Keep N Grease Bass Clubs

[Junebugman]

Was just wondering if any of you have any of these keep and grease or eat clubs in your area! I have personally fished 3 lakes they had tourneys on previously and the lakes both size of bass and quality of them they keep went way down one lake I know of they took 300 bass out one summer! It took 5 years to get decent again I believe in keeping a couple male sized bass but big females 3 to 5 lbs let em go back I stand vigorously opposed to this irresponsible and inane practice these clubs should be banned from all lakes and members I'd by b.a.s.s and other organizations! As Gomer Pyle once said " for shame for shame for shame" Junebugman

[jtharris3]

Never heard of this type of club. Sounds like an extremely stupid and irresponsible "club" to me! So much for conservation and respect of our shared natural resources.

[Lund Explorer]

Just a little history for those who have never heard of such a thing.

 

"1967  Ray Scott has the idea for the first modern bass tournament while watching a basketball game in a Jackson, Miss., motel room. He subsequently drafts the rules for competitive bass fishing to foster the ideals of ethical angling, conservation and safety."

 

"1972  B.A.S.S. holds the first catch-and-release tournament, the Florida National, on Lake Kissimmee. The event is won by Tom Mann."

 

Source: http://www.bassmaster.com/news/bass-historical-timeline

 

 

In the meantime, consider the fact that many lakes see way more than 300 adult bass being removed from the water body year after year with little effect on the quality of the fishing.  This can either be from catch and keep, post tournament mortality, or the practice of some tournaments to see fish transported many miles from where they were caught and eventually released.  Within established limits, all of these practices are completely legal. 

 

In my honest opinion, any lake that goes down the toilet due to the harvest of 300 bass was circling the drain long before this club launched!  I probably wouldn't be wasting my time on it to begin with.

[BASSPATROL247]

Never heard of any clubs like that around here thank god, all our local lakes are are under 300 acres with most about 175-200 acres. That practice would decimate our lakes in no time. I dont know one person that keeps bass to eat. Before our 21 inch minimum length limit i would keep one or two once in a while when crappie fishing if the crappie were slow wich i beleive was a good thing in lakes that had way too many small fish. The biggest problem on some of our local lakes is "catch and release". When you can go out and catch 30-40 bass under 2lbs and nothing bigger keeping a couple would help the lake but with the 100% C@R approach that we all have pounded into our heads actually hurts those lakes like i mentioned..why the game and parks folks pt that regulation on these lakes is beyond me. Theres a few lakes i think the 21 inch limit is very good for but for most its gonna do nothing at all to improve avg size and will never produce big bass.. they say its too confusing for anglers to have to know different regs for each lake...really? Give me a break, every state bordering us with the exception of colorado have alot better fishing than we do and they manage their lakes on an individual basis for the most part. Our fisheries biologists are a joke... rant over☺☺☺☺

[papajoe222]

I could see this happening in one of the many small lakes in your area. A lake is limited by it's size, among other factors, as to how many fish it can support. Removing 300 quality fish from say a 100 acre body of water, although only reducing the numbers by a ratio of three fish per acre, could affect the number of decent sized fish for a few seasons.  The same thing applies to fish size or slot limits on a lake.  The results of initiating either would be seen much quicker on a small body of water. Regardless, Lund Explorer has a very valid point concerning a healthy body of water.  Those same slot/size limits imposed on a body of water with, say, an under developed forage base can have similar results to what your lake is experiencing.

[Bluebasser86]

We have some lakes that could benefit from a bunch of bass being removed but nobody wants to keep them. Slot limit lakes too with lots of fish under the 13" slot that are big enough to clean and would probably still taste pretty good.

[Lund Explorer]

I could see this happening in one of the many small lakes in your area. A lake is limited by it's size, among other factors, as to how many fish it can support. Removing 300 quality fish from say a 100 acre body of water, although only reducing the numbers by a ratio of three fish per acre, could affect the number of decent sized fish for a few seasons.  The same thing applies to fish size or slot limits on a lake.  The results of initiating either would be seen much quicker on a small body of water. Regardless, Lund Explorer has a very valid point concerning a healthy body of water.  Those same slot/size limits imposed on a body of water with, say, an under developed forage base can have similar results to what your lake is experiencing.

 

The OP stated that the lake was ruined for 5 years.  Even if every adult keeper sized bass was removed from this lake, it makes little sense that the sub-legal sized fish didn't replace those keepers within a much shorter period.

 

Also missing from the discussion is the fact that the OP didn't mention if this club's members stayed with the creel limits established by the state.  If they did so, then it was within their legal right to do so.  The only possible problem this bunch may have created would be a public relations one, which in truth was the primary reason why other bass organizations began practicing smaller limits along with catch and release fishing.

 

The final part of the OP's initial post included the statement that they wished banned from fishing and somehow publicly shamed by others makes little or no sense whatsoever.  This is the same tired argument made when others don't agree with their perspective on them matter at hand. 

 

The bottom line?

 

The world would be perfect if only everyone would act the way I want them to!

[Junebugman]

I appreciate all these comments but all these conservation minded meat hogs are area business men who do this a lot of the area tournament anglers are very upset! Fish some of these lakes you will see the difference in the numbers and quality of fish. To agree with this practice in my opinion you are in the same boat as these meat hogs just like the hillbillys around here with thier chainlink stringers eith four lbers on them half or most could'nt spell ethic's.