A Joke!

I will not dispute what B.A.S.S originally stood for , and what it gave
back to the sport, and what kinds of opportunities it has given to
anglers such as myself who have a dream of putting their talents against
others who also want to do the same!

With that said, Some of the top anglers came out directly and said they
were fishing bedding fish. Does that necessarily mean they are
spawning?? No, but aren't we just splitting hairs???? My point is , it
still doesn't mean as much as a summer Classic when conditions are much
tougher, where it takes skill when there is abundance of food, and fish
are not coming off a winter where they may have not fed as much.

As I re-watch the final day, I see that Cochran, KVD, and Morris all
fished fast, and were not sight fishing , on the final day.

Obviously these are my opinions, and I definitely feel that B.A.S.S has
definitely gone down hill since Scott left his position of power. To
me, they have moved more to $$$$ than to who is the best angler. Who is
the most marketable versus actually the most talented.

Chris



Todd Copeland wrote:
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.

I still agree with what someone posted once, get a lake with no fish, stock
1 bass in it. The person who catchs that bass wins, make it like a 10 week
tourney, put them to the test

"Chris Rennert" wrote in message
...
I will not dispute what B.A.S.S originally stood for , and what it gave
back to the sport, and what kinds of opportunities it has given to anglers
such as myself who have a dream of putting their talents against others who
also want to do the same!

With that said, Some of the top anglers came out directly and said they
were fishing bedding fish. Does that necessarily mean they are spawning??
No, but aren't we just splitting hairs???? My point is , it still doesn't
mean as much as a summer Classic when conditions are much tougher, where
it takes skill when there is abundance of food, and fish are not coming
off a winter where they may have not fed as much.

As I re-watch the final day, I see that Cochran, KVD, and Morris all
fished fast, and were not sight fishing , on the final day.

Obviously these are my opinions, and I definitely feel that B.A.S.S has
definitely gone down hill since Scott left his position of power. To me,
they have moved more to $$$$ than to who is the best angler. Who is the
most marketable versus actually the most talented.

Chris



Todd Copeland wrote:
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.