Spawning & Tournaments…

Alright, as Spring approaches and our treasured bass population begins its reproductive processes and Tournements start, I have begun questioning whether or not this is a smart utilization of our resources. The science I have been studying seems to prove that spawning bass will not further their instinctive behaviors if caught and relocated (obvious activity during tournaments). Specifically, females lay their eggs with no bed and males have no nests to protect.

In prior years, I have always avoided transportation of bass before the spawn is complete (early to mid-May), practicing exclusively catch and release. As I continue my evolution as an angler, I look to enter more and many tournaments… and, as Spring approaches I am fired up to begin entering and cashing checks (Okay, the check thing is wishful thinking, given the talent out there!)

So, I pose a question to those scientists and tournament anglers: Is it wrong to fish tournements prior to post-spawn? Or, is the information I have been reading inconclusive.

Thoughts?

Yep, it is wrong to displace these spawning fish but the cost has yet to deminish the population to a point I choose not to fish tournaments. Other than tournaments I always return these fish immediately.
jc

Do you think, if the tournament was held early enough in the pre-spawn/spawn season, if the tournament was limited to one pool the fish would have a better chance of making it back to the spawning grounds? Or that once displaced in the spring a fish is pretty much a non-spawner?

Pick up a copy of the recent In-Fisherman and read the article by Ralph Manns on this issue. It was not completely conclusive but studies have shown that a minority of fish return to the catch site overall and I suspect it is also accurate for spawning time. I would guess that the more time between catch, transport and release plays some role in the effective return to a bed. Either way transporting fish from an active bed will reduce the chances of that fish spawning successfully that year.

The question is how pure of an angler are you? Should you forego fishing for spawers and go for pre-spawn fish? An ethical dilemna but I am not sure if targeting pre-spawn or spawning fish really makes a difference if you transport them a great distance. How this affects the fishery is unknown but I think some logical conclusions can be made.

So, it would seem that responsible tournament hosts (those running the tourneys and deciding the rules) would best serve the environment with limited limits. Why, then, do the Sping Tourneys seem to sport 8 fish limits, and those in the summer 5 fish limits? Seems wrong. Thoughts?

i think the temp has alot to do with that.both outside an water.The fish are less stressed out in cooler water.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMM good questions. The limit one is easy and that is all about water temp. As for the early tournaments, I have mixed thoughts. The southern states which have year round fishing do not have a problem with fish in their waters and most tournaments are based around the spawn.I can say with many years of river fishin I have not noticed any decrease in fish population or size in any of my spawn fishin spots.

I guess I feel bad sometimes, but I have only seen the fish in the area get bigger in the last 5 years. I’m going to keep fishing tournaments in the spring till I see any rock solid evidence.

The FLW and the BASS really do base their tournaments during the spawn for the most part. Why? No Clue. Same goes with them though, Alot of guys are getting very close to that 100lb mark for 4 days and that just wasnt the case years ago.

JHall

Mainly only in the upper midwest do we protect the bass from the spawn,Bass pop. are great all over the nation through the efferts of tourny anglers and rec anglers.Good job, we should be able to enjoy the resource with open seasons.

Dave C… Is it your opinion that the “seasons” in the upper midwest should be removed? If so, why?

My opinion on this is that the spawn is protected more in northern states because the fish only have a limited time to spawn- ie a window of 1-2 months and if low water/bad weather/etc the spawn will not succeed. Anglers are taken out of the equation by closing the season. “Down south” there are several spawns each year which improves the chances of some yoy fish surviving. Somebody who is a biologist can answer better but i think this is the reasoning behind the closed seasons. As far as removing it, im not sure of my opinion, but i dont really have a huge problem with bed fishing. Maybe an immediate cpr rule for the first couple months.