I read somewhere and actually it was confirmed on another site (I'm on my out to the lake so I won't search for the sources now, but if anyone seriously disputes me, I will later)

Anyway, the stats that I read said that it is "typical" for there to be a 20% mortality rate on fish caught during a tournament. Keep in mind. Tournament covers alot of bases. This is not just elite class tournaments, but yor local club meet as well. My personal feeling is that this, if true, is too high.

But what really disturbs me is the dead floaters that invariably follow a tournament.

This is repulsive. I don't think tournament directors are scrupulous enough in examing the fish they are so proud to release. They open the tank and out they go. Dead and dying are still counted as "released"

I know Lane and her husband are experts in this field.

If you guys are listening, I would love your input.

avid.

We kept stats in a club I was in quite a few years back. We had approximately 20-22 teams during those years and 10 fish limits in each tournament,8 tournaments a year.

We averaged just about 3 dead per tournament which is good.....not perfect but good considering there was a possibility of us bringing in 200 fish PER tournament. The actual # was more like 120-170 per tournament and the death rates always increased as the water temps got warmer, with summer obviously being the worst for dead fish.

The 200 boat fields you see now will have a drastically higher death rate than a small club obviously.

Avid, you are correct.  Twenty percent mortality is completely unacceptable.  I haven't read that this is typical, but if there is a tournament circuit that is experiencing this level of fish mortality, I think that circuit's organizers should stop holding tournaments until they determine what is the cause.  I've read a couple of articles about fish mortality as it relates to tournaments over the last year and there have been instances of extreme fish kills.  

 

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I will tell you the reason that there were so many dead fish. FLW uses Rejuvenade as a water treatment. Rejuvenade has things in it known to irritate bass and causes stress. I can't believe they are still using this stuff. They have killed a bunch of fish in the past and are under investigation in one state for a unusually high post tournament death rate in a tournament last year. I have seen first hand what Rejuvenade does to a bass. It causes them to jump around in the livewell and injure themselves. It also causes limited blood flow to the gills due to the stress. At the end of a tournament last year I was able to compare the condition of fish that were kept three different ways. (Rejuvenade, Please-Release-Me, and recalculated water) The fish that had the Please-Release-Me did great. They were calm and had no injuries. The ones with recalculated water weren't doing that bad either. They had a few injuries that we treated but they were fine. The ones with Rejuvenade were a whole different story. The first thing I noticed was how hyper they were. Then I saw the injuries. Almost all of them had them. But the most disturbing thing was the line of white at the ends of the gills. This is caused by limited blood flow and it means that they can't get optimum oxygen. I wish that there were some way we could get FLW to stop using that stuff. You should report this to your State Fisheries Biologist.  

I fished the Maryland Bass Federation Trail for many years. I think my last year was in 98. To get to the point we worked hard with the Dept. of Natural Resources and the Parks Commission on the Lower Potomac at a place called Mattawoman Creek where the Federation usually launched their tourneys ( Washington DC area ), also at a place called Gunpowder in Baltimore on the Upper Chesapeake Bay and at Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland to instill a fresh water supply system for the guys waiting in line to weigh their fish. We had tables set up with tubs filled with slime ( a green product that is 5% salt solution that inclined the basses natural immune system to build more slime on their bodies to decrease the chances of infection, slow down their metabolism and the tanks were oxygenated as well. We also added some ice made with the natural river water to cool them in the summer. The results of everyones efforts was astounding. I would like every state and tournament launch area be REQUIRED, to do this same scenario. Just my two cents.---Jim

Our club went to weighting the fish on the boat this year.  The fish is boated placed into a weight bag that is first dunked into the water to cool the bag.  The bag and fish is then weighted and released without touching the fish again.  Both the boater and non-boater agree on the weight and record it onto a card.  It seems to be going really well to not stress the fish.

Avid,

I would like to see if the highest % of mortality is when the water temp is at a high and what degree of water temp.

Our club went to weighting the fish on the boat this year. The fish is boated placed into a weight bag that is first dunked into the water to cool the bag. The bag and fish is then weighted and released without touching the fish again. Both the boater and non-boater agree on the weight and record it onto a card. It seems to be going really well to not stress the fish.

Paper tournaments are a real good idea as long as everybody trusts everybody.

Its sad that a paper type tournament would never work for BASS or FLW.

...as a tournament director I can tell you that we take the health of the fish very seriously. We try to be as careful as possible...but yes, all of them do not make it. I hate to know that a tourney fish has died.

