Night Tournaments

[Pour Dennis]

When I lived in California and fished tournaments, I remember the department of fish and game only allowed 6 hour tournaments from June through August as these are normally the warmest months of the year. It looks as though most of these night tournaments are ran by small clubs or small tournament organizations. I am sending an email to MDC to suggest the six hour format. If we can get enough people to send the same type of email I think we can do something to help prevent these large fish kills at night.

[denjac]

I heard this..... and im wondering if these guys really do this....

Is it true that during a night tournement that these guys "pop" the air baddler of the bass to help them get back down when they are released??

I was kinda described how it was done..

It something I dont want to post because if no one is doing it I hate to be the one giving out the idea....

Leonard, its called fizzin and alot has been written on this forum about this. Here is some text about it.

Keeping Bass Alive Other considerations Swim Bladder Relief ("Fizzing")

Fish caught from deep water (generally greater than 18-20 feet) can suffer from over expansion of the swim bladder. Fish suffering from this condition cannot maintain a normal upright position. They cannot stay down in the livewell or recovery tank for long, and often float with their tails, heads or sides breaking the surface. A golf-ball-sized lump may appear on the side of the fish.

Inserting a 2-inch-long, 18-gauge hypodermic needle into the swim bladder can relieve the excess pressure. The needles can be obtained from farm and ranch or veterinary supply firms. Tournament officials must be trained and proficient with this technique so they can perform the procedure on fish brought to weigh-in. However, air bladder relief is best done as soon as the fish shows signs of distress. This means that anglers should also become proficient and comfortable with the technique so that the procedure can be performed in the boat.

The location for needle insertion varies with fish size, but in general, draw an imaginary line between the notch in the dorsal fins (Diagram A) and the anus (Diagram . Draw another line from the tip of the pectoral fin to the fork in the tail. Where these lines intersect, remove a scale or two and push the needle straight into the body cavity. Hold the fish underwater during the procedure so bubbles can be seen escaping from the needle. Do not squeeze or press on the fish to force out more gas. When the bubbles stop, the fish should be able to right itself and swim normally. The larger the fish, the farther toward the head of the fish you need to insert the needle. Hold the bass underwater when "fizzing." A stream of bubbles will be seen escaping from the end of the needle when it has beeninserted in the proper location.

[captmac]

OH GREAT NOW WE HAVE A BUNCH OF FISHERMEN POKING HOLES IN BASS,i HAVE HAD THE PRIVELEGE OF FISHING T/R FOR OVER A DECADE, AND HAVE NEVER HAD A FISH DIE IN MY LIVE WELL AND NEVER FELT THE NEED TO FIZZ THE FISH. JUST MY TWO CENTS WORTH

[denjac]

Fizzing is an accepted practice. It can make the differance between life and death for the fish. Its just not a bunch of fisherman poking holes in fish. Shallow fish dont need it,just deeper caught fish. Hat off to you for never having a fish die in the livewell, ( I have) , but I like to think I did everything I could for them. I bet half the guys on this forum carry a needle in their boat.

[BFC]

I HAVE SEEN MANY TOURNAMENTS DAY OR NIGHT AND FROM FEB TO NOV THAT KILLED MANY MANY BASS. THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE THESE FISH IS TO NEVER PUT THEM IN A LIVEWELL. SADLY THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN

[Whack'emGood]

Dennis,

I agree. I think 6 hours is plenty long to fish a tournament anyway. The series I fish is 7:30pm-1:30am... 6 hours. There is really no need to stretch it out longer than that-- especially at the expense of health of the fish.

Whack'em

[bigredbirdfan]

Why can't anyone come up with a way to document fish immediatley then release them without going into a livewell?

[focused fishing]

A few tournaments do have immediate release, "paper tournaments" where a fish is weighed or mesured and reported at the end of the day. The problem is accountability. Once bigger money gets involved cheating is sure to follow.

[Whack'emGood]

I think some guys would cheat doing the paper tourney thing even if it isn't big money. Some guys would cheat to win as little as $50. I think most guys are honest and pretty good guys overall, but it would only take one or two to ruin the fun of competing.

My dad used to fish a local bass club circuit back in the 80s... The season was almost over (last tournament of the year) and he was in the lead for Angler of The Year in the club... The guy who measured and recorded the fish at the weigh in was the brother of the guy who was second in the points. I don't remember where they were fishing, but the fishing was really tough that night. Dad only had 3 keepers. The guy in 2nd had 5 keepers to weigh. Dad and a bunch of guys watched as the measuring guy (2nd place guy's brother) stretched and magically squeezed three 14 1/2 inch fish (the 2nd place points guy's fish, mind you) (dad and the rest of the guys watching said they still didn't make it to 15" on the ruler) into 15 inchers. He did this even though dad and all of the other guys watching were telling him that they didn't make 15" and he needs to deem them illegal and they can't be weighed. Dad was next to weigh his fish, and probably would have still won Angler of the Year for the club, but he said "this is BS" and walked over and put his fish back in the lake and went home (withough weighing them).

Dad was right. It is no fun, even for just a little money or even for bragging rights, to fish with cheaters. Like I said, most guys are good guys and are not going to cheat... but I still wouldn't fish in a paper tournament (even if it was only for bragging rights) for this reason. I would just as soon just go out and fun fish than do that.

Whack'em

[Tyler]

OH GREAT NOW WE HAVE A BUNCH OF FISHERMEN POKING HOLES IN BASS,i HAVE HAD THE PRIVELEGE OF FISHING T/R FOR OVER A DECADE, AND HAVE NEVER HAD A FISH DIE IN MY LIVE WELL AND NEVER FELT THE NEED TO FIZZ THE FISH. JUST MY TWO CENTS WORTH

Well then i guess you fish from the shore... I don't know about you but i like to catch and release smallies and largemouth from 30+ feet. I think everyone of us would respect your opinions much more if you were to have an intelligent response vs what your stubborn tongue has to say.