Lane

I have e-mailed Flechero a SMALL sampling of the more benign pictures. I have also asked HIM NOT TO POST THEM ON THE INTERNET.

Larry was definately a champion for the Falcon Lake fishery. James is is continuing Larry Bridgeman's legacy, which always involved making well informed and truthful statements. For those of you insisting on seeing photographic evidence, I have provided you with sources. I can't guarantee that they will send them to you just to satisfy your curiosity, but you can inquire.

Matt, You should really check your facts before you post. There is a big difference between opinions and the actual facts. You have brought up the FLW Wisconsin mortality. There is a full report available from the Wisconsin DNR online. According to the report by the Wisconsin DNR, both organizations experienced high mortality rates with smallmouth. The summary report credits high water temperatures to the the mortality during summertime tournaments. Nothing new here. Comparing the release sites are like comparing apples and oranges. Veleno cove is a very shallow release site and it is a pretty good distance to deeper water. The release site at BassChamps was next to the river channel. It is a short distance to deep channel marker. I am sure that you have scutinized the pictures that were posted by J.P. Greeson, you should be able to see the channel marker out from the release site in a few of those pictures. Yes, Basschamps staff got in the water and took the time to recover the weak bass not expected to survive. I posted that fact in my mortality report, along with the ACTUAL number of fish that expired or were deemed likely to expire. During the BassChamps event there were a total of 201 teams. Of that number there were 113 limits weighed in and 119 teams brought fish to the scales. Eighty two teams did not weigh in and were instructed to release HEALTHY FISH. Sure-Life employee David Short was available to fizz any fish needing attention before release. He reported that four teams needed assistance with fizzing. That amount was low because many fish were caught in 10ft of water or less. Tony and myself fished Falcon Lake for two full days after the event and ALL OF OUR FISH WERE CAUGHT in 10ft of water or less, including my two double digits. James, the owner of Falcon Lake Tackle not only makes his living off the sportfishing industry but he also fishes tournaments. You refer to him as a, "blogger". I consider that pretty darned disrespectful for you to doubt his credibility, especially since you DON'T KNOW HIM! Zapata is taking the right steps by addressing this in a professional manner, by conducting PUBLIC meetings. Matt, It really does not matter what you believe did or did not occur, or the lenghty comparsions with other tournament organizations. I agree with James, you can keep your head buried in the sand. Since you brought up Trip Weldon, maybe you should ask J.P Greeson about the backhoe incident. J.P was present when we were all told that Mr. Weldon asked for a fish grinder and then a backhoe to bury the dead fish! Matt, There is something that you should consider as it relates to us. The majority of our business comes from the live bait and aquaculture industry. For the most part, our work with bass and other gamefish is PRO BONO, in otherwords we don't get paid. We donate WAY more than we sell, and for the most part we pay our own way and expenses when we assist tournament trails. It is in the best interest of the sportfishing industry as a whole if the resource is properly managed and conserved for ALL to enjoy. We have nothing to lose by telling the truth!

I will try and make this response short and to the point. First off, it is a LOSING BATTLE! It is only a matter of time before every lake that have suitable calcium and PH levels become infected with the mussels in California. The larvae clings to aquatic vegetation which is readily spread by waterfoul and other wildlife. Bass boats in general do not pose a high risk for introduction. Residual livewell water and bilge pump water pose a risk to a smaller degree. Our Catch And Release livewell product kills the veliger or larval stage of the mussels, which are microscopic. 100% vinegar can be poured in the bilge for a contact time of between 20 to 30 minutes. Anglers should throughly clean and dry their boats after each use. Anglers should be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Closing the lakes will NOT STOP the spread of the mussels! We addressed the Casitas water board in person and stated this fact. I also arranged a telephone consultation between one of the nations top malacologist (mussel expert) and the California Game and Fish Department. The malacologist told the CGF the same thing. The focus needs to shift on surveillance and control methods. The main impact is the fouling of intake pipes by the mussels for municipal water districts and hydroelectric plants. There are a variety of methods currently being used to prevent this fouling, including chemicals and barriers that surround the intakes. The chemical of choice is the same chemical/disinfectant that we use in Catch And Release, our formula has a much lower amount than what is used for actual pipe treatment. There are control methods. Once the non native mussels take over, they change the eco-system of the lake. Some fish species have shown to benefit from this change while others will decline or become non exsistent. The smallmouth bass have benefitted from the change in the eco-system in the Great Lakes, while the Walleye population has declined. Every organisim goes through population cycles. Mother Nature has a way of keeping everything in relative balance even if it is a non native or invasive species. Bottomline it that they are here to stay. We can control them, but not erradicate them.

