Catch/weigh/release thread

[Ketchup]

As we all know, there has been lots of talk the past few years about the importance of releasing bass as soon as possible for several reasons, especially during the spawn time. With the MLF coming into our homes, that definitely stirred things up with having the resources to do a C/W/R concept on a wide, large scale. 
 

In another thread i believe 196champ posted a FB link to Sturgeon Bay Bass Tournament, who uses the C/W/R and video format on a large scale. I read over every post they made regarding their system, the scales used, how they do it in real time, and any drawbacks they have noticed. 
 

What i have found, including that of the MLF, is that it takes 2 anglers and or a ref to help with the video part. The problem I’m having is, and maybe some of you can help with a solution, is that starting next season our small club will be going to a solo angler per boat concept, being alone to find a way to C/W/R with the addition of a video showing the fish not assisted in weight, the weight on the scale, and the release. All 3 of those need to be active to make the fish count. The weighing and release are the easier tasks, but to capture the video aspect while fishing alone will be the challenge, but is an important part to keep things uppity up. 
 

I run 2 Go-Pros on my boat, so i can accomplish this somewhat easily, but not many guys we fish with have that setup. Maybe a phone holder stuck into a seat base and have it ready to record after landing a fish? 
 

Our new format will be anything heavier than 1 pound 6 ounces, with length not important. 
 

Any ideas/suggestions? We start our season in March. 
 

I will be ordering Brecknell units this winter to be checked out at each tournament, and using the FishDonkey app for anglers to upload video to before resuming fishing. 

[fishinwrench]

I think having to sit and sort through 20+ videos before tallying the score would be a nightmare and a drag.  

Identifiable bump boards handed out just before takeoff, and a scoring system based on inches rather than weight seems to be the easiest.   It may potentially result in a few ties........but probably not very often.    The issue I have with that, and I delt with it when we had our little contest here, was that alot of times you have a hot fish that refuses to sit still on the bump board.....and you end up chasing it around on the floor of the boat for a minute or two TRYING to get a decent pic. 

In a club style draw tournament, you and your non-boater partner could score each other.  The likelihood of any"cheating" would be very slim.

[Quillback]

I like the idea, but as said above, editing all that video sounds like a real chore.  

Fish don't like to be put on bump boards, net them, put the ruler next to them, they'll usually lay there nice and still.  

[Ketchup]

14 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

I think having to sit and sort through 20+ videos before tallying the score would be a nightmare and a drag.  

Identifiable bump boards handed out just before takeoff, and a scoring system based on inches rather than weight seems to be the easiest.   It may potentially result in a few ties........but probably not very often.    The issue I have with that, and I delt with it when we had our little contest here, was that alot of times you have a hot fish that refuses to sit still on the bump board.....and you end up chasing it around on the floor of the boat for a minute or two TRYING to get a decent pic. 

In a club style draw tournament, you and your non-boater partner could score each other.  The likelihood of any"cheating" would be very slim.

Thanks wrench, but with us going solo, help is out of the equation.  It’s actually easy for the tourney director, as when the video is uploaded to the app, it puts everything in order, including weight standings for the day, just like you see with the MLF, including up to minute standings for those in the tournament. 
 

Will be going by weight and not inches. That for the yak guys. 😉

[Ketchup]

3 minutes ago, Quillback said:

I like the idea, but as said above, editing all that video sounds like a real chore.  

Fish don't like to be put on bump boards, net them, put the ruler next to them, they'll usually lay there nice and still.  

Quill, there actually isn’t any work for the director. That’s all done by the angler. Once uploaded, it’s done. 

[Quillback]

1 minute ago, Ketchup said:

Quill, there actually isn’t any work for the director. That’s all done by the angler. Once uploaded, it’s done. 

Cool - If you've got guys that are savvy enough with the technology and are willing to do what needs to be done, it is a neat way to do it.  

[DADAKOTA]

Do they Brecknell scales have a culling feature to drop your lowest weight fish?

[snagged in outlet 3]

52 minutes ago, DADAKOTA said:

Do they Brecknell scales have a culling feature to drop your lowest weight fish?

I’m not sure.   I ordered one and sent it back.  The thing is huge.   And not water proof I think.   I ordered a rapala after seeing Wheeler and a bunch of pros using them.   I really like it.  
 

[Ketchup]

21 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I’m not sure.   I ordered one and sent it back.  The thing is huge.   And not water proof I think.   I ordered a rapala after seeing Wheeler and a bunch of pros using them.   I really like it.  
 

That’s the same unit i carry in my bought currently. 

[Ketchup]

1 hour ago, DADAKOTA said:

Do they Brecknell scales have a culling feature to drop your lowest weight fish?

Not sure about that, but the fish app itself does. Lets say you are fishing a 5 fish tournament. The smallest of the 5 gets dropped automatically when you weigh one in bigger.