Fish-Hawk.Net

The regs are designed for conservation and harvest limits anre part of that. Saying someone isn't ethical or they aren't putting conservation first is a bit harsh in my opinion. There may be more things we could all be doing that are in the spirit of conservation, but the very base level is to just follow the regs. If tournaments are doin that, then they in fact within the provincial conservation model.

If you don't agree with it, don't participate. If the participation is low, then the format will fail. If the participation is decent, then the anglers should enjoy the tournament and not be looked on negatively because it doesn't fall into your personal code of ethics.

Well

Not everyone who fishes the BOQ lands an 11lb+ fish.

Therefore the chances of multiple people coming in with such big fish is likely NOT that high.

As they are NOT breaking any rules I don't see what the issue is. Other than you are quite correct about the possible strain on breeders and dead fish will likely occur.

I concur with Markus. If you don't agree with it then don't partake.

Jimmy_1 wrote:Well

Not everyone who fishes the BOQ lands an 11lb+ fish.

Therefore the chances of multiple people coming in with such big fish is likely NOT that high.

As they are NOT breaking any rules I don't see what the issue is. Other than you are quite correct about the possible strain on breeders and dead fish will likely occur.

I concur with Markus. If you don't agree with it then don't partake.

Not sure if you missed the first part Jimmy but it's the St.Lawrence not BOQ...I also stated based on my opinion I wouldn't be partaking in the event!

Mick wrote:I am not sure I understand how something can be legal yet unethical with respect to keeping fish

there are bass tournaments all over the place on opening weekends. what's the difference?

There is in my opinion all kinds of legal regs that are borderline unethical but the key part is they are legal...

The difference that I see on the Lawrence is that I've never caught a bass full of eggs on opening day, yet I've caught lots of Walters that were loaded with them. I have no scientific data but I would dare to guess more bass get released then walleye in a year.

Yes I saw St.Lawrence

My point was that on the BOQ not everyone gets a huge walter.

I was also in agreement with others opinions on the subject.

As for most posts????

Dude. If you ask for opinions dont get your panties in a knot when others give it.

Glad you arent taking part

Jimmy_1 wrote:Yes I saw St.Lawrence

My point was that on the BOQ not everyone gets a huge walter.

I was also in agreement with others opinions on the subject.

As for most posts????

Dude. If you ask for opinions dont get your panties in a knot when others give it.

Glad you arent taking part

lol...I don't see how your BOQ reference has any merit on the post. I assumed you didn't read the entire first part of the post & just went straight to the reply. As per panties I prefer a thong!

riverdog wrote:

Mick wrote:I am not sure I understand how something can be legal yet unethical with respect to keeping fish

there are bass tournaments all over the place on opening weekends. what's the difference?

There is in my opinion all kinds of legal regs that are borderline unethical but the key part is they are legal...

The difference that I see on the Lawrence is that I've never caught a bass full of eggs on opening day, yet I've caught lots of Walters that were loaded with them. I have no scientific data but I would dare to guess more bass get released then walleye in a year.

There is really no debate here between unethical and legal. Regulations exist. If you catch a fish within the length limits for the body of water you are fishing you are allowed to keep it. End of story. And you can keep as many as you want up to whatever the regs say you can.

I suspect more bass do get released in a year than walleye also. Bass are primarily fished for pleasure whereas walleye are targeted for the table. Did you mean more walleye are kept in a year than bass?

I fish a fair bit. And I enjoy walleye fishing more than any other species. That said, I rarely keep fish because frankly I just don't really enjoy eating them. I prefer a steak or a chicken breast any day of the week. But as a fishermen that doesn't eat fish and one that targets walleye often, I am in no position whatsoever to complain about all the guys the target walleye and legally keep them for the table. Thems the rules. And so long as people fish within them, all the power to them.

riverdog wrote:

Jimmy_1 wrote:Yes I saw St.Lawrence

My point was that on the BOQ not everyone gets a huge walter.

