cyclops2 Posted July 29, 2021 Posted July 29, 2021 Read about the reported 200 bass killed at the Canada St. Lawrence B1 fishing contest. The result of CULLING / keeping ONLY the best breeders in any area For public weigh in spectacles. Web search Massive fish kill at Canada bass contest weigh in. Not to worry about any other of all the other public weighing in contests. Every weekend all over the USA. 1
cyclops2 Posted July 29, 2021 Author Posted July 29, 2021 Is that the TV style of ....Catch, Weigh, record, release where caught ? And update all contestants continuously ? Naahh Too caring about the fish & racing in & possible boating accidents. Save a TON of gas & wearing out of all of the boat & people. 1
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted July 29, 2021 Global Moderator Posted July 29, 2021 If it’s wiped out, how do people keep catching big smallies? They could legally be eating them . The big old ones have already spawned a dozen times. Peak reproduction occurs around 13-17” in smallmouth bass 4
Super User Spankey Posted July 29, 2021 Super User Posted July 29, 2021 1 hour ago, cyclops2 said: Is that the TV style of ....Catch, Weigh, record, release where caught ? And update all contestants continuously ? Naahh Too caring about the fish & racing in & possible boating accidents. Save a TON of gas & wearing out of all of the boat & people. Not sure what you mean by that. Pretty easy and straight forward approach. Not sure about the running around, the people and burning a lot of gas. I guess they could have Bass tournaments in a row boat style. The MLF style of immediate release is no different than you or I catch and release fishing on the River or Lake. Most livewell and proper use of them can maintain fish for quite a long time. I have them and they work. But an 8 hour day can but a lot of stress on a fish.
cyclops2 Posted July 29, 2021 Author Posted July 29, 2021 Bingo Spanky I use a long metal stringer of 6 snaps . I keep them in the lake water all the 2 or 4 hours morning or afternoon. I troll a lot. When I look & check them. They are in a circle playing Gin Rummy. I carry a huge black trash bag as my live well to get them to my dock well supplied with fresh river water. 5 minute run at most. All still on the stringer. Victor arrives with the golf cart. 40 seconds later. The fish are his for food. 1
Steveo-1969 Posted July 29, 2021 Posted July 29, 2021 Maybe @cyclops2 is looking at this issue with only one eye open? 3
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted July 30, 2021 Global Moderator Posted July 30, 2021 This is the “wiped out” area, 5 bass limit of 19 lbs get you 21st place we should all be so lucky to fish in a wiped out area 2
Finessegenics Posted July 30, 2021 Posted July 30, 2021 https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5823630 In case anyone hasn’t read about it, here it is
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted July 30, 2021 Global Moderator Posted July 30, 2021 16 minutes ago, Finessegenics said: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5823630 In case anyone hasn’t read about it, here it is Yuk. Bet that stunk. that was July 2019, the st Lawrence is still the best SMB fishing maybe on earth. harvest is actually beneficial, but nobody will ever admit it 4
Super User Tennessee Boy Posted July 30, 2021 Super User Posted July 30, 2021 23 hours ago, TnRiver46 said: Yuk. Bet that stunk. that was July 2019, the st Lawrence is still the best SMB fishing maybe on earth. harvest is actually beneficial, but nobody will ever admit it I’ll admit it. I joined a bass club in 1990. There were guys that got upset every time someone brought a dead bass to the weight in. They said that fishing was going to be ruined by tournaments. 30 years later tournaments are as popular as ever and there are still fish to be caught. When we buy a license we pay people to manage our fisheries. I trust them to do their job and adjust the size and creel limits as necessary. If there’s evidence that a lake is being damaged by tournaments then they can ban or limit tournaments there. I will always do my part by following the rules. Bass are a renewable resource so any damaged fishery will recover if managed correctly. 5
Super User scaleface Posted July 30, 2021 Super User Posted July 30, 2021 On 7/29/2021 at 10:20 AM, cyclops2 said: Bingo Spanky I use a long metal stringer of 6 snaps . I keep them in the lake water all the 2 or 4 hours morning or afternoon. I troll a lot. When I look & check them. They are in a circle playing Gin Rummy. I carry a huge black trash bag as my live well to get them to my dock well supplied with fresh river water. 5 minute run at most. All still on the stringer. Victor arrives with the golf cart. 40 seconds later. The fish are his for food. I'll keep an occasional limit on an electric motor lake and I put the metal snaps on a piece of paracord so it is quiet clanging on an aluminum boat . I'm anal like that and want to be as quiet as possible .I troll around all day with the fish in the water and never had one die on me . I think the trolling like that keeps water moving through the gills .
Finessegenics Posted July 30, 2021 Posted July 30, 2021 1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said: Yuk. Bet that stunk. that was July 2019, the st Lawrence is still the best SMB fishing maybe on earth. harvest is actually beneficial, but nobody will ever admit it Yup, I don’t really eat bass but I am not against responsible harvesting. I actually ate my first bass this summer and it was tasty. In a system like the saint Lawrence’s a loss of a few hundred bass will not even make a dent. On smaller bodies of water with stunted bass, harvesting is the only way a better class of fish will be able to grow. 2
MGF Posted July 30, 2021 Posted July 30, 2021 I would love for somebody to convince me that I'm wrong but I've been watching our fishery and wildlife managers for a long time. My opinion is that our resources are managed to maximize the sale of fishing and hunting license sales. If people were willing to purchase a license to fish in a lifeless bucket of water that's what they would provide and happily sell you the license. Sure a population can withstand some amount of harvest. Some populations, no doubt, even benefit from some amount of harvesting but dead fish floating all over after a big tournament isn't what I think of as harvest. I don't really have a strong argument against tournaments but I d**n sure prefer that they be held on your lake or river instead of mine. 5
Finessegenics Posted July 30, 2021 Posted July 30, 2021 17 minutes ago, MGF said: Sure a population can withstand some amount of harvest. Some populations, no doubt, even benefit from some amount of harvesting but dead fish floating all over after a big tournament isn't what I think of as harvest. Good point. I didn’t mean to say that what happened at that tournament was a good thing. Just saying that in the grand scheme of things it will have no effect on the population of bass in that body of water.
