Bass kill on pool 10?

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Since Bass Associations and local clubs, the preaching’s of catch and release has done wonders for the bass world. I have been on the river for a good 40 years now. Back in the day Bass were “exploited”. Big bass were takin’ home for no more than braggin’ rights. Just like the big buck on a tail gate cruising through town.
After seeing the decline in big bass populations the clubs pulled together and Catch and release was taught and still is. Even the big Associations like Bass Master had article after article on catch and release. As a kid back in the day it was like reading the Bible. Soon all of my generation growing up was all over catch and release and it even had a trickle effect on some of our fathers who threw everything in a basket back then for chow. The thriving Bass population is there testimony now.

And yes, local clubs do participate in river clean up and also start junior tourney’s to peak the interest of the up and coming spokesman for the Bass world.

In no way am I saying things cannot improve, I’m saying that a Bass kill now and then is not the end of the Bass world.

I can’t believe it is always the Bass guys getting the bad rap I think I’m going to start a save the walleye tour

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Thanks, Bret. These things used to bother me more, but I think you have some very valid points.

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Since Bass Associations and local clubs, the preaching’s of catch and release has done wonders for the bass world. I have been on the river for a good 40 years now. Back in the day Bass were “exploited”. Big bass were takin’ home for no more than braggin’ rights. Just like the big buck on a tail gate cruising through town.
After seeing the decline in big bass populations the clubs pulled together and Catch and release was taught and still is. Even the big Associations like Bass Master had article after article on catch and release. As a kid back in the day it was like reading the Bible. Soon all of my generation growing up was all over catch and release and it even had a trickle effect on some of our fathers who threw everything in a basket back then for chow. The thriving Bass population is there testimony now.

And yes, local clubs do participate in river clean up and also start junior tourney’s to peak the interest of the up and coming spokesman for the Bass world.

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Exactly why these folks are the ambassdors of the sport

When I was growing up my folks used to hound my butt to take my shoes off at the entry. Didn’t want to track dirt and ruin the carpet. So how do you think I felt when I caught my own father wearing his shoes in unforbidden turf?

All I’m saying is boxing fish in peak summer conditions is asking for problems after the release. One can argue severity with the numbers or justify the belly bobbers in any other way they see fit. I just find it rather hypocritical the ambassdors of the sport are wearing their shoes in on the carpet and would like to know what’s being done about it?

Almost all bass fisherman handle their fish with care due to respecting their beloved species. It is also in the best interest of each tournament angler to take care of their catch so that their weights are not deducted during weigh ins. I too find it upseting when a fish doesn’t survive and make it back to the water.
I understand that the perception of a dead fish is viewed in a negaitve manner by the public. Unfornuately, casualities are a part of the sport.
I also understand that people reading his article have negitive views towards bass fishing tournaments. Yes, some tournamnets are not run as well as others, which are hard to defend.
Bass fishing tournaments have been in the Coulee Region for greater than 30+ years (That is as far back as I can go). Thirty plus years ago, 2 anglers could weigh in 10 bass without a size limit! Yes, it was very common for a boat to weigh in 10 bass and have less than 10LBS. During this time, the majority of the bass boats were flat bottoms. Without offending a flat bottom angler, let be honest, the live wells were nothing as they are today. The bass population is better than it has ever been. I understand that anglers have certain days where they struggle to catch fish but the weights the bass tourneys are bringing to the scales support that our bass population has not been impacted. We have some of the best fishing right here in the Coulee Region because everyone puts forth the effort to fish management.

Bret,

Thanks for the kind words…I don’t even know where to begin with this thread, but you have to take deliberate posts like this w/a grain of salt…

For whatever reason there are people out there that only want to see the negative in things…when the positives are so much greater. Not just economically either. Like Glenn said, pick up a Bass TIMES and get just a GLIMPSE of some of the things bass guys/clubs/organizations are doing across the nation.

– rebuilding habitats
– youth intiatives
– scholarships
– habitat cleanups
– medical donations
– helping veterans/disabled fish
– high school/college fishing
– political influence

and those were just off the top of my head…

Of course we don’t like seeing dead fish but we see this same post every year and the impact is blown way out of proportion. This isn’t Lake Nagawicka….It’s the Mississippi River…To think one small bass kill is going to decimate the river bass population is almost arrogant.

All we can do is keep trying to improve our own processes (which we are constantly trying to do) and hopefully turn some of the negatives into positives.

