Shell Knob 8/27 8/28

[tapout]

Great job on the fishing. I've been catching dinks lately, the rock has been stingy with the keeps. I need to switch something up. 

And yeah, floating fish is a shame.

[slowbait]

It's certainly better if the group "cleans up" after itself and takes the dead ones home, but every one that dies is just one less fish the rest of us have a chance to catch next time out. And before anyone says it would be just as gone if they'd just been fishing for a meal, tournament anglers are supposed to be conservation leaders.

l Glad you put that line in Champ, cause if you read Donna's reply it states that a few are kept. And there's NOTHING wrong with that. At least they are not wasted. 

 

[Donna G]

3 hours ago, 196champ said:

Hey now nothing better than a pair of crocs! Versatile footwear right there 

Got that right.  I have more than one pair.

[Smithvillesteve]

Great post Donna!! You summed it up very well. We continue to have these discussions on how bass tournaments should be conducted. I keep pushing for weigh, record and release. I realize this will be difficult at times. Love the idea of at least having people "police" tournaments. Its a start. Just so sad to hear about all the bass floating dead. We gotta change!!!!! Michael Jackson sang about it!!

[Champ188]

6 hours ago, slowbait said:

It's certainly better if the group "cleans up" after itself and takes the dead ones home, but every one that dies is just one less fish the rest of us have a chance to catch next time out. And before anyone says it would be just as gone if they'd just been fishing for a meal, tournament anglers are supposed to be conservation leaders.

l Glad you put that line in Champ, cause if you read Donna's reply it states that a few are kept. And there's NOTHING wrong with that. At least they are not wasted. 

 

For the sake of full disclosure, the only fish I will ever keep from Table Rock are the few who are mortally injured in the catching process. I've said this before, but my strong feelings about this are based upon the fact that there is ZERO supplemental stocking of bass into Table Rock.

I also believe that as our wood cover continues to disappear, the fish that we DO have are going to become more and more offshore oriented and therefore harder to catch, but that's another topic for another time.

What I will do when it comes to eating fish is occasionally go to a lake that is overrun with small spotted bass and catch a mess for dinner. Oklahoma has completely banished both daily bag and length limits on spots for nearly all of its lakes, claiming that the spots are outcompeting LM and SM for the available forage. The MDC obviously doesn't feel that way about TR spots and besides, I'm just not gonna kill a 15-inch fish. I don't know exactly how long it takes for a spot to reach that size, but pretty sure it's several years. Nomolites or Mojorig could give a much more accurate estimate.

All of that aside, leaving fish to waste is the pits. Yes, they serve as buzzard food, but they have plenty to eat without our help.

[Donna G]

3 hours ago, Champ188 said:

For the sake of full disclosure, the only fish I will ever keep from Table Rock are the few who are mortally injured in the catching process. I've said this before, but my strong feelings about this are based upon the fact that there is ZERO supplemental stocking of bass into Table Rock.

 

Champ188 seconded what I said earlier, or so I thought...we don't keep bass from TR unless they die on us.  Again, we go elsewhere and harvest a few 12" spots from lakes begging you to because of overpopulation, and then only occasionally.

[slowbait]

I fully understand Champ. And you are right about the wood in TR. The fish have already started the offshore thing. The bigger and smarter fish stay out there unless they are laying eggs.

 

[Bill Babler]

This has been a problem at SK on their small derby's for as long as I can remember.  As Slowbait mentioned there are some great guys and gals that go the extra mile up there to keep the fishery as viable as they can.  Some very good fish care.  Problem is there are also several small tournaments out of H hwy, ie Baxter on the SK side, SK and Campbell Pt. that don't give a flip.  You might remember a wig-out I had several years ago after a Friday nite deal about this time of the year out of SK.  When I went to ramp that Saturday morning there were at least 2 dozen floaters.  This just looks horrible and puts a very bad face on us fishermen.  There are several things you can do in addition to fish care we have covered on here 1000 times.  1st. is put a 3 fish limit on these buddy tournaments.  This does lots of good.  For one the livewell is not over crowded,  for another those teams that are killing fish will have lots less to kill.  It is not usually a dozen boats with a dead fish but more often a 1/2 dozen boats with multiple dead fish.  Penalty should be you lose one, the dead fish does not count and your big fish does not count.

Besides education on fish handling and care it goes back to the old adage that everything you learn either hurts you or cost you money.  Having that fish float around on its side for 4 hrs. in a livewell and then getting fizzed at the ramp is horrible fish care.

[merc1997 Bo]

31 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

This has been a problem at SK on their small derby's for as long as I can remember.  As Slowbait mentioned there are some great guys and gals that go the extra mile up there to keep the fishery as viable as they can.  Some very good fish care.  Problem is there are also several small tournaments out of H hwy, ie Baxter on the SK side, SK and Campbell Pt. that don't give a flip.  You might remember a wig-out I had several years ago after a Friday nite deal about this time of the year out of SK.  When I went to ramp that Saturday morning there were at least 2 dozen floaters.  This just looks horrible and puts a very bad face on us fishermen.  There are several things you can do in addition to fish care we have covered on here 1000 times.  1st. is put a 3 fish limit on these buddy tournaments.  This does lots of good.  For one the livewell is not over crowded,  for another those teams that are killing fish will have lots less to kill.  It is not usually a dozen boats with a dead fish but more often a 1/2 dozen boats with multiple dead fish.  Penalty should be you lose one, the dead fish does not count and your big fish does not count.

Besides education on fish handling and care it goes back to the old adage that everything you learn either hurts you or cost you money.  Having that fish float around on its side for 4 hrs. in a livewell and then getting fizzed at the ramp is horrible fish care.

fish care is something that just seems to go by the way side with some.  there are those that do take every precaution to ensure a safe release with their bass.  if you ice your livewell to the correct temperature, you will not have to fizz your bass.  colder temps than what the bass came out of will shrink the air bladder.  i have found that 10 degrees colder than what the bass are coming out of is the optimum temp variation.  realistically for me, if an angler can not properly take care of any bass in the livewell for tournament purposes, really does not need to be fishing a tournament.  most of those that are not taking care of their fish, it will not make a difference what the tournament limit is.  it could be a one fish limit and that bass is going to die in their livewell.

as champ and many others have said, there are just those times that you will hook one too deep or in the gill, and they are just not going to make it.  but, that is the exception and not the rule.  those bass that will not make it after release at a weigh-in, need to be harvested and not wasted.  as bill stated, perhaps something might need to be done with any particular tournament's penalty system for dead bass.  that might help to get everyone on track to get up to speed with fish care.

one thing that i do like about the mlf format is the immediate release of the bass.  i am not too much that they do not up their length limit for a scoreable bass, and most of the contests turn into a pecker-head vest.  but, weighing and releasing that bass right on the spot is great.  it would prevent the constant taking of bass from other areas of table rock and redepositing them at kimberling city or state park.

 

bo

[abkeenan]

15 minutes ago, merc1997 said:

 it would prevent the constant taking of bass from other areas of table rock and redepositing them at kimberling city or state park.

 

bo

Hey now! I need all the help I can get!