"Gambler" Tournaments

[CAdeltaLipRipper]

Okay we are planning to go to the Delta tomorrow and the New Melones Sunday. Well, i just found out they're having some pro am 60 boat tournament or something there tomorrow. And i must say that ticks me off. I'm sick and tired of these stupid tournaments where people will make 5000 dollars IF THEY WIN. They come to our lakes like once a month and totaly pound it and add 3 tons of fishing pressure and fish out all the spots and the fish get on a tougher bite for a week or two. I mean seriously come on?This happens to me all the time.We will find out Melones or Pedro is on fire and whoops oh wait another stupid PRO AM TOURNAMENT. Seriously give the lakes a break.They fish the same ones way too much. I understand bassmaster and flw because those peoples lives depend on their tournaments and they fish 8 to 15 tournaments A YEAR and theyre usualy all different bodies of water,and i understand the little turkey shoots with about a dozen boats to just go have a little fun with petty cash for the winner.These tournaments don't really hurt anything. But these Pro Ams are ridiculous. It's basically gambling. These tournaments are not their jobs and there's about 80 boats per tournament and they fish a bunch a year and they pound the same lakes about 10 times a year and just completely raid it. I'm sorry i know this is an outburst and no offense to any Pro Am fisherman but i just get so irritated. Atleast change your guy's schedule up a little so your not on just 3 different lakes a year out of 30 tournaments.And I also understand these tournaments can help you towards professional circuits too but its just ridiculous sometimes how It's always on the same lakes a bunch of times it one year. I would like to hear some people's thoughts on this

[shimmy]

i can completely feel your pain and is 100% justified. It's tournament fishing, they should pick tough and new waters to fish. Hitting the same lake over and over again is ridiculous. I wish this would change. Granted, in any area there are going to be several different organizations putting on the tournament, but come on, pick a different place, give them some tough water and make do.

[5bass]

I'm a tournament fisherman and even I think the amount of tournaments is ridiculous. You can go to just about any ramp on my home lake or the surrounding lakes in my area on the weekend and find a tournament to get in. Heck, you'll have 2 or 3 tournaments going out from the State Park ramp just about every Saturday.

I love the competition but the fish do get hammered. The Elite Series is on my home lake right now. Every fish in 2 ft of water or less has been stuck at least once. ;D

[CAdeltaLipRipper]

like dont get me wrong i like tournaments but sometimes its just overwhelming. I dont care if its on the delta because thats 1000 miles of waterways to fish but on the lakes it gets a bit stressful when you idle into one of your holes an theres already someone in there, and theres a guy on every point

[5bass]

[movedhere] General Bass Fishing Forum [move by] five.bass.limit.

[burleytog]

It's public water.

[preach4bass]

So, you think that those 60 boats (120 fishermen) should just call off their tournaments, or at least have the decency to fish another lake, because you want to go fishing this weekend. :  I'm assuming you want to go to Disney World and not wait in any lines too.

Here's an idea.  Those tournament anglers are limited to fishing a particular body of water during certain hours.  Do your homework and find out what time their tournaments start, and what ramp they are launching from.  Get to another ramp an hour or two earlier than their tournament starts, launch your boat, and you can pick any spot you want to fish.  Or, if it inconveniences you too much to get up early, wait until the tournament is over and fish the afternoon and evening.  A third option is to fish at night.  On most lakes the fishing pressure is a lot less after dark.

As Burley said, it's public water.  If you want the fish all to yourself you'll just have to head to a pond or buy a fish tank. ;D

[CAdeltaLipRipper]

So, you think that those 60 boats (120 fishermen) should just call off their tournaments, or at least have the decency to fish another lake, because you want to go fishing this weekend. : I'm assuming you want to go to Disney World and not wait in any lines too.

