin Robertson, who manages the PETA project from the group's headquarters in Norfolk, Va., and James Rose, professor of zoology and physiology at the University of Wyoming and a fisherman.

"Fish are not swimming vegetables. They feel pain just like other animals, like we do," says Robertson, who uses that name professionally but has legally changed her name to GoVeg.com, which links to PETA's Web site. GoVeg.com is on her credit cards and drivers license, and she uses that name away from work as "a really light-hearted way to start a conversation about a very serious issue."

She cites research in the United Kingdom that reported in 2003 that trout had nervous system receptors in their heads and responded to damaging stimuli in ways that showed "pain," not just reflex.

Rose rejects that. He says the "emotional suffering" component of human pain takes place in regions of the brain, the frontal lobes, that don't exist in the brains of fish: "It has to be conscious. ... That consciousness requires a lot more complex brain than a fish has."

PETA also opposes fishing for the reasons that waters are loaded with contaminants and that eating fish is unhealthy. Its targets include commercial fishing and fish farms. It also opposes angling for sport, a pastime that the American Sportfishing Association says generates $116 billion in economic impact annually. In PETA's view, fishing is no sport at all.

"It definitely was not an accident that our billboard turned up in Pittsburgh the same time as the tournament," says Robertson, whose group has put up similar billboards in other cities. "We hate to see just an exhibition in cruelty to animals."

This year Robertson has gotten no takers in letters to sports editors of 200 newspapers asking them to drop their fishing columns. Nor has she been successful in asking a California aquarium to take fish off its menu or in getting Fishkill, N.Y., to change its name. Locals there note that "kill" comes from the Dutch word for stream. But Robertson says, "It's only a matter of time before we look upon cruelty to fish in the exact same way we look upon cruelty to dogs and cats."

If papers won't take fishing columns out of sports sections, Robertson wants a "more appropriate section like the crime report or the obituaries." That is heresy to those who see fishing as wholesome outdoor activity, a way for families and friends to bond and a boost to efforts to preserve fish and keep waters clean.

Rose doesn't view fishing as sport, either, but for a different reason: "It's much more important than that. I think it's a spiritual thing. It doesn't mean you've got to be real formal or high-minded about it, but I think it's much deeper than just a casual activity."

He describes himself as an "advocate of fish," and says, "If fishing were eradicated, in the end there would be a lot less people caring about fish."

Robertson, 25, did some fishing as a youth, as the daughter of a fisheries biologist for the state of Indiana.

"I never thought about how much pain and suffering they go through," says Robertson, who has a degree in animal behavior from Bucknell. "We didn't even know at the time how intelligent they are. They're fascinating individuals. They deserve to be left in the water."

Dave Precht also went fishing as a youngster, in Louisiana. He is director of publications for the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS), which began the Bassmaster Classic in 1971 and now is owned by ESPN.

"I started fishing, as a lot of people do, with my dad," he says. "I was probably 5 years old. ... Of all the things that happened to me in my very young childhood, those were my most vivid memories."

But there has been a decline in the popularity of fishing in recent decades. According to a report by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the number of people in the USA who fish declined from 58.4 million in 1987 to 47.9 million in 2004.

Precht doesn't attribute that to PETA protests.

"You have to look at all kinds of societal changes we've had in the last 20 years, the competition for time among kids," he says. "For a number of reasons, youngsters are not being taken fishing, and it's kind of hard for them to discover the sport if an adult doesn't show them how in the first place. ...

"And that is one of the things we are most active in through a variety of programs."

PETA is working on the kids, too.

Robertson has gone to public areas near schools (most recently in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona), accompanied by an assistant in a fish costume, to pass out "Fish are Friends, Not Food" stickers and Fish Flakes trading cards, which carry PETA's messages about cruelty and contamination.

Precht notes that since the early 1970s, BASS has advocated catch-and-release fishing. PETA says that is cruel, too, because fish still get hooked and can be mortally injured. "I was brought up to treat wildlife and fish humanely, and I'd never want to do anything to torture them, disrespect them or waste a fish," Precht says. "Fishermen don't do that."

Beyond how the fish view it, it's obvious some people do enjoy catching fish, the bigger the better.