...and frankly all of the fish that are caught and released by the guys fishing for fun do not make it either. You may not see the dead loss...as we do not always see it...(we have had three tourney this year and allthe fish went back in alive and well...that does not mean they all stayed that way)...but the stress and handling does kill fish.  There is a mortality rate for fun fishing and tourney fishing...catching fish can kill them, plain and straight.

I think we all agree that there is a small percentage of fish that die no matter whether we are recreational fishing or tournament fishing.  The reason we are looking at mortality as it relates to tournament fishing is because the probability of death is higher compared to a recreational angler releasing a bass immediately.  If you handle a bass properly and release it immediately you have done all you can to keep it alive.  If it dies there wasn't anything else you could have done, except for not fishing at all.  On the other hand, fish are not released immediately in tournaments and are sometimes not released for a few hours.  Many things come into play such as the water treatment used, the condition in the livewell, the handling and bagging of the fish for the weigh-in, etc.  I have nothing against tournaments but due to the visibility from these events I want to make sure we are doing all we can to keep mortality at a minimum, for the fishes sake, and for the future of fishing.

there is no doubt that recreational anglers inadvertently kill fish.

I have and know it.

But when a fish is revived and released within moments of being caught his chance of survival is higher than being placed in the confines of a livewell, being handled, taken out of the water for a weigh in and then moved yet again to a holding tank before being released.

I don't comdemn tournaments, and I fully appreciate the lengths that are gone through to insure survival of the fish.  But when your fishing for money, your not wasting time reviving a whipped fish.  I don't care what you say the competitive angler wants to beat the other anglers and wastes no time getting his line back in the water.

I complained after the bassmaster classic in 2004.  Seeing Ike through short fish back was disgusting.  He scowled and literally just threw the fish aside like it was a piece of garbage.  And this is an elite pro with endorsements, and camera's following his every move.

I'm only using this instance with Ike as an example of just one of the differences in handling tournament bass as opposed to recreational fish.  I could go on......how about the "hoist and slam" approach to landing fish instead of keeping them in the water and lipping them?

Keep working at it guys.  And the Lane's will keep improving products, but anytime money is at stake, well.............. I've said my piece.

Avid has spoken  

I  fish the BFL and Fishers of Men. I know in the BFL the live release rate is aroud 98 %. I believe Fishers of Men to be similar. In both cases the dead fish are cleaned and eaten so at least they are not totally wasted.

Perhaps of interest:

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/mortality_rates.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/bass_limits.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/harvest_slot_fish.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/selective_harvest.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/fishing_limits.html

I've been tourney fishing for 8 years and I've lost maybe 5 fish in those tournament due to stress put on the fish. Each one of those occasions led me to improve my way of handling fish. I haven't lost a fish in 3 years. Now, that does not include fish who have swallowed the hook, but thats a different story.

There is not a problem with tournaments. There is a problem with some people in how they handle fish; and hopefully they'll improve their techniques. Lets not forget the local law enforcements (DNR) allow us to keep 5 fish (can vary from state to state) to bring home to the dinner table. So the idea that tourney fishing kills some fish is a mute point. I could just fillet 5 bass each time I go out...

I'm reading posts regarding how many fish people say they have lost.  Remember that the fish that die often do so after they are released.  It's sometimes difficult to know how many fish we've actually killed.  The instances where large tournament fish kills have been reported involved fish that were released at the end of the tournament.  These anglers probably left the tournament thinking that the mortality rate was good.  Only a few hours later was the actual damage known.  

Perhaps of interest:

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/mortality_rates.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/bass_limits.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/harvest_slot_fish.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/selective_harvest.html

http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/fishing_limits.html

Thanks for the links, Glenn.  I had read some of these before, but it was good to read them again.

I absolutley hate to loose a fish.  It really bothers me.  I believe in doing everything you can to save your fish.  I also love tournament fishing, I am passionate about it.  I believe there is a balance between tournament fishing and saving your fish that must be acheived.  I can only speak for myself, but I can tell you that just a couple of weeks ago I caught a 4+ pounder on a spinnerbait in a tournament, when I brought him in he was bleeding badly.  The trailer hook had stuck him under his tounge, I took Please Release Me and rubbed on his cut and put him in the livewell, long and short is I spent 15+ minutes back there with him getting him revived.  I checked on him throughout the rest of the day and he seemed fine, through the weigh-in and release.  Now I can't say that he survived after he went back in the water, but I can say he looked as healthy and calm as the rest of the fish I released.  I also felt good because I knew I did everything I could think of to keep him healthy, short of not catching him at all.  I will atest for the Please Release Me product, since I started using it a couple of years ago, I have only had a couple of fish die on me, under my care.  I agree with what some others have said here, it's an anglers responsibility to take care of our fish, you must do everything you can to minimize the chance of mortality.