Just to let everybody know, our next tournament will be on the 23rd. Float tubes only and it looks like Harbor Tackle's gonna help us out a lot with some advertising and donating some stuff to raffle off. I talked to Paul about the thing and he was totally into giving some calstars and some reels to raffle. So, the more people that participate, the more good stuff we'll have for the raffle. It's lookin like it'll either be at carp reef or Haskell's, but if the weather's right I'd like to charge the oil island. So the location is still up in the air, but it'll probably definitely be for calico bass which means we'll have to do catch and release. Everybody will need some kind of livewell. Pick up a mesh laundry bag from k-mart and you're set. Man, I'm already amped for the next one. 23rd guys, 23rd. We've got plenty of notice this time so there's no excuse.
-Brian

Calicoes? I'm in there. If I can get off that week anyways.

Amish Ed

The raffle sounds great! I'm starting to appreciate Harbor Tackle. I'm going to give him more of my business. Count me in.

Question: Is the catch-and-release mandatory? If so, what are the penalties for dead fish...or say I catch a 4 pounder and want to take him home. What would be the rules that apply? Thanks Brian.

Frank,
Catch n release will not be mandatory, though it will be encouraged, however, all fish must be alive and in good condition for the weigh in. If you would like to keep your fish, you can do so after the weigh in, but before then, all fish must be alive and well. When everything's over with, you can take your fish home if you like. As for penalties, there will be a 1 lb. penalty for any dead fish weighed in. That is pretty steep for a 12" calico bass. Pete mentioned having a mixed bag tournament which might be cool. We'd have to think of a way to compete calico bass with like halibut and stuff.
-Brian

Originally I was thinking we could make calicos (or sandies) count for more than halibut (like a 1 lb. calico = 1.5 lb. halibut) but in thinking about it further I believe pound for pound might work also. The chances of catching 5 - 1 lb. calicos are probably the same as catching 1 - 5 lb. halibut.

There's also the option of making the minimum size limit on the calicos larger (like 14 or 15 inches) to make it more similar in difficulty to catching a legal halibut inshore. Not to mention a 15 inch calico is probably closer in weight to a 22 inch halibut than a 12 inch calico.

What we need are the views of other guys who are interested in fishing the tournament. What do you think of just halibut, just bass, or a mixed bag (halibut, white seabass, bass (kelp (calico) & sand (barred & spotted)) tournament and how should the fish be compared against eachtother.

Post your views so we can get this thing going.

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You can't catch tomorrow what you kill today - please practice catch and release.

I like the idea of species specific tournaments. This helps to take away the luck factor somewhat. Maybe you could flip flop between say bass one month and grits and wsb the next. I think that things could get really interesting over the course of a season as people rounded out there skills.

Amish Ed