Fishin Daddy, I DID NOT TAKE THE PICTURES. Pictures were taken by several people. If you want to see pictures, please contact Falcon Lake Tackle or contact Ms. Peggy Umphreys, President of the Zapata Chamber of Commerce. I AM NOT GOING TO POST PICTURES ON THE INTERNET, and furthermore I am NOT GOING TO E-MAIL PICTURES until after the outcome of the public meetings. Please contact the above sources. Thanks.

Keith, Yes I saw some of the pictures. There were others taken by a member of the press(national fishing magazine), so I have been asked to hold off until ESPN/BASS has received those photos. I am going to respect that request for now. I will e-mail you as promised in the near future.

Flechro, For one thing, anglers were give concise easy to follow instructions on the care of their fish, and more importantly most of them followed the instructions. That made the BIGGEST difference in the mortality rates. As far as C-rigging goes, many of the big fish were caught in less than 10ft of water. Not as many anglers used C-rigging techinques. Most of these anglers are familar with fishing Falcon. We have over 25 years of experience with tournaments, and Tony has been directly involved with mortality studies since the 80's. You can tell what you are dealing with based upon what is brought to the scales dead combined with careful monitoring and assessment of the fish prior to release and directly after release. We also monitored the release site for three days after the release. I think you are getting my posts confused with Matt's. The mortality rate on the Elite Series down at Falcon was based upon WHAT WAS REPORTED FOUND DEAD over several days, with day two and three (post release) being reported as the days where many fish were found. The two fish that I did find after the BassChamps tournament on Sunday morning had almost completely been consumed by buzzards and Caracara. Some food for thought here. So to answer your question, we based our mortality rates on the BassChamps event on experience and condition of fish released. Most of the fish were brought to us in good shape.

Matt, Accusing Flukermaster of, "butt smooching" is disrespectful and way out of line! He does fish tournaments, has first hand knowledge of BassChamps fish care. He also takes extreme care of his catch, and I have seen pictures of large bass that he has caught and released. BassChamps is team event, and the TBFN was an individual event. Planning and adjustments were made prior to both events to ENSURE that healthy fish were returned to the lake. That is the responsiblity of ANY tournament trail regardless of size or format. Adjusting creel limits or formats are NOT OPTIONAL! These are PUBLIC fisheries NOT PRIVATE LAKES. Last weekend proved that both large and small tournaments can be conducted with minimal impact to the fishery. Anglers that fished both tournaments were happy, as were the local residents, etc. Continuing to argue the facts and slamming people is ludicrous and not productive. Learning from the mistakes of the past is far more productive than making excuses. At the very least, please show some respect for the moderators on this forum.

Your welcome! I thought that it was necessary to give everyone an accurate account of the mortality results and how the tournament was handled by the BassChamps staff. Jeff and Chad run a highly organized operation. We just helped them out a little. BassChamps conducts the weigh in and release for the Skeeter Owner's Tournaments, and we are a sponsor of the Skeeter Owner's Tournaments and have been for several years.

