Wanton waste laws and bass tournaments

Kevin Moeller said:

The correlation would only be the exact same if the bass fisherman immediately killed the bass upon catching it. I am trying to figure out if you are for or against tournament fisherman releasing fish. If a tournament takes place, do you want them to release all the fish or take all the fish home?

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Regardless if it’s a deer or these bass, they are going to waste so it’s really the same. Only difference is a matter of the death which is semantics.
I personally have no issue with tournaments but there has to be better procedures and controls put in place to eliminate this stuff.


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bucknasty11208 said:

Regardless if it’s a deer or these bass, they are going to waste so it’s really the same. Only difference is a matter of the death which is semantics.
I personally have no issue with tournaments but there has to be better procedures and controls put in place to eliminate this stuff.


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Well, if it is really just tongue or gill hooked fish dying, either can't fish or maybe regulate the number of hook points to minimize mortality.

I wonder how many of those “tossed back” walleye end up dying? Or how many pounds of walleye get wantonly wasted during the annual freezer clean out - of course this would imply that people had more walleye in their freezer than is legally allowed and that doesn’t happen…. Right?

so sick of threads like this one….

signed just another basshole. And the horse you road in on.

ICYMI, this was shared by gundoggy last year.


For me, the takeaways are one, protecting bass during the spawn offsets bass killed during Summer. As much as MI bass guys complain about Canadian regs and their late opener, if not for bass on that side of LSC being allowed to produce more fry successfully, we'd see an even more dramatic drop in smallie numbers on the pond. And two, all anglers participating in Summer tournaments should be mandated to carry multiple bags of ice to maintain livewell temps at or below 55F for 8+ hrs. This would reduce the number of dead bass at scales as well as through delayed mortality. I have no issue with bass tourneys, just those anglers that waste the resource. The information has been out there for years. Just a matter of guys caring enough to make sure their fish are released as healthy as when they were caught.

bucknasty11208 said:

No apologies for this….you can piss TF off. I know the numbers of fish we catch. My brother takes his clicker with him sometimes. This spring he and a buddy caught 382 in about 8 hours. I know numbers like that are hard for a simpleton like you to understand so I won’t even try.
And a fish every 3.9 minutes is high. I usually catch 2 fish in that amount of time. And as for my numbers compared to others in our group, we have fisherman of varying skill levels. Some hood, some not so good.
So please go take your trolling out to the lake.


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I was fishing the BR hump one day couple years ago and watched a guy absolutely smoking the SMB, every cast or at least every other cast he was reeling in a fish. I have no doubt 400 in a day and half is possible if you caught at the same rate this guy was, we were having a blast just watching him catch them. Probably doesn't happen every day but Im sure it can if you know what ur doing and in the right spot.

fishindad said:

ICYMI, this was shared by gundoggy last year.

For me, the takeaways are one, protecting bass during the spawn offsets bass killed during Summer. As much as MI bass guys complain about Canadian regs and their late opener, if not for bass on that side of LSC being allowed to produce more fry successfully, we'd see an even more dramatic drop in smallie numbers on the pond. And two, all anglers participating in Summer tournaments should be mandated to carry multiple bags of ice to maintain livewell temps at or below 55F for 8+ hrs. This would reduce the number of dead bass at scales as well as through delayed mortality. I have no issue with bass tourneys, just those anglers that waste the resource. The information has been out there for years. Just a matter of guys caring enough to make sure their fish are released as healthy as when they were caught.

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You do what you are recommending here and you’re likely to kill your fish from temperature shock. Lake st Clair is basically the same temp from top to bottom. The lake doesn’t stratify. The water isn’t 55 degrees at the bottom in 20 fow. You catch a fish in 75 degree water and throw her into 55 and she dies of shock. And vice versa.

I keep ice - and it goes in in small amounts late in the day and also just before we enter into the dock area. Prior to entering the Clinton or the canal at selfridge I fill the tanks and add some ice in case we get stuck at the ramp which can be a mess coming in. I’ve lost one fish in 7 years and that was a tongue hooked fish I caught early in my tournament life before I learned about Mountain Dew.

ask the DNR fisheries biologists what they think of over icing and you’ll hear the same as above.

