CTFishTalk.com: Aren't May tournaments a little iffy? - Connecticut Fishing Tournaments ( CT Fishing Tournaments ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

Vudak · Joined: 02 Jun 2010 Posts: 66

Guys, I'm not trying to come across as disrespectful (I guess it's tough not to, because I honestly don't see what you're doing as commendable), but I don't know how a person can advocate wetting their hands before they touch a fish, not photographing it on land, and gently releasing it (all good ideas), yet be ok with leaving bass fry defenseless for an extended period of time, and not see the hypocrisy in their actions. It simply can't be reconciled.

Go Bama, you make good points. They strongly support allowing people to take home their catch - in season (I am for this, by the way. I am also for hunting 100%). You are quite right that pure catch and release can, in some instances, stunt growth. However, this does not support taking bass at their most vulnerable time. There is an entire summer to catch and eat the critters and thin what needs to be thinned. Further, your theories assume that the status quo continues. Not only with the same number of fishermen catching the same number of fish, but also with the vitality of the waterfront. Disease, drought, excess predators, etc. happen naturally. We shouldn't unnecessarily add to the troubles.

Here's an idea... Why not, for a few weeks during the bass spawn, have the tournaments target pike? They've will have mostly already spawned by then, and they aren't known for guarding their nests, anyway. You can still have the thrill of competition, you can still cash a check, you can still have a great day on the water with friends, and you can do it while boasting your multi-species prowess and while practicing conservation. Further, you'll still get the occasional thrill of catching a large, bedding largemouth bass, but after a photo and a memory, you just toss them back.

What's the problem with that?
_________________
J.P.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

We had a three boat/four angler northern pike tournament on Bantam Lake last year and actually got two fish. Losing 41 inches/17-1/2 pounds to 27 inches/four pounds was tough. Here's DirtyDawg10 (akak Derek) with his pike:

And here's Flipper (aka Damian) with his:

All Hail Flipper, The Pike King!

And, yes, we caught and immediately released all of the largemouth bass that we caught, including this three pound, eight ouncer:

Although this was at the end of September and not in April or May, I'd love to do it again.
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

dave_376 · Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 171

"yet be ok with leaving bass fry defenseless for an extended period of time"

Bass guarding fry isn't necessarily as good as you think...Bass are predators and once their eggs hatch they are no longer their babies they are food. I have seen a guarding bass turn into the ball of fry and eat a mouth-full. the male Bass guards the eggs on the bed and then they go back to eating once the eggs hatch into fry.

I have also seen more beds out of the water on lakes where the water level was lowered to generate power. So i think we should ad no using electricity for the two months of the spawn either. But seriously The fishery hasn't seemed effected by a year where no fish were able to spawn....Like Bama said they only need I offspring over their lifetime to sustain the fishery. I agree with you enthusiasm over conservation I feel it is misdirected on this topic.

Vudak · Joined: 02 Jun 2010 Posts: 66

I've said my piece. Either no one agrees with it, or no one is willing to agree with it publicly. I'll count my blessings that other nearby states agree with my feelings and leave it at that.
_________________
J.P.

perfect hook set · Joined: 24 Feb 2008 Posts: 1069 Location: Danbury

vudak no offense u remind me of peta
_________________

Vudak · Joined: 02 Jun 2010 Posts: 66

DickVanPike · Joined: 29 Sep 2010 Posts: 150

no way, the fish I rip off of beds during the spawn are way bigger than those!

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

I'd agree with you if you could show me that the practice of taking largemouth bass off of their beds during spawning by tournament fishermen has a measurably negative impact on a fishery. It sounds like you're assuming a fact that's not in evidence. Like someone else said, in large fisheries like Candlewood, the number of bass taken off of their beds and kept during tournaments is probably negligible. In smaller fisheries, the bass taken might be able to find their way back to the beds. And the absence of a guarding male from a bed might not have as significant an impact on the survivability of the fry as you assume. Taking action for the sake of taking action based on some unsupported theory seems premature to me.

