Lake mackintosh

[grandpaa]

Went to McIntosh today!! Lo and behold they finally done it!! They shut down all bass tournament on that lake!! May have closed all tournaments down for crappie and catfish!! They said these tournaments are killing too many fish!! About time lakes started doing this!!

[grandpaa]

Ment to tell u!! I cought I don't know !! How many big slabs of crappy I cought!! I was using gulp 2.5 minnow's!!! Got them at Walmart!! I hooked them to Whit's road runner!! I was casting them !! Fish showed up at 15 to14 foot deep!! I cast out and counted it down!! What a great day!! Extra happy no more tournament!! On this lake this year!!!!!!

[meenyt]

They probably lose more fish to local eaters than all their tournaments combined. Good luck with that though.

[SurfRider]

Coming in to the ramps during summer and seeing all the dead bass that were 'released alive' has changed my tune on tournaments over the years. Bass kept for eating at least are theoretically within certain limits, many are smaller to medium sized as they taste better anyway (from what I have been told), so they aren't killing the biggest and fittest of the breeders; and that at least is a resource typically being utilized by local residents who pay the taxes that keep the lakes in operation.

The bass from tournaments are by definition the biggest ones caught, and they are killed often by anglers who aren't even from the area. I fished some tournaments with a small local club for a couple years, even won a couple, and even in that small setting I was dismayed at the mortality I saw. Even with smaller tournaments, in the weigh-ins my partner and I stood in line for 15 to 25 minutes, and we were the only ones with Bubble Box aerators running on our bags, usually two per bag. People thought we were silly, but I was happy with the result. Sometimes our fish would actually flop out of the hopper during the measurement they were so lively; I never understood why no one else cared to aerate their bags... those things probably have a couple of minutes of oxygen in them for the large fish they are holding. I stopped tournament fishing and haven't looked back, I just don't do it anymore, I don't want to be part of it. That's why I like venues like Major League Fishing - the fish are released usually in under 45 seconds.

Smaller munincipal lakes should not be subject to the pressure and mortality brought to bear by tournaments. Yes, people eat bass, something I never do, but there are bag and *size* limits put in place to control that. Tournaments bypass those limits by 'releasing the fish alive' but especially during summer many die after release. There is no way to account for the disruption in spawning caused by bed-picking during Spring tournaments but it can't be good for the bass stock. In larger lakes the impact I think goes down because of sheer numbers of spawning fish in the lake versus numbers brought to weigh in during tournaments, but on the smaller lakes having tournaments almost every weekend I think is just too much.

Numbers are one thing, but I bet more big breeder bass are killed by tournaments than the 'local eaters' would ever come close to approaching.

[grandpaa]

I agree with you on that!! You said a lot but nails it!! The worst I've seen was randleman lake!! After bass tournament!! The next day there was dead bass!! Around docks, floating!! This is why Randelman not putting out good numbers anymore!! Kick tournaments out!!! They kill the fishing population!!! Seen to munch of this!!

[grandpaa]

I was there last week, when Mgr told me about this!! He said there not putting up with these tournaments!! Killing off the fish the way it has been doing!! Even showed me some pics!!! He said that's a very good lake!! They are going to keep it that way!!! I understand!! This is everyone's lake!! Not just tournaments, everyone!! When they come in and kill fish!! Past time to close them down!!! That's what I believe, u do too!! If you think about!! I all ways see kids with Dad n grandparents, other family members!!

[lewisfishing]

Not all tournaments are like that. In fact, I would say most aren’t. There are some that have unfortunate results, for sure, but all should not be branded by a few. Same with Harley riders, I suppose...hahaha!


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[Nat's Dad]

everyone that's honest knows bass die at weigh in......tornamnets gotta go in summer months...........even if that means doubling down on the mobile home equtiy bass boat 90 month loan.

[SurfRider]

Not all tournaments are like that. In fact, I would say most aren’t. There are some that have unfortunate results, for sure, but all should not be branded by a few. Same with Harley riders, I suppose...hahaha!

You have certainly fished exponentially more tournaments than I have, so I respect your opinion. I am going by my own observations coming to the lake and either returning to the ramp several hours after the weigh-in or at dawn the next morning. That and standing in a weigh-in line worried about whether my bass have enough oxygen (with two aerators running) while looking around me at stud bass packed like sardines in a few gallons of water. I imagined putting an air filled trash bag over my head and tying it around my neck and thinking how long would I want to stand there.

I don't blame the folks running Mackintosh for banning tournaments, I think it's a positive step. If there need to be tournaments, keep them on the larger lakes like Norman where the relative impact on the bass population is lower just because of sheer numbers, but for the smaller munincipal lakes I'd just assume see more of them take that stance. The best bass fishing experience I have ever seen was on a small munincipal lake in the piedmont that I fished from 1992 till around 2014, and that lake minimized fishing pressure by opening only 3 days a week, closed 3 months during winter, and had *zero* tournaments.... and for twenty+ years it has been the best bass fishing in the southeast, though few knew it. I don't believe that is a coincidence.

[Nailbender8]

I’m not familiar with this lake. Is this a private lake or is it a public lake? Is the maintenance, upkeep, ramps etc. funded by taxpayers dollars? Is the lake managed by the NCWRC?

[SurfRider]

As far as I know it's run and owned by Alamance County, a public facility and a munincipal water source reservoir for Burlington. What involvement NCWRC has in setting its bag and size limits, I don't know. I believe it is taxpayer funded.

https://www.visitalamance.com/listin...nd-marina/480/

I could be wrong. It's been known to happen.

