# Portage wed. nighters



## charles d minor (Sep 3, 2012)

What did it take to win the Wednesday night tournament ?


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## lakeslouie (Jan 11, 2006)

week before last 12.5lbs. Not sure about last Wed. Went to Clearfork instead. I,ve fished 5 or 6 events and usually takes 12-15lb to win. Mike and Eddie had over 21lb about month ago.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

I used to be a big tourney guy but not no more. I am not bashing the Wednesday guys since they have been on that chain for years. Some old friends have been fishing it for years.. but enough is enough.

Not only is there the Wednesday tourneys but also a Monday and even Tuesday night tourneys so I have been told. This does not count the opens and clubs on the weekend.
I have caught allot of fish out there in my few trips this year with multi hook holes in their lips and faces. In one way its a good thing as thank God bass fisherman practice catch and release but what is the future there? There is not much control on the amounts of tourenys on the chain and it worries me.
Just my 2cents. I now go to quiet lakes or ones that fall off the radar for my bass fishing. So far its been a really good year.


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## hunt&fish4ever (Jul 22, 2014)

I agree with Bassbully52. Portage Lakes is very much over fished, which in turns makes it much more difficult, for the people that dont fish 3-4 times a week, to catch a lot of bass. I used to fish the Wed nighter, but like I said, my cousin and I dont fish as much as some of these other guys, so finding the fish for us was much more difficult. To boot, when we did have a good fishing day and brought in 15lbs, we didnt touch the top 3 who were 20+ lbs.


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## Buick Riviera (Jul 15, 2007)

I have never understood why Ohio doesn't charge a small permit fee and regulate the number of tournaments per lake per day or week. Portage takes a beating constantly from everything from small pot tournaments to tournament trails. It's not a stretch to say there are many weeks with 5 tournaments, sometimes a couple on the same day. A permit system would not only manage the resource but raise a little money to put back in other management projects.

And don't kid yourself. The handling of these fish by some of these "catch and release" tournaments are a joke. Heck, I watched a weigh in last year where the fish were handed to kids to release who dropped them on the beach a couple of times and pinned them down to pick them up again before getting to the water to watch them float away. 

Catch and delayed death is more like it for many of these fish.


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## hunt&fish4ever (Jul 22, 2014)

Sadly the way Ohio has been handling it's wildlife is quite embarrassing. From raising number of deer a hunter can take, to checking them in online, to too many bass tournaments. There's no conservation anymore. It's almost a free for all on wildlife and we're just paying the agencies to be staffed. I did read in the latest BASS magazine where it talked about their catch and release station for a tournament. It was a huge basin that was aerated and would refil itself from the lake after every release. They'd put the bass in there after the weigh in, let them calm down, then open the drain, which was a 12" pipe leading back into the water. Great idea I thought, but sadly I dont really see any conservation or government agencies putting money back into fish and game. More benefitial to them to put it in their pockets.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Poor catch and release is inexcusable and should be reported if a club or tournament is allowing kids to release the fish.

Most of the tourneys I fished years ago did their best to handle and release the fish. Most catch and release works or we would not have the populations on bass we have now.
The state has special regs for allot of fish like trout in the streams programs and bass in some lakes so some effort has been made. 
My problem is just he number of tourneys on that water in a single week. It is to much IMO.
Here is another thought on it to make your head hurt. Some guys who fish Wednesday nighter pre fish some almost all week for a 4 hour pot tourney. In the old days we just showed up and fished best man or team took it. Today they beat the water from the Thursday after the event to the next Wednesday. So it increases the pressure on the lake and its fish.

Portage has a good population of bass and we should be thankful but what is the future like I said?


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## millerveer (Jul 12, 2013)

Bassbully 52 said:


> Poor catch and release is inexcusable and should be reported if a club or tournament is allowing kids to release the fish.
> 
> Most of the tourneys I fished years ago did their best to handle and release the fish. Most catch and release works or we would not have the populations on bass we have now.
> The state has special regs for allot of fish like trout in the streams programs and bass in some lakes so some effort has been made.
> ...




Wednesday nights on Portage have a lot of old and current pros which makes it have a lot of tradition for bass tournaments in the area. I see no problem with guys practicing to try and figure out the lake. I do know that a Tuesday night tournament was created basically because those guys couldn't break into the top tier class of fishermen on Wednesday night. (I am not in that top tier but love the competition)
We do a nice job of catch and release for Wednesday nights but cannot speak for other tournaments.


