Tournaments Galore!

I am interested in everyone’s opinion…

It seems like without fail there are formal tournaments on Pools 7,8,9 every weekend beginning in late April through September… many weekends hosting multiple tournaments. On top of that, there are “pick-up” or “local” tourney’s 3 of 5 days a week on the same pools…

Is this a testimonial for how good a fishery the 3 pools are, or has tourney fishing gotten out of hand? And, what types of pressures does this put on the fishery to sustain the intense pressures? Are there THAT many fish to be caught and released? Are there any studies suggesting harm to the fishing population, or is the situation simply benign?

One thing I have noticed, is even with all the extra tournaments on each pool, the overall bag weights have increased this year. I’ve been a proponent for putting in place seasons for fishing bass like no tip-up fishing in the winter and no transportation of the fish until after the spawn, but how can you argue with what is being brought in for weights on a consistent basis.

The increased weights could be due to better fishermen, better techniques, better equipment, more experience, etc. also, and not necessarily an indication of the health of the fishery. However, if bags were decreasing markedly, it may indicate it was hurting the fishery.

Biologically, I haven’t seen alot that convinces me the tournaments are hurting the population very much. I think closing the season on bass over the winter would have a MUCH MUCH MUCH more positive effect on the fishery than reducing the number of tournaments.

I think one area where the sheer number of tournaments is hurting though is in the perception of bass fishing as a whole on the river. I have had a few co-workers (who are not tourney fishermen) complain to me about getting blown by in backwater cuts by “bass boats fishing tournaments” and about getting pushed in on when fishing by “tounrament guys”. Now the severity and number of these incidents is up for debate, but one bad scene by one bad apple takes the shine off the whole basket. And for many people, perception is reality.

I would have to say that in my opinion the tournaments are taking a signifigant role in the decline of each fishery that is being affected. I have seen first hand some of the results. Right now if you were to look at Dubuque you will quickly notice that the fishery is in rebound mode. There used to be a pile of tournaments in this pool and interestingly enough the fishery was in serious decline. Sure there could have been many other determinates however this seems to be the case from pool 18 all the way up to 7. (areas I am familiar with). The fishing has declined to the point that many of these waters are void of larger tournaments due to the poor fishing. This year Team Supreme pulled out of pool 10 partly caused by the LBV and secondly because over half the field was heading to pool 9. I distinctly remember about 3 years ago how good the fishing on pool 10 was in comparison to this year. Not to say the fishing is not good I am just saying I have noticed a decline in the quality of fish produced by this fishery. There is much conjecture in these statements so take them with a grain of salt.
Next I have read that in the summer months the 2nd and 3rd day mortality rates for fish are significant. The tournaments that coincide with the spawn are equally detrimental as many of these fish will not spawn. The bigger problem is that the ones we are weighing carry the best genes thus allowing higher survival rate for the leftovers. This would be find however taking the best and leaving the seconds will not provide us with long term quality fishing. Its just a matter of time before the tournament make there way up to pool 5 and 6 on a regular basis and hopefully by that time the southern pools will have rebounded. That is a lot of stress to put on mother nature however I pray she is up tp the challenge.
Jc

MossBoss,
While I generally agree that to make a conclusion on incresaed tourney weights on one factor only is suspect but I also think that given the “bad news” in recent years about LMBV and other fish diseases, the trend of increased bag weights is encouraging. Many biological factors affect the population dynamics in a fishery on both a macro and micro level, and in certain years fishing “seems” to be better for a host of unknown reason. That being said, water quality improvements likely mean better ecological conditions which may have a positive impact on a fishery. Too many unknowns to say for sure but I agree with you that the increasing trend is more comforting than the alternative. Interesting subject and I wish we knew more about the biology involved.

Jeremy:

Interesting on the 2nd and 3rd day stuff. I had not read that. Most of the post release “tracking” type studies I have read indicated a pretty good survival rate, much higher than for walleye and some other species. Bass also seemed much more resisent to the dangers of warmer water than walleye.

Your point on taking the cream of the gene pool is an interesting one which plays into one of my biggest worries on river tournaments (starting to sound like a whitetail discussion). Bass will usually spawn in a given home area year after year (now sounding like a waterfowl discussion! ). I have seen evidence where some bass never find their way home after release from a weigh-in on big lakes. On a river tourney, I would theorize that it is very likely few, if any, of the fish taken from one pool to the next return to their original home ranges. I think this is particuarly of concern with largemouth, as smallmouth have been known to travel great distances in their migrations. However, I have not seen alot of data on smallmouth going through dams, so I am not sure. So perhaps the 5 pounders we take in August never again become a viable spawner? If so, that could greatly impact the fishery. I think I can easily convince myself biologically it is bad!!

Has LBV been linked to tournaments?

Bass:

I agree it is encouraging. I just don’t know that I can trust it as an indicator of a healthy fishery. I know some Pool have up years and down years. This is a down year for me on Pool 7. I’m sure others though may be thinking this is an up year on 7 if they are fishing different areas than me!

Two things here 1). Pool 7 I would have to agree with Moss Boss on this. I have really struggled on 7 especially on the Lake. I heard don’t know if it is true or not that there were a large quantity on large bass taken through the ice last winter. I am talking 2 to 3 thousand. Anybody else heard this. 2). I read that the bass virus that you are all talking about is being spread by fisherman that don’t clean their livewells. Can anybody enlighten me on this subject. I for one generally clean my livewells after each tournament. I myself don’t think their are to many tournaments. It is that there is just to much other stuff going on that I can’t fish them all. Just my thoughts.

