A member of our audience recently provided correspondence between himself and the fishing authorities in Tennessee. The narrative explains his position regarding the impact of the Bill Dance Giant Bass Open [March 21-22] on fish mortality and the response of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
Whether you agree or disagree with the tournament complaint most likely depends on which side of the coin you are on—recreational fishing or tournament fishing. The solution to the argument is probably to address fish mortality from tournaments to everyone’s satisfaction. Your position and comments are invited.
SFN READER
Y’all [TWRA] are killing our bass off with these professional fishing tournaments for us, the recreational fishing Families & Friends!
TWRA RESPONSE
Thank you for sending your statement to Ask.TWRA@tn.gov. I would like to understand your thoughts behind your statement a little more and take some time to answer any questions you have about the Bill Dance Giant Bass Open and our partnership in this program.
Please feel free to express your thoughts and ask any questions you may have on TWRA’s management of fisheries, and I will do my best to provide you with answers to those questions.
SFN READER
The problem is that it has been demonstrated and documented that ~45% of ALL bass caught during these endless fishing tournaments, then put in the live well to be transported to the tourney weigh-in, die shortly after being released back into the water….the BIG fertile female bass are suffering the most post-fishing tourney die-offs. The body-of-water bass population is plunging, with fewer fish per acre.
PRO-BASS fishing is killing off our natural bass fisheries, and the recreational fishermen/women are the immediate real losers…
TWRA RESPONSE
Thanks for your comment and thanks for fishing in Tennessee! I recognize and appreciate your opinion concerning tournaments.
TWRA has received numerous comments concerning tournaments, and we are and have been actively looking at ways to better manage tournaments throughout the state. TWRA is especially concerned about summertime mortality and has had discussions with tournament directors and chambers of commerce about reducing or eliminating summertime tournaments or trying the catch, weigh, release tournament style. TWRA also encourages tournament anglers to practice the best handling practices for tournament-caught fish.
Tournament mortality is reduced when water temperatures are cooler. The numbers you reference are from a specific study on Coosa River lakes in Alabama. TWRA data does not indicate plunging bass populations in Tennessee lakes. If population-level impacts from angling arise, TWRA will certainly look at implementing appropriate regulations to protect the fishery.
Organized fishing competitions have been around nearly as long as sportfishing and professional tournament fishing since the 1960’s. It is entrenched in American culture and widely popular throughout the U.S. Events like the Bill Dance Giant Bass Open promote the great work TWRA Fisheries does managing Tennessee’s aquatic resources. The Bill Dance Signature Lake (BDSL) program is a collaborative effort of Bill Dance Outdoors along with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development (TDTD) to provide high-quality fishing experiences for anglers of all ages worthy of the fishing legend’s endorsement.
This program has provided extra funding to increase habitat work, fish stocking, and infrastructure improvements at lakes across Tennessee. Many of these lakes are in economically depressed areas that will benefit greatly from the revenue generated by increased fishing activity.
The Bill Dance Giant Bass Open Tournaments are not professional tournaments but targeted at the average recreational angler. In addition, these tournaments limit the number of fish that an angler may have in a live-well to 3, and only one fish is weighed per hour, which, coupled with current water temperatures, should greatly minimize mortality.
TWRA is committed to managing our fisheries to ensure anglers of all types have a great experience.
SFN READER
Previous email exchanges with TWRA [about the Bill Dance Giant Bass Open] and my past participation in the Coosa River Study conducted by the State of Alabama is the basis of my blunt feedback…tournament caught fish suffer 45% kill-off (Related article: https://southernfishingnews.com/slot-limit-proposed-for-alabamas-coosa-river-lakes/) and with the fertile bigger female bass being the goal of winning the money being killed off in higher percentages than the bucks.
My Dad & Bill Dance were buddies of the old days…Forrest Wood personally built my Ranger…and I helped to form the old Atomic Bass Club of Chattanooga and in those days all the weighed-out fish were consumed in the Club’s fish fry afterwards…
TWRA RESPONSE
I agree that tournaments can be a huge source of fish mortality if they are conducted during the warmest months of the year, and that tournaments can have impacts due to the fact that they are concentrating on the largest fish in the population of any given reservoir. And that is why we have actively worked to improve the conservation effort of the GBO tournaments. They have scheduled their tournaments during the cooler months, and if they have a tournament at a marginal time that might have warmer water temperatures, they limit the number of fish in the live well at any time to two. They are taking precautions to make sure the impact is minimized. We are hoping that this tournament series and format will become the standard for fish care and conservation of resources.
Thank you for adding Mr. Scott’s response. He shared some of these points with you earlier. And as he stated, TWRA is working to better manage the impacts of tournaments and better manage Black Bass populations across the state. We have instituted seasonal regulations on some reservoirs (Douglas and Norris) where we may have some tournament mortality limiting our populations. We are excited to see how these regulations impact the bass populations over the next several years. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have.
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