Release boats?

[TRRANGER]

22 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

Bass are home-range critters.  If left alone or caught and immediately released a bass will live Its entire life out within 2-5 square miles.   Therefore areas of the lake that don't host a plethora of tournaments (like MY area of the lake) get noticably depleted of keeper fish.  

If the area is depleted of quality fish then why are tournament guys going there, they must be catching fish that will weight. I also want to know if fish wont repopulate an area or make there way back why do we spend money for GPS and mark locations, because we caught quality fish and go back to catch quality fish again .

[J.M.]

                               It's a money game all about the $$$$'. Taking a female bass off a nest haul her in a livewell all day and releasing 50 miles away seems it would have to have  somet effect at least on the spawn. The MDC makes rules that only apply to tournaments and that is not right. I believe for the most part the tournaments boys try to do a good job of taking care or the fish. They play by the rules set by the  MDC so you can't blame them . As long as it brings in the $$$'s motels, gas, eats ect I don't think anything will change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Flysmallie]

2 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

but then I noticed that there was a bitterness cloud out there among most of the competitors

And that's where I stepped out. 

I fished a lot of tournaments for probably a decade. Didn't ever win anything big but I did okay for a while. I set goals and when I achieved those goals I moved up a bit and set some more difficult ones. I think I was doing a pretty good job at becoming someone that you didn't especially like to see show up on tournament day. But then I realized two things all in one afternoon at weigh-in.

1. The bitterness that Wrench talks about. That is real and it sucks. I was a young naive kid when all this was going on and I thought if I was good and maybe a little feared I would be respected and get to be part of the group. But I noticed that just makes you a target. I came in a little hot to the weigh in one day. Knew I was cutting it close but I had been trying to find one more good fish. A couple of guys that had seen the fish I was carrying tried to get me DQ'd. The vision of them running on the dock screaming I was late was really disheartening. One of them was a very close friend of my dad. It really shook me to see the length they would go. They knew we outfished them so they were looking for anyway. 

2. So there we are after taking the check for first along with big bass. I'm sitting in the boat with my girlfriend and she told me that as we came in to weigh out fish it didn't seem like anyone was happy. So as I was sitting there thinking about that I was looking around and noticed that everyone was talking about their day but nobody was anywhere near us. I was 23 years old. I was driving the fastest boat on the lake, had a brand new truck to pull it with, had all the newest and nicest gear, and I hadn't paid for any of it. Add in the fact that I was sitting there with my smoking hot girlfriend and had just beat everyone pretty badly and had a little arrogance to go with it. I had turned into somebody I would hate. 

So I took break and never looked back. I fished a few over the years but never like it was back then. Even additional offers of new boats and gear from my dad couldn't get me to do it. It all made me remember the reasons I liked to fish. And it wasn't to be stressed out about winning all the time. 

I'm not against tournament fishing. But I think there are some things that could be done to improve the sport and the fisheries involved. 

[MoCarp]

16 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

And that's where I stepped out. 

Flysmallie I completely understand...the way people that succeed create envy and jealousy...a perfect example is how the new England Patriots are hated, I for one am truly happy to see someone do well...at least if it doesn't come at the expense of others...perhaps its the blame everyone but the person in the mirror mentality we see so much in the younger crowd today...not everyone can be the best, and not everyone has equal resources, if mom and pop starts out their kids with free 130k homes its understandable how a person that busts their butts to pay for there own can think Jr didn't earn it....but that is the world we live in...

[fishinwrench]

Things are way different now.  There was no such thing as a 22 year old in a new fully rigged boat, carrying a 20# sack to the scales.  We didn't have internet, side scan sonar, GPS waypoints, or even cell phones (well a few of us had cheesy bag phones and pagers.... but they sucked BAD and the battery was always dead). 

Today all a kid has to do is get Dad to co-sign a loan, get in with the right group and network. Next thing you know he has 4 sponsors and is a pro-staffer.  

I think everyone has forgotten what kinda balls-busting it used to take to be "a hammer".  

[Teddy]

Wow, you all have more time than I.  I have not read all the comments, however, I just think this is a silly conversation. 

We all have a sinful nature, cheating would happen.  Money makes the world go round.  The TR community is in a better place because of Tournament fishing.  The economy is far better off with tournament fishing, whether it be clubs or the big tourneys. 

I love the outdoors.  I release most my fish instantly after I catch them, however, when I go fishing with my children we eat them.  I feel this helps plant a seed in them the success of a good day fishing.  When I am in a tournament I will drive them all day and weight them in.  When I go deer hunting with my boys we will eat the loins the same day we killed the deer.  Again, it plants that seed. 

I can promise you one thing.  TR is a very tough lake to fish successfully, and the population is not going to be damaged so bad that there are not any bass, due to transport.  And if this happens, the MDC can add fish to the population.  We live in a commercialized money driven world, this is not going to slow down.  That is a good thing for all the lodge owners, boat repair companies, eateries, grocery stores, tackle shops, etc... you get my point.  Like it or not, you want the big tourneys.  It keeps the economy humming!!!! 

 

[Flysmallie]

35 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

I think everyone has forgotten what kinda balls-busting it used to take to be "a hammer".  

Maybe. But money and gear doesn't automatically make you better at fishing. Some guys could spend all the money in the world and still not be able to put together a winning pattern. 

[fishinwrench]

15 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

Maybe. But money and gear doesn't automatically make you better at fishing. Some guys could spend all the money in the world and still not be able to put together a winning pattern. 

For the most part it is the networking that does it now.  Actually it always has been, but today it's real easy to be connected and in the loop, and the loops are way bigger, and more of them.

Going in blind and figuring it all out on your own is unheard of.

[fishinwrench]

28 minutes ago, Teddy said:

The population is not going to be damaged so bad that there are not any bass, due to transport.  And if this happens, the MDC can add fish to the population.

Speechless here.   And that don't happen very often.    You sir, have my respect

[Champ188]

43 minutes ago, Teddy said:

TR is a very tough lake to fish successfully, and the population is not going to be damaged so bad that there are not any bass, due to transport.  And if this happens, the MDC can add fish to the population. 

Did you ever think that maybe it's that tough and getting tougher because of all the pressure put on it directly and indirectly by tournaments? 

Oh, and by the way, MDC doesn't stock bass into Table Rock --- hasn't in decades.