Question:

1) Often you can see a fisherman at the weigh-in holding up his two largest bass,ranger bass fishing boat  one in each hand with the whole weight of the fish supported horizontally by the jaws.  Do you generally do this as well with your fish or do you use two hands to more evenly support the weight of the fish?

It’s been found that this kind of ranger bass fishing boat handling can damage the jaw cartilage and supporting tissue, sometimes with larger bass to the extent that they actually can’t eat and die.  If you lift a bass by the jaw, let the jaw be in a neutral position (not full bore open) so that the bass is hanging vertically.  Don’t angle the jaw away from the fish. 2) In an effort to ensure catching a fish, a bass is brought in hanging from the line onto the boat and flops around on a carpeted floor ranger bass fishing boat. 3) Bass are seen flopping inside laundry basket type weighing baskets.

This can damage the slime coating and leave the bass vulnerable to parasites and infections.ranger bass fishing boat A recent survey from the U Texas (Lubbock branch, I believe) showed that tournament bass anglers were convinced that far more fish survive catch and release than do bass anglers who do not fish in tournaments.  Why do you suppose that is so?

I’m not at all surprised that tournament anglers believe their fish survive better than the amateurs.ranger bass fishing boat  It only makes sense for them to say that.  If it is true, it could be because of chemicals that some add to their live wells these days that help the condition of the bass and can increase survival rates of released bass.  (The tournament only cares about if the bass is release alive – after that they have no idea.  But one chemical in use helps calm the bass, which can help in getting live fish to weigh in.  If you are going to the trouble to add chemicals to the live well, you might as well buy a brand that has slime protectant in it too.)ranger bass fishing boat  Other than that, I can’t think of why that might be true

Response:

(The tournament only cares about if the bass is release alive – after that they have no idea.

That’s not true Jeff,  many tournament anglers are very concerned about the delayed mortality of bass.  We do everything we can to keep the fish in a good state for release.  There is no question that tournaments are hard on fish but so is fishing in general.  Many weekend and or in-experienced anglers do just as many things to damage fish which result in the fish’s death.  We take the brunt of it because of the profile and interest by the general public that sometimes goes with tournaments.  There is no question that there is a need to improve on the handling of fish in tournaments but you can’t stereotype all tournament anglers.  Many of us will even quit fishing early in order to weigh our fish and get them back in the water before the ride in the livewell becomes their coffin. I suggest you get involved in a local bass club or with your local Fish and Game and see what you can do to improve or change things in your area as well as meet as many local tournament anglers as you can and talk to them… You’ll find a great diversity in attitude toward the fish and the resource, much like you will with any other group of people in general. -Kyle

Response:

(The tournament only cares about if the bass is release alive – after that they have no idea. That’s not true Jeff,  many tournament anglers are very concerned about the delayed mortality of bass.  We do everything we can to keep the fish in a good state for release.  There is no question that tournaments are hard on fish but so is fishing in general.  Many weekend and or in-experienced anglers do just as many things to damage fish which result in the fish’s death.  We take the brunt of it because of the profile and interest by the general public that sometimes goes with tournaments.  There is no question that there is a need to improve on the handling of fish in tournaments but you can’t stereotype all tournament anglers.

You didn’t listen carefully to what I said!  I said the *tournament* doesn’t care what happens after the fish is released alive.  By that I mean the rules of the tournament say nothing about delayed mortality of fish.  This does not mean that the anglers do not, it means that the tournament rules only cover up to the point the fish goes back to the water.  Frankly, I know no alternative to this, but it is the fact.  As far as non-tournament anglers go, I’m sure if anything they are *worse* than tournament anglers as far as fish handling goes. By the way, you have stereotyped tournament anglers by saying “we do everything we can…”  Many do, some do not! It’s too bad fishing tournaments can’t be more like golf tournaments.  Your partner is more often than not the only one who sees you play, and the rules are usually enforced by the players.  (Remember, 90% of tournament golf is *not* seen on TV, and not played in front of huge crowds.)  What I’m getting at is that it would be nice if the fish could be weighed (or maybe better yet measured in length) and immediately returned to the water.  The other angler in the boat could confirm.  I see too much cheating happening this way though. Regards, Jeff

Response:

What I’m getting at is that it would be nice if the fish could be weighed (or maybe better yet measured in length) and immediately returned to the water.  The other angler in the boat could confirm.  I see too much cheating happening this way though.