I was also in agreement with others opinions on the subject.

As for most posts????

Dude. If you ask for opinions dont get your panties in a knot when others give it.

Glad you arent taking part

lol...I don't see how your BOQ reference has any merit on the post. I assumed you didn't read the entire first part of the post & just went straight to the reply. As per panties I prefer a thong!

Here is the reference. I'll be more clear for you.

Just as not every angler catches a big walleye on the BOQ not every angler in this tournament will catch a walleye full of eggs...make sense now??? Was drawing a parallel. In fact I bet you a bunch of participants get skunked. It is walleye after all.

Yes, I did read your post. You are stating how YOU feel it is UNETHICAL. To which I NEVER disagreed. I was simply stating MY agreement on this OPINION board that MY OPINION concurs with that of others....IT ISN'T ILLEGAL!

My part about "Don't partake" wasn't aimed directly at YOU. I read you wrote you weren't. My OVERALL point was "if you DON'T AGREE with something....DON't DO IT.....

As for your choice in women's underwear that you wear....

My opinion is that you and Jimmy should go fishing together.

I'm not a fan of tournaments for various reasons and I tend to agree with the majority of posters in your thread.

LOL

I am not upset at Riverdog
Just not sure why when I am voicing the same opinions and others I am the one singled out.

Nothing I wrote attacked him personally.

Jimmy_1 wrote:LOL

I am not upset at Riverdog
Just not sure why when I am voicing the same opinions and others I am the one singled out.

Nothing I wrote attacked him personally.

I tried to answer this in a previous reply when I stated I felt you didn't read my original post by referring to BOQ when I stated the tourney was on the Lawrence. You explained your reference I deleted my smart butt comment & moved on.

I'm not sure if your ever fished Cardinal opening day but if you can't catch a walleye then & there you should throw your rods in the river & quit fishing...I swear add some trebles to a pop can and a sinker you'll catch a couple.

I'm glad folks stated their opinion even if it isn't the same as mine that's what the post was about. I wouldn't have asked for Your opinion if I didn't want to hear other ones...
I'd like to also point out that I have left the organizations name out of the post as what they are offering falls within their legal rights & public shaming or attempting is not my game.
Fish On folks!

Riverdog
Of course it's connected, BOQ water eventually flows past Cardinal!
I'm on your side with this, I stopped fishing a local LT tournament for the same reason, 40+ dead trout being weighed in by people hoping to win a downrigger with a 6lb trout. (Winning fish was always double digit)

Legal? yes. Sustainable? Nope

I agree that it's legal and they can do what they want. But I also agree that it's a poor example of stewardship and I wouldn't participate. Although this is much worse as they're still spawning, I don't think there are any tournaments that don't have an impact. With bass tournaments you can't convince me that having 70+ boats on a lake keeping fish 5 fish in a livewell isn't without its problems. Pollution from boats, garbage from discarded plastics, jaw damage to fish from being handled improperly, fish being caught from deep water ect..

What about having just mystery weights only,like say walleye weight would be between 2lbs and 6lbs and maybe pike between 3lbs and 10lbs.
closes to the weights win.I think more people would enter and you don't need to worry about having a bad day fishing if you didn't get the big one.

Someone may have addressed my concern in the post already, admittedly I did not read every reply.

I appreciate riverdogs concern, I concur that it makes no sense that they have all these tournaments walleye /Bass on opening weekend.
Last year bass were still spawning that weekend, and it sure did not seem very sportsman like.

I believe they should start 2 weeks after opening so fisheries are not as pressured on a specific body of water. It makes no sense to that they would want 20,30,50 heck 300 boats pounding over spawning beds with 1-4 fisherman smacking away at them.

It does not make a whole lot of sense to me for a best practices stand point.

Marcus you are a trapper, you know your self, if you had 40 more guys in your area working your 'sets' it would make for stressed furs. Which is really no different. Your area is likely the same size if not bigger than some area tourney lakes.

Again just my opinion, and like backsides we all have one!