What Do You Guys Think Of Paper Tournaments?

[slonezp]

Due to lake regulations of one bass over 18" in possession, a small local group does a paper tourney. Bump board has to have 1/4" increments and approved before takeoff. Length is the only measurement so, an anorexic 20" bass beats a 18" fatty. Team format with non boater draw before takeoff. Best 5 fish wins. Is this something you would participate in?  I know most of the guys from other clubs, if that makes a difference.

[Sam]

Participated in this type tournament.

Honor system.

Bass by the inches plus a general catch all subcategory for all other fish you catch. Big fish was based on length.

[BrianinMD]

My club does the same paper tourney's at a local lake with a slot limit which doesn't work well for tourney's. I actually prefer them, fish are immediately released, culling is simply scratching out the shortest fish.

[Hi Salenity]

We do it all the time.

[Logan S]

Sometimes it's the only way to hold a tournament on a lake with funky limits...Brian and I are in the same club, the main lake we use paper weight for is the best bass fishing lake in the state.  With a weird size limit you can't have anything but a lunker tournament unless you go paper.  We will also use it for bodies of water that are catch-and-release only during certain parts of the year.  

 

We have a pretty sophisticated computer program that one of our members designed.  It calculates the paper weight and total weight and is completely integrated into our tournament tracking software which keeps the running weight and AOY point totals for the whole year.   Takes very little time to hold the weigh in and I'd say it's usually pretty accurate.  Total weights are obviously not exact but I'd say a limit will come out within about 1 pound +/-.  

 

For format, we aren't a 'team' club so we don't ever have team-paper tx's....And although not required, it's a common practice among our group to take pictures of pretty much anything 3 lbs or better on the TX day.  

[J Francho]

I like to be optimistic, and it works for kayak tournaments, but I don't care for the weight conversions. If you're measuring inches, then you finish by inches. Scales are tricky to document, so weight may not be an option. Even bump boards have issues. It's not always clear if the fish's snout is up against the side. Mouth closed? Fins pinched? Hands in the pic? What about the identifier card? There's also the question of folks mishandling the fish to get the pic. There's issues with this type of contest, beyond the honor system.

[Logan S]

I like to be optimistic, and it works for kayak tournaments, but I don't care for the weight conversions. If you're measuring inches, then you finish by inches. Scales are tricky to document, so weight may not be an option. Even bump boards have issues. It's not always clear if the fish's snout is up against the side. Mouth closed? Fins pinched? Hands in the pic? What about the identifier card? There's also the question of folks mishandling the fish to get the pic. There's issues with this type of contest, beyond the honor system.

Our group knows it's not perfect, but we try to minimize the inconsistancies.

 

It's a club rule that everyone has to have the exact same bump board.  Mouth closed and touching the front of the board, pinch or fan the tail to get the most length, and round up to the nearest 1/4".  It's definitely not exact, but we are all bound by the same inconsistencies so it's 'fair' to us.  We know it's not an exact science, but it lets us hold tournaments on very productive bodies of water that we would not be able to otherwise.  

 

 

In my opinion you absolutely can not go by total inches...You have to convert each fish to 'weight'.  

 

Example:

 

Guy#1 catches 3 fish that are all 20" (60" total length).  Three 20" fish (in our system) will weigh about 14ish lbs.

Guy#2 catches 5 fish that are all 12" (60" total length).  Five 12" fish will weigh about 5.5 lbs.  

 

There's no way on earth you would consider those two guys to be tied, but they would if you go by total inches.  Our program converts each fish to weight and adds them all up just as if you were to weigh them in.  It works for us and I think it's the best way to hold a paper TX. YMMV

[WIGuide]

It's not a bad idea as long as steps are taken to prevent cheating. 

[J Francho]

The problem with weight conversions is accuracy in weight. You need a girth measurement as well as a length, and getting girth is more inconsistent than a bump board measurement. A 20" bass can be anywhere from 3 lbs to over 6. Which is it? If you're going to judge the winner by mass, then measure mass. Would you measure a long jump based on the velocity, then convert that to length based on some formula?