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The rule book is spelled out in terms of size restrictions and bag limits. You and I may not agree with parameters set fourth but unfortunately it is their right. Violators are subject to fines.

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So you would feel better if a big tourney was held, and every angler in the tourney used their state given right to kill 5 bass each? I can without question tell you the kill % for that day – 100%. So is even a 50% mortality rate better or worse to you? Riding around with them in a livewell at 80 degrees kills a few. A fillet knife kills them all.

The bass populations we have today are in many ways a DIRECT result of the catch and release effort pioneered and promoted by organizations such as BASS. DNR officials and anti-tournament people know that tourney anglers would never (or rarely) hold a catch and kill tournament like that for one simple reason: NO ONE CARES MORE ABOUT THE BASS POPUALTION THAN HARDCORE BASS FISHERMEN. So the threat of “we could just kill them all” is really an empty threat and everyone on both sides knows it.

And this fact is exploited by anti-tournament people who often have much different reasons for opposing tournment fishing (the ramps are too crowded, the boats go too fast, etc. etc.) who use population reduction as a convenient excuse to further their own personal agendas for wanting to see tournaments stop.

As you said, eveyone has the right to kill 5 a day. Tourney anglers are usually killing less than 5 a day. Delayed mortality happens with sport angling every day as well (deep hooked fish often die after immediate release).

Just for the purpose of further discussion. Is harvest a right or a privilege? If anglers were harvesting 5-6 fish per day, it is likely that the bag limit would change, so your preposition is based on what the bag limit is now. The danger I see in folks using the “I can kill 5 per day argument but I don’t” Is that it tends to justify how C/R, and tournament fish care is done today. Times have changed since Ray Scott introduced wash tubs, plastic bags and bringing fish to the scales. We should likely be moving toward only using perforated bags, water weighins and kinder gentler fish release. I hope for a day when we can image the fish in the boat and send back real time data and video (and perhaps won’t need to be hauling fish around in a livewell). Immediate C/R boat-side.

Someone needs to come up with a scanner that weighs, images and transmits the pictures and data. Combined with on-board cameras to catch the action on the water. Maybe in the year 2525!

#1 this was not a deliberate post to rip on bass guys as one mind reader thinks. I just wanted to know if bass had died like I heard. I didn’t even know there was a tourney there. Someone else started this debate.

#2 I just don’t see an consitancy in the law. Whats legal for these tournaments will get your license pulled in any other area of fishing.

The first part of the post before this one is right on.

Moss ~

The intent of my original response to this thread was to point out the obvious and challenge people to think. Not attack tournament angling or anglers. I have a few friends that are tournament anglers and by no means do I oppose tournament fishing. Cade was the only person that actually offered some insight & ideas to further improve upon the mortality rate peek summer conditions present when this conversation first started. There is a significant difference between Catch & Release versus Catch, Box, Weigh, and Release at a time TBD.

Technological advancements and methodology strides by organizations AND sportsmen alike to protect the fish and help drive substantial populations have had an enormous impact. But the last thing we need as conservationist is contentment because of the danger in leading to complacency. The fact a recreationalist has a law abiding right to kill 5 bass per day under WI statue should be even more of an incentive to come up with a solution to tournament mortality (as small and insignificant as it may be to some) as a result of boxing these fish in these conditions. Think about it. What’s the difference between leaving a dog in the backseat of a vehicle with windows sky high in searing 90 degree heat for 8 hours or putting cold blooded fish in a Jacuzzi like live well for 8 hours? Just because there are plenty of dogs out there don’t justify the dead one. Or does it? Like I said ~ We can keep throwing justification darts at the dead fish floating but we certainly are going to convince that recreationalist that catch & release or selective harvest is the right thing to do.

“NO ONE CARES MORE ABOUT THE BASS POPUALTION THAN HARDCORE BASS FISHERMEN.” If that were totally true ~ I wouldn’t have typed a jig flipp’n word.

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#2 I just don’t see an consitancy in the law. Whats legal for these tournaments will get your license pulled in any other area of fishing.

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How so? Can’t you put 5 fish in your livewell, bring them back to the landing, take pics of them and let them go?

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#2 I just don’t see an consitancy in the law. Whats legal for these tournaments will get your license pulled in any other area of fishing.

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How so? Can’t you put 5 fish in your livewell, bring them back to the landing, take pics of them and let them go?

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I belive it is called culling.