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted July 30, 2021 Global Moderator Posted July 30, 2021 2 hours ago, MGF said: I would love for somebody to convince me that I'm wrong but I've been watching our fishery and wildlife managers for a long time. My opinion is that our resources are managed to maximize the sale of fishing and hunting license sales. If people were willing to purchase a license to fish in a lifeless bucket of water that's what they would provide and happily sell you the license. Sure a population can withstand some amount of harvest. Some populations, no doubt, even benefit from some amount of harvesting but dead fish floating all over after a big tournament isn't what I think of as harvest. I don't really have a strong argument against tournaments but I d**n sure prefer that they be held on your lake or river instead of mine. Yeah I’m just saying they “could “ have legally eaten them all. No clue why they put them in a dumpster instead of on ice
cyclops2 Posted July 31, 2021 Author Posted July 31, 2021 What killed the bass was the panic that the holding tank water was getting to hot. So some bossy people toss in loads of ice to cool the water down. They were told it could kill the bass. DDUUUHHH It did. These events are all about making money.
Sphynx Posted July 31, 2021 Posted July 31, 2021 200 fish in a river is a drop in the bucket, in your small farm pond it's possibly your entire population, the St. Lawrence has thousands upon thousands of fish in it, if 200 died they won't see a difference, does that make what they did responsible or ethical? Not a chance, it's another perfect example why going to MLF style weigh in is a more responsible format, but the idea that harvesting/culling any fish is in and of itself a bad thing is a pretty bold statement that I'd love to see some sort of supporting documentation and anything approaching scientific theory on, I think a much more effective argument for this is convincing the sponsors and the tournament organizers that the brand association they will end up with if they keep insisting on these outdated weigh in practices is going to cost them a lot of money...they aren't going to want to be the bait/tackle company people remember as being associated with all the dead fish floating around after being the headline sponsor of a given tournament, a much better optic given the current prevailing thoughts and opinions is to be seen as the company who takes the obligation of responsible resource management seriously and is willing to adopt practices that ensure the future of the sport in an increasingly hostile public opinion...lots more money in that than the dead fish associated guys.
cyclops2 Posted July 31, 2021 Author Posted July 31, 2021 The Canadian Fish agency ............DID STATE........to successfully PROTECT that the SIZE of the fish was ALL of the BEST and most .......MOST PRODUCTIVE .........size that breed and ........ PROTECT the hatched out babies. The 11" females DO NOT defend a nest as well as the record sized ones. So size DOES MATTER on the successful reproduction. Always with Smallmouth Bass. Next we will have sponsor calling the Canadian Fish Department liars ?
dv616 Posted July 31, 2021 Posted July 31, 2021 I would like to read the study that says 13-17" smallmouth are the best size for reproduction. The runs contrary to everything I have read when in school for fisheries biology and since then. It very well could be something I missed, so I would appreciate being more informed. What I have read is that larger fish have more eggs and healthier eggs with higher success rates.
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted July 31, 2021 Global Moderator Posted July 31, 2021 52 minutes ago, dv616 said: I would like to read the study that says 13-17" smallmouth are the best size for reproduction. The runs contrary to everything I have read when in school for fisheries biology and since then. It very well could be something I missed, so I would appreciate being more informed. What I have read is that larger fish have more eggs and healthier eggs with higher success rates. That’s specific to my area but I wouldn’t doubt it’s nearly universal. Old animals/fish of any species hit a point of diminishing returns. A 5 lb smallmouth is basically a grandma, not exactly in peak reproductive shape. They still nest but the number of healthy eggs starts to diminish. Peak breeding occurs in the “prime” years this is why almost any fish has a length minimum for keeping. Once they are over a certain length, they have successfully bred a few seasons. If the oldest fish were the best breeders, the biologists would let you keep small fish and not big ones
cyclops2 Posted July 31, 2021 Author Posted July 31, 2021 Lets decide which SIZE fish is a better PROTECTOR of the hatched out young ones. A idiot gobie or any other fish only invades a big MAMA nest. I have seen the older larger parents grab a stupid gobie & kill it with a headshake. Other times they simply smash the gobie into the hard surface of the nest. Our other American fish are GENETICALLY better programed to not be so daring at a nest site. The bigger bass have massive cleared out sites. It gives them more time to attack the brave gobie.
MassBass Posted July 31, 2021 Posted July 31, 2021 The issue is that the exceptionally big fish have the genetic potential to get that big. When you take out these big breeders either by harvest or mortality, the population loses the genetic diversity. It happened with the Cod in the Gulf of Maine. The codfish population lost their genetic diversity because of over harvest, now they are the size of trout. Will we ever see a world record smallmouth again? 2
dv616 Posted July 31, 2021 Posted July 31, 2021 He is wrong on larger fish not being better reproduction as well. Larger fish have more and larger eggs that are more likely to hatch as well. Plus a lot of other factors as that make it important to protect larger fish. 1
Super User roadwarrior Posted July 31, 2021 Super User Posted July 31, 2021 1 hour ago, MassBass said: Will we ever see a world record smallmouth again?
Recommended Posts