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## mpd5094 (Jun 20, 2005)

Buick Riviera said:


> I have never understood why Ohio doesn't charge a small permit fee and regulate the number of tournaments per lake per day or week.


Every lake requires a permit be purchased for tourneys.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

millerveer said:


> Wednesday nights on Portage have a lot of old and current pros which makes it have a lot of tradition for bass tournaments in the area. I see no problem with guys practicing to try and figure out the lake. I do know that a Tuesday night tournament was created basically because those guys couldn't break into the top tier class of fishermen on Wednesday night. (I am not in that top tier but love the competition)
> We do a nice job of catch and release for Wednesday nights but cannot speak for other tournaments.


Lol well I would use the word "pro" loosely  anyhow it's just an example that anyone practicing increases the pressure . If Wednesday nighters practice maybe so do the Tuesday nighters.. See my point? Along with all the other tourneys it is to much IMO.


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## Buzzking (Feb 15, 2013)

Pressure is an enemy you need to eliminate Bassbully. If you fish, you apply pressure to all the fish, as do we all. If you let that occupy that space in your head and don't eliminate it. It will consume you! My son & I have fished Wednesday nighters most of the year. The best we did until last week was three bass, so we would dump'em and go home. But last week we FOUND some nice fish (with practice!), went out and caught them, and won the tourney with 13.33 pounds. We never could have done that if we let the enemy win. Portage will continue to be the best bass lake in NEO. Mostly due to C & R.
Smile and release all your enemies!


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Buzzking said:


> Pressure is an enemy you need to eliminate Bassbully. If you fish, you apply pressure to all the fish, as do we all. If you let that occupy that space in your head and don't eliminate it. It will consume you! My son & I have fished Wednesday nighters most of the year. The best we did until last week was three bass, so we would dump'em and go home. But last week we FOUND some nice fish (with practice!), went out and caught them, and won the tourney with 13.33 pounds. We never could have done that if we let the enemy win. Portage will continue to be the best bass lake in NEO. Mostly due to C & R.
> Smile and release all your enemies!


Lol well I don't know about all that enemy stuff it's not me for I do not fish them. It's just a non tourney bass guys thought on the amount of pressure on those small lakes that's all.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Don't you think that even if there weren't as many tournaments, guys would still fish just as much? And worse yet, eat what they catch instead of throwing them back like tournament rules state?

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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Bad Bub said:


> Don't you think that even if there weren't as many tournaments, guys would still fish just as much? And worse yet, eat what they catch instead of throwing them back like tournament rules state?
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Maybe but bass have much more pressure on them then other species. There are allot of guys with expensive boats and electronics converging on these small waters.
Like I said I am not against tournaments what so ever but the pressure out there worries me and I wonder why so many all season long.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

I understand the concern to an extent. My opinion is, tournaments didn't just start happening in the last couple years, yet these lakes still produce good numbers and size (by Ohio standards anyway). Are they maybe "tougher" to catch? Probably. But they are still there. The pressure isn't killing them off. If anything, it's making them smarter. But 95% of those 1-3lb bass that have grown wise to a square bill or chartreuse and white spinnerbait, have probably never seen a black jitterbug walk over their heads. I think naturally, the human race wants to always move forward, looking for the bait that nobody else has thrown. But instead of thinking along the lines of what we've seen, we need to think about what that particular population of fish have seen. The fish are there. No amount of tournaments or fishing pressure from everyday anglers is going to eliminate them. We condition them. The individual needs to change to keep catching them.

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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Bad Bub said:


> I understand the concern to an extent. My opinion is, tournaments didn't just start happening in the last couple years, yet these lakes still produce good numbers and size (by Ohio standards anyway). Are they maybe "tougher" to catch? Probably. But they are still there. The pressure isn't killing them off. If anything, it's making them smarter. But 95% of those 1-3lb bass that have grown wise to a square bill or chartreuse and white spinnerbait, have probably never seen a black jitterbug walk over their heads. I think naturally, the human race wants to always move forward, looking for the bait that nobody else has thrown. But instead of thinking along the lines of what we've seen, we need to think about what that particular population of fish have seen. The fish are there. No amount of tournaments or fishing pressure from everyday anglers is going to eliminate them. We condition them. The individual needs to change to keep catching them.
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


I was just talking to a friend the other day about this. Years ago nobody practiced for Wednesday nighters they just showed up and fished. Tourneys used to have cutoff but not anymore. The added smaller weekday tourneys there also are practicing. Again, I agree the population is good for the most part it's just will it effect the future?
I don't fish the chain allot anymore but those fish have allot of holes in their faces.


