[nuthinlikeacat]

I dont know if this topic has been brought up in the new site or not....

What are everyones opinions on Catfish contests??

I recently attended the weigh-ins of two contests held in Minnesota. I saw a total of 9 fish over 30lbs brought in for weigh-in that were dead. With all the rules and regulations for these contests, it is quite hard to keep a big fish alive for a long period of time.

I think its a trajedy to see these people killing all these big fish. Some people just dont care whether or not the fish dies...and that sucks. :cursing:

 

[Desperado]

I think they are nice if everyone fishes the same area. But too many guys catch large fish and have them tied up some where and bring them in. I have had this happen and they got caught. But for the most part I like having them to see the diffrent kinds of cat brought in.

 

[nuthinlikeacat]

I agree with what you said, I just wish people could be more honest, so maybe the rules wouldnt have to be so tough.

 

[Catbird]

In the rules for Florida Catfish Classic tournament next month, your fish has to be alive at weigh in. I think that this should be the rule for "all" tournaments. I guess if we catch a biggin, it will be a race for the judges to get it weighed...lol

 

[Desperado]

I have seen them come in alive and beaten up from being kept in a cage. The rules have to be tough, due to all the cheating. Maybe put a neutral person with them a non-fisherman and they weigh the fish and take pictures of the fish on the scale with the date on the pictures. The cameras handed out the day of the contest and handed in at the end. But you still will have the cheaters beat that.

 

[boogie]

10-4 on keeping it honest .....i finally broke in and went and fished a cat tourney with my buddy at work....my first one ever ....these guys had a 3 fish limit,being allowed only one fish at 34 inches or more ...i thought that was pretty cool .....the lower the totals the easier it is to keep em alive till weigh in ....me and my buddy only caught 2 blue cats ...one was 50 inches @ 28 pounds and some change ....and the other one was ( 6 oz)...lol...anyways ...we got the lunker prize and all of the fish were released ,swimming away alive and strong ...not a mortality in the whole thing ......after that i got to looking at some of the cat tourneys around here in tn ........suprisingly....there is a lot of em that have a 1 fish limit ...now that sounds more like the one i would want to fish ......easier to keep one alive than 3 or 5...and no one gets thier catches counted in any of the tourneys around here if they bring one in dead ....i think that is the way to go......have agood time ,catch fish ..and get to see em swim away ....it's very difficult if a tourney has a 5 or 6 fish limit and try to keep that many big fish alive for 6 or 8 hrs is hard

 

[nuthinlikeacat]

A few of the tournaments here in MN have the 1 fish per person rule....the only drawback....weigh-in begins at the end of the tourney. if someone catches a fish at 6pm and has to wait until 6am to weigh-in, it makes it tougher to keep it alive.

 

[stickthrower]

I used to fish [email protected] tournaments for years. Caught lots of fish, had lots of fun, then finally figured out "Why am I competing fishing, what does it matter who catches the largest or biggest stringer" I just like to fish to relax and get away from stress. I have enough stress in life without making my relaxation stressful! Besides now I have to wonderful children to take fishing and enjoy spending time with!

 

[Midwest Drifter]

I"m with Stickthower when I get out on the lake, sometimes its the best sleep I get. When that baitclicker goes off it beats the heck out of an alarm clock or phone call!!!!!!

 

[TeamWhiskers]

There is a certain amount of integrity and ethics involved for not only the various Tournament trails, but also for the Directors and anglers involved in the Sport of Catfishing. Livewells are now starting to be the new required trend to keep these fish alive to release safely back to their environment. Polygraph and voice stress tests are another that will have a trickle down effect from the Pro Circuits although we probably will not see them at the local levels due to cost. This is where we rely upon the experience of the Directors running these tournaments that can inspect the fish knowing what to look for to determine if any violations have occurred.
Hang in there and have fun at any level you desire to fish at.
See You all on the Water…
Vince
TeamWhiskers

 

[TIM HAGAN]

Well I'm the president of maryland chapter of ACATS on we will have polygraph test at random tournaments if not all of them. All fish must be alive to count and if its a big fish someone will be there to check it in anytime doing the tournament . It is you goal to keep them all alive and return them back to catch again. so if you can't fish by the rules then you don't need to be in ACATS.