I don't bass fish and have no dog in this fight, so maybe I'm overthinking this...however from watching some of it on TV, why not have an observer along to weigh every fish and release it on the spot? Or are these tournaments not that "big time" enough to have that luxury?

I would think that weighing fish on the spot with a hand/tournament-issued certified scale at the beginning of every morning by tournament control could alleviate some of these dead fish? Or would that just cause more cheating to occur thinking nobody would weigh their fish on the honesty system when they release them there while fishing?

Gander12 said:

I don't bass fish and have no dog in this fight, so maybe I'm overthinking this...however from watching some of it on TV, why not have an observer along to weigh every fish and release it on the spot? Or are these tournaments not that "big time" enough to have that luxury?

I would think that weighing fish on the spot with a hand/tournament-issued certified scale at the beginning of every morning by tournament control could alleviate some of these dead fish? Or would that just cause more cheating to occur thinking nobody would weigh their fish on the honesty system when they release them there while fishing?

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It is a logistics issue. The MLF is the only org doing it and only at the very top level of their organization. Lowre leagues in MLF don't do weigh and release. They have 80 anglers and they break it down to 40 per day to achieve what they do.

We had a guy at a highschool tournament spouting off at the tournament director about bass fishing one day at a weigh in. He was making a scene in front of the crowd demanding weigh and release format. The director called him out and said sir we love your idea. Our kids love the weigh and release format from the MLF it is a fun way to fish. We looked into this idea. We only need 110 certifed scales and about 100 volunteers per week to objectively weigh fish. If you would like to raise the $9500 cost of the scales and coordinate the volunteer system we would love to do this. The guy stormed off waving his hand at the director.

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Kevin Moeller said:

Where are these spotters coming from?

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Salmon tourneys I've witnessed on lake Michigan had "observers" on the pro boats both days & on the top 10 or so amateur boats the second day to keep everyone honest. Salmon were donated to local food bank or something. I know salmon are kept & we're talking about releasing bass. My buddy was an observer on the pro boats & if I'm not mistaken, he got $50 per day. This was back in 2008 or 9. They figured it into the entry fee. Some of those tourneys pay big. The only one I ever fished, we won well over 8k for first place in the amateur division in ludington back in 08 or 09. The temptation can be too much for some, I guess.

I guess this thread at least raised a concern that requires some attention. Tournaments, Catch and Release, mortality rates ect. All good comments worthy for note so we can enjoy without waste. Learn and do better. I do want to point out or remind , however you want to say it….We all of us ….as a society tend allow or environment to be mistreated by accepting that we can’t do it properly becuase it just costs too much. Our air, water, land and wildlife all take a hit for the sole reason that protecting them in many cases is just too expensive or inconvenient. We need to to better. So let’s acknowledge that and all do better. Always room for improvement. Myself included.

bucknasty11208 said:

The one thing that pissed me off about your stupid reply is your insinuation that my numbers are fabricated due to smoking weed.

There are 2 things in my life I’m extremely proud of.
1. I’ve never smoked a thing my life
2. I’ve never ever done a drug in my life.

Something im guessing you can’t claim. After all, your screen name is “Thehighlife”


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Lol you mean you never inhaled. Nice one! I may have a pretty good guess on what your professions.

wow another bass argument… Enjoying fishing for this species is so bitter sweet.

LLSSt Clair said:

Lol you mean you never inhaled. Nice one! I may have a pretty good guess on what your professions.

wow another bass argument… Enjoying fishing for this species is so bitter sweet.

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No, I mean I’ve absolutely 100% never done a drug or even taken a drag off a cigarette in my entire existence.
And unless I’ve updated info in my profile, you’d have no clue what I do for a living.