J.P., your protective instincts seem a little heightened. Did you and Crystal just have or will you soon have a baby, by any chance? Very Happy

_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

Vudak · Joined: 02 Jun 2010 Posts: 66

Suffice to say, the people of NY as of now subscribe to my theory whereas the people of CT do not. I submit that NY is a better fishery by far, though I realize this is subjective. I feel my argument is logical, I assume there is factual evidence that led NY to subscribe to my theory, but being unable to present it myself, I guess I'm pretty much done here.
_________________
J.P.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Hey, J.P., if you were to find any studies on this, I'd love to read them. Very Happy

_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

flippy · Joined: 25 May 2008 Posts: 1150

Vudac,, Why do over 15 clubs from NY come and fish Candlewood during the spawn??? and they plan these tournys a year in advance,,, I wouldnt say that us anglers whether NY or CT, neglect or potentially go out and damage the fishery, we dont,,, Maybe a smaller pond or lake where bedding fish are kept for the pan,,, Most of us on this sight are true sportsman,,, and in CT we do care for our fishery,,, as a matter of fact,, we have a grant from the government to improve our fishery,, If you want to start an arguement over how each state fishes or when they fish,,,, your on the wrong sight,,, this is CTFISHTALK,,, But like I said,, I do hear you on bed fishing,, it does come up throughout the nation every year,,, As for having a different type of fish tourny for the bass guys, I dont think so, we hunt bass,, they would be better off suspending bass fishing for a couple months,,But they dont,, why??? because they feel it does not harm the fishery,, I was talking with the state today about this, and like Bill said, there is no evidence of the fishery being harmed, if there was they would put certain dates, especially on smaller lakes and ponds where the fishing would be closed, especially our bass managed lakes, but throughout the years there seems to be no problem with the fishery,, what we are very concerned about now are those ZEBRA mussels,,

Vudak · Joined: 02 Jun 2010 Posts: 66

Well, Phil, here's a document that NY used to go to a catch-and-release season for black bass (as I'm advocating for us to have here--I think some of you may mistakenly think I want a closed season... I don't). There are points in it that go both ways:

http://www.greatlakesbass.com/fishing/NewYorkBlackBassWhitePaper.pdf

It would be interesting to read the Neves' findings if someone can access it. It seems to be quoted in many state's studies:

"Neves (1975) found a 75%
reduction in the number of fry produced in smallmouth bass nests when males were excluded from nests by enclosures."

Flippy,

Nope, I'm not a hippy. I just try to live my life by principles and that can be a real pain in the *** for everyone at times.
_________________
J.P.

Vudak · Joined: 02 Jun 2010 Posts: 66

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

J.P.

Thanks for the link to the article. It's a review of studies and data on the impact of a closed season on black bass (i.e., largemouth bass and smallmouth bass) populations in New York. The authors' conclusion, based on the available studies and data, appears to be that angling has little impact on black bass populations:

Page 9 -
If angling was a significant factor in year class variability, we would expect to see greater variability in states where there is no protection for guarding males, but there is no evidence that the current regulations in New York State serve to reduce recruitment variability relative to more southern states where no protective regulations are in place.

Page 11 -
Nonetheless, Lake Erie data provides strong evidence that even with angling pressure during the spawning season, annual recruitment did not decline relative to years prior to the opening of the spring fishing season, even in the face of increased overall angling effort.

Page 12 -
Abundances of black bass populations in the state vary widely, but there is little evidence that differential protection from angling during the spawning season contributes to these differences.

Page 12 -
Data concerning potential increased vulnerability of male bass to angling during the guarding period is inconclusive.

I understand your belief, feeling, intuition, or whatever you want to call it, that pulling black bass off of beds must hurt a fishery. However, the studies and data cited in this article don't support your conclusion. I agree with the following statement by the authors:

Protective measures typically take the form of regulations, but regulations must be formulated on sound scientific data, and restriction of access to angling resources should take place only when necessary to protect or fairly allocate them.

In the absence of information to the contrary, I don't see any reason to change the current black bass fishing regulations in Connecticut.

Phil
_________________
Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

I was steering away from posting in here but I couldn't resist.

Here's an interesting fact about spawning bass...