On Mon, 27 Feb 2006 00:08:42 GMT, Chris Rennert
wrote:

This Classic was a joke. They said B.A.S.S hit a home run by moving
this tournament to the spring???? Are you kidding me??? How much skill
does it take to sit on top of fish and rip them off their beds?????
Luke Clausen a great Angler?? Yeah right, he is about as great as Dean
Rojas.

Rich made a comment about dying fish in the live well, what about
Spawning fish on their beds. Even the new Bassmaster magazine promotes
it. I grew up respecting the resource more than anything else, and
ripping fish off their beds cannot be good for the fish. Our state
closes the season during the spawn (at least they try, weather doesn't
always cooperate.) I can't believe nobody is commenting on that. Can
you call a bed ripper the best bass angler??? I have had people show me
how they are able to "snag" them off their bed if they don't bite.

I don't think your looking at all the facts and extraditing others.

I get and read Bassmaster magazine. While it does talk about fishing
for spawning bass, they are only pointing out what happens anyway. If
Bassmaster magazine did not exist, I'd say the same number of people
would still fish for spawning bass. What BM magazine _also_ points out
time and time again is that these fish should be released _as soon as
possible_. That way they can return to their beds and continue with
the breeding process. BM magazine has _ALWAYS_ stressed this.

In addition, I don't know that any of the bass caught in the BMC were
actually in the process of spawning. Only in the last could of weeks
has the water temp been above 65 (when I was on Toho last Friday the
surface temp was about 68% and this was after a warm spell). This time
of year in Florida bass are moving into their _PRE-SPAWN_ area. I
believe that is where the fish were that were caught... not sitting on
a bed, protecting their hatchlings.

But also, BASS and organizations like it have done such much educating
over the past decade that I thing the good _FAR_ out-weights the bad.
Most people I know today that fish for bass don't keep them. They
practice catch and release. I think this is a result of organizations,
such as BASS, pushing for a more environmental way of practicing the
sport.