Having a fishing tournament with my wedding group this weekend (total of 6 people) going to a 40 acre private dam. We have three boats and will be in teams of two. My question is what do you think would make the best rules for the morning of fishing? Want to stay away from counting every fish because there is a lot of little ones in there.

 

Thanks

Heaviest bag.....

4 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

Heaviest bag.....

 Just weigh and release? We do not have livewells on the jon boats we will be using

Weigh and release would be easy.  Wouldn't even have to limit it to 5 fish, it could just be total weight of all fish caught.  If you didn't want to worry about scales you could do it total length of all fish caught over 10", all you would need is a yardstick in each boat.

 

 

52 minutes ago, SDSOONER said:

 Just weigh and release? We do not have livewells on the jon boats we will be using

Suppose that could work. 

 

Or simply measuring.

 

Comes down to trust, but as it'sa fun wedding thing and isn't for anything important, that doesn't seem like an issue.

What we do is weigh all fish caught, but the final weight only counts with the 5 heaviest fish. We don't have to measure length limits, everyone usually gets a weight, and if you're having a good day, it keeps you from having to weigh the tiny fish. You can just say "nope, not 2 pounds." and toss it back. 

Are these serious anglers or people that fish for fun? If it's just a bunch that fishes for fun then I'd skip the weights and measurements and just count the total fish caught. Quantity over quality fishing contests can be a blast.

 

If you have a serious angler or two in the bunch you could also offer a secondary prize for biggest fish caught (weight or length).

 

 

8 minutes ago, Koz said:

Are these serious anglers or people that fish for fun? If it's just a bunch that fishes for fun then I'd skip the weights and measurements and just count the total fish caught. Quantity over quality fishing contests can be a blast.

We all fish for fun....until faced with a contest  :)

Agree with lengths - like kayak tourneys.....everyone can take a pic of their fish on the tape/board and send them to one person -- add up top five longest for each person or boat.

 

Don't need expensive boards, either -- magic marker ruler on (in)side of each boat

We had a length only tourney once. Just total measurement for every fish ( dinks included )?. You could throw in a smallest and biggest fish prize.

I mean, how many do you really expect to catch anyway for one morning ?Should be easy.