Fishing tournaments

and accepting a 50% mortality rate on released fish vs. normal fishing, returning fish when caught, (or catching and taking them to eat.)
Which do you choose?

I think it should work together. Fish that obviously arent going to make it should be kept. Maybe making tournaments largest bass vs most total weight. I choose both, i like rec and tournament fishing.

On a side note, 50% arent dying.

50%??? How many tournaments have you fished to come to that conclusion?

I would say from all the tournaments that I have fished. from the Bass Weekend Series to just the buddy weekend tournaments.. I would say that maybe 10 percent may have died that I have seen... I have fished tournaments in a series of days out of the same marina.. and have not really seen many if any floating fish...Most tournaments try to use tanks to ease the stress on the fish....

I do not entertain hypotheticals, the world is vexing enough as it is. I am curious where you arrived at the 50% mortality on tournaments. Was it a particular study or thin air? link?

Garbo? Corn?

50%, where do you come up with that figure?

Livewells have to be on to work.....

I guess I better just clean every one I catch since it's going to die anyway.

Without going into detail on the 50%, I really think that quite a few fish I catch and throw back immediately, end up dying within a week or two. Especially when I'm fishing a hard bait with treble hooks. If I carried them around in a live well, I'm sure even more would die.
It's a shame that so many fish go to waste. There's not much we can do about it.
I wish that the idea of putting fish back into a lake means they are fine if they are alive, but it ain't happening. Ain't even close.

You need to change your bait. How do you know those fish you released die within a week or two? Did you put tracking collars on them? Or did you read about their deaths in the obituaries?

Please go into detail, we would like to know just exactly how full of crap you really are.

If that was the case, I would have floaters all over my pond.

There are a number of things that aid fish survival. THe biggest I've seen is having a PRO AIR in your livewell. I run two. One on
each side. No kidding fish are so green when you get to weigh in its a task to put them in a bag. The use of chemicals in your livewell. I would ask you not to fish tournaments that don't properly care for the fish. I've fished many tournaments and can tell you the mortality rate is nowhere near 50% in a properly run tournament. Look at the old tournaments when 100% were killed. Anything is better than 100% kill rate. It makes me sick to see a bunch of floating fish, I think these things happen mostly during hotter months. Just my opinion, but thats all we are voicing. I regret killing the fish I have mounted that are over ten pounds. Thanks to new taxidermy practices there is no longer any need to kill trophy fish.

Kendall, I appreciate your kind words. I'm sure you have all of the knowledge you will ever need, so what's the use.

Like I thought, no facts to back your claim. I would love to be enlightened. If my actions are killing a bunch of fish I will change what I'm doing. I am waiting.

By the way gotcha1, I would have believed your story about 50% dying if you had stated they were caught on a worm and hooked deep. But you said especially when caught on a hard bait with treble hooks. That alone told me you did not have a clue what you were talking about. Try again when you get a clue.

There are some studys out there.

GOOGLE "Tournament Fish Mortality" and then check out Wisconsin's study. Very in depth study.

In reading through the Wisconsin study, apparently LMBV (Large Mouth Bass Virus) is the main killer. Some fish die after they contract it and some only show symptoms after bing put through excessive stress.

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Here is what the Sam Rayburn study found, but I can't find the actual data. So I'll take this article for the truth.


Impact of Tournaments on the Largemouth Bass Population at Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Author: Todd Driscoll |
Hopefully, many of you recall catching tagged largemouth bass two years ago at Sam Rayburn. In addition, during October 2003 – October 2004 TPWD creel clerks interviewed a lot of you while fishing. Although we conduct these creel surveys throughout the year as part of our routine fishery monitoring efforts, the frequency of these surveys was increased during this period. These events were part of a research project to determine impacts of tournaments on the largemouth bass population.