Bucket:

I heard the same thing in regards to the large number of big (5+) LM taken off the lake last year (but maybe not in the thousands, just put to me as “alot”). I heard of it in a couple of other pools too. That is why I think the best thing that could happen to the fishery is closing bass over the winter. But, 1) How do we get a movement started to close it, and 2) is there a snowballs chance of it happening?

I THINK ANOTHER POINT THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT IS THE AMOUNT OF FISH HOLDING HABITAT. I FISH POOL 13 ALOT AND THE AMOUNT OF BACKWATERS COMPARED TO POOL 9 IS NIGHT AND DAY. I HAVEN’T COMPARED TOURNAMENT WEIGHTS BETWEEN THE 2 POOLS, BUT I WOULD BET POOL 9 IS MUCH GREATER. I AM NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH 9 AS MOST OF YOU ARE, BUT THE LITTLE I DO KNOW ABOUT IT SEEMS TO TELL ME THAT 9 CAN SUPPORT MORE TOURNAMENTS. ALAS, I AM NOT A BIOLOGIST, JUST A GREASY FISHERMAN.
I ALSO THINK IT IS HARD TO COUNT THE # OF BASS KEPT BY NON-TOURNAMENT FISHERMAN. I DO SOME ICE FISHING ON POOL 13. I WAS FISHING THE BIG HOLE AT THE NORTH END OF SPRING LAKE. I TALKED WITH ONE GUY WHO SHOWED ME THE TWO 3.5LB’ERS HE WAS GOING TO EAT. ANOTHER GUY SHOWED ME THE 3LB’ER HE WAS TAKING HOME. IT HAPPENS, AS MUCH AS WE HATE TO SEE IT. TONY

Just had to make that bad boy Lawrence change his post to, I’m not sure whether they hurt or help… just that anybody that feels they do certainly should not be fishing them.. I wish John would weigh in on this with some scientific information if there is some. I have never caught more bass on pool 9 or 8 that I can remember than this last 2 years.

One thing to help with the infections for these bass is to clean your livewells with a capfull of bleach in a tank full of water. This kills any bacteria in our livewells- how many guys do this? It’s not the LMBV that is hurting the fish around here, our water doesn’t get hot enough, it’s the bateria and infections they get that the virus lets them not defend it because the immune system is hampered. Give the fish every chance to live! Always use catch and release too, to replace there “slime coat” an important part in the prevention against infections.

Great post Champman… Okay I waited long enough for somebody to jump on my comment above…”Just that anybody that feels they are hurting shouldn’t be fishing them”. I expected to really get banged on even my watered down version. Some of you know that I am all in favor of setting distance limits, forcing bass to be released at the very least in the pool they were caught in, and still feel 3 bass or 3 walleye are enough to judge a winner. I expect Wisconsin will soon limit the number of tourneys like Minnesota does on the river so I doubt this will be an issue long. It ofcourse will do nothing to slow down the number of tourneys that fall under the limit for boats and competitors. I haven’t a clue whether the tourneys are hurting the population or not but doing something simple like the three above may help to keep it from becoming a problem. Like I said before I have never caught more Largemouth than I have in the last 2 years. I haven’t been cleaning my livewell as well as I should and even though tourneys are almost the only time I put a Bass in it I should be more aware of it.

With regards to blowing by folks in close quarters that is and always will be stupid whenever it is done.

I agree that there are alot of tournaments, and somtimes seemes like too many. In the 6 years Ive been fishing tournaments I have seen the weight skyrocket. In My opinion: The guys who were fishing tournaments back then were definately as good as the guys now, yes there may be more fisherman who are in the “cream of the crop” but I dont think that more skill or different techniques are why a 8 fish winning limit has an average of 3lbs. I do think that it is a reflection of how healthy a river is! I read somwhere that the survival rate of tournament bass is in the neighborhood of 97.5%. The other thing about a river is that it is always changing. I think if people want to bitch about somone who has done serious damage to the fishing in the river, they can start with the government agencies who have stuck their noses in where they dont belong and ruined some really special featurs of this river.

Well, I am back from vacationing in the Great White North… Smallmouth bass fishing was SPECTACULAR! In 3 days of fishing, my dad and I pulled in a couple hundred… no kidding. Nothing bigger than 3 lbs, but the action was AWESOME. Slow plastic finesse fishing at its finest (flukes, drop shots, etc)… You guys were busy, too… LOTS of posts, and some GREAT points!

Ok, I have a couple things to add…
1. The Ice fishing numbers… I second the thousands comment. I work with a guy who’s neighbor brought home 5 fish a day all winter… most of them over 3 lbs out on the Lake. Makes me sick, but by DNR standards he’s legal. This activity HAS TO hurt the fishery. Oh, and he wasn’t fishing alone.
2. Pool 13 has a LOT of habitat, but 9 definetly has more, but I would argue it is not THAT much more. I think 9 has more successful wintering areas than does 13… heck, Pool 13 is in the SOUTH! Do you even get snow down there!
3. I concur… Pool 7 has been a difficult pool to fish this year with average weights down and big fish (those over 3 lbs) not as common as last year.
4. The 97.5% mortality rate… that was the high speculative number of the study. I believe the rates were thought to run anywhere between 50 and 97.5% depending on the time of year, length of tourney, when fish were caught, and quality of livewells. Obviously fish caught and saved all day vs the ones caught at noon and weighed-in at 1PM are much more severely stressed. And, fish caught and released in May (cooler water) are more likely to be better off that those caught now and put in a livewell due to elevated water temperatures and sun/heat beating on the livewell all day. (See RiverFan’s article – well written, by the way.)

Thanks, guys, for the comments and discussions – enjoyable and educational – what this is all about!