A club with an Innovative Idea: Bassin Baptists, Corbin, KY

Bassin Baptists in Corbin Ky has been around for about 13 years or so, and in that time has applied for BASS membership twice. Both times turned down because we did not have a dead fish penalty. The reason we didn't have one was because we did not want to exclude anglers of lesser means who might fish from older boats with inadequate livewells or jon boats. I was one of those when I joined. 2 years ago on Dale Hollow, we had a bad kill ratio. We were fishing a night tournament where the temperature dropped to about 87 degrees and the surface temp was 95 degrees. Catching fish deep where the water is 50 some degrees and bringing them to the surface is bad enough, but tossing them in a livewell spells the end.After that, we got to discussing what a solution to that problem would be. We came up with a paper tournament system. The fish are caught and measured at the boat, then released. At the weigh in, we use a chart to convert the length to pounds.I know, when I first heard this, I thought, You all are nuts. However, its worked out real real well. In Tennessee and KY the game and fish commissions keep monkeying with the size limits. To us, it doesn't matter that on Dale Hollow you can only have 1 smallmouth over 21 inches. We set our own limit at 13 inches/6 fish and go from there on any lake we are at.Cheating hasn't been a problem to this point. As a club tournament, there isn't that much money involved, and they are draw tournaments. I wouldn't want a team tournament with this situation. What do you think of such a system at the club level? It seems to be meeting our goals of raising the percentage of fish released alive and adding to the competition on tough lakes with wild size or slot limits.Skipper

Skipper It sounds like a good idea,because you don't kill any fish, don't have to worry about keeping them alive in the live well, have to follow all them size limits, The only problem is cheating but, if it is all friends they won't cheat each other.J.R.

First, At the club level, there isn't enough money to be worth cheating. Second, I wouldn't fish with a bunch I couldn't trust. I found a basket in Laurel once right before the regular Tuesday night tournament. The long and short is, one way or the other, if they are going to cheat, they will.Skipper

Believe it or not, there will be cheating if for nothing else, just celebrity status. We have very little fish loss at our club tournaments here in East Texas with the use of aerators and fresh water circulation in the live wells. We are a catch and release club also. We host an open tournament every year with contestants from neighboring states. We have from 68 to 110 teams, depending on weather conditions. Lake Tawakoni is a very dangerous lake when the wind gets up. -- noPS We just hosted our 33 annual open tournament in May.

I think the thing that hurts us more than anything on fish, paticularly in the summer, is the depth at which they are caught. Typically in the South and other flat land lakes, bass aren't much over 15 feet deep. Its not uncommon here to catch largemouth 40 feet or more deep in the summer. Lots of times I will camp out on a bluff in 70 feet of water. There is just such a shock to the fish when you bring it up that fast. First off, the pressure on its swim bladder is unreal. It is reccommended that we puncture the bladder before releasing the fish. I do need to get someone to show me how sometime, but basically, its sticking a needle in the bladder to relieve the pressure on it. Secondly, the water temp difference is tremendous. At 25 or so feet, the temp is probably in the 50s or 60's. When you get the fish to the surface, the water is 90+ during the worst part of the year. That is extreme shock for the fish. Sure, you can ice down the livewell, but it just doesn't last, even in my 95 Ranger, the insulation won't keep ice. Its like sticking ice in a coffee pot. I know I had some of the same cheating thoughts and some that just said, this is bass fishing, there has to be a weigh in with scales. And I would not want to fish big money or team tournaments this way, but for a club draw tournament format, it seems to be the way to go. I was surprised when we started it how common it actually was in the northern tier of states. States that have closed seasons like Minnesota or New Jersey use this type system in their clubs. The ones I talked to had developed anti cheating measures as they decided they needed in their situation. Some have to have another boat in the club verify the fish, some use cameras, different things. Skipper

Skipper, -- when Guarro(sp), first opened in Mexico, we made a couple of trips down there, catch fish 90'deep, just a layer of bass impossable to drop a spoon through them without catching one. When you brought them to the surface fast, their eyes would pop out, float sack swell like a frogs throat. Release them and they would go straight down. In shalllow water 30', drop a spoon to the bottom, most of the time it would hang up on a bush, jiggle it and a fish would pull it off for you. Our open tournaments, to keep cheating out, the top three teams have to take a polygraph test before they are declared winners. Have only had one team fail, fishing in restricted water, (inside bouy line at pump station). -- no