Release boats?

[MOPanfisher]

My 2 pennies worth, I don't think anyone believes that releasing fish miles away has zero effect.  The question is does it have a real effect upon the overall population, none us have that answer I don't believe.  Tournaments are here to stay, some changes are likely to be made over the years but they are not going away.

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, Ketchup said:

Not saying its better, but is it any worse? Without facts an answer means nothing to me. I get you anti-tourney guys stance. Freedom is a wonderful gift we have all been given. 

I keep reading about tourney guys only high is adrenaline and weigh-ins. Man thats so generic that its laughable. Have you fished in a bass tournament? If no then you dont have experience to even be offering your input here, so go join Mocarp in his section. If so, then obviously you kept getting your tail handed to ya, got tired of donating your hard earned mony to the guy next to you, that left you with a sour taste, so here you are, offering your reasons why your anti.  And if you have enjoyed the great memories of what tournament fishing brings, and feel the. way you do, then please share what made you quit. It wont be that you simply got tired of seeing fish transported, so dont even come at me with that garbage line. 

Never had a desire to ruin my fishing by being in a tourney although I have been invited many times over the years.  Clearly my question got to you more than I intended so I apologize for that.  Sorry for my opinion offending you.  I have played golf in tourneys for over 40 years and I get the desire to compete.  But I don't think you can deny that transporting fish all over the lake isn't hurting the fishery.  Sorry.

My favorite TV shows are fishing tourneys.  My favorite now is MLF because of the format, but I watched the Classic with the same enthusiasm.  There was a stark difference in fish handling between the two and clearly the fish caught in MLF had a better chance at survival than the Classic fish.  

[eyedabassman]

3 hours ago, Champ188 said:

Why would one even ask this question? Are you seriously trying to chase down the retreads from the derby? Seems pretty desperate to me, especially for a former guide. 

I was just asking a question! I think you need to chill out a bit!  I don’t feel I need to explain anything to you!!!

[Ketchup]

2 hours ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

Never had a desire to ruin my fishing by being in a tourney although I have been invited many times over the years.  Clearly my question got to you more than I intended so I apologize for that.  Sorry for my opinion offending you.  I have played golf in tourneys for over 40 years and I get the desire to compete.  But I don't think you can deny that transporting fish all over the lake isn't hurting the fishery.  Sorry.

My favorite TV shows are fishing tourneys.  My favorite now is MLF because of the format, but I watched the Classic with the same enthusiasm.  There was a stark difference in fish handling between the two and clearly the fish caught in MLF had a better chance at survival than the Classic fish.  

Its good. Like MO stated above, along with a few of us, no one knows the effects of tournaments. We can all guess, but what does that prove?  I promise if a study done over years proves to me that relocating fish has either had a major impact on the OVERALL population, or that a MAJORITY of the fish released die,  then i will change the way my club does our fish care. 

Im not here arguing my point because im deaf to a better way, or that fish dont die. Im here saying that if the harm done has very little or no impact on the OVERALL eco system, then why get all up in arms? Yes im educated, college grad, so i understand that you have to be proactive with anything, but i havent seen the study showing me i need to be more proactive than i currently am.  

Guys, sorry if my views upset any of you. Im a staunch "factual" type of guy.  Without much of that, your concerns mean little to me. We all have the same outlook, and thats to treat the fish, either released right away, or hauled all day, with great care.  I have zero doubts that any of you are harming fish just to be a prick. We're a much better group than that. As kids i made alot of fish do a high belly flop back into the water. Im much older now. Now i love watching them swim away calm and slowly. 

[Champ188]

2 hours ago, eyedabassman said:

I think you need to chill out a bit!  I don’t feel I need to explain anything to you!!!

If you can't take a jab, don't ask silly questions like where to find release fish. The entire purpose behind release boats is to spread them out over a large area so they aren't targeted by people either too lazy or incapable of finding their own fish.

[fishinwrench]

4 hours ago, Ketchup said:

Not saying its better, but is it any worse? Without facts an answer means nothing to me. I get you anti-tourney guys stance. Freedom is a wonderful gift we have all been given. 

I keep reading about tourney guys only high is adrenaline and weigh-ins. Man thats so generic that its laughable. Have you fished in a bass tournament? If no then you dont have experience to even be offering your input here, so go join Mocarp in his section. If so, then obviously you kept getting your tail handed to ya, got tired of donating your hard earned mony to the guy next to you, that left you with a sour taste, so here you are, offering your reasons why your anti.  And if you have enjoyed the great memories of what tournament fishing brings, and feel the. way you do, then please share what made you quit. It wont be that you simply got tired of seeing fish transported, so dont even come at me with that garbage line. 

There's 3 really good reasons why I stopped competitive fishing, and neither of them had to do with being uptight about relocating fish.  BUT at the time that I stopped, tournaments weren't so rediculously plentiful, there were usually one BIG one and one little one per month..... not 4-6 every week. 

The main reason I quit the big ones is because even though I was doing respectively my outboard mechanic was getting more of my winnings than I was, and wasn't having to work near as hard as I was to get it.  I finally got smart and realized "this is stupid".  I had a kid on the way, was struggling to pay my bills, and decided I WANNA BE THAT GUY !

So I stopped guiding and fishing the tournament trails, and started my training in the Marine repair field.  

I still fished some smaller club and open events for awhile, but then I noticed that there was a bitterness cloud out there among most of the competitors, and if I took their money on tournament day then you can bet your rearend that I was gonna be the last SOB they'd pay to fix their boats/motors!    Guess what?  It's WAY easier to get their money by working on their stuff than it is to beat them fishing consistently..... because they were getting better every month, and I really felt that I had gotten as good as I was ever going to unless I quit my REAL job.   So I quit altogether, and pretty quick their boats started coming to my shop on a regular basis.  

I don't want competitive fishing to stop, I just think it needs to either be slowed down ALOT, or they need to change the format.  There are too many and it is having negative effects.

[eyedabassman]

22 minutes ago, Champ188 said:

If you can't take a jab, don't ask silly questions like where to find release fish. The entire purpose behind release boats is to spread them out over a large area so they aren't targeted by people either too lazy or incapable of finding their own fish.

I just did ask a guestion and just wanted a a respectful reply! You must not know what that is! You came at me! You did not know my intent of the question , you just assumed ! I am not lazy nor incapable  of catching my own fish! You don’t know me as a person or a bass fisherman so don’t judge me ! You don’t have that wright!

[eyedabassman]

3 hours ago, eyedabassman said:

I was just asking a question! I think you need to chill out a bit!  I don’t feel I need to explain anything to you!!!

Champ, you are the kind of guy that makes  newcomers to this site not want to join let alone make a post! I did  not think this site was like this, I guess I was. Wrong!

[tjm]

5 hours ago, MOPanfisher said:

My 2 pennies worth, I don't think anyone believes that releasing fish miles away has zero effect.  The question is does it have a real effect upon the overall population, none us have that answer I don't believe.  Tournaments are here to stay, some changes are likely to be made over the years but they are not going away.

This would be of less concern, to me at least. if "keep or release immediately" was applied to tournaments the same as it is to real anglers. As it stands there is simply no limitation on numbers of fish handled-hauled-thrown away.

If every fish released by tourney fishers died it would have little   more affect than those same guys taking home a limit, if the limits applied.  The tournament exception to the regulations makes these people above the law. And as posted earlier some of them think that applies outside of tournaments.

[tjm]

7 hours ago, Champ188 said:

Why would one even ask this question?

Can't answer the why, but I'm kinda glad it came up. It is educational in more than one way.