Mortality results for the BassChamps Falcon event. A total of 2,696.86lbs/585 fish with a tournament average of 4.61lbs were weighed in between 2:45p.m. and 4:30p.m. Surface water temps were between 76F (early morning) and 78F (afternoon), with overcast skies. At registration EVERY ANGLER was given an instruction sheet, C&R, measuring cup and 3% hydrogen peroxide was available for purchase (most anglers took advantage of the available peroxide). Tony gave anglers a quick verbal rundown of the instructions and answered questions. There were a few non-english speaking anglers from Mexico and the instructions were translated for them. Anglers were given morning reminder sheets provided by BassChamps. There was a CONSERVATION BONUS-$500 drawing in effect for all teams that did not weigh in fish. Anglers were instructed to release their fish if they were not in the points race, or were not in the money. A Sure-Life employee announced the the money line to anglers before they bagged their fish. A designated fizzer was available for anglers that needed their fish needled before release. They were instructed to release their fish out in the main lake. Anglers were also instructed to use TWO WEIGH IN BAGS for their catch. They were instructed to fill bags from LIVEWELLS ONLY, and not the cove. I was present at take-off and was VERY PLEASED to see a lot of ICE and many anglers had coolers. Even the anglers from Mexico had plenty of ice! We implemented the Hannon weigh in system during the event. My husband Tony was responsible for the 2,700gallon release tank and I was responsible for the staging tanks. Everyone had their tasks outlined for them. When anglers came to the staging tanks, I conducted a quick assesment and checked the temperature in their weigh in bags. Part of my job was to assist anglers in exchanging the water and in some cases assisting them to the bump boards. For the most part anglers DID AN EXCELLENT JOB WITH FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS AND FISH CARE!!!! Tony assessed the fish when they were brought to the release tank. They were fizzed if needed, wounds were treated, hooks removed, etc. There were several experts assisting with fizzing at the release tank. If fish were deemed not likely to survive release, they were pulled and put into a cooler. If it sounds like a lot of work, IT WAS! But it was WELL WORTH THE EFFORT THAT MANY PEOPLE PUT INTO IT, INCLUDING THE ANGLERS! So how did we do?????? Seven fish were weighed in dead and penalties were assessed. Before release a total of 14 fish were put into the cooler. NONE OF THE BIG FISH WERE PULLED AND PLACED INTO THE COOLER. In fact, Tony reported that the big fish were in remarkable shape, including the 12lber. The fish were released in front of SEVERAL LOCAL RESIDENTS and LOCAL OFFICIALS. Upon release three fish were found to have expired at the bottom of the release tank. Jeff Welch along with others monitored the fish after release. They got into the water to recover weak fish that were not likely to survive(including those hanging on the bottom). There was a boat in the water to help out as well. Assesment consists of gill and body color, respiration,etc. We monitored the release site from Sunday to today. Only two fish were found. The owner of the local tackle store monitored the Mexico shoreline across from the release site as well as nearby coves. The TPW gamewardens were present on Sunday to monitor the release site. Over half of the fish that expired or were pulled had been gut hooked. Most of those fish would have expired even if they had been immediately released. On Saturday there was a total of 31 fish pulled and donated. That is just over 5%. We found two dead fish on Sunday after the event, with none found on Monday or this morning. The grand total was 33 fish that were either pulled or expired. After decades of experience and involvement in actual DELAYED mortality studies, we estimate the total mortality to be around 8%. Total dead counted through today, 33. Note: The release tank was equiped with oxygen, but even with maximum output of the pressurized oxygen, the DO dropped from 12ppm to 6.5ppm due to the amount of fish being quickly dumped into the tank. Tony and his assistants quickly added 3% hydrogen peroxide to increase the DO levels in the tank to optimum levels. DO meters were used to measure dissolved oxygen and temperature in the tank. They did an OUTSTANDING JOB on the release tank!!!!!!! Most of the anglers did an OUTSTANDING JOB in their livewells. If you look at the amount and pounds of fish weighed in, it was VERY comparable to the Elite Series down at Falcon. Most of these anglers are not professionals, but they certainly did a professional job of caring for their fish. John Mills and Scotts Burris weighed in the second heaviest sack of fish! I was AMAZED at not only their impressive sack of fish, but the condition of their fish. They had two fish over nine pounds in the limit and they were all in EXCELLENT shape! The TBFN south division had their tournament on Sunday. The weigh in and release was conducted by Tim Cook. They had a three fish limit, and there were NO FISH REPORTED DEAD! We were not there for the weigh in and release, (since we decided to do a little fishing ourselves that day), but things went VERY WELL! There was only ONE FISH FOUND DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!! Folks, this just goes to PROVE that with education, planning, and a little extra work mortality rates don't have to be high or unexceptable!

Flechero, Please send me a PM next week, after I return from Falcon. I DO NOT want to POST them all over the internet for obvious reasons, even though I have been asked to. I myself have not seen them yet, I will see them tomorrow.

