Now there's a position I can agree with. I remember not despising tournaments as a youth. Somewhere, somehow, they are no longer as novel and interesting to me as they are a nuisance.
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Why are there too many? Because when you've had people like me increasingly against them, the question is not serious.
Whats the perfect number? No perfect answer there, but obviously as the number of tournaments grew...the number of anti-tourney anglers has as well. It's a sliding scale.
What is the difference between a tournament or a packed ramp because of a hot bite? The snide comments of "that'd be a money fish if I caught it tomorrow", etc. We all deal with packed ramps during the "hot bite", which may be a few weeks ahead of the tourney. Why would you think we'd like extending the packed ramp scenario even longer than it already exists? Let's face it, there aren't many tourneys scheduled for a given body of water during the slow time of year, rather it's generally during, or at least near, the good times for a given body of water/ramp.
Raising tourney fees is not going to fix crowded ramps. While the few dollars this is going to raise isn't even enough to install a new single lane concrete ramp and parking lot. Is it really going to bankrupt the Governor's Cup?
Raising tourney fees is not going to fix overfishing. True, unless you really look at the survival stats of fish. Tagging studies don't lie. A fish once caught is not likely to ever be caught again, even if it's returned to the water "alive". We all know it's a sliding scale here as well, fish caught shallow and out of cooler water have higher survival rates, but those late summer deep fish are dead as hell, and tourney anglers will go out and catch way more than your average angler looking for a limit of keepers. Hence, they kill FAR more than the catch and keep anglers. That's not even open for debate. Of course, this is a moot point if you are of the opinion the fish has merely been educated and simply lives its life in peace by never biting on a hook again.
Sounds like tourneys are putting the ammenities in at boat ramps. I doubt it.
Why are tourney anglers supposed to pay for the ramps, docks, gravel, trees, fish cleaning stations? I think you are over estimating the impact the $50k(?) will have on amenities. Can we even get two new cleaning stations with that by the time you run electric and water to a ramp?
Why are tourney anglers, who the majority practice catch and release are accused of overfishing a body of water? See above.
