Your Fastest Derby Limit

[Bird Watcher]

Bill Babler is a classy dude.

[Whack'emGood]

With all due respect, we both know a bass will not starve to death in 6 days. But I will agree that stress most likely lead to their death. The stress of getting beat around in a livewell, hauled in a bag and dropped into a laundry basket to be weighed, being hoisted into the air and showed to the crowd, thrown into a large tank with all of the other bass and then dropped off in the middle of the lake.

I am no fan of tournaments but like you say they are leagal. I do think they need to limit the number of them held on a lake per year. Fat chance of that happening. Its all about the $$$. But darn the person that legally harvests a large bass.

If I only had a dollar for every bass mount I have seen in my life that says "Table Rock".

I fish tournaments, and it is not about the money at all for me. I like the competition... if it was about the money, I wouldn't do it... because I am way in the hole when it comes to tournament money.

[Gary Lange]

Well this seems to be the most active thread so I will ask here. How many of your guys that have posted on this thread still fish with a cane pole. How many have not spent a dime on fishing tackle in the last year and still fish with the same cork bobber and hook that you got from your Dad when he took you fishing.

[arsenal1477]

Champ188- "Admitting that this thread has pretty much run its useful life, I gotta say this: Arsenal, you say you "harvested" these lunkers in the name of Christianity, yet your last post is littered with cursing and you seem to have quite an affection for alcoholic beverages. And you call US hypocrites?"

"Your so wise. Your like a minature Buddha covered in hair"- Anchorman. Champ188 I mean really? You can do better than that. Who said that I harvested those fish in the name of Christianity or that I was even a religous person? I think you have selective hearing and if your hearing what im typing I can refer you to a few psychiatrists. My wife is a special ed teacher and there was a "Benefit fish fry at the local church". I am by no means a religous man, but I do believe in helping people. If I was religous, isnt wine suppose to symbolize Christ's blood? Last time I checked,that was an alcoholic beverage. In all seriousness, I understand I may have stirred up the hornets nest by my original post, but I have appologized quite a few times and have admitted fault in not knowing proper etiquette. Even the autistic kids knew when to let things be, just let it go.

eric1978-"You act like he filleted your dog."

Absolutely what I have been thinking this entire time.

[fozzype]

I kinda feel left out not posting anything. I am on the beach in the gulf and wow, what a lot to sort through. Glad I don't have anything better to do.

Lets just face it, some people (and a lot more than you think) fish to eat fish. I don't keep bass very often (maybe 10 small K's a year) and when I come home my wife will say "did you catch any" If I say "yes" she will often ask where they are. I reply "in the lake" With a sarcastic tone she nearly always reply "why would you go if you do not keep them, thats just stupid" A lot of people think just like my wife and honestly, there is not one thing wrong with that. However, most of these "meat hunters" don't target bass anyway. They are too darn hard to catch. Like has been noted, most people's first few times fishing involved cleaning and eating fish. My Dad started taking me to the Current River in a jet boat when I was four years old. We kept every keeper smallmouth we caught and cooked them on the river bank. They are experiences I would not trade for anything and help make my love for the outdoors what it is today. However, I have not ate smallmouth bass since I was 12 years old and I don't even like keeping them in tournaments if I think they might die.

I will agree that when it comes to this forum and bass fishing most people are not meat hunters. People are all passoniate about something and on this forum it is generally to perserve and pursue the bass species in Table Rock Lake. When people are passoniate, sometimes thier emotions get the best of them. Also, it is easier to type on a computer than talk face to face.

Honestly, lots of fish ran around the lake in livewells die in more numbers than people filleting them. I still fish tournaments understanding a few fish might die. The fish in this lake are one of God's gifts and it is all our jobs to protect this gift. Keeping a few fish once in a while to eat should not be a big deal. However, as Arsenal probably understands by now, probably just don't post it on this forum.

"Sticks and Stones", "Sticks and Stones"

[Flysmallie]

but I have appologized quite a few times and have admitted fault in not knowing proper etiquette.

The only ones that should be apologizing are the ones that act like this is their own personal lake. My god guys you can be compassionate about it but there is no reason to act like an butt. What he did was legal, if you don't like it either keep your mouth shut or join Peta. People can be addressed on the benefits about catch and release without members of the juice crowd acting like a little babies. I don't hear you guys whining about people sight fishing in tournaments. You guys wanna make a difference then work to get the tournaments closed during the spawn. But we can't do that because we like tournaments (I am in this group) and we make a living off of the extra business it brings in. That's nothing to be ashamed of, it's what you do to live. But you can't just blast a guy for doing something that is legal. Come on Bill, you are better than that.

[fishinwrench]

Anybody that says tournament fishing is "not about the money" is full of beans.

Back in the mid-90's a multitude of bass clubs went to paper scoring and cheesy trophys for 1st thru 3rd place and only a 5.00 per person cash side pot for big bass. It only took 2 or 3 events until participation went to hell. Boaters would wake up in the morning of a tournament and if it was a yucky day or they drew a partner they didn't want they'd just pull a no-show, leaving their non-boater partner at the ramp. As soon as the weigh-in scoring and the cash payback resumed...participation and the reliability and good sportsmanship of those entered came right back up.

It is definately about the money. And I'm not pointing fingers here, because I liked the money when I was into tournament fishing too. Fun Competition is great, but once you've proven that you can beat a good percentage of guys a good percentage of the time...what's left to prove ? Trophys just gather dust...money motivates, and Money ROCKS !

The real reason I quit tournament fishing and guiding, is because I learned that I could make more consistent money working on your guys boats than I can trying to beat you fishing on a consistent basis.

When I was into it there weren't as many truly good fishermen, but everybody is a good these days. So it's a crapshoot as to who's gonna get the bigger bites on any given day.

[SKMO]

You act like he filleted your dog.

THIS RIGHT HERE was worth wading through to get to. Thanks Eric for the best belly laugh I've had in a while.

Whoa... not taking sides here but that was a fine one-liner, ya gotta admit.

And thanks S&M for that Le Bon quote. I had to go at it a couple times till I got it but it was worth the effort, and worthy of reflection.

And Arsenal - I gotta admire you for hanging in there with your convictions, and you made some good points that I appreciate you sharing. I even share some of your sentiments. Plus you drew out a lot of comments from others that I enjoyed reading.

Just a hint... Less Jamesons, and more paragraph breaks. Just double tap the "Enter" key a couple of times about every fourth time you lay down a period. And keep hitting that pesky "shift" key every time you start a new sentence so the first word is capitalized (BIG) giving us a hint on transition of thought. Great job on the periods !

All this will help readability. And remember, any i is easy to fix with that shift key as well. It is I most every time.

[Chief Grey Bear]

I fish tournaments, and it is not about the money at all for me. I like the competition... if it was about the money, I wouldn't do it... because I am way in the hole when it comes to tournament money.

I am not speaking on a personal level. I am talking about the local economy.

[Phil Lilley]

Got a new job for ya, SKMO ... I can give you admin privledges and you can go in and edit everyone's posts for grammer and punctuation.