Matt, Out of respect you have not answered my question, so I will repeat it. Have you ever been down to Falcon??? You are right I was not there, but we have assisted various tournaments down at Falcon, and we KNOW the fishery! Sure there is plenty of blame to go around, but when it is all said and done it is the RESONSIBILBITY of the tournament organizations to make sure that anglers are educated and tournaments are conducted with respect for the fishery FIRST! BTW, John from Falcon Lake Tackle WAS THERE as well as MANY other anglers from the Zapata area. Of course a picture is worth a thousand words. Would you like to see the pictures Matt?

THREE fish limit is the only RESPONSIBLE thing to do, and it is supported by EVERYONE that we have talked to that depends upon Falcon Lake for their livelihood. Allowing the pros to retain five fish with FULL use of both livewells is an option that should be considered. They can have observers, just like the PAA events. NO CO-ANGLER! We will FIGHT to make sure that Falcon Lake remains a QUALITY FISHERY!!!! Matt, I have to ask you this question. Have you ever been down to Falcon???

GobbleDog, I have consulted with other biologists and Doug Hannon on this matter, and they DISAGREE. Generally, the damage is collateral. Not only was a significant population of LARGE BROODSTOCK bass removed over the period of four days. (Doug estimated approximately 4,000 acres), but it gives ALL anglers a black eye in the non-angling public's view which is NOT GOOD for the sportfishing industry. Especially when the numbers of freshwater anglers has been steadily declining. Falcon is a trophy bass fishery that's success is due TOTALLY to nature and not from the efforts of Texas Parks and Wildlife. If it is going to continue to produce trophy class fish it MUST BE MANAGED with the aid of TPW. Lake Fork is a world renowned trophy bass fishery, the slot has helped the fishery quickly rebound during tough years of poor recruitment and the LMBV. Many of the businesses and locals living down in Zapata want the lake managed by TPW. Many including myself want the daily bag limit to be reduced from five fish to three fish for ALL USER GROUPS. We know that the slot has IMPROVED the fishery on Lake Fork. The slot was also instrumental in allowing decimated red drum populations to rebound after gill netting was made illegal. NOW is the time for action, not next year. Amistad is a prime example of what can happen to a fishery in a short period of time. Most angling user groups have reported less catchable and or quality fish since the first Elite Series was televised. Showcasing a quality fishery is a good thing AS LONG AS MANAGEMENT IS IN PUT INTO PLACE within a short period of time. Reducing daily bag limits or implementing slots will prevent a quality fishery from becoming a victim of it's success. That has been proven time and time again.

WRB, We have been educating anglers for 25 years now. Instructions for determining livewell capacity has been printed on labels for years, along with basic tips. We have recently stepped up our efforts with the fish care document for large bass under extreme conditions. That is posted on our homepage for everyone to use. The YouTube of the fish care DVD is finished, and will be uploaded to our website in the next month. We also support reducing daily bag limits on Falcon from five fish per angler to three fish per anglers. Modern livewells are not able to support a five fish limit per livewell on Falcon Lake. The fishery must come first. Most tournament trails operating down at Falcon have already gone to a three fish limit.

WRB, You are most welcome. Just maybe some good can come from all of this. I invite everyone interested in this topic to view the link that I posted in my first response. The blog was updated this morning and addresses the issue. Furthermore it was written by a tackle store owner that has a vested interest in the industry and the fishery. We also recieved the stats this morning from the Zapata Chamber of Commerce on the dead fish brought to the scales by the top 12 anglers including co-anglers. The co-anglers did weigh in more dead fish than the pros. Changing to format next year would help.

Prevention is simple, adjust format, host event in February, INCREASE DEAD FISH PENALTY to 1lb. It is amazing what increasing dead fish penalites will do to reduce mortality.

Lack of experience with C-rigging by co-anglers contributed to dead fish being weighed in. The PROFESSIONAL anglers are experienced at this technique, so mortality due to C-rigging is really not a factor with them. A couple of the pros told me that co-anglers asked for baits (the pros baits) along with assistance. The pros are out there on tournament day trying to make a living. They have enough to deal with! I hear this all of the time from pros. Read my other post in the other thread dealing with fish mortality.

