Here's a thought that just came to me.  What proves somebody's angling abilities?  Is the ability to catch a lot of fish or the ability to catch big fish?  To me it seems the former is more about skill and the latter is about being lucky in the bites that you get.

What if tournament fishing set a size limit and then set the boats out in the water and the winner was the angler who got the most fish in the boat, and not the one who got lucky enough to have the biggest fish bite your bait?

You could do catch and immediate release, as long as you have trust worthy people in the boat taking the numbers down.

Would this work?  

IMO--finally learned what it means.  I think it is all a matter of skill and experience.  You have got to have the skill to find fish, trick'em, hook'em, and boat'em.  Luck plays a percentage of it.  You have to be lucky that no factors come into play that will hinder your skill.  If I was fishing those major tournaments like the big boys fish, if I was to rely on my luck, I couldn't put up the money they put up in entry fees.

There are some tournaments, I have heard that do immedate catch and release.  Weight and measurements are taken and the fish is put back.  They all run on the pure honor system.  Personally, I am gonna always be more impressed with total weight and size, than I am gonna be by numbers.

Tournament fishing is all about numbers. No one fishing tournaments catches big fish consistantly. Nixon tried that several years ago and got his butt kicked. KVD has only caught one big fish in competition and only two 10s EVER!

Catching big bass is NOT about being lucky for those that fish for big fish, but for tourney fisherman it's always luck or during the spawn. Generally, tournament guys fish fast and shallow, that's where all the easy fish live. Fishing for a "kicker" usually means 4 or 5 lbs. Guys that target big fish are looking for 5+, in Cali it's 10+. Go big or go home!

In tournament fishing my first priorty is to catch my limit then start trying to catch bigger fish. I think that it takes a good bit of skill to catch good numbers of bass consistently but i agree with roadwarrior if you tournament fish at least in georgia you dont catch a lot of big fish 10+ lbs. there is a lot of skill involved in fishing for monster bass also and my hat is off to them guys. But as far as saying one is skill and one is luck I dont nessacarily agree with that because luck plays a part in both types of fishing as well as skill plays a part.

I agree Hawghauler. Neither is luckier than the other. Both have a certain degree of skill. Who's to say which angler has  more talent or who is luckier. Its all a matter of opinion.

I think it has a lot to do with the body of water you are fishing; some lakes are know for size, some lakes are know for numbers, a few are know for both.

Catching numbers is not luck, but neither is catching hawgs  8-)

If you aint fishing where they are at, you aint catching either  

NUMBERS WILL ..... ALOMST ALWAYS WIN....DEPENDS ON THE LAKE.  I THREW A TOURNAMENT WHERE (OUT OF 11 BOATS)  5 CAME IN WITH FULL SACKS...BIGGEST SACK WAS OVER 9LBS.....THE LAST GUYS TO WEIGH IN ONLY HAD 4 TOTAL BITES....PERIOD...THEY WERE FISHING FOR HAWGS.  CAME IN WITH OVER 17LBS.  WON OVER $600...NOT BAD FOR A WEEKNIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNEY...HUH?

Catch the limit first then go looking for a "kicker" fish. Big bass as usually loners and hang out in the either the nastiest cover around or near deep water such as humps.

I think it takes more knowledge and skill to catch big fish.

Depends what you mean by numbers. On my home lake when it's hot, you can catch 30-40 fish, but you're lucky to catch 3-4 keepers.

The most skilled anglers on my home lake don't catch 30-40 per day. they go looking for 5-10 quality keeper bites.

From that perspective, it takes more skill to locate the "right" fish.

Really depends on the body of water.

Guntersville, for instance, if you have 5 "keeper" fish, you won't cash a check. You may get points if it's a circuit event. To cash down there, you'd better have a four pound average, so locating the right group is key.

On the Ohio River, from what I've heard, you just go try to catch a limit of keepers.

I think it takes more skill to catch keepers compared to dinks. ;D

Tournament fishing is all about numbers. No one fishing tournaments catches big fish consistantly.  Nixon tried that several years ago and got his butt kicked. KVD has only caught one big fish in competition and only two 10s EVER!

Thats not necessarily true. KVD, Denny Brauer, and others have stated several times that they are only after big fish in tournaments as they feel its the best way to fish these events. I don't agree that numbers win the majority of the time, in fact it rarely happens IMO. All large events are won by fishermen targeting big fish. Now if you're talking about 10# fish. Those won't generally win a tourney, largely in part that there aren't enough to go around. 5 5# fish will beat 2 10# fish.

It takes more skill to establish a pattern for fish bigger than the average size on any body of water. Rather that mean the average size is 12" and your pattern is 14" or larger.