Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Future of Fishing

bz no biggie, we need to vent every now and then.

Yeah the pro stuff is driven by money, and I think it will get worse. They actually want to pattern it after NASCAR in respect to revenue and marketing.

As far as fish mortality rates, I think the larger tournys (BASS, FLW, & BFL)do a better job. I know they have special holding tanks and a pontoon that revives (sp?) and places fish back in the water. Also many of the Pro boats have oxygen and state of the art live well systems, stuff the typical angler does not have.

However I know I always see a few floaters after our and other local club tournys. My fishing partner suggested air systems for our bags of fish while we wait for them to be weighed, but it got laughed off. That kinda ticked me and him off. (I am not fishing the club next year due to stuff like this and family commitments) Then I have noticed at some lakes the fish seem to be weaker and don't hold up as good.

Donnie

Donjovi,

Had the same thing happen to me once. I was sponsoring a kids tournament and noticed they were taking fish from the lake at 80 degrees and dumping them into a holding tank that had been iced down in the 40's. Of course the fish went into the shock and then they dumped them back into the lake at 80 degrees! Hellooooooooooooooooooooo! Of course when I told them they were killing the fish I was disregarded. I never sponsored the tournament again. I think the promotor was more interested in getting kids to get into the bass tournament mode as he organized bass tournaments.

I belong to a trout club where we used to organize a kid's day tournament on a pond that was planted with trout just for the kids. The state makes a big deal about it and supplies rods and reels and bait, but the club has to buy an insurance policy and do all the organization. We finally go tired of the state feathering it's cap and we were stuck with the expenses and all the work. The kids hardly caught a trout because the fish had just been stressed by a long haul, and the club was planting brown trout which are not a good put and take fish. Of course when I told them browns were not a good choice, and to plant them a week before fishing they would get a better return, I was pooh poohed. I was told the local fisherman would catch them out before the kids caught the fish, and the state refused to close the pond for a week (it was in a fish and wildlife area). I'm leaving that club due to one person running the show, and my advice is ignored. What do I know about trout anyway? I'm sick and tired of giving my two cents and being ignored mainly by this one individual.

To proof in the pudding about the stress was I went back to that pond a week later to catch bluegills for cage culture. I couldn't keep the browns off of my hook. Sad part is they were wasted as the pond gets too warm in the summer and any trout that were left would croak.