[lewisfishing]

You have certainly fished exponentially more tournaments than I have, so I respect your opinion. I am going by my own observations coming to the lake and either returning to the ramp several hours after the weigh-in or at dawn the next morning. That and standing in a weigh-in line worried about whether my bass have enough oxygen (with two aerators running) while looking around me at stud bass packed like sardines in a few gallons of water. I imagined putting an air filled trash bag over my head and tying it around my neck and thinking how long would I want to stand there.

I don't blame the folks running Mackintosh for banning tournaments, I think it's a positive step. If there need to be tournaments, keep them on the larger lakes like Norman where the relative impact on the bass population is lower just because of sheer numbers, but for the smaller munincipal lakes I'd just assume see more of them take that stance. The best bass fishing experience I have ever seen was on a small munincipal lake in the piedmont that I fished from 1992 till around 2014, and that lake minimized fishing pressure by opening only 3 days a week, closed 3 months during winter, and had *zero* tournaments.... and for twenty+ years it has been the best bass fishing in the southeast, though few knew it. I don't believe that is a coincidence.

It’s definitely all in how the directors of the tourneys handle things.

I have competed in all levels of tournaments in my years, from club level to national, and it has definitely gotten better as to the handling of the fish.

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a tournament that just left any dead fish in the water, or at least in a very long time. If any did happen to die, they were collected and someone cleaned them and the meat given away, or taken and used by the directors.

That said, the tourneys I fish now are run by the national organizations (FLW, BASS) and they have aerated tanks with bubbler aerators that can be dropped in the bags while in line. They weigh in flights so the lines are kept from being too long as well.

These tourneys have also dropped the summer months from most calendars, sticking to early spring to late spring and then picking back up in the fall.

Many of the smaller tournaments are following suit, all with the goal of keeping the sport more fun and making it better for the fish as well. As the larger tourneys see success, they encourage any other tourneys to do the same. It has gotten MUCH better on all levels.

There are, however, still a very small number of tourneys and clubs out there that are still doing things “old school” but not nearly as many as before.

Bass boat livewell systems have gotten better as well, working in different features that keep the fish from being stressed as much as in the past, too.

Nothing is ever perfect, but so much better regulated now. In fact, much of the information and technology developed during tournaments has led to better education and technology available to all anglers.

With all the progress that has been made though the years, yes, occasionally some fish may still die but when you consider that hundreds or thousands of fish are caught in any given tourney weekend, the number that die is very, very small and as I mentioned earlier, the reputable tourneys will do their best to make sure all fish survive. If not, they do try to collect any that may have died and be sure it doesn’t go to waste.

Some are missed, for sure, but I would estimate the rate to be less than the number of fish that die with non tourney anglers due to mishandling or improper hook removal, etc.

It continues to get better from what I’ve seen, though.


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[SurfRider]

It’s definitely all in how the directors of the tourneys handle things.

I have competed in all levels of tournaments in my years, from club level to national, and it has definitely gotten better as to the handling of the fish.

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a tournament that just left any dead fish in the water, or at least in a very long time. If any did happen to die, they were collected and someone cleaned them and the meat given away, or taken and used by the directors.

That said, the tourneys I fish now are run by the national organizations (FLW, BASS) and they have aerated tanks with bubbler aerators that can be dropped in the bags while in line. They weigh in flights so the lines are kept from being too long as well.

These tourneys have also dropped the summer months from most calendars, sticking to early spring to late spring and then picking back up in the fall.

Many of the smaller tournaments are following suit, all with the goal of keeping the sport more fun and making it better for the fish as well. As the larger tourneys see success, they encourage any other tourneys to do the same. It has gotten MUCH better on all levels.

There are, however, still a very small number of tourneys and clubs out there that are still doing things “old school” but not nearly as many as before.

Bass boat livewell systems have gotten better as well, working in different features that keep the fish from being stressed as much as in the past, too.

Nothing is ever perfect, but so much better regulated now. In fact, much of the information and technology developed during tournaments has led to better education and technology available to all anglers.

With all the progress that has been made though the years, yes, occasionally some fish may still die but when you consider that hundreds or thousands of fish are caught in any given tourney weekend, the number that die is very, very small and as I mentioned earlier, the reputable tourneys will do their best to make sure all fish survive. If not, they do try to collect any that may have died and be sure it doesn’t go to waste.

Some are missed, for sure, but I would estimate the rate to be less than the number of fish that die with non tourney anglers due to mishandling or improper hook removal, etc.

It continues to get better from what I’ve seen, though.


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Well all of that is encouraging, Wes. I think having aerators available for weigh-in lines would be a great thing; I never understood why the anglers didn't just bring them for themselves.

[jerry condrey]

I used to fish tournaments, and can say with all honesty I have rarely noticed dead bass floating. That being said, it's not like I hung around to count them. I do think that tourneys should limited to the larger lakes however. Like High Rock, Badin, etc.
And I don't believe in these events being held during the spawning season, or hot weather..

[grandpaa]

First I can say,I understand what everyone is saying! But I have a one fix that fits all!!The days of 3,4,5 creel fish!! Should end!! Make it ten times better!!! Separate the men from the boys!! A one fish!! Yes one fish!!! That will bring winner's with in Oz's of each other!! Doing this way, will make 10xs a better Fisher men out of everyone!! In doing that will draw more people into it!! To me that's a true Bass tournament!! Think about it??? Everybody walks a way happy!!