bluerock bass Posted September 3, 2009 Posted September 3, 2009 We had a club Tx on Sunday. The lunker that was weighed in was dead. I was told it should not count.(for the lunker) I never put that in the rules and each year I ask do we need to revisit any rules. I gave the guy his extra point for the lunker and a few guys ticked and moaned. My only stance was I can't make up rules in middle of the year. This is our 2nd year as a club so I'm chalking it up to growing pains. Do you guys have any rules on dead lunkers? Quote
bocabasser Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 a quarter of a pound penalty exactly. some clubs i have fished will not allow the big fish of the tourny to be dead. others allow it. as long as the rules are known prior to the event, there should be no crying. Quote
Super User Lund Explorer Posted September 4, 2009 Super User Posted September 4, 2009 Sounds like you got suckered into being the tournament director..... The only position worse than that is the guy that runs the bump board! We had the same situation happen in our club years ago. The TD weighed the fish, and according to the rules, the dead fish won the big bass pot for the day. And we had the same small group of jealous "sportsmen" that were upset because the rules weren't changed. Funny thing is, if the rules had been changed, just as many others would have been mad as well. Prior to the next tournament blast off, the TD gave a little speech to everyone. "Honest people put things in writing, and then live by it!" It doesn't get a whole lot simpler than that. Quote
Culln5 Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 We had a club Tx on Sunday. The lunker that was weighed in was dead. I was told it should not count.(for the lunker) I never put that in the rules and each year I ask do we need to revisit any rules. I gave the guy his extra point for the lunker and a few guys ticked and moaned. My only stance was I can't make up rules in middle of the year. This is our 2nd year as a club so I'm chalking it up to growing pains. Do you guys have any rules on dead lunkers? NO DEAD OR SHORT FISH WILL BE WEIGHED AND A .5LB PENALTY WILL BE ASESSED! We don't weigh them and subtract a half pound from your total weight. Quote
done Posted September 4, 2009 Posted September 4, 2009 I would say this is one of those rules that need to be explicitly defined. When it comes time to vote in new rules for the year, bring it up yourself and tell them you need an explicit definition. Then if anyone complains you have an excuse to beat them with a tacklebox. Honestly though I do not *** you in that role. Sounds like the same thing with officers in a bowling league. You can define rules and give everyone a copy of the rules in 30 pt bold print and you can BET someone will complain about something that was clearly laid out in the rules when they started. The key is nobody likes to lose, add money and you make it even worse. Quote
Super User flechero Posted September 4, 2009 Super User Posted September 4, 2009 NO DEAD OR SHORT FISH WILL BE WEIGHED AND A .5LB PENALTY WILL BE ASESSED! We don't weigh them and subtract a half pound from your total weight. I hate that rule... it's a waste of the resource. It encourages people to throw dead fish overboard instead of keeping and eating them. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted September 4, 2009 Super User Posted September 4, 2009 I hate the rule as well. You get further penalized when a fish dies in the well since you cannot cull it out with a bigger one. They also lose weight fast when dead, and pollute the well so bad, you run the risk of filling the others with ammonia poisoning. You are better off putting the dead fish on ice. I know some guys that won't put a fish in the well, since they know it won't live to make it to the scales, and isn't big enough, so they toss them back. This last tournament, we had a big fish going south fast, and we babysat the livewell for the last three hours before weigh in. It was alive at the weigh in, but never made it back to the lake. One of the guys in the club took it for his father to eat. I guess I just don't understand what part of holding fish in a livewell makes you a better fisherman than the rest. I mean, we should do everything in our power to release the fish in the best condition as possible, but why are we measured on this? Incidentally, its a 4 oz. penalty in our club. Very often, it's usually better to keep the fish, and accept the penalty, than to try an upgrade/replace fish before its dead. Finally, if you REALLY want to reduce the mortality, take a look at the Please Release Me products in the sponsors section. They REALLY do work. Quote
bluerock bass Posted September 4, 2009 Author Posted September 4, 2009 Just wanted to thank everyone for all the input. We do subtract 4 oz from the dead fish. We only have a 3 fish limit and most of the guys fish out of jon boats.We fish mostly small ponds and lakes under 300 acres and the club payouts take care of your gas back and forth. So we are talking about major here. I just want to run my club the fairest way I can. I guess we will go back in the rules this winter and address it. Thanks again Jeff Quote
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