There is no question Clear Lake is one of the more popular lakes in the state in regard to bass tournaments. The Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) annually issues approximately 50 “event” permits for bass tournaments on Clear Lake. In addition to those permits, more than 100 bass club permits are issued each year. The permits spell out to the tournament organizations how the fish are to be handled during the weigh-ins and how they must be released alive. Some of the tournament organizations do a great job of protecting the fish while others are borderline on caring for the lake’s most valuable resource.
Studies show that bass fishermen at Clear Lake release more than 90 percent of the fish they catch. In fact, they are adamant about releasing the bass and scorn anyone one who wants to keep a fish or two for the table.
The DFW has in place strict rules governing bass tournaments and how the fish are handled. The rules for bass tournaments state that during the weigh-in fish must be transported in plastic bags containing enough water to completely cover the fish. There can only be a limited number of fishermen standing in line to weigh their fish. The rules also state that a time period of no more than three minutes can occur from the time the bass are placed into the weigh-in bags until they are weighed and returned either to a release boat or the angler’s bass boat. A bag can contain no more than five fish. In addition, any fish weighing 5 pounds or more must be placed in a separate bag. The fish must be released at least two miles from the weigh-in site and at least 400 yards offshore. If done correctly the survival rate of the bass can be as high as 98 percent.
The tournament directors are responsible for conducting a proper weigh-in. They are supposed to closely monitor the way the bass are brought to the scales and returned to the fishermen. It is also the responsibility of the fishermen to take care of their fish. During the period of June 15-Sept. 15 the DFW requires all weigh-ins be no longer than six hours apart. In other words, the tournament director is required to hold a weigh-in every six hours.
Most of the tournament organizations do a great job but not all. Some of the worst offenders are the super big tournaments that have national recognition. The tournament announcer often gets so busy promoting products that he forgets there are fishermen standing in line waiting to weigh in.
Just like humans, a fish has to breathe. If it is deprived of oxygen it can suffer brain damage or even die. A fish receives its oxygen from the water and studies have shown that it can go no more than four or five minutes out of water before it suffers brain damage. The other factor is that often there are too many fishermen standing in line at the scales. At some of the larger tournaments I have counted as many as 30 fishermen in line, many of them holding dry bags or bags with very little water.
All tournaments penalize a fisherman for bringing a dead fish to the scales. The penalty normally consists of a deduction of two-tenths of a pound for each dead fish. Of course, a bass can be barely breathing and in most cases it is counted as a live fish even though it will probably die after being released.
Actually most of the major tournament organizations do a good job of protecting the fish. However, that can’t be said of many of the bass clubs, especially those traveling from outside the county. Some don’t have weigh-in bags and they don’t use care when handling the fish.
Fishery biologists say the big concern is delayed mortality. That’s when a bass dies hours or even days after being caught and released in a tournament. Studies have shown that as many as 10 percent of tournament-caught bass die within 10 days after a tournament. The cause is usually a lack of oxygen, which can result in not only brain damage but internal organ damage. Bass extract the oxygen from the water. They will take in water through their mouth and expel it through their gills. The gills are the lungs of a fish. A gill consists of a small filament-type of flesh that is rich with blood. As the water passes across the gill, oxygen molecules are extracted from the water. It’s called dissolved oxygen (DO). The DO is then transferred to the blood much the same way as the lungs do for a human. That’s why it is so important for fishermen to keep their livewells pumping when they hold fish.
Obviously it’s to the fisherman’s advantage to keep the resource healthy so that fish can be caught another day.