Recently, a son and father fished together from a rock jetty in Maryland's Sandy Point State Park on the Chesapeake Bay.

"Your worst day of fishing is better than your best day of work," says Candido Deckman, 31, of Lancaster, Pa.

He says he and his dad, Candido Fontana, 52, of York, Pa., sometimes hold their own fishing competitions.

"It's almost pure catch-and-release," Deckman says. "I keep a pair of needle-nosed pliers to the hooks to try to take the stress off the fish."

Another fisherman, Dale Witt, 73, of Edgewater, Md., wore a T-shirt proclaiming, "If at first you don't succeed, take a nap." He says he has another T-shirt that reads, "Here, fishy, fishy, fishy."

Six years ago, Witt was fueling his car when a friend asked how his fishing was going. "I'm doing pretty good, but I cannot find anybody to go fishing with me," Witt answered.

A stranger at another pump chimed in, "I'll go with you." Witt and Don Dabbs, 72, of Annapolis, Md., have been fishing together since.

After they returned from five hours of fishing on a small boat, Dabbs says they didn't catch many but had a fine time. "It's relaxing. ... I get time to spend with my friend," Dabbs says.

Witt says nobody has suggested to him that fishing was cruel. What if someone did? "I'd walk away from them. I hunt and fish both," he says.

Robertson's suggestion for anybody who sees fishing as quality time with family and friend?

"There are so many other ways you can do that," she says. "You can take your family out on the boat and just leave your fishing tackle behind."

Dave,

I want to thank you for posting. Earlier their were some posts on here about laws that restrict fishing activities in our private ponds, laws which some Forum members support.

The PETA folks are not stupid, as they might appear sometimes. They know that the way to kill something is to regulate it to death, with behind the scenes lobbying.

I believe we should all be vigilant to watch out for those laws and try to reverse ones that are already in place which unreasonably restrict fishing activities in our private ponds. We need laws, reasonable laws, but not those which are driven by hidden agendas by the PETA folks and such.

Dave and ML :

Thanks for the post and info.

If anyone is interested I suggest that you do a little checking to find out about the radical and extreme actions and positions of PETA. I am not talking about billboards and speeches and ideas but about criminal conduct.

[url] http://www.wtkr.com/Global/story.asp?S=3573293&nav=0oa7bwcI

[url]http://www.vancnews.com/articles/2005/07/13/warrenton/news/news07.txt

[url]http://www.naiaonline.org/body/articles/archives/ca_arson_terrorist(8-7-03).htm

By the way I am a BASS member and support much of the good they have done. But in fairness you should look in to their envior. positions to see if you think they support private property rights with their support of the Clean Water Act and its wetlands provisions { Sec. 404}. Just think about Jersey and his problems. BASS along with others lobbied to keep the Sec 404 rules as they apply to isolated private wetlands as is after the US Supreme Ct. said they did not apply to such private wetlands. Bush under pressure from BASS and others caved and did not let or make the Core of Endg. rewrite the rules. Thus Jersey and others still have problems on their private property. This is but one example. Happy reading. ewest

I saw myself on TV today after I got home and turned on ESPN.

The fish tank is the backdrop for the lead-ins when they come back from commercials.

So if you stand next to the aquarium, you'll end up being on TV.

There were so many anglers who caught no fish above the 12" limit. The largest creel was 6lb/2oz. which was for (5) fish. The largest fish caught was a 2lb. 14oz. smallie. These stats were as of 27/46 anglers.

Tomorrow, my wife, daughter, and myself, as well as my brother, his wife, and daughter are going to the 4PM weigh in.

I'm going to have to come up with a secret PB sign to you all. It may be just a dumbfounded look. This may be because as of now, I'm supposed to do this mega-early morning pond visit with Lusk.

BTW, it's on ESPN2 and ESPN at certain times.

I just heard back from Bob Lusk. I've got to meet him at 5AM to do some pond visits.

Good night.

If there is a "Great Design", I do not think it would have incorporated human type of pain activity in animals such as fish who are typically and routinely part of the food chain. Have you ever watched closely the course of events of a prey animal being eaten by a carnivore? Not an activity where the prey should have the ability for feeling normal human pain sensations.