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## Buzzking (Feb 15, 2013)

Bassbully-I'm not attacking you, but I'd like you to understand my point of view. Do you fish for bass? Aren't you applying pressure to the fish? We all are in the same boat. Too many fisherman in Ohio for the terrible inland fishing that we all must share. If there were no tournies we would all fish for the same fish anyways-right? Don't let the term pressure make an excuse for not catching fish. Either fish harder, move down south, or take up bluegill fishing because the way things are going the 'pressure' isn't letting up any around here.


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## Buzzking (Feb 15, 2013)

Bad Bub said:


> I think naturally, the human race wants to always move forward, looking for the bait that nobody else has thrown. But instead of thinking along the lines of what we've seen, we need to think about what that particular population of fish have seen. The fish are there. No amount of tournaments or fishing pressure from everyday anglers is going to eliminate them. We condition them. The individual needs to change to keep catching them.
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


Very well put Bub!


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Buzzking said:


> Bassbully-I'm not attacking you, but I'd like you to understand my point of view. Do you fish for bass? Aren't you applying pressure to the fish? We all are in the same boat. Too many fisherman in Ohio for the terrible inland fishing that we all must share. If there were no tournies we would all fish for the same fish anyways-right? Don't let the term pressure make an excuse for not catching fish. Either fish harder, move down south, or take up bluegill fishing because the way things are going the 'pressure' isn't letting up any around here.


This is where we disagree. Pressure on bass or fishing for them regardless will be there tourneys or not I agree. But I do not buy into your view that it would be there and as high if there were no tourneys on say Portage lakes. When you add tournaments with no limits or restrictions to when, where or how many the pressure increases.

I know this for a fact since I started tourney fishing back when pressure was much lighter due to few tourneys. I started in the late 70's early 80's in a few Wednesday nighters where there we a bunch of good old boys in tin boats and 9.9 motors. There was just a handful in my first bass club (80's) We fished a few club events but did not live on the lakes and seldom did we prefish. We just showed up and fished ..let the best man win.

When I got into serious tourney fishing 80's thru mid 90's My personal fishing increased as did my partners and any friends who also fished tourneys. No longer did we just "show up' we spent allot of time finding bass to cash checks. This continued to increase even more when I started fishing larger events like OBTC and Redman as well as larger national team events like MTOC and ABA.
Now you had people camping and fishing all week and weekend on that lake to find the fish.
So tourneys do increase pressure on the bass, this is why the PL bass have allot of hook holes in their face but the bass on say Milton where I go do not. 
Does Milton have tourneys? Yes! But they are fewer and small. Portage has many weekly.
Again I agree the lakes are doing well and this has no reflection on my personal fishing which BTW is just fine.

It is the future I worry about ..that's all. I would like to see better restrictions on a some lakes with Portage being #1. I think a tourney or two if small on the weekend with the Wednesday nighter is enough. Add in a big open another weekly event and a few clubs a week and it get to be just to much.
Today I prefer quiet waters and only fish the chain here and there. The fishing is good and catch and release works but a little conservation and thought is all I'm talking about. I think the popularity of tourney bass fishing is high today and sometimes the fish are the last thing some tourney anglers think about.


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## Buzzking (Feb 15, 2013)

Bassbully 52 said:


> I would like to see better restrictions on a some lakes with Portage being #1. I think a tourney or two if small on the weekend with the Wednesday nighter is enough. Add in a big open another weekly event and a few clubs a week and it get to be just to much.
> Today I prefer quiet waters and only fish the chain here and there. The fishing is good and catch and release works but a little conservation and thought is all I'm talking about.


Please feel free to elaborate about how to police these 'non-permitted' tournaments. I don't know how the state can stop a group of 6-12 boats from getting together for 'a little tourney'. Especially with more than one ramp at Portage, not to mention the private ramps at PLX. Our club had a permit to fish at Lake Milton this last Sunday starting at 5:45am. Don't you know that there was another club there to fish that did not have a permit. We have to deal with it all the time, because calling the wildlife officer at 5:30 in the morn is not so good. How many non permit tournies are there at all these area lakes????? How does anyone restrict someone else from thier wildlife & outdoor activites?


