Night Tournaments?

[roy_eros]

Looking for some tournaments to fish. I would appreciate some info on a few that are going on right now on the Rock.

Thanks

[single spin]

shell knob bridge wednesdays 7pm-11pm and cambell point fridays 7pm-1am

[Whack'emGood]

Mill Creek on Friday night from 7:30-1:30 is the series I fish. It is a buddy tournament, so bring your partner. It is a good bunch of guys (about 20-25 boats), it is ran really well, and Joe and the boys really take good care of the fish at the weigh in. I think (can't remember) it is $15 per guy to join for the season, and then it is (I know this for sure) $40 entry fee to fish each tourney-- this is for your buddy team and includes big bass. It is 100% payback, and they pay 1 place for every 4 boats. There is also an optional side pot if you're interested. Just show up at the ramp before the tourney and you'll find Joe at the northwest side of the ramp (water's edge) signing people up. You can get ahold of Joe with any questions at 864-4980.

Whack'em

[roy_eros]

Thanks for the info, might try to make it up!

[roy_eros]

Does anybody know of any tournaments down more towards the long creek area, thats the area of the lake im more familiar with and dont really want to run anywhere else at night. Thanks

[Sam]

Does anybody know if there are Friday night tournaments out of Cow Creek?

Fishing Long Creek last Friday between Gage's Marina and the AR line we came across a feller who said he was fishing a tournament out of Cow Creek. Maybe so, but he'd made a pretty long run if he was.

I always fish banks left-to-right at night because the blacklight is on the left side of my boat. His boat was in the middle of a 1/4 mile long bank that we were fishing. He was there first, but we started out a good 200 yards from him. I kept watching to see which way he was going down the bank - didn't want to crowd him. He seemed to be staying in the same spot, so I couldn't tell.

When we got close enough he could hear me, I hollered and asked which way he was going. He said "toward you", so I kicked the trolling motor on high to make a real big circle around him and come back in. He said "you're not gonna cut me off, are you?". I said I was just trying to get around him as he was going the other way, and he said no, he was going back and forth along the bank.

Well, that was OK and he was friendly enough. I just thought it was a little much to take a whole 1/4 mile of shoreline and not want anybody else to fish any of it. No big deal, we went to another spot. He said he had three keepers and we caught eight off other banks, so I guess we should'a been in the tournament. I kind of doubt he was fishing a tournament anyway, but maybe.

[Gone Fishing]

Sam, there is a tourny out of cow creek on Friday nights. I think there is a $30 a person membership fee with the tourny costing $60 a boat including big bass. There is one this Friday and are usaully every other week. Starts at 8:00 p.m.

[Sam]

Well, he probably was fishing a tourney then. Best of luck to him.

I'm glad we weren't in a tournament. We C/R all our bass, including a 4.5 pounder. I don't think there was any way you could have kept fish alive in a livewell. Surface water temp was 91 when we got there at 6 p.m. and 88 when we left around 1 a.m.

I caught some big bluegills for eating just before dark. They all died within an hour, so I took them out of the hot water in the livewell and put them in the icebox with our pop. I sure don't see how these summer night tournaments work without killing a bunch of bass.

[Whack'emGood]

Sam,

We fish the Friday night series out of Mill Creek every week. We haven't had a problem at all keeping our bass alive-- even last week (when it was on Saturday--sometimes it is on Saturday). We also haven't seen anybody else have any trouble keeping their bass alive. They are as lively when we release them as when we caught them. We use Catch-n-Release formula (everybody uses something-- there are a few more chemicals that work well too), keep our aereators running all night, and periodically put chunks of ice in the livewell. At the weigh in, we have three stock tanks that we use to help with the health of the fish also-- two tanks are filled with ice blocks and are used to hold our bags in while in line (it's always a short line too), and the other one is filled with treated water and hooked up with a good aereator (they use this one to revive the bass before release back into the lake). We also have only a 4 fish limit during July and August. It works great. We rarely ever see dead or struggling fish-- even as the lake has heated up alot lately. Alot of guys believe that when the lake heats up it stresses the fish-- from what I've seen (especially lately) I don't think it affects them very much at all (if any) IF you do all of the right things to take care of them. Guys definitely have the right to their own opinion/theories about this subject, but what I have witnessed this summer is proof for me. I am largely against killing even a single bass (for any reason), and I wouldn't be fishing these tourneys if I thought there was much chance that it would hurt the fish/fishery.

Whack'em

[Sam]

Whack'em - I'm glad to know your tourney has figured out how to keep bass alive, and that it's working. I know from swimming in the lake that the real hot temps are only on top, it's a lot cooler just a few feet down. Those bass we caught were plenty lively, even though it was hot at the surface.

I wasn't doing anything extra for those bluegills that died so quick, just pumping 91 degree water through the livewell. It's good to know you can keep fish alive OK, and that the effort is being made to do it.