That's One Way to Lose a Tournament

[abkeenan]

Gotta love smallmouth.

 

 

A 'Free Willy-esque' moment at Colorado all-night fishing tourney

An elusive fish cost anglers hundreds of dollars - and a top-tier finish - at an all-night fishing tournament in Fort Collins. Check out the moment the fish (and the cash) "slipped" away:

Posted by 9NEWS (KUSA) on Monday, July 25, 2016

 

[Jerry Rapp]

they learned a lesson for sure.  The first tournament that I was fortunate to win was a night T at Mark Twain back in the early 90's  Came in for 6 am weigh in and pulled up on a mud bank.  We had a really good limit, 23+, won by a pound..  Buddy went up to get a bag.  He came back with a standard plastic weigh in bag, and we loaded the fish in the bag, and he carried them from the back of the boat to front, then stepped off onto the bank, and two steps later the bag burst open sending our fish onto the ground.  Fortunately, several guys were around looking at our bag and they managed to get all 5 before they flopped down the bank.  From that day on, double or tripled bagged to weigh in when necessary.  We got lucky.

[merc1997 Bo]

it is something that I have always been very cautious about over the years when getting bass out of the livewell.  open the lid as little as possible.  just because they did not escape from you getting them in the boat, does not mean they are not going to try to escape when given the opportunity.

bo

[DADAKOTA]

I took a piece of plexiglass and made an insert for my livewell with a much smaller opening than the livewell itself.  Definitely helps keep them from jumping out.  Watched a fish escape a competitors livewell at a local championship tourney.  The drop in places cost those boys over $500.

[bluebasser86]

I had a guy on Truman that was really worried about the condition of his fish and kept opening the lid to check them. Warned him they'd jump out and sure enough, he opened that lid and one did the exact thing that smallie did, except it went right over the side instead of the back. Glad it was his fish that jumped out and not one of mine. I wait until the boats in the parking lot to get my fish if possible. 

[Browning Guy]

Something that has worked for me in the past is to reduce the water amount in the livewell. Place the weigh-in bag (with some water) into the livewell over the fish and then start pulling them out and slipping them into the bag while your partner holds the bag closed in between. They still try to come out, but can't get the momentum needed to "complete the full escape" with less water and a bag on top of them.

[Quillback]

I like to lose them when they are about halfway back to the boat.  I don't have to worry about livewells, weigh in bags, sand papered thumbs, and fish escaping the confines of whatever they are confined in.

Bonus is I can tell the "I would have won if I had landed that huge bass" story back at the weigh in. 

[m&m]

Quill, you and I must have went to the same Roland Martin seminar on how to measure bass.  whoa son!!!

Mike

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

4 hours ago, Quillback said:

 

Bonus is I can tell the "I would have won if I had landed that huge bass" story back at the weigh in. 

I had that exact story at a weigh in on Pomme last week. Lost at least a 7 right at the boat

[Bill Babler]

Beck and I were fishing a derby with the float-fly.  I probably told this story on myself before, but we both hooked up on our first cast.  We had two keeps flopping in the bottom of the boat.  I jumped down and unhooked them both and started to weigh and put bouys in them.  He cast back out and swung another one in the boat, before I could even breath he did it again and we had 4 keeps, for me to get into the wells and marked.  He then swung another one in.  This is in a 3 to 5 minute stretch.  He said, "cull that one with the bad eye, I hate the way he looks, I don't care what he weighs."  I was starting to get rid of him and he throws a 6th. fish in the boat.  I had the bad eyed fish in one hand and the smallest fish in the other and just threw them both back, giving us only 4. Did not really matter as we culled the entire bunch, but it was hilarious to him and embarrassing to me at the time.