Cayuga Confused ?

[glh456]

So on the way home we pull into Union Springs launch to have a look. Quite a few vehicles with kayaks. We asked a couple guys what they were fishing for, the answer was Bass. My buddy asked them if they could do that and they said yes. The one guy said there were 106 entries yesterday for a tournament today. Just wondering how this can be legal on a closed season.

[T-Rok]

I know you can catch and release bass. that is ok. idk about the tournament part. that would require putting them in a live well and bringing them to shore. I dont see in any way how that part is legal. even if you let them go afterward. they were still kept in a live well. at the very least it is unethical.  the bass are nesting now. it's one thing to take them off of a nest and them go immediately. another to take them away from their nest entirely. 

[Gator]

Many kayak tournaments use photographic evidence to enter your catch - inches, not pounds. Catch, photo, release format. Best five. It can even be updated in real time. I'm sure that the anglers aren't keeping bass to weigh them in.

[T-Rok]

makes some sense... seeing as kayaks dont have livewells yet I think lol. I have still never been a fan of people catching spawning game fish, but the dec made exceptions for bass. I dont really have any special feelings for bass either. so I guess as long as they are letting them go right after catching them I have no qualms about it. ny state dec seems  to love the bass tournaments too. 

[glh456]

I also  found out that you can catch and release.

[MXFisher]

There was actually two kayak events on Cayuga this past weekend. You were allowed to enter both so there was some over lap but I would guess there was 150+ kayaks out there. When we do these event it is catch photograph and release like it was stated. We use standardized measuring boards and are given a code right before the event to include in the picture. The pics are submitted to an app that keeps and real time leaderboard. There was also a boat event that day going by weight, but they weigh em on the boat and video it and release them. It turned out to be an epic event on the kayak side. Largest turn out ever for the local club (NYKBF) with 94, and the regional event (Elite kayak fishing) had 106. The winner of the NYKBF event set a new record for the largest single day bag in NYS with a 100" bag of 5 fish.  

Edited May 9, 2023 by MXFisher

[bulletbob]

 Yeah, measure and release or not, 150 guys in yaks harassing spawning  bass is NOT good... Thats just bad meat in my opinion..   Leave the damn things alone, they get too much pressure from tourneys all season these days as it is.. Do they REALLY need even more pressure during the spawn?...

[glh456]

That was my point also bulletbob.

 

[bulletbob]

 I am just not a "tourney" kind of guy,, never was...

 No  problem with those that like them, except during a spawn, or  any time fish  are easy pickings say in salt water during seasonal migrations when the fish are closely bunched and vulnerable..

  as Frank Woolner, a great outdoor writer once wrote decades ago-
 

 "Fishing should be a contemplative sport, not a competitive one"

 

Those words struck me many years ago, and I always remembered them...

[ERABBIT]

Was there any bass fish kill noticed after they did there thing .....hope not

[glh456]

Don't know about bass kill but the MLF tourney was there last week I think.

 

[BSmaster]

Interesting, I thought it was catch and immediately release.  This sounds like catch, fumble for bump board, find phone, get camera ready, get control of fish, snap pic, a quick "yeah!" and let it go hopefully not too far away from the nest so the little fish haven't cleaned it out.  At least with MLF, it is a big solid boat which won't be dragged, they get penalized if the fish hits the deck, a quick weigh in on the boat and it is back in the water quickly.

 

I am indifferent to it.  I am not and do not foresee ever being a tourney guy so I shouldn't judge. If the DEC made an exception than there must be (maybe, probably) some money implications.  They know more than an average fisherman such as myself so its ok by me - no joke.  I think it is the hypocrisy that bothers me.

[rolmops]

It really makes no sense to me in terms of protecting the species that the law allows the catching of fish while they take care of their spawn. Never mind the moral implications.

Lots of time the bass after having been caught and released are so traumatized that they abandon their nest. It seems that the law was adjusted in order to serve the commercial interest of the tackle business.

[alwysfishn]

The state needs the money from licenses. That is why they open trout season during the spawn on April 1st and why they allow catch and release in most of the finger lakes for bass before the actual opening in June.