Your Fastest Derby Limit

[Chief Grey Bear]

I still have not heard anything from those tourney men about this. What improvements have been made since this study was conducted? Shouldn't we be discussing what inovations can be implemented to reduce mortality rates instead of bantering back and forth about what the mortality rate is? Can't we have softer liners in the livewells to reduce the blunt trauma that these fish experience? Lets develope a solution. Or at least work towards a solution.

Silence is acceptance. And since you have accepted the high mortality rates and are comfortable with them, I see no reason to raise a ruckus over someone keeping a few nice bass. If you love the sport of tourament fishing, take a leadership roll and improve upon it. Don't simply be a follower and continue with the status quo. I am having visions of the MSA here.

[Sam]

Several times in my life I've thought of new things that needed to be made and figured out how to do it. If I wasn't so old, retired, and lazy now I think I'd try to invent and manufacture something for the bass tournaments of the future. With computer technology this idea is feasible and shouldn't be too expensive.

Every boat in a tournament would take a gadget out with them. This thing would measure, weigh, and photograph a bass and put a date and time-stamp on the image. It would be tamper-proof because only the people running the tournament would have the passwords.

Bass would be recorded and released immediately, right where they were caught. Mortality rates would drop enormously, only the occasional gut or gill-hooked fish would die.

The gadget would be programmed to group the pictures of the boat's five (or whatever number) largest bass together into one photo, and when a bigger one is caught the smallest fish would be "culled" from the group. It would be programmed to keep each angler's fish separate or to put them together - whichever way the tournament is being run.

Weigh-ins would still be exciting - in fact, people could see better what's going on. Anglers would turn in their "gadgets", one at a time. The photo of their fish, with weights, lengths, and time of catch for each, would be projected on a screen. In a corner of the screen a smaller copy of the photos would appear in a list ranked by weight of the catch, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. When a boat turns in their photo, it would fill the screen for everyone to see and also be inserted in the winner's list in the right position. The program would also look for and rank individual fish for "big bass" prizes.

I'm telling 'ya, fellas, the technology exists for this - it's not even very complicated. I think this is the way bass tournaments are going to have to go, and I'm posting this here hoping someone, somewhere may read this and start working on the "gadget".

[eric1978]

That's a fantastic idea Sam.

[arsenal1477]

3inonegod- Your last post absolutely had me rolling around on the floor. Well put point.

Sam- the post about "the gadget" is right on the money...literally. I just wish I was a technical genius to work with you on that. Big money, happy anglers and healthier fish. Win, Win.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Right on Sam! That very thing was discussed here about a year or so ago. It really sound like the best option to develop. I would really like to see something like this come to fuitition.

[3inonegod]

Wow, I can not believe that I just read this...

'Fishing isn't really good for fish in general and tournament fishing is particulary bad for them.'

This was written by a well respected guide on another post in this forum.

Why don't you all just admit the money is why you don't care if a bass dies in a tournament. It happens every day. I will be honest, I don't care either. I figure God gave us the earth to use (in a responsible manner).

Eating the bass seems more responsible to me than fishing for money. If you all cared about the life of the bass you would use better processes to insure the survival of the Bass.

Just calling it like it is.....