Matt, I have the Wisconsin mortality study, I would be most happy to e-mail it to you. You might be surprised which trail had the highest DELAYED mortality on smallmouth. The LMVB was present so you really can't include the largemouth mortality. There were definately problems with confinement. The smallmouth were not placed in areas with good conditions, mortality was above average for the control group with both trails. Let's just put it this way, I was shocked!

Matt, It WAS PREDICTED! Don't forget these pros prefished! The issue of livewell space, demands placed on pros by co-anglers, WAS ADDRESSED BEFORE Falcon. I can't get into the details, so don't ask. Our area of expertise is fish health and disease in captive conditions. I have consulted with biologists with expertise in populations, sustainable habitat for large bass,etc. They all stated that a mortality of this size, that consisted largely of post spawn broodstock was detrimental to the fishery. I am not the only biologist that is upset about this. You are right, the Zapata Chamber put up the money to bring ESPN/BASS to town. They definately did not predict that things would go wrong like this. I am not making excuses for them, but none of them are really anglers. What is MOST DISTURBING is that large bass were released to die without being fizzed or allowed any recovery time. Wasting of game is VERY ILLEGAL in TEXAS as it is in most states and there are FEDERAL laws as well. They knew darned well that many of these fish would expire without help! There is nothing that can be done to change what has already happened, but they better MAKE darned sure do things different next time! The format needs to be changed along with the time of year! Several pros have mentioned doing a day with the pro while prefishing instead of having co-anglers during the event. Spending a day with a pro to learn more about lures, presentation and techniques should be attractive to most anglers. It could also draw more anglers, and make for one heck of a BONAFIDE fishing show. What do yall think?

The article that everyone is talking about can be viewed on another site. We are STILL waiting for an OFFICAL response from ESPN/BASS, something would be better than NOTHING. I want to set the record straight. Sure-Life fully supports our conservation partners within the BASS Federation Nation groups. The various federations work hard everyday on conservation issues,etc. They are the heart and soul of BASS, NOT ESPN. We do NOT have ANY affliation with corporate ESPN/BASS. My husband is a lifetime member of BASS. He issued a very LONG post on a Texas forum regarding his history with BASS. He also defended me! I married to a GOOD GUY! BTW, I MISS YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

According to the Zapata Chamber of Commerce and others, it is NOT a rumor that a signficant amount of fish expired during and shortly after the ESPN/BASS Elite Series. We were told by the chamber that approximately 500 fish were found. The owner of a local tackle store reported seeing a couple hundred dead fish in Veleno cove which was the release site, which in our opinion is NOT a good release site. Here is the link to his report. http://www.tackleandrods.com/lake/flash.htm After day one they certainly knew what they were dealing with down there. Adjustments could have been made to reduce further mortality, ie reducing the creel limits. I have no doubt that ESPN/BASS went down to Falcon to break records for TV ratings, and that they got. There is enough scientific evidence combined with angler reports to suggest that removing larger fish from the total population is NOT good for the overall quality of the fishery. The fish caught down at Falcon were BIG post spawn females that were concentrated in small areas. They were vunerable to exploitation by anglers. The livewells in bass boats are not big enough to handle 30lb plus sacks let alone 25lb sacks per livewell. Add to that most of the fish were caught at 25ft on c-rigs. Anglers must be carefull when using C-rigs because the bass tend to swallow the bait before the angler knows his bait has been taken. Most of the pros are pretty good about setting the hook before the bait is swallowed, but many co-anglers are not. This is what we attribute the high inital mortality to with the co-anglers. The Zapata chamber asked ESPN/BASS is some of there personel could stay and help with the clean up of the dead fish, THEY LEFT and went down to AMISTAD! This folks, is totally IRRESPONSIBLE! What resulted was dead fish in FULL view for the general public to see, NOT GOOD publicity for tournament trails and anglers. another site has posted the article that appeared last Sunday in our San Antonio Express News. Please read it. The article is a preview of things to come (paper tournaments). They reported the initial mortality, but there was NO MENTION of the dead fish floating Veleno cove, etc. Paper tournaments would put most if not ALL of our tournaments out of business here in Texas, ie, BassChamps, Media, etc. We work VERY, VERY closely with BassChamps as well as being sponsors of the trail. They run a very clean trail with EXCELLENT fish care techniques. I have come under attack for being honest and addressing this issue on the various forums. If the issue is NOT addressed and discussed, it will not be long before tournaments are a thing of the past! While the pros good use some fish care training, ESPN put them in a NO WIN situation with fish care. They could have made adjustments. We will be going down to Falcon next week to not only assist with fish care, but we developed livewell protocol for the anglers. Our livewell instructions can be viewed and printed out on the homepage of our website (Falcon BassChamps ). This is good information for warm weather fishing, and deep caught fish. We have increased the dosage rates of Catch And Release to three times the usual amount. Please feel free to print it out. We have also completed a fish care DVD that features fizzing and a whole lot more. It is currently being edited and will be ready early this summer. It is FREE to all Sure-Life conservation clubs and trails. The UTube of livewell care has been completed. We are in the process of totally redoing our website. It will have a brand new looks with LOTS of information. We expect that to be completed in about a month. The UTube will be up on the new site. We are doing our best to educate anglers. We fully support tournaments that are responsible, and hope that these trails will not be affected by the recent events on Falcon. This should not be allowed to happen again! Please help us conserve the resource so that we all can enjoy the sport! Sincerely, Lane Gergely Sure-Life Laboratories, Inc. surelife@worldnet.att.net 1-800-846-6524

