AJ52

I'm setting up a Catch and Release tournament for June.I've sent in the paper work to state F&G.Should be no problem there.

The tournament will be held at a VFW post which is located on a state owned lake.I also live on the lake which makes putting this whole thing together alot easier.I've been bustin my chops for ideas on how to make this tournament a Big Hit/Success for the fisherman and the VFW.
I finally thought of posting it here on good old Hunting Net.

I'm not a tournament fisherman so I'm lookin for ideas,input,brain storming - whatever.This is what I've done so far.Nothing really written in stone.

* Emailed form to F&G advising on dates and species etc...
* Catch and Release tourney for Bass and Crappie only.
* Tourney will last 4 hrs(8-12).
* 1st and 2nd prize.1st prize cash ??? Possible tackle shop gift cert??
* Fish will be measured and logged at catch location.
* Tie will be broken by flip of coin??
* VFW will supply measuring sticks.
* 15 boats - 2 man teams.
* Draw teams out of hat??
* Launch at State ramp of VFW owned ramp.
* $15 each man or $30 per boat
* Artificial lures only
* No gas motors during 1st 1/2 hour.
This should even the playing field for guys with trolling motors only.
Lake has a "No Wake" speed.
* Need to create or find a registration form??

Chuck7

Possible rulesto add.

-No landing net
-option of 5.00 each for big bass of the day.
-I would personally start the tournament at 7:00 AM
- They usually draw a number for each boat to start out in about 30 second intervals
Also tthe ones I fish at , the man in charge inspects the boats for
Live well, lights working fire extingisher if using gas motor.
- there are penalties for any fish which have died. ..a few ounces deducted from total weight
- no drift fishing..only fish one rod at a time

Hope that helped some.
C7

spinninbug

We have a catch and release in our club, we call it the pre season tournament. We draw partners a month before the tournament, so you know who you are fishing with however, what your doing isn't a club tourney so probably not necessary to do that, you just want to make sure you have even boaters and non-boaters.We don't allow anyone to fish alone for this. We use a weigh scale on paper, however long the fish is it converts it to pounds and ounces.

Is this a team tournament or individual.

In one club we have it is individual and the person that you are fishing with has to weighyour fish and visa versa, and record yourfish for you.
Thefish have to be released imiediately back into the water after measuring and recording.

As for your prizes theysound good, and thebig bass pot could just be a side pot, so if some people don't want to get in it they don't have too.

Good luck to you and keep us posted. If you have any questions feel free to ask. We just started a new club and just covered all of the rules we needed to have for our catch and release. From past experiences, draw tournaments are so much fun, you fish with someone that you wouldn't normally fish with and always learn something new and hopefully make some great friends in the process.

bfulton77

Im a part of a local bass club in Gillespie Illinois. Feel free to check our website out. Click on the tab "by-laws" and it gives all our tournament rules and guidelines. Feel free to use it for ideas. www.gillespiebassclub.com

AJ52

OK - I'm reading some good ideas.
This VFW tourney will be a 1st - so I'm/we are playing everything by ear.

* My worry is cheats - there is one or two in every crowd.
* Good idea on checking live wells etc..etc.
* Sign In - should this inc name address etc..to properly I.D.every fisherman.
* Draw tourney.Do the boat owners draw names from hat for partners?
* This catch and release is just that.2 men per boat,measure fish,log it,and release it at boat.Cuts down mortality and don't have to weigh anything.Hopefully keeps things real simple.
* Are fish measured to nearest 1/16 - 1/8 - 1/4" ?? Guess need to set that rule up front.
* How would you break a 1st or 2nd place tie with cash prizes at stake?
* Cash Prize - was thinking maybe $30 1st prize for big bass(longest),
maybe $25 for largest crappie and then 2nd prizes is up in the air?? This is considering all 15 boats show @ $15 per man/$30 per boat.

Chuck7

* This catch and release is just that.2 men per boat,measure fish,log it,and release it at boat.Cuts down mortality and don't have to weigh anything.Hopefully keeps things real simple. Friend,, the check for live well isn't to see if men are sneaking fish in..they are making sure fish wil be kept alive. I honestly would not fish in a tournament where fish are not brought ot a scale visually and weighed. Once money is in the picture a boat team could make up a lie and split the cash. In a normal tournament fish are put in fish bags filled with water..brought before the other fishermen and weighed on a scale with everyone watching. here in Florida we are allowed 5 bass per fisherman.
* Are fish measured to nearest 1/16 - 1/8 - 1/4" ?? Guess need to set that rule up front. There is no measurement ...they are weighed. If you are measuring though I would say to the closest 1/8 th inch.
* How would you break a 1st or 2nd place tie with cash prizes at stake?
I've never seen a tie...
* Cash Prize - was thinking maybe $30 1st prize for big bass(longest),
maybe $25 for largest crappie and then 2nd prizes is up in the air?? This is considering all 15 boats show @ $15 per man/$30 per boat.

We usually had all those who wanted to particpate in the big bass throw in an extra 5.00. The heaviest bass takes the entire amouint.

You'll have to decide the other split ups. If the money is going ot a charity it would be split up differently ..but around here every bit of the money goes to the top 3 bass fisherman. We don't mix fish..we either have a crappie tournament or bass.

The live well check down here is 2 fold.
a, make sure fish will be ok
b. no sneaking in.

Down here fish have not been caught being snuck in..but fisherman have been caught having bass already waiting in the lake in a wire mess cage.[:@]
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AJ52

We expect some if not alot of novice fisherman in this tourney.This is why we're making it Bass - and - Crappie and might throw in white perch.Gives the guys/gals that have little or no experiance or equipment to catch "Bass" a chance to compete for prize money in the panfish cat.

We hope and expect some boats will not have live wells.This gives all fishernman regardless of equipment a chance to compete - thus a catch and release tourney for multi species.I talked to a guy tonight that might bring a 2 man dingy(no live well).What do I tell him??

Keep in mind this is not a Bass Club its a VFW event.

JoshKeller

for those with livewells, just make it a rule that the livewell must be plugged up from OUTSIDE of the boat.

Chuck7

I talked to a guy tonight that might bring a 2 man dingy(no live well).What do I tell him??

I have a very cramped for space 10 foot jon boat. Here is my live well''

I got a cooler. In the bottom of the cooler I got one of Walmart's 19.95 sucktion cup aerator that runs off the 12 volt battery. The only deal was the suction cups would not stay on the bottom. After experiementing I found an adhesive that works like a charm..fact..she is still stuck.LOL
I removed teh suction cups and put about 1/4 inch of Shoe Goo on .

SHOE GOO ...the waterptoof liquid rubber.It works like a charm. Anyway, my home made live well works great.

PS ...I only bring that aerator if I honestly think I may be catching a trophy bass 10 pound or bigger. Otherwise for crappie or bluegill fishing I use a fish basket. When I'm done I put those fish in a cooler in my truck.
In the picture I took this year is a fish basket with 12 nice crappie.

AJ, good luck with that tournament partner.Sounds like fun.

spinninbug

First of all if this is a catch and release you don't need to have a livewell. They aren't keeping the fish, just measuring and recording then releasing.

Measurements, we do the the 1/8". You can decide though and look at your bump boards to see what they measure and go from there. Some bump boards don't have all the same measurements.

Boaters should be drawn first, then draw a partner for them.

I don't think you need to get to crazy with rules this sounds like it should be fun learning experience. To many rules sometimes make things to hard and people won't want to fish next time.

This isn't a club tournament so stick to basics. Make it simple. I wish I was close I would come and fish it. I love fun tourneys.

Good luck and feel free to ask more questions, just try not to get to overwhelmed!