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Buzzking said:


> Please feel free to elaborate about how to police these 'non-permitted' tournaments. I don't know how the state can stop a group of 6-12 boats from getting together for 'a little tourney'. Especially with more than one ramp at Portage, not to mention the private ramps at PLX. Our club had a permit to fish at Lake Milton this last Sunday starting at 5:45am. Don't you know that there was another club there to fish that did not have a permit. We have to deal with it all the time, because calling the wildlife officer at 5:30 in the morn is not so good. How many non permit tournies are there at all these area lakes????? How does anyone restrict someone else from thier wildlife & outdoor activites?


Well there you go you see that there is a problem? That is my 2cents and as I already stated what is the answer? What is the future?


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

I'll definitely back up any person/group that is willing to try to put a stop to non-permited tournaments. I'll agree the permit system is in place for good reason and should be followed 100%. Are they a bit of a P.I.T.A. to deal with each year? Sure. But it's much better than 3 tournaments all battling for a parking spot in the lot and a place to fish during the day.

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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Bad Bub said:


> I'll definitely back up any person/group that is willing to try to put a stop to non-permited tournaments. I'll agree the permit system is in place for good reason and should be followed 100%. Are they a bit of a P.I.T.A. to deal with each year? Sure. But it's much better than 3 tournaments all battling for a parking spot in the lot and a place to fish during the day.
> 
> Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


While it is a great thought and much needed I agree with Buzzking it would be very hard to enforce. I also highly doubt the state cares about the small club events and only wants to permit the larger opens.
Like I said I was thinking about it after hearing of other weekday events on the chain. Sadly there is little anyone can really do about it.


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## Buick Riviera (Jul 15, 2007)

mpd5094 said:


> Every lake requires a permit be purchased for tourneys.


New to me, but I don't do tourneys. Who issues the permits and where is the public information of who has a permit and who doesn't? How much do they cost? Do they limit the number of permits per lake in any given time period or is it just a money maker?


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Buick Riviera said:


> New to me, but I don't do tourneys. Who issues the permits and where is the public information of who has a permit and who doesn't? How much do they cost? Do they limit the number of permits per lake in any given time period or is it just a money maker?


All the permits I've dealt with came from MWCD. I believe the controlling body issues the permits for each particular lake. When I assisted with my old club, MWCD limited places like Tappan to 2 tournaments a day, and they could not have the same start/finish time. The cost was based on "estimated" participation.

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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

Just to be sure that my understanding of the permit system was correct, I called the main office of the Ohio Division of Wildlife. I asked if a permit was required to hold a fishing tournament. The person I talked to told me that there is no mandatory state requirement to obtain a permit to a hold a fishing tournament. Whether or not a permit is required to hold a fishing tournament at a particular lake is up to the park manager of each individual park the lake is in. 

From what I've been told in the past (by at least 2 tournament directors) there has been a limit placed on the number of tournaments that can be held on one lake at the same time. So some park managers do limit the number of tournaments. I also know that park managers can and will designate which launch ramp is to be used, where tournament competitors are to park their vehicles, where the weigh in is to be held, and even what time of year tournaments can be held on an individual lake. If a person wants to see that as the state not caring, that's fine. Personally I don't have a problem with the state not requiring a permit for every tournament. Would anyone really advocate a 6 - 12 boat tournament needing a permit? I sure wouldn't. 

In reference to there being a limit on the number of tournaments that can be held at a particular lake on the same day. From my understanding (again from talking to several tournament directors in the past) it depends on the combined total of boats fishing the two different tournaments. If that number exceeds the carrying capacity of the launch and parking facilities, a manager can and will deny a permit (if required at that particular lake) to one of the tournaments. Or they could have them launch from a different ramp (if available) or they can designate where tournament participants are to park their vehicles after launching. All of the above are examples of things that I know have happened in the past at lakes like Mosquito, West Branch, and Portage Lakes. 