Here's an idea. Those tournament anglers are limited to fishing a particular body of water during certain hours. Do your homework and find out what time their tournaments start, and what ramp they are launching from. Get to another ramp an hour or two earlier than their tournament starts, launch your boat, and you can pick any spot you want to fish. Or, if it inconveniences you too much to get up early, wait until the tournament is over and fish the afternoon and evening. A third option is to fish at night. On most lakes the fishing pressure is a lot less after dark.

As Burley said, it's public water. If you want the fish all to yourself you'll just have to head to a pond or buy a fish tank. ;D

Thats not it.they fish the same freakin lakes all the time.Honestly, alot of tournament fisherman have a lot of bad ethics. Theres been alot of times where we have been fishing a piling or something and they just pull up right in front of you and start fishing like its nothing and okay. It just gets irritating how many lakes there are to fish but they pick the same ones over and over again

[SDoolittle]

If they keep fishing the same lakes over and over, they should be easy to avoid.

[fishfordollars]

I just got home from Rayburn for a tournament last night. Over 4,000 entries, and that was not the only tournament on the lake. I agree, there are too many, but it is public water.

FYI, the fish are still biting at Rayburn. A 9.51 was weighed in this morning. Guess a few have figured out how to catch them. We had twenty to thirty boats and more within a hundred yards of us most of the day Friday and saturday and we still managed to catch over 25 a day. Do your homework and you will be fine. If everyone was up shallow just move out to 12-15' of water and you will have unpressured fish. That is exactly what we did and the fish were eager to bite. Not all fish are up shallow at once you know. Clear the clouds in your head and go make it happen.

Good luck.

FYI, a 10.60 and a 10.27 were weighed in today. They are in the last hour of weighin. 2:00pm is the cut off today.

[CAdeltaLipRipper]

If they keep fishing the same lakes over and over, they should be easy to avoid.

I don't like fishing pedro, and i don't like fishing mcclure.So usualy that means we pick from the delta or melones, and when there's a hot bite at melones, they come

[cart7t]

It's public water.

That people are profiting from.  ie: tournament organizations holding what amounts to a fishing derby for profit.  It would seem the public should be receiving some reparations for the usage of the public use facility along with the usage of the resource.  Perhaps even limiting the numbers that can monopolize such facilities or lake week in and week out. 

[Matt Fly]

too funny,   didn't the pros just hit Delta?

   Seems to me, with all those tournaments and pressure, its a wonder the pros ever got a limit.

  60 boats.   LOL  is that supposed to mean an over pressured fishery, 60 boats?   or was that meant as an icebreaker, a joke?   ;D

   LOL

[preach4bass]

It's public water.

That people are profiting from. ie: tournament organizations holding what amounts to a fishing derby for profit. It would seem the public should be receiving some reparations for the usage of the public use facility along with the usage of the resource. Perhaps even limiting the numbers that can monopolize such facilities or lake week in and week out.

Yea, and since taxi cab drivers utilize public roads, we should all get a cut of their profits.  Oh, that's right, we do.  They pay taxes, just like tournament organizations.

[CAdeltaLipRipper]

too funny, didn't the pros just hit Delta?

Seems to me, with all those tournaments and pressure, its a wonder the pros ever got a limit.

60 boats. LOL is that supposed to mean an over pressured fishery, 60 boats? or was that meant as an icebreaker, a joke? ;D

LOL

The delta is 1000 miles of waterways and the pros come to california  one time like every 2 years.And melones only has certain good areas and 60 boats plus weekend anglers might make things tougher

[Glenn]

In my neck of the woods, you need a permit to hold a tournament; and no body of water can have more than 2 weekends per month with tournaments on them.  Larger bodies of water are limited to 250 TOTAL tournament boats (you can have 1 or a dozen permits, but cannot total more than 250 boats); smaller bodies of water - 35 boats.  In addition, no tournament organization - bass club, circuit, charity, or otherwise - can have more than 7 permits per year.  If the mortality rate reaches more than 10% of caught fish, the tournament is over BY LAW.

Yup, that keeps the pressure down considerably.