Pre-fishing - good or bad

[Shad_Master]

My local club is having it's annual debate about whether to allow pre-fishing before our monthly tournaments.  Currently all of our tournaments are held on Saturdays and this allows those that can to take Friday off and head on down to the lake for some extended time on the water and then hang around the campfire the night before.  Part of the problem is that not everybody in the club (we usually have anywhere between 10 and 15 boats for the tournament) can take off on Friday and get on the water.  Now everybody claims that they are real careful and don't pound on 'em on Friday, but the stories allways are told around the campfire of guys who are "on fish and lots of them".  There are even stories of big fish caught (often not witnessed by anybody).  The argument by some in the club is that this activity causes the bite to slow down on tournament day (these are not real big lakes that we are fishing in most cases) and the proposal comes up almost every year to make the lake off limits for a week before the tournament.

Do you guys have any thoughts one way or the other about this topic?  Everybody pretty much agrees "if you catch 'em on Friday, you won't catch the same one on Saturday".  But does this catching the fish in a particular area have an affect on other fish in the immediate area once they have been released?

Also, one of the guys in the club mentioned either seeing or reading about a film that involved Gene Lau some years back that showed the affect of an injured fish on others that were holding in that area.  If you have any information about this film or any articles based on this film I would appreciate that as well.  Thanks for your input.

[Catt]

If every one in your club can't be on the water early I think it's a no brainier Off Limits.

[Grey Wolf]

I agree with Catt.

[Matt Fly]

I wouldn't penalize the guys who get to do what we want to do.    Fish.     This is a club, clubs are supposed to be laid back.    Most fish a club and not a trail  to get away from the politics and rat race.   Commraderie seems important to clubs, the very thing the Friday nite camp fire shows.

One alternative is to fish the club tourney on Sun so others have the option to pre-fish Sat.

Pre-fishing varies from lake to lake.    Some lakes can take the pressure, some can't.

I have read that its good to keep some fish in the livewell after encountering a school.     It has be said that bass emit a scent, PHERMONE, I think, that warns other fish when immediately released.

Matt.

[The Duke]

Why punish those who can prefish? Oftentimes this is what separates the good ones from the rest. Face it, if they can put in the time and figure out the pattern, they are the better anglers.

Duke

[Shad_Master]

You know, you guys sound just like the members of my club  The Sunday option is really not one because of other committments a lot of the guys have and this has already been beat to death.  Matt, about the "PHERMONEs" -- do you have any specific articles, books, etc that you can direct me to about this?  Or anyone else for that matter.  I would really like to spend some time looking into this over the winter.  Thanks.

[flechero]

Shad_Master,

Don't look at it as punishing the guys who can prefish, it's offering a level playing field for all club members. Seems to me that guys in a club would appreciate a fair tourney. Are you guys in the club to have fun or just to win a little cash? As it stands now, it's not fair... you are punishing guys that have to support a family and pay a mortgage or have a crap job and can't take Fridays off. You can still have the campfire stuff at night, even if you don't fish Friday.

Why punish those who can prefish? Oftentimes this is what separates the good ones from the rest. Face it, if they can put in the time and figure out the pattern, they are the better anglers.

Duke

Duke,

If you prefish and I don't, you have an advantage of knowing the current patterns, it doesn't make you a better angler than the guy who worked on Friday... you just had an extra day to figure it out.

[cart7t]

The guys at a resort I used to go to on LOZ used to fish around the resort on Thurs evening and Friday evening and sore lip as many fish around the place as possible if they knew a big tourney was going on on Sat.

If nothing else they sure conditioned those fish to seeing a bunch of lures in a short period of time.  As for the pre-fishing thing.  If this is merely a fish for fun type tournament with a small cash payout it just isn't fair to the guys who can't get off on Friday.  Make the lake Off limits for a couple days before, that should do the trick.

[Matt Fly]

The rules and practices are known up front.     The option of not joining the club is the choice to make.

Find one that suits your choice.

Nobody is making a living off club tourneys, it is to get out and fish.

First off, club rules are voted on in most cases.    Officers are elected as who President and so on.

Take a vote, if majority wins, either continue to fish the club or find one that is in your best interest.

Matt.

[Bassinfreak2]

I am one who hates going to a tournament without prefishing. I even prefish before a group of buddies get together to fish for bragging rights. Yes I do hook a few fish from time to time on those "practice days" but thats not the reason I want to be on the water. A lake changes so much through the course of a season that I really feel like I need to be on the water running around and checking out the current conditions for tournament time.

Water temp, weedgrowth, baitfish etc.make a big difference in where I want to fish. Knowing these things ahead of time allow more fishing on tournament day.

If a club doesn't allow prefishing then I would NOT be a member.  

[bassnleo]

I just about always pre-fish. I don't set the hook on all of em so I'm not sore mouthing the fish I want to target during the tournament.

I'm with what Bassinfreak2 said....