Anyway I could get one of those naked female PETA prostesters to try and convert me? I would be glad to listen to her as she sits on my pier.

Cecil, I couldn't have said it better myself. I'll be so glad when PETA and The Nazi Naturalists find something better to do.

Chip

Sunil :

Saw your fish on TV friday night . They looked great and were very active . Much more than you will be sat. night after you get up at 5 am. spend the day with Lusk and go to the weigh in . LOL . Just kidding. ewest

ewest, just got back from visiting another pond owner's pond and my pond with Lusk.

I met Lusk at 5AM and returned him safely to his car by 10AM.

He is an incredibly nice and knowledgeable person.

Here are some pics from the event.







For all you lurkers (aka Dudley Landry), this is (from left to right), my brother Sid, his wife Jenny, their daughter Tait, my daughter Carli, my wife Vicki, and yours truly.

As you can see from the pics, there's usually a camera flash reflected in the tank, and the fish get a "diamond eye" from the flash also.

Sunil :

Great pics. I saw the big smallies on TV again today. You will have to let us in on what Lusk said about your pond. Any good tips ? They had a segment on TV about pond mgt. and the pros bulit pond structure out of pvc pipe . They had a pond mgt. expert on when they did a seine survey at the pond . I had hoped it would be Lusk but it was some local guy. Let us know what happens.ewest

ewest, thanks for watching.

Basically, Lusk looked at my pond. Then he told me that I have a weed problem.

He suggested a twelve step program.

Just kidding.

He thought I was on the right track with everything that I've been doing at my pond. We were throwing out some fish food pellets, and he noticed that there were some isolated clumps of pellets that had mold on them. He warned me that if certain ingredients were present in the fish food, the moldy food pellets could be poisonous to the fish.

All in all, a great day.

I watched Bassmasters all day today and caught several glimpses of big bass! Those were yours?

That's extremely cool.

...and a meeting with Lusk, what next?

Brad Pitt and Jeff Goldblum play Sunil and brother Sid in "Smallmouth: The Movie."

Good one! Theo.

Well, this barn burning event is over now. Can you believe that Kevin VanDam wins the tourny with 12lbs/15oz.? It was kind of weak to see these guys hold up a 12" long fish for the crowd.

I stood next to Roland Martin for about ten minutes. I did not try to speak to him or shake his hand though.

I did meet Mike Iaconelli. Seems like a decent guy. The opportunities were there to meet most all of the pros, but I didn't really care to do so.

So far, all of my fish have made it back into the fish truck w/ no mortalities. Later today, I'll put them back in my pond.

ewest, Bruce, thanks for watching.

Theo, good one!

Nice photos!
I watched a little this weekend.

Cool deal, way to go. Very impressvie fish the galss addsa few lbs to the fish right

I saw KVD win his I thing first tournament it must have been back in 1991. He came in to Lake Lanier and did what folks said was imposible. He caught a stinger of Largemouth up river in the dominant spotted bass fishery.

Sunil -- I watched quite a bit this weekend. It was sort of cool to know the source of the fish in the aquarium. Sort of gave an extra spark to know something that most people did not. :-) I thought quite a bit about the small fish, and low total weights. Did that make for a tougher competition? I'm not sure. I'll agree that it seemed strange to see pro anglers proudly holding fish that were so small that their thumbs at times would hardly fit in the mouth.

BD, GG, Dr.DW, thanks.

I would have to describe the whole thing as "kind of cool" also.

Once I had read the recent issue of Pond Boss, I just looked forward to meeting Lusk. After all, he's the main reason we all have this great forum.

When I learned of this opportunity for providing the fish for the aquarium, I was very excited. Many times I would ask myself why I was going through the effort; I still can't really answer that question except to say that I would do it again.

I feel the most satisfaction for the good things this has done for my fish supplier. While he is so thankful for my help and support in the effort (unnecessarily though), I simply wouldn't have those fish if it was not for his ongoing efforts.

At the end of the tourny, a "higher up" in ESPN asked him how far he would drive saying that the next Bassmaster Classic is in Kissimme [sic] in Feb. '06.

I'm happy to say that I just returned from putting the fish back in my pond, along with some new residents. No mortality.

Thanks everyone for watching.