[stk]

I have participated in these tournaments and like others have stated sometimes it's the only way to do so.  We take a picture of the fish with a token given at the beginning of the tournament, if the pic isn't clear or without the token it doesn't count.  So far so good.

[Logan S]

The problem with weight conversions is accuracy in weight. You need a girth measurement as well as a length, and getting girth is more inconsistent than a bump board measurement. A 20" bass can be anywhere from 3 lbs to over 6. Which is it? If you're going to judge the winner by mass, then measure mass. Would you measure a long jump based on the velocity, then convert that to length based on some formula?

 

I wouldn't disagree with that, but on average the differences aren't as extreme as your example.  I've weighed fish against our program and it's usually within a few ounces (individually).  

 

I know that I've been hurt by fat fish and helped by skinny fish in these paper events, but so has everyone else.  It's not  a method a 100 boat field should use, but for our 15-20 boat club events it works fine.  

 

I can understand what you're getting at, but the solution of going only by length is an even bigger problem...As evidenced by the example in my previous post.  While it may not be exactly accurate at determining the actual weight of the fish, it's way more accurate at determining a winner of the event (if that makes any sense ).  

[J Francho]

If cameras, bump boards, and identifier are standard and supplied tournament day, I'll play, but not for any substantial $$$. Points, sure.

I wonder when the big series will weigh the fish in water, or start using displacement as a measure of size.

[gablefish365]

With Technology today I can see in the future a weigh in system that is part of the boat and linked wireless so an on going recording can be set up. As in most things the initial ones will be expensive but with time the price will be driven down. So Imagine catching a fish immediately weigh it and it is confirmed then release the fish. This would be much easier on fish and conserve the resource. 

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I don't see a problem with paper tournaments for clubs, small pots and points. Over all, I like the Major League Fishing rules even though I know it's a made for TV thing.

[Hi Salenity]

I'm glad I wasn't I one this morning, I took pics of these fish and got home and looked and you can't see the length at all.

[gripnrip]

Our club does paper tournaments this time of year. GRAD only allows a 3 fish limit if you weigh them. So we do a paper tournament. We use the gator grip board that has the weight conversion at the top of the board. We usually have a non-boater and we both confirm what we are seeing.

I once didn't have the fish bumped properly and the boater didn't catch it. I did. Rather than being dishonest, I bumped the fish again. Resulting in it being shorter. I think honesty is a must for a paper tournament.

 

 

 

I meant to say G.R.D.A.  (Grand River Dam Authority) During daylight hours only 3 fish.  An all night tournament can be 5 fish.

Edited August 22, 2014 by gripnrip

[gardnerjigman]

Anything over 12" put on a scale, snap a pic and release. Add up your top 5 weights. Can't be cheated and gives you lots of flexibility on weird length lakes. You can always bring in your over fish to show off.... I mean weigh in person

[BrianinMD]

only issue with each boat weighing their first seperately is different scales will not always match. I am sure Major League Fishing goes thru a lot to keep theirs matched as much as possible but a regular club just won't be able to do that. No matter which way gets used it must be fair to all participants, paper has its issues but the same for all.

[BuckMaxx]

 I am a a couple clubs. One club is a weigh in the boat card club. using issued at the ramp rapala  scales. The other is a measured card. Both have their faults. The first  is often plauged with scale problems dead batteries, dropped over board etc. The second it is easy to stretch fish and is total honor when fishing without a non boater. We have istances where this has happened. We are currently working on a cell phone photo idea but even that is not flawless. Because as stated above you cant hold the fish on the rule and snap a pic. Then have it show up in the pictures. Doesn't work too well plus its hard on the fish We do not ask to see all the pictures for the winners to verify. I think its more psychological and keep the not so honest maybe a little more honest, knowing that they may get questioned at the wieghin to see the pictures of the 5 fish they have on the card. if they don't have the pic the fish doesn't count.

[slonezp]

So, the results of said tournament that I didn't participate in. A tie for big bass. I didn't see pics as I don't do facebook but my son gave me the lowdown. He said one  was obiviously heavier than the other. Probably a good thing I didn't go..

[CDMeyer]

If there are pictures and I trusted the people yes I would