Culling Dead Fish

[matt metzger]

We had someone in our club cull dead fish yesterday because it didnt say it in the rules that it was illegal.... he got penalized and although he still won the tournie i was wondering what you guys think? because he got penalized for a rule that was non existent and i thought although it is unsportmans like it didnt break any rules.... i only had one fish all day so i was worried about culling too many haha

[Grey Wolf]

If there was no rule covering dead fish , how did he get penalized ?

[matt metzger]

he got penalized because they said that the rule should have been in place im not quite sure why it worked that way but it was a club tourney so there was no money involved regardless of the penalty he still won

[cart7t]

Here is the regulation from my state of Missouri on culling:

There is one exception: If, from September through June you are a participant in a bona fide catch and release bass tournament (one after which all bass are released alive), which requires entrants to have a boat livewell with adequate capacity and a pump constantly adding fresh water or recirculating water, the black bass you release unharmed from the livewell need not be added to your daily limit.  At no time can the daily limit be exceeded.

My guess is there was a state law in place that he broke.  Seems more like grounds for disqualification to me.

[Matt Fly]

The state of Texas doesn't allow the  "wasting of gamefish".   It is illegal to cull dead fish in our state.

[frogtog]

Can't cull a dead fish in the ABA or Bass ( but i'm sure they do )

[SuskyDude]

Frankly, I think thats disgusting. Someone who wastes dead fish to win a tounament is not a sportsman in my book.

[thetr20one]

Frankly, I think it is cheating!

[stump1001]

Why do they die in the livewell?

We've always released as soon as they are unhooked.  We never have fished a tournament yet.   If killing fish is part of the fishing a tournament I'll never fish one (dieing in livewell).

[Certified Public Angler]

Why do they die in the livewell?

We've always released as soon as they are unhooked. We never have fished a tournament yet. If killing fish is part of the fishing a tournament I'll never fish one (dieing in livewell).

It just happens sometimes stumpy. Either not enough oxygen in the water or the fish get shocked from a change in water temperature. It's just like when you fish with live bait and end up with floaters, sometimes they just get too stressed.

Sometimes it is due to irresponsibility in keeping up with your livewell but many times it can just be bad luck even when you do everything right.  There are many responsible Anglers that monitor their catch constantly.

[avid]

Placing a dead fish in the water is like putting a dead squirrel in the water.

It's dead.  You are not "returning" it, you are disposing of it.  Understandable that fish die during fishing, tournament or not.  I don't see the problem that he culled the fish from his livewell.  I see the problem as that he threw a dead animal into the lake.  I can't be sure, but I would think most states would prohibit this.

As far as not having a specific rule prohibiting this....well, you can't come up with a rule that will cover every contingency.  I think most BASS clubs would have a rule that requires compliance with existing law, and a clause that gives the tournament judges the right to interpret the rules.

The fact that they penalized the guy is a good thing.  The fact that he won the tournament shows that from a purely competitive point of view, he made a wise decision.

[fishfordollars]

One of the members of our club won a $7,500 payout(1St place) in a tournament on Rayburn four weeks ago. He was DQd for culling a dead fish. It was not only a tournament rule, it is a state rule concerning the waste of gamefish. Not sure if he turned himself in or failed the polygraph. Knowing him well though I would bet he DQd himself.

[burleytog]

Turtles gotta eat too.