Concerns associated with bass tournaments have existed since the inception of tournament fishing over 30 years ago. Issues most commonly discussed are fish relocation and potential concentration of fish at tournament weigh-in sites, and increased fish mortality due to stressors associated with livewell confinement and handling during the weigh-in.
Tournament fishing is popular at Sam Rayburn Reservoir. For example, 52% of Sam Rayburn anglers participate in at least one bass tournament per year, compared to 14% of Texas anglers overall. We also know that there are over 300 bass tournaments per year at Sam Rayburn, comprising 19% of the total annual fishing effort. Therefore, we know that tournaments result in annual largemouth bass deaths, but estimating the specific proportion of the entire bass population affected by tournaments is key to understanding overall impacts. Since management of the largemouth bass fishery at Sam Rayburn is a very high priority of TPWD, we tagged and released a known number of fish to 1) estimate the annual proportion of the largemouth bass population > 14 inches killed by tournament anglers and 2) compare fish deaths from tournaments to angler harvest and catch-and-release mortality associated with fish immediately released.


During a week in October 2003, we organized a work crew of nearly 50 TPWD employees and tagged 6,021 largemouth bass throughout the entire reservoir at 362 different release sites. Fish ranged in size from 1 – 11 pounds. To obtain tagged fish returns from anglers, we conducted 72 creel surveys during the one-year period, obtained 3,447 angler interviews, and observed a total of 40 tagged bass (27 were immediately released, 6 were harvested, and 7 were caught and weighed in by tournament anglers). These observations were expanded by a detailed computer program to reflect all bass angling effort over the one-year period. After crunching the numbers, in one year we estimated 2,266 tagged bass were caught (38% of population), 1,620 fish were immediately released (27% of population), 372 fish were harvested (6% of population), and 274 (5% of population) were taken to weigh-ins by tournament anglers.

To determine how many fish actually died from tournament-related mortality and catch and release mortality, we applied a range of mortality rates obtained from previous studies (10 – 50% for tournament mortality; 5 – 15% for catch and release mortality). We are 95% confident that annual tournament mortality kills 1 – 7% of the largemouth bass population at Sam Rayburn, but our actual estimate is only 2%. Although the proportion of the bass population harvested by anglers was also low (6%), three times more bass end up in the frying pan than die from tournament mortality. In fact, because bass fishing effort is high and catch-and-release fishing is popular (anglers immediately release 42% of catch > 14 inches), we estimated hooking mortality associated with catch-and-release kills the same proportion of the bass population as tournaments (2%). We make this comparison to illustrate the low impact of tournament mortality, not to suggest catch-and-release fishing is negative. Without question, voluntary angler release of bass has helped sustain and enhance the bass fishery at Sam Rayburn.
We did conclude that short-term fish concentration associated with release at weigh-in sites is a valid concern. In one year, we estimated 31,050 bass are transported to weigh-in sites, with the majority released at just two places in the lower end of the reservoir. However, we also estimate 31,050 bass represents just 5% of total bass numbers in the reservoir, so this potential concentration affects only a small proportion of the entire population.


We thank the many anglers that voluntary called us with reports of tagged fish and cooperated while we conducted our creel surveys. During the study, we interviewed some anglers over 10 different times. Contact us with questions or concerns about this study by phone (409-384-9572) or email ( todd.driscoll@tpwd.state.tx.usThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Good luck and good fishing!




Todd Driscoll is a district fisheries management biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department where he has worked for 10 years. He received a B.S. in Fisheries Biology from Kansas State University and a M.S. in Fisheries Management from Mississippi State University. His primary responsibilities include fisheries management of Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend reservoirs in Southeast Texas. Todd is an avid bass angler and participates in approximately 25-30 local and regional bass tournaments per year. He also represents Lowrance Electronics as a Technical Pro Staffer, working tournament support and service at BASS, FLW, and owner’s tournaments across the country.

2% is a LONG way from 50%.

The Rayburn study is saying that the total kill of fish on the lake due to tournament fishing is 2%. They did say that mortality is 10-50% of the fish caught. Either way, it has nothing to do with the type lure used. I can see some poorly run tournaments having a high mortality rate. If you look at Rayburn though, it is one of the most heavily fished lakes in the country and with 2% of the fish kill being attributed to tournaments, I think it's safe to assume that the skillet fishermen have a much higher impact that then tournament fishermen.