jb, What I said is that garlic applied externally is VERY BAD for the fish. Garlic is an irritant, and when it comes in contact with the slime cells it irritates them. If fish are exposed to the irritant for extended periods of time, the slime cells cease to produce mucus. The fish die from secondary infections. We have documented the effects of garlic on fish in a closed environment, and it is NOT PRETTY! The reason why you have observed or witnessed bass go nuts or bananas is because they are trying to REMOVE the source of irritation from their environment. The strike is out of pure AGRESSION. Hopefully, this will help you to understand what you have observed.

I have been asked to respond to this thread, since I am a scientist and member of the AFS, of which portions of published transcripts were used by Dr. Keith Jones to pursuade readers to believe his theories and purchase Berkely/PureFishing products. Most active research conducted at the Pure Fishing facility is conducted on smaller hatchery bass, reared in captive conditions. At this time there is no scientific research that proves that his theory or that scents or attractants in general increase capture rates. FoodSource Lures and other companies do incorporate an amino acid that is found in high amounts in gelatin based products and eggs. This particular protein has been used to stimulate feeding behavior in certain species of fish UNDER CAPTIVE CONDITIONS (this is a variable and an important one) Bass hunt primarily through sight, and that is a proven fact. Anise oil is not a known toxicant to fish, other natural plant extracts are. Glenn is correct that garlic applied externally can harm fish! Rotenone is a POWERFUL fish toxicant and is derived primarily from the derris root but can be found in weeds from the eastern US. Smallfry there is a big difference between theory and applied science. Most of us in the scientific community call it JUNK SCIENCE when correct scientific method is not used in the application, or the abstract is not clearly stated. Variables must be clearly stated as well.

Here are the FACTS from a scientist and active member of The American Fisheries Society. There are NO SCIENTIFIC STUDIES that have been conducted that PROVE that fish scents or attractants actually increase capture rates of bass. In fact there more scientific evidence to suggest otherwise, especially with the pure strain of the Florida Largemouth. The Florida Largemouth hunts PRIMARILY by SIGHT. This is why they are very difficult for the average angler to catch on artificial lures, they are HARD TO FOOL! Scent makes NO DIFFERENCE. I purchased the book last year, and did not get very far before I put it down in disgust! His basic biology is good, but that is where it ends. He used PORTIONS of published transcripts from the AFS to persuade readers to purchase Berkley/PureFishing scented products to catch more fish. Independent scientific studies are UNSOLICIATED, and are mainly funded by federal grant money. Most of these studies are conducted by well known universities, USFWS, USGS, and various state DNR agencies. Grant funding is provided through the US Department of the Interior Sportfish Restoration Act. There is evidence that bass do detect electrolytes such as sodium chloride (found in natural prey) and pheromones, which are excreted by prey. There is much research yet to be conducted, and good scientific research takes YEARS. As far as Doug Hannon goes, we have had MANY DISCUSSIONS about scents, his own research has indicated scents do not make a difference. As Glenn pointed out, the book is mostly theory that is presented as fact to sell a product.