There is a local club here in Nevada that does it this way..I haven’t heard too much about it, it seems to be working well..I am not in this club, but would like to fish it to see how it works.. ttb

Response:

Tournament caught fish suffer a higher percentage of mortality of any other group of C&R fish studied.  Of course tournament fishing brings big bucks to the hosting area.  Like any other thing in which large amounts of cash are involved, the people that benefit from the influx of green have a tendency to downplay the negative aspects of whatever “cash cow” they happen to be milking. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – (The tournament only cares about if the bass is release alive – after that they have no idea. That’s not true Jeff,  many tournament anglers are very concerned about the delayed mortality of bass.  We do everything we can to keep the fish in a good state for release.  There is no question that tournaments are hard on fish but so is fishing in general.  Many weekend and or in-experienced anglers do just as many things to damage fish which result in the fish’s death.  We take the brunt of it because of the profile and interest by the general public that sometimes goes with tournaments.  There is no question that there is a need to improve on the handling of fish in tournaments but you can’t stereotype all tournament anglers. You didn’t listen carefully to what I said!  I said the *tournament* doesn’t care what happens after the fish is released alive.  By that I mean the rules of the tournament say nothing about delayed mortality of fish.  This does not mean that the anglers do not, it means that the tournament rules only cover up to the point the fish goes back to the water.  Frankly, I know no alternative to this, but it is the fact.  As far as non-tournament anglers go, I’m sure if anything they are *worse* than tournament anglers as far as fish handling goes. By the way, you have stereotyped tournament anglers by saying “we do everything we can…”  Many do, some do not! It’s too bad fishing tournaments can’t be more like golf tournaments.  Your partner is more often than not the only one who sees you play, and the rules are usually enforced by the players.  (Remember, 90% of tournament golf is *not* seen on TV, and not played in front of huge crowds.)  What I’m getting at is that it would be nice if the fish could be weighed (or maybe better yet measured in length) and immediately returned to the water.  The other angler in the boat could confirm.  I see too much cheating happening this way though. Regards, Jeff

Response:

Kyle. I don’t know you but I can see that you care. However, from what I see, Bass tourneys tend to make Nascar racers out of would be “sportsmen”. Fishing after what I’ve seen on TV, I feel that tourneys should be outlawed because it give the rest of us a bad image. The anglers are caught up in the fame and fortune as opposed to having a nice day on the water. What’s next, shoot and release hunting tourneys? How heartless does one have to be to hander fish like that? We fish because we have a primitive urge to hunt and gather. There is nothing wrong with that! But do we need to take advantage of it buy giving in to Ray Scott’s enterprise?

Response:

OK, I think the mud might have settled and Mr. G. has gone (maybe?).  But he did bring up some points that nobody addressed.  I haven’t fished any tournaments and in general avoid crowds of other fishermen, tournament or not. So my observations on the following enumerated points are based on what I’ve seen on TV.   1) Often you can see a fisherman at the weigh-in holding up his two largest bass, one in each hand with the whole weight of the fish supported horizontally by the jaws.  Do you generally do this as well with your fish or do you use two hands to more evenly support the weight of the fish? 2) In an effort to ensure catching a fish, a bass is brought in hanging from the line onto the boat and flops around on a carpeted floor. 3) Bass are seen flopping inside laundry basket type weighing baskets. 4) A bass that is being released is dropped back into the water instead of lowered by hand. What are your reactions or thoughts on the above? The bass fishing industry has done a good job of promoting catch and release as a method of protecting the fishery but has done little to educate the public as to methods which can minimize damage to fish.  A recent survey from the U Texas (Lubbock branch, I believe) showed that tournament bass anglers were convinced that far more fish survive catch and release than do bass anglers who do not fish in tournaments.  Why do you suppose that is so?  Mu Young Lee       ANn Arbor, MI USA

Response:

Related Posts

• GPS question O.T bass fishing boating
• Why do I fish?inflatable bass fishing boats
• Battery Opinions..fish from a bass boat....
• Dan's Sonar Video tournament bass fishing boats
• Bass fishing remains bass fishing boat lantern holders hot from Montauk
• aluminum boat repair fishing boat reviews
• Tracker Jet bass boat spring fly fishing for bass
• fishing camps spring fly fishing for bass in the mid-atlantic area
• Record Bass Question triton bass fishing boat
• Speeds of boats ranger bass fishing boat 1986