5 fish in the livewell you are done fishing.

“Riding around with them in a livewell at 80 degrees kills a few.” = WASTE

“A fillet knife kills them all.” = DINNER (no waste)

Just going to put in 2 cents. Tourneys bring $ for studies, habitat improvement and facility improvement. Also towns (motels, restaurants, gas stations, tackle, etc, etc) benefit from more money into the community. Often times tourneys also participate in studies and provide tons of data in a small time frame for fisheries managers. Say what you want-yes it is a waste, and yes people do stress over dead fish in a tourney and do whatever possible to keep them alive- overall i think the benefit of tourneys to fisheries and communities outweighs the downfalls.

The more we learn, the lower the mortality and like cade pointed out there are steps that can be done to limit immediate mortality. As for delayed mortality it is difficult to measure for tourneys and pleasure fishing.

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“Riding around with them in a livewell at 80 degrees kills a few.” = WASTE

“A fillet knife kills them all.” = DINNER (no waste)

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There were approximately 750 fish brought in for this tournament with about 25 found dead. These 25 found, if not taken by the DNR would go back into the ecosystem and serve as food and nutrients for a variety of lifeforms.

So lets say you catch your limit of bass and clean them to eat. What percent of the edible portion of the fish do you actually fillet out. I’ll be generous and say 80%. So, now we can say that for every 5 fish caught and filleted, 1 is wasted. If, then 750 fish are caught and filleted for food (“not wasted”), then we would expect that 150 of those fish are “wasted” since we did not obtain 100% of the edible portion of the fish.

So we now have 150 “wasted” by the perch-jerker and 25 “wasted” by the evil bass tournament

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“Riding around with them in a livewell at 80 degrees kills a few.” = WASTE

“A fillet knife kills them all.” = DINNER (no waste)

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I think every bass dead in a tournment should be filleted and given to a food pantry or just eaten.

As for delayed mortality deaths, those happen in everyday sport fishing as well (or have you never deep hooked a fish that you didn’t know if it would live or die?

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#2 I just don’t see an consitancy in the law. Whats legal for these tournaments will get your license pulled in any other area of fishing.

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How so? Can’t you put 5 fish in your livewell, bring them back to the landing, take pics of them and let them go?

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I belive it is called culling.

5 fish in the livewell you are done fishing.

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Culling is not legal in WI or MN for tournament nor non-tournament anglers.

Funny thing is, only 2 states in the country to my knowledge do not allow it, WI and MN. And somehow in the southern states where water temps reach the 90’s, and tournaments are MUCH more prevelent, they allow culling and the bass populations don’t collapse.

Hmmmmmm………

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Moss ~

The intent of my original response to this thread was to point out the obvious and challenge people to think. Not attack tournament angling or anglers. I have a few friends that are tournament anglers and by no means do I oppose tournament fishing. Cade was the only person that actually offered some insight & ideas to further improve upon the mortality rate peek summer conditions present when this conversation first started. There is a significant difference between Catch & Release versus Catch, Box, Weigh, and Release at a time TBD.

Fair enough. I have seen enough of the anti-tournment arguments where dead bass are used as a cover for another agenda sometimes I assume (which is bad) the case. My apologies.

Technological advancements and methodology strides by organizations AND sportsmen alike to protect the fish and help drive substantial populations have had an enormous impact. But the last thing we need as conservationist is contentment because of the danger in leading to complacency. The fact a recreationalist has a law abiding right to kill 5 bass per day under WI statue should be even more of an incentive to come up with a solution to tournament mortality (as small and insignificant as it may be to some) as a result of boxing these fish in these conditions. Think about it. What’s the difference between leaving a dog in the backseat of a vehicle with windows sky high in searing 90 degree heat for 8 hours or putting cold blooded fish in a Jacuzzi like live well for 8 hours? Just because there are plenty of dogs out there don’t justify the dead one. Or does it? Like I said ~ We can keep throwing justification darts at the dead fish floating but we certainly are going to convince that recreationalist that catch & release or selective harvest is the right thing to do.

The analogy is not straight forward though. When I bag some fish in the summer (any water over 75 degrees), I run the recirc all day, aerator for one minute every five, add some livewell additive to calm the fish to reduce oxygen use and remove ammonia, and add small amounts of ice every hour or so to try and keep the water under 75 degrees. Which is far differnt than just dumping them in there and “rolling up the windows” and letting them fry. IMO the next advancement EVERY bass boat should have is a temp gauge in the livewell with a readout on the dash. BUT, if your goal is ZERO dead fish, you are not going to reach it. Every angler of any kind who has fished a decent amount of time has deep hooked a fish that has died at a later time. But one thing we can agree on is I think every angler could use more education in keeping fish alive, but off the hook and in the livewell.