I don’t find bass fishing bitter sweet at all but I do find it quite enjoyable.
Carry on


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bucknasty11208 said:

No, I mean I’ve absolutely 100% never done a drug or even taken a drag off a cigarette in my entire existence.
And unless I’ve updated info in my profile, you’d have no clue what I do for a living.

I don’t find bass fishing bitter sweet at all but I do find it quite enjoyable.
Carry on


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You never had a drink of alcohol… that’s a drug, maybe so. But Id also place a large sum bet that you have ingested caffeine, which in fact is a drug.




Either way all good and good for you man, fish on!

Hollada said:

I wonder how many of those “tossed back” walleye end up dying? Or how many pounds of walleye get wantonly wasted during the annual freezer clean out - of course this would imply that people had more walleye in their freezer than is legally allowed and that doesn’t happen…. Right?

so sick of threads like this one….

signed just another basshole. And the horse you road in on.

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Mortality on 13 and 15” cookie cutter fish that are a few years old vs loads of trophy smallmouth? Not comparable.

it’s 21st century this can be solved with technology easily. Also Don’t have to bring them back for weigh in after water levels reach certain levels. What’s so hard about this.

Also dudes catching 400 fish ?? Why? I’ve had 40 and 50 fish days and it fun but kinda… idk boring after a while unless your trying to brag. None of that means shat.

guy holding the state record right now is from Florida, all you guys should be ashamed.

Hollada said:

you mean the one caught on a night crawler from the guys dock outside his cottage on Indian river? Didn’t know he was from Florida. I’d rather be lucky than good any day.

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Yea that guy. I Give him a lot of credit landing that beast. Good and lucky. I lost a monster 8 plus pounder outside perch fleet once, made one mistake and lost it.


Swear the next week saw it floating in anchor bay after big bass tournament. Could of been on my wall at least.

so maybe I found this app. It’s in testing phase, state certified fish measuring and weighing app. No Need to keep your fish, it digitally scans your fish, even has a special case for I phone. Can use it as hanging fish scale, also certified! ( up to 20lbs) you can upload directly to dnr for verification… exact!! 3D printed replica, can and will be made. After shipping to your nearest taxidermist for color. Your trophy is ready and a big fish swims on.

An Indiana bass fisherman was just credited for keeping asian carp out of lake michigan. He was fishing in calumet lake upstream of the carp barriers and noticed an asian carp in a bay close to lake michigan. He contacted the army corps and they came out and shocked the carp. They said thay they get reports all the time that often go unchecked because so many people have no idea what an asian carp is. They respected this guys opinion because of his experience. They knew he was a guy that was aboce average ability to identify fish and he had been on many waters with asian carp in the past.

The army corps shocked the location he took them too and found the fish innediately. They then surveyed the entire area over several days and found no other invasive species.

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LLSSt Clair said:

Yea that guy. I Give him a lot of credit landing that beast. Good and lucky. I lost a monster 8 plus pounder outside perch fleet once, made one mistake and lost it.


Swear the next week saw it floating in anchor bay after big bass tournament. Could of been on my wall at least.

so maybe I found this app. It’s in testing phase, state certified fish measuring and weighing app. No Need to keep your fish, it digitally scans your fish, even has a special case for I phone. Can use it as hanging fish scale, also certified! ( up to 20lbs) you can upload directly to dnr for verification… exact!! 3D printed replica, can and will be made. After shipping to your nearest taxidermist for color. Your trophy is ready and a big fish swims on.

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You gonna get a white dragon on the wall Nate?
😝

I haven't the time on my hands to read the entire thread. Time to move on to better ways of scoring tournaments that have been used since at least the 00s. I've fished pike tournaments in which only fish who swam away counted. These folks with their 20K bass boats can afford decent live wells, and any gas station has ice.

Better yet, they can go by aggregate length, pictures of the fish measured with calibrated jig boards and object scoring, catch and immediate release, like Muskies Inc tournaments. No need to even cull then, just add up the top 5 measurements, ties go to the longest, top 2 longest, etc. fish.