No this hits closer. I have family renting a cottage on Howe Island this week. My nephew has graduated from dock sunnies to wanting some real fishing and catch some bass. He's been dying to get out in the boat with me. Normally I have the experience and knowledge to catch bass in the western 1000 Islands area with ease. Putting a kid into them would be no problem.
Well I picked him up at the cottage this morning and fearing the worst off we went. The river was dead. I'm sure the bass were there but they've been hammered for weeks. I caught a few fish but I had to fish slow and work real hard to do so and most of the ones I caught had sores on their lips and mouth parts missing. Fat chance the kid had. He's beyond the gratutious hand over so he can fight it phase. He wants to catch his own. This morning I gave him the "its called fishing and not catching for reason" talk. I wish I could have told him that somewhere down the road. Tommorrow I'll pick him up at the ferry and drive up to the Rideau I think.
I don't pretend to know how a fish thinks or feels but juxtapose those beautifully coloured lively bass that come out of the water then compare them to the grey washed out disoriented things you see in the tanks waiting to be released. Although someday I'd like to try an experiment where I stick a sharp hunk of metal in a tournament anglers face, dunk his head under water for a minute or so as we admire his good looks, then toss him in a trunk with 4 other tournament anglers then drive around bumpy country roads with them for 8 hours, haul'em out, dunk under water some more, toss all of them in a big bag, immerse him in some goop sedative to make him feel warm and fuzzy (should a fish going back in waters full of predators be sedated?) and toss him in a holding cell for an hour or so. Finally haul him out in the middle of nowhere and let him go.
Mainly I don't like tournaments for what they represent. If you want to compete play darts. Isn't fishing something we used to do to get away? I don't like poker runs either for similar reasons but that is another rant. I don't like seeing boat ramps and wharfs meant for public use plugged with tournament groups. I don't like fishing a water body after a tournament. How long will it take the waters around Howe and Wolfe Island I fish to recover after the latest bombing? Next up are the tournaments on the US side. More shock and awe to the fishery. The amount of pre-fishing I saw for the Canadian open was incredible. Since the opening of bass season in these huge waters I have seen more sore lips and hook damage than the past decade.
Perhaps I should go fish somewhere else then. But I've driven to local lakes like Charleston, Dog, Seeleys Bay, Loughborough etc and found either a tournament going on there now or recently or a small country ramp and parking area full of pre-fishers of some impending tournament.
I admit to being a bit of a hypocrite as I own a bass boat myself. As much as I like fishing out of it for comfort I think next spring I'll unload it for something smaller so I can get into lakes these guys can't. Which makes me think why am I the one who has lived here all my life the one who feels I have to adjust? Some would say I am overreacting but when your show pulls out of town I am stuck with whats left and in most cases its a fishery turn upside.
I know people are probably sick of this subject but I am sick of tournaments on my local waters and while you can choose to tune me out or call me an %#@$&* here, you still have your tournaments and I will have to deal with it. I know there is another thread on this subject but I chose to have my say in a fresh thread rather than buried on page 9. I realize that beyond voicing my opinion here, which is allowed there is not much I can do.
why don't you get over your self-righteous indignation and keep your inflammatory and accusatory comments to yourself.
from a tough day on the water be the catalyst for obtuse statements like "tournaments hurt fisheries a lot". to start your rant
Unbelievable and I'm the one who is intolerant.