“NO ONE CARES MORE ABOUT THE BASS POPUALTION THAN HARDCORE BASS FISHERMEN.” If that were totally true ~ I wouldn’t have typed a jig flipp’n word.

Guess I am not sure how to answer this. I am sure an avid walleye fisherman cares more about the walleye population than I do. As does an avid bowhunter care more about the deer?

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#2 I just don’t see an consitancy in the law. Whats legal for these tournaments will get your license pulled in any other area of fishing.

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How so? Can’t you put 5 fish in your livewell, bring them back to the landing, take pics of them and let them go?

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I belive it is called culling.

5 fish in the livewell you are done fishing.

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Not true, It is against the law to cull fish in WI unless it is in a tournament, any fish must either be kept or let go right away. Unless I missed that change in the rule book.

Where did the number 25 come from? The original question was if there was a large number.

I remember the outrage expressed on this website about the commercial fisherman losing some fish, to the point where news stations were called and it made national news. Shoes on the other foot and no big deal.

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It is against the law to cull fish in WI unless it is in a tournament, any fish must either be kept or let go right away

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Culling in tournaments isn’t legal either…

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I remember the outrage expressed on this website about the commercial fisherman losing some fish, to the point where news stations were called and it made national news. Shoes on the other foot and no big deal.

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I remember that post as well, it wasn’t the bass crowd making a stink about it…

First off some of you must think I am against tourneys in LaCrosse, You couldn’t be farther from the truth.
As I said earlier here :

“I like all the tourneys going out of LaCrosse, all these guys are pulling fish from pools 9 and 7 and they are being released here in 8 “

I belive tourneys of all sorts (fishing,baseball,track,football,cycle rallys,conventions +++++) bring millions to this city that I love and without them this city would dry up and fall in the river. Even with all the morons that run this city.

I also feel comercial fishermen around here kill more gamefish then any thing, and that is just part of the process Just like warm weather tourneys kill some fish, and again just part of the process.

It really doesn’t bother me because I grew up on this river system (50 yrs) and I have never seen this river system fish better then it is now.

I belive the bass clubs and tourney people really respect the resources and do not want to lose this resource.

The problem is with tourneys is they bring mass amounts of fish to a weigh in spot and when people see 20-?? numbers of fish dead it puts then in a tizzy. Not a big deal with me knowing they brought over 700 fish to the scales (very small percentage).

I did say ” “Riding around with them in a livewell at 80 degrees kills a few.” = WASTE

“A fillet knife kills them all.” = DINNER (no waste)”

I can see that I could have worded that better but it was meant as a little humor.

I myself kill maybe 10-20 fish a year for my inlaws and friends. All of the rest of the fish I catch is for fun and are photoed ( if big enough ) and released right where I caught them.

Thanks for your time, I’m done rambling

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Think about it. What’s the difference between leaving a dog in the backseat of a vehicle with windows sky high in searing 90 degree heat for 8 hours or putting cold blooded fish in a Jacuzzi like live well for 8 hours? Just because there are plenty of dogs out there don’t justify the dead one.

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Dude really…..that would be a bleeding heart tactic. How do you compare Bass to dogs

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I remember the outrage expressed on this website about the commercial fisherman losing some fish, to the point where news stations were called and it made national news. Shoes on the other foot and no big deal.

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That is not true. I did and others also stuck up for the commercial fisherman. It was a slow news week and they had nothing better to do. What became of it after the news……nothing And I believe it was just local news not national.

Most complaints come from people that have no understanding of how a system works. When there is a flaw in a system they normally get fixed by people who study the problem and try new theories to solve the problem. It’s easy to fly off the handle on a web site when we see dead fish.

The commercial fishing post turned into a great educational post if you were to ask me, and I think a lot of people that have followed these post have a different understanding of commercial and tournament fishing ….or so I would hope

I do however realize a lot of people take these post as personal attacks without trying to understand both sides. This only leads to a closed mind

Have a great day people, I hope to cross the eyes on a few Bass after this work day

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Think about it. What’s the difference between leaving a dog in the backseat of a vehicle with windows sky high in searing 90 degree heat for 8 hours or putting cold blooded fish in a Jacuzzi like live well for 8 hours? Just because there are plenty of dogs out there don’t justify the dead one.