[Shad_Master]

Thanks for all the input guys, this really isn't a deal breaker for being a part of this club it just comes up every so often and we argue back and forth over the winter.  I agree that it is important to know what is going on with the lake and what the fish may be doing at that time, but the issue is more about those guys that go out on Friday and stir things up before the tournament on Saturday.  I was hoping that someone had some good insight into what the effect of this type of pre-fishing might have on tournament day.  I know the old saw, "if you catch 'em today, you won't catch the same ones tomorrow", but what about the other fish holding in that area?  Are there studies that show how fish react to their neighbors being caught?  Seems like I have heard about this somewhere, but can't track it down.

[The Duke]

Duke,

If you prefish and I don't, you have an advantage of knowing the current patterns, it doesn't make you a better angler than the guy who worked on Friday... you just had an extra day to figure it out.

Is that my fault? I think thats more power to me. If you're willing to put up the money to compete against a guy or guys w/o prefishing and I or someone else does, I think common sense prevails here.

Duke

[Catt]

I can give you some insight it may not be what you want but it is proven a fact.

Studies have proven that the plastic worm is the only lure made that a BASS CANNOT REMEMBER!

That is, a bass will continue to strike a worm even after repeated catches, whereas a bass will "turn off" to other lures, spinner baits and crank baits etc. after wearing them out on them. That's why you cannot continue to catch them on your honey hole with the same lure over and over. Bass will stop eating that which will eradicate them. Not true with the plastic worm, however. Although we all know bass will prefer a different bait at different times (i.e. "the pattern") you can always go back to the worm to catch them.

[bass109]

Another way of cheating is , what local experienced fisherman do in midwest and northeast is feed the fish by baiting up the area.

[Matt Fly]

Theres another reason to prefish a lake.

Safety.   Safety,    Safety!!!!!!!!!

Prefishing for a pattern is one part of the equation.     Learning the lakes navigatible waters is pretty high on my list.

Knowing what coves offer shelter from winds.    Knowing where marinas are located in case of emergencies.

Learning where other ramps are located in case of break downs.

Learning where that hidden stump is just under the surface with out going 50 mph to find it.    

I looked at 25 DFW and area clubs, I didn't find any local clubs that banned prefishing unless it is championship waters.

This is very simple.       Find a club that meets your requirements.      Clubs vote on such issues, and it appears that the majority of clubs have no problem with allowing prefishing.

We have too many lakes that are slammed by pleasure and tournaments, the 20 lb plus stringer still show up every weekend most of the time.

Good lakes handles the pressure and the ones that don't speak for themselves as by the evidence of the catch rates with or without tourneys.

Alot of clubs in the summer have iron man tourneys, we fish from dark til sun up, night fishing.     If you don't know the lake in daylight hours, you shouldn't try to learn it at night.

Matt.

[Shad_Master]

Catt, can you tell me where you found those studies or how you came to find this information?  It sounds like something that would be good to look at.  Thanks.

[Catt]

Shad_Master

I believe it was the university of Oklahoma or a university in Florida but I'm not 100%, I've got it wrote down some where. I know Doug Hannon mentions it in one of his books, again I believe Big Bass Magic. B.A.S.S had an article with information gathered from their Lunker Club section showing 10 lb+ bass caught on plastic worms more than doubled the next closest lure a jig.

[Matt Fly]

Hope this helps some, its not the one I was looking for.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1439-0310.2001.00671.x?cookieSet=1&journalCode=eth

I am still looking for one good article I have read.

Matt

[Matt Fly]

This one does not pertain to bass, but does show other species that emit pheromones.

http://www.great-lakes.org/10-23-00.html

Matt.

[Matt Fly]

Another good read.

http://www.aquanet.ca/English/research/fish/rm-fishwelfare.pdf

Matt

[FIN-S-R]

Fish do turn off if you start catching and culling in the same spot, Ive read it and seen it. It usually only lasts for an hour or so, but it does happen.

Sore lippin' is a technique used to an extreme in most of the tourneys I fish, I have to say I dont participate cause my pre-fishin has more to do with my finding quality catchable fish, not tryin' to catch "someone else's".

If you have people pre-fishin the wrong way, it helps U not them. I have shot myself in the foot more than once by goin' out to pre-fish and really gettin into em' just to return the next day and find no catchable fish. This could be due to the fact that conditiones changed, or I sore lipped em'. Whatever the case most folks version of pre-fishin has more to do with catchin and attempting to replicate that catch the next day...this doesnt happen very often except in deep water scenarois that most guys dont attempt anyway.

I say pre-fish away, I want to and occasionally it even helps!! I have blanked on a dead ringer of a pattern, and won on the first trip to the lake.

Now bed fishin' is a little different, but in reality, not all the fish are on the bed at the same time, and multiple patterns will work on the same lake at the same time.

I never hold back on the dock talk after I pre-fish, my partner gets pretty frustrated cause Ill tell who ever wants to hear what I caught, where and on what lure. I find this does more to screw folks up than help them anyway.

PRE-FISH PRE-FISH

Its also an excuse to take off work and get away from the old lady for an extra day