Denny? Did you just agree with me in some round-about way? Hehehe...man I know, I am a pain in the ass but isn't a good pain? LMAO.....
Seriously, ABA and AllStar both have drive-through weigh ins. Pure and simple, if there were serious numbers of dead fish accumulating after these events then someone would raise the red flag. I have seen the Game and Fish supervise these events and I am sure that if these circuits were NOT taking care of their fish, then G&F would not be happy. Do not get me wrong, there are dead fish. I blame this on the angler. Someone else said that it is up to the angler to take care of their fish. I have to agree, there is only so much that can happen once they are placed in a tank. Bleeding of air is one, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm that is about it. Truth be told, bleeding is a fine art that very few are able or willing to do. It can do more harm than good in the hands of Jack the Ripper. I only do it as a last resort and only when they are in my live well. My dad was famous for taking over the tanks at tourneys and bleeding bass. He is not here anymore.
Okay, let's get one thing straight. No more B.S., bass die in tourneys. This is fact #1. Most teams try to prevent this because it means there is a weight penalty. Fact #2: The serious bass fisherman in pursuit of a win will do whatever it takes to keep his catch alive. Fact #3: the meat fisherman or the bait fisherman or the tri-hull warrior (proving his worth to his friends) will kill and never think twice. Fact #4: this is the way it is now and the way that it has always been.
Now, what does this mean? Bass die and some are eaten and some are coyote food. Are our fisheries in trouble? NOOOOOOOO. I remember fishing Pleasant before the dam was raised and a good day consisted of maybe 3 or 4 hardearned bass. Does this sound familiar? Yes. That is pretty much the way it is now. There is no difference!!!!!! Back then there were half the boats (pressure) on half the lake (acres).
Fact number whatever: Pleasant DID have a hay day. There is no argument about that. To sit and blame the decline of this once proud, big bass lake on a singular event , whether it is tourneys or ANY other factor, is ludricous. It is the myriad culmination of MANY MANY MANY factors. Can anyone say stripers? How about campfires? I recall some cottonwoods right adjacent to the 10-laner that were no-brainer bass-catching meccas! Where are they now? Ash...How about drought? You may say that Pleasant is filled every year by CAP water but think about the big picture! San Carlos and Roosy used to manhandle at least 50% of the fishing enthusiasts. What happens when these lakes are dry? They go to Pleasant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We can go on and on and on. The sad fact is we live in one of the most populous megacity suburban sprawls in this country with one of the highest boat per capita titles in the world.....IN THE FRICKIN" DESERT!
Deal with it...rise to the occasion...things will not be easier in the future...develop new techniques....strive to be different in the basics...look for the miniscule pattern...JUST FISH YOUR ASS OFF FOR YOUR COUNTRY! We live in the only place in this world where there is freedom. Enjoy it...live it...just frickin do it! (insert Nike commercial) Later...