Most fish caught with treble hooks never make it over the gunnel LOL.

I wish more tournaments would do what the Marks tournament has done on Lay for the past 20+yrs, restock the lake. They have released over 3 million fingerlings total. Each fisherman is given a sack of 100-200ish fingerlings to release at their first stop so the fish are released all over the lake.
I have no idea the impact if any it has on the population. That may represent 20% of an avg large mouth hatch or less than 1%. I believe the lake is around 12,000ac, if so thats 250 fish they've restocked per acre. To all the skillet fishermen on Lay, your welcome.

I read a report of a study that TVA performed years ago on Lake Guntersville I think. In the study they netted off an area at the boat ramp and released the fish from a tournament in it to study the mortality rate. If my memory is correct it was less than a 20%. They watched the fish over a period of time but I don't remember how long. I don't think it was weeks or anything like that. I will try to find the study and post it. Also I will talk to my buddy who is the state reservior biologist for Alabama and see what he has to say about it.

I'm thinking of one at Smith. Was told by a state DCNR official that the mortality rate was 60%. Don't how they did the study.

Many variables in play in something like this: water temps, season, handling of the fish by each angler in the livewell, some use 'treatments' like Rejuvenade and others dump in ice or salt or all of that, some don't do anything.

So it's impossible to say that ABC Tournament anglers or 34 tournaments over a 6-month period killed X-amount of fish because of ... and there is no specific "because of." There can't be. Stressors in summer heat and 85-plus degree water may be different than in April or February or October.

Aaron Martens, who is a super guy and one of the most incredibly fish-care conscious guys I know, killed his fish in his livewell once b/c the water was too cold. Too much ice -- Hey! Use ice to cool the water! -- and it shocked the shizzle out of them, like going from a hot tub to a cold bath. But he was doing what everyone thought was the right and recommended thing to do.

There's no doubt there is some tournament mortality. But I'll be damned if I take a report from Wisconsin and hold it up as Gospel, just as I wouldn't take one from Texas or Florida or Virginia and do the same. Too many variables.

Best thing to do is educate yourself and do the best you can.

You are dead on sir. WAY to many variables to say that 50% of all fish released die.

I have fished 100's of tournaments all over the state, and the 50% is no where close. Yes, there are fish that die, but to say that a fish dies the week after its released is asinine.

now we all know that fish caught with a hard bait with 2 treble hooks increases fish mortality. instead of one hole, there are 6. that leaves 5 more holes for the fish to bleed out from. on top of that, when they bite the hard baits it usually breaks their jaw. on top of bleeding to death from all the hook holes, now they cant eat so they just starve to death.

While there is no dout some fish die, its no were near 50%.Lake guntersville has prob close to a thousand fish a day caught at least. If half were dying trust me everyone would notice. There would be floaters every were. And stink to high heaven. I covered a LOT of water this weekend and didnt see the first floater. Take the zero off that 50% and thats more like the real number.
i mean how are you suppose to stop it from happening? Only fish that i see die is usually the ones that get throat hooked.

I throat hooked a six pounder in a pond, not bad but it was still in the throat. I took a knife and cut the hook out. Fish barely bled. I was curios to see if he would die even though he swam off. I went back every day for a week, didnt like the idea of killing a 6lber, and never seen him floating.

Now you fellows just settle down, gotcha1 is gonna go into detail and explain to us all how 50% of all released fish die. Just be patient.

Enough. Ain't worth it.

Monkey? Gun? You obviously support Obama, Finestein and Bloomberg?


There are many that have fished more tournaments than I have, but I don't think any fish we weighed and released died. Now I fish saltwater redfish tournaments and we only weigh two fish and two fish in the live well have much more room than a larger number/creel bag, but if prepared and done properly livewell fish should live after release.

Can't speak for the monkey with the gun.

My Grandson Rob McCarter came in 1st at Guntersville today with 215 boats entered. I think it was a youth fishing event. He is seventeen from Demopolis.

Thirty or so died today at goose pond. They had a fish holding tank boat instead of throwin em in the shoot back to the river. Sometimes when they try to save fish they just wind up killen em