A unique website dedicated to fishing information from Florida's Northern Big Bend. This includes the area from the Econfina River west to the Apalachicola River
Use this area to post inshore fishing reports from the area. Please try to include relevant information such as:
Location, date, time, water conditions, weather conditions, baits, techniques, species caught, etc.
Another great showing for the tourney and some fine catchin going on for the top spots sure wish it hadn't been so misrably hot for the weigh-in, some fried fish woulda tasted good "and you wouldn't have had ta heat the grease much for the frying"
Did anyone else get bug bites on their feet at the weigh-in? My feet were mauled by something... we had some yellow flies on the boat with us in the bay but I don't think it was them.
BTW I told Tidedancer how sharp my plug's hooks were then went to set the hook 30 seconds later on a strike... the plug flies right out of the water and burries in my shin. I pulled it out but it was pretty funny. Later that day Tidedancer had a ladyfish on which spit his jig on a jump and it came screaming into the boat right at TD's 'midsection'. Haha
This is a full contact sport this saltwater fishing stuff.
Next time I'll take a picture of everything, its just a pain when the water is churning and birds are diving to take the time to take photos. That ladyfish was at the end of the day, and was taking a lot of my time dancing on the end of the rod, so I snapped a shot. I wish I had a photo of that big whatever it was plow into that Peacock bass lure. It was enough to startle me. If the group would allow photos of the fish with an approved measuring device, and some type of token for the day to be in each photo, it would go a long ways toward conservation methods for tournaments, and we wouldn't have to kill fish for points. Just a thought. IGFA is contemplating using measurements and photos for future records also. Its a lot better than killing a nice fish to weigh at an approved dock just for some IGFA paper saying your in first place.
jsuber wrote: If the group would allow photos of the fish with an approved measuring device, and some type of token for the day to be in each photo, it would go a long ways toward conservation methods for tournaments, and we wouldn't have to kill fish for points.
You don't eat fish, Suber? About the only time most of us keep fish anymore is during the tournament. Kinda hard to eat a fish without killing them.
I have no doubt that every fish brought to weigh-in is eaten "cept maybe the trash fish" it would be very difficult to have a combined "Picture VS real thing" tourney. I would have a hard time loosing to someone by an ounce or two when I have a fish weighed and they have a picture of a fish
Yes sir I eat fish, its just in a kayak we have to put the fish in a basket, and I actually kept the first fish I caught which was a 20" trout. But when you have to paddle around the fish drags in the basket and then you have to put it in the boat, and eventually it will die, so I let it go and it swam off. To overcome this dilemma in Kayak Fishing tournaments we just photograph the fish in a photo like this. It is a conservation measure, and if you want to keep fish to eat then you can put your coolerbag in the front hatch. I just don't want to kill a pinfish, catfish, bluefish, ladyfish, pufferfish, sea robin, or mullet just to get some bonus points. I would rather photo them. Its not that I'm an Eco-nazi, its just that I don't think I should kill a fish for paper. If you put fish on a stringer it invites toothy critters that might like the taste of plastic so I avoid that avenue also.
You're not a conservationist, you're a preservationist. Conservation is defined as "wise use". A "wise use" of fish I kill in a tournament is to put them in my belly.
To combine the two, you would have to use one form of measurement to be fair, and if you go by total length, rather than total weight. What would be the problem with that. I've fished in tourneys where you get three fish in a slam that are 20 inches each fish, and you get 60 inches. If you get them on bait you get 60 points. If you get them on artificial you get 10% more so you get 66 points. If you get them on a fly you get 20% more points which is 72 points. If you get a slam you get 10% also. So
60" bait slam gets 66 points
60" artificial slam gets 72 points
60" fly slam gets 78 points.
And if you want to eat your fish, you can.
Now the kicker to photographing fish is you can catch a 42" Red, photograph it, and get 42 points for it, but in a kill tourney you have to release it and get nothing for it.
jsuber wrote:To combine the two, you would have to use one form of measurement to be fair, and if you go by total length, rather than total weight. What would be the problem with that.
Well for 1 length and weight ain't one to one. By length 3 19" trout could beat a 26" gator and 2 15" trout by length, but not by weight. But I'm biased as I like to eat my catch. Rounds out the experience. Though I normally release big trout.
I'm sure you could work out a fair formula by length, but this seems more like a convienence thing for kayakers than a conservation issue for trout. Also I doubt anyone in the club fishes for a piece of paper as you suggested. Trout are a very productive fish and the numbers were talking are few. From a conservation standpoint, trout aint the same issue as the big billfish tourneys..
No doubt I have selfish issues for wanting to use measurement. But, if everyone is using measurement, whats the problem. Your not targeting fat fish, your targeting long fish. If everyone uses the same type of measuring device, whats the issue. Its obvious that you can't have some people measuring and some people weighing. I'm suggesting that you have a measure tournament, and you can still keep your fish if you want too, as long as its legal to keep. I don't know why fifty years ago somebody said "Hell, lets weigh them", maybe because you bought them by the pound. I suggested that you measure, and if you want to release it, you can photograph it. You guys have a club, and if you have more members then all the better right. Wouldn't be better to have kayakers join your club rather than forming one on their own. We all like to fish, and its not that big of a consolation. This way you can still catch the fish, and enter them into the competition with fellow anglers and you can catch them again another day. If you want to eat them, then keep them and eat them. In the great skeam of things, a longer fish, is in most instances going to weigh more than a shorter fish if caught in the same area. I don't know why they can't do the same thing on a Redfish Tour. At least then you could measure and release a big Red.
I can see both points...I would prefer a release tournament, as in bring your catch in alive and release it...They do that in Texas for the big trout tournaments there (they do alot things right as far is fishing goes in Texas, but that's another topic)...Odds are nobody wants to carry around pressured bottles of oxygen on their flats boats and have large livewells to keep a trout alive...Let alone have the proper mobile facilities to keep the fish alive from the boat to the weigh in and then back to the boat to be release...
We do have a measurement only tournament and short or long it counts.
And long doesn't equate to a more weight...I caught a 26.5" trout this year that weighed maybe 5 pounds...A few months later I caught a 26" trout that out weighed the other by 2 pounds.
Rules for every tournament are different, you have your rules, they have their rules and others have their rules....The rules are what they are...maybe something can done to accomodate kayakers and waders next year, don't know.
All good points, good idea sharing, don't want to see it get out of hand or I will turn the wick down......you know what I mean
"and you wouldn't have had ta heat the grease much for the frying" 
