| Tournament Fishing |
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| Rob Moser and a McGee Creek bass. |
| I'm by no means an expert on fishing tournaments,but this is some of the observations I've seen for myself over time. I've been tournament fishing for close to 20 years,starting out in small 2-man boats and working up to bigger boats in the last 8-10 years. A lot of changes have taken place since then also.Used to,someone would keep all the fish that were caught in a tourney,then we started releasing them because we figured out it was hurting the lake's population of spawning size fish.Probably the biggest thing that has changed is with the 2-man boats,rarely ever do you see the fish hanging off the side of the boat on a stringer,thanks to the innovativeness of the fishermen suggesting to the manufacturers of installing livewells with aerators in the smaller boats to reduce mortality rates of the fish. More information has been researched and implemented on taking care of fish in the livewell,such as additives like Please-Release-Me and others,keeping the aerator on full time, recirculating pumps that pump water out and new water in,and adding ice to the water to keep it cooler. I personally have an alternative to the ice because I don't want to add ice that has Chlorine in it to my livewell,I simply rinse and fill a couple of 20oz pop or water bottles with lake water and freeze it and then keep them in my cooler,then unscrew the lid and place the bottle in the livewell.The frozen lake water slowly melts and cools the livewell water and doesn't have any Chlorine to hurt the fish.Some people put the additives in the bottle with lake water or bottled water,freeze it,then poke some holes in the bottle before placing it in the livewell,and it slowly filters the additive along with the frozen water into the livewell.I do believe that MOST people take care of their catch and strive to keep them alive and kicking,not just up until weigh-in. I don't know who implemented this idea,but the club I fish in is starting to do something different this year,by having club members alternate staying at the release site for an hour after weigh-in in case any fish come up floating and take them home to clean.I know that it can take up to 2 days before some can/will come up but I think this is something that can be done immediately to clean up some of the bad image we have been given, and have given ourselves,and not just tournament fishermen/women.A lot of us have heard about dead fish floating up on lakefront property,and we all have heard how the anti's and the media eat this up,especially when they jumped the gun blaming LMBV on all fishing,and all fishing boats,but not their big cabin cruisers and waverunners.It's a big double-standard world out there and all fisherpeople have to band together with a loud voice,and vote whenever necessary,or all of our rods,reels,and tackle will be seen only in a museum.I believe Winston Churchhill said it best: NEVER GIVE UP.NEVER GIVE UP.NEVER GIVE UP! If anyone out there has been thinking about fishing tournaments,I can think of a few things to help them get started: 1.There are a lot of clubs and team trails to choose from, and some can be expensive with entry fees,but pay out very good,sometimes with a boat to boot,so Choose wisely so you can get in one that's affordable. 2.You DON'T always have to have a boat to fish,several trails almost always have boaters looking for non-boaters,but most will NOT be a team format,instead it will be a draw-type,like B.A.S.S. and FLW. 3.Manage your time on the water,you're only going to be out there for a little while. Take food and enough to drink,take a small first-aid kit and sunscreen.Have your tackle organized and out of the way,and fish only the baits you have confidence in.This means don't try Carolina Rigging or Drop Shotting if you've never done them before,that's what pleasure or pre-fishing time is for.And no matter what the forecast is for the day, ALWAYS TAKE RAIN GEAR! Better safe than sorry. 4.Last,but definitely not least,Have fun.If you can't fish without constantly thinking about the money you spent on the entry fee,then you've spent too much and you won't be concentrating on fishing and having fun. Thanks for your time, Rob |