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Dude really…..that would be a bleeding heart tactic. How do you compare Bass to dogs

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Methaphoric comparison’s are an effective tool used to help understand the unknown. Shine the light from a different angle as so to speak. I’m not comparing a Bass to a dog with the analogy and I know you are intelligent enough to understand that Bret. This is summing up to be a topic that we are just going to have to agree to disagree on.

Moss ~
I’m glad to read you put fourth the extra effort to reduce the stress subject to fish riding around in a live well in peek summer conditions I can only hope others do the same when the intent is to release the bounty at the end of the day.

I also recognize the fact fish all but sign their own death warrant when they take a presentation too deep. This is not part of the equation I’ve been debating.

I borrowed this comment from another site, it relates to not caring about fish, since it would be legal to catch and kill five.

Things may be legal but it doesn’t make them right. Legally any guy who wants to can walk the streets wearing nothing but a thong, so that must mean no harm would come if all husky gentlemen just started parading around 99% nude.

These summer tournaments always seem to bring on a lot of controversy when the dead fish are spotted. I’m never quite comfortable with either side of the fence.

Not trying to urine anyone off, that’s just how I feel.

Hey Brett, that did make national news it was on every maritime news website that I know of. I didn’t say everyone was outraged but it happened none the less.

My point is I must follow strict equipment restrictions and techniques as a commercial fisherman to protect the “booming” population so others can profit from them. There are a lot of techniques that would allow me to catch more fish that I can’t do in the name of not killing a few game fish but then no big deal if the tremendously larger tournament crowd does it.

Yes it is just a rumor. I have fished in that area a lot all this summer and have not seen a thing. Someone once to make it look and sound bad. The only dead fish that I see were carp or gar and that is no loss. Jerry

That’s right, blame the bass guys. We stand for all that is wrong in tournament angling.

What a joke.

It falls on deaf ears B.C.

I see why a lot of the good Bass sticks don’t care to share a lot of info. For some reason the Bass world draws a crowd that is copping an attitude. 90% percent of negative fishing post start with…” Some dang Bass Boat….Darn Bass guys……Cotton pickin’ Tourney guys flew….” You get my point.

Not to often do you hear a complaint about catch and kill walleye tournaments. I don’t get it. I guess everyone has there own cross to bear

Sorry you feel so restricted with equipment and techniques as a commercial fisherman ryn. I’m also sorry you feel it is by fault of the Bass crowd.

Good luck fishing everyone, and for whatever it is you are fishing for

Cade said it spot on in his first post…the BFL needs to have an organized plan for releasing fish..BFL used to take off out of Clinton Iowa every year. The last year they did was an absolute nightmare. They had a guy in a Chevy s-10 with a black tub in the back as the release boat. When the tub got full, the guy would drive to a boat ramp and dump fish. It took the guy forever and guy were standing in line for a long time with their fish. Then they just started releasing fishing at the 9th ave north boat ramp. People were just grabbing bags of fish (me included) and running a few hundred yards away and dumping fish in the river. The guy in the S-10 at one time made a hard right turn on the highway and dumped a ton of fish in the middle of the highway. Nothing like having bass flopping all over a highway. A lot of people were pissed off over that deal. Guess what..the BFL hasn’t held a tourney in Clinton since..The BFL ran away from the problem..

That was one great thing about Team Supreme..the had great release boats.

Fish kills can be avoided..Bass Fisherman hate seeing bass dead!! It’s up to the organization that is behind the tourney’s to give the directors the proper equipment to help eliminate fish kills…Fish kills can’t be eliminated but having the proper equipment to release fish sure can help!!

Hey pitbull

I think your exactly right. but you know where is the dnr at to regulate these organzations. i know i pulled some permits this year and it states clearly that the fish must be realesed in current or main channel. i understand alot of organzations are better watching there overhead for these tournaments but i also think as a bass tournament competitor i would think that is what we pay our entry fee for is to A.compete b.maybe cut a check c.be able to go to the same area next week and still have a good fisherie but knowing theres is always variables into everything. Bottom line bad deal but like brett said its not the end of Bass fishing on the old miss. Also the bfl and aba are the leaders in this game so if they dont try to take care of this problem how do expect clubs and smaller tournaments follow suit if they dont