As far as fishing pressure on bass here in Ohio goes .... welcome to a state that doesn't have that many lakes large enough to hold tournaments on. The lack of larger bodies of water, puts more strain on the larger lakes. Couple that with horsepower and electric motor only restrictions that some of the smaller lakes have, and you cut the down the list of lakes available, even further. It's kind of funny that we're talking about the Portage Lakes chain here. Portage Lakes has seen this kind of pressure for years, and on average the weights brought in at tournaments today, are no different than were brought in 10, 15, even 20 years ago. They may actually be higher today, than in the past.

Concerning people needing to fish 3 or 4 times a week in order keep track of where the bass are .... not really. Prior to a month ago I hadn't fished Portage Lakes in close to 10 years, and on my second day there my 5 best fish would have weighed 15 - 17#'s and I wasn't doing anything or fishing anywhere that an average bass fisherman wouldn't do. No the fishing isn't always that easy, But it isn't always that easy anywhere in Ohio. Even Mosquito can have tough fishing, and other than maybe Lake Milton, I'd consider Mosquito the easiest lake to catch a bass at here in northeast Ohio. 

Bassbully ..... you referenced Lake Milton as having smaller tournaments and fish that aren't blemished with hook marks. I love Lake Milton, it may actually be my favorite lake to fish. In the past I've talked to a few tournament directors and asked them why they don't fish the lake as part of their schedule. To a man they all said that they don't draw the number of anglers needed to offer the kind of pay outs tournament anglers are looking for. For some reason, guys just don't like to fish it. It used to be because it had a 15" minimum size limit. It was tough to catch one or two keeper bass if you didn't really know the lake. Another reason is .... even though Milton has more surface acreage than all of the Portage Lakes combined, it fishes smaller. I'm sure you'd agree that most bass fisherman are shallow water, target oriented anglers. Portage Lakes is leaps and bounds above Lake Milton in that type of fishing. At Milton, once you get north of the Point View ramp (if you don't fish off shore) pretty much all you have are docks, some small areas of shoreline cover, and little to no weeds. Even a smallish 25 - 35 boat tournament turns into a get in line event on the docks at Lake Milton. If just fishes small. As far as fish with hook marks on them ..... I won't say that Milton is at the level that Portage Lakes is in that regard, but when I fish the docks at Milton, I catch plenty of fish that have hook marks in them. 

Tournaments aren't the devils spawn that some people make them out to be. Sure some fish die, and some times in fairly large numbers when compared to the usual low numbers of immediate mortality. But those happenings are rare. I don't know what the post release mortality percentage is, but it's surely lower than the 100% mortality when someone takes a bass home to eat. 

Are there examples of poor fish handling at tournament weigh ins? Heck yes there are, and as a tournament angler I get pissed at the way some fish a treated by tournament officials, and tournament competitors alike. These are the fish we invest a lot of money in boats, motors, electronics, baits, tournament entry fees etc.... and the fish can't be better taken care of? Some of the examples I've seen are appalling. Some of them can't be avoided, some can be easily avoided. The example of dropped fish at a weigh is an example of poor fish handling, but it's no worse than an every day angler catching a fish and then that person proceeds to lay the fish on the ground or in loose sand, just so they can take a picture of it laying next to their fishing rod. Both are examples of poor fish handling for a fish you are going to release and then expect it to survive. 

I'll get off my soap box now.....


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

Good post Bassme. On Milton I agree it fishes small and agree it is a great lake. I love it and lakes like W.Branch, Berlin etc since you can structure fish them and do things you just can't do on PL. Plus they have smallies and I love my smallies.

As for PL I grew up fishing them over 40 years ago but just do not have the love of them I had in the past. I still feel we need to back off the amout of tourneys there. After some thinking and seeing others views here agree the fish are still there and the pressure will remain.


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## bassinkrazy (Apr 12, 2005)

very well put Buzzking! i would like to throw my 2 cents in not that it counts to anyone but me.... being one of those guys who pulls permits for every single tourney that i or the club im involved with fish.i would say theres lot of pressure on portage lakes... that being said its 2014 not 1990 tournament fishing has blown up. there are rods and reels and line now not to mention lures and side and down imaging that would have made us all pros back in the day.i for one am proud to say i know alot of really good fisherman and im not talkin about what they do or dont catch. im talking about how they take care of there catch and do there very best to make sure fish live to be caught another day.which is why you see 15 plus pounds sacks come out of the lakes . as far as pressure goes your gonna have it no matter where you go i guess as far as tournament fishing. with all due respect either you run with the big dogs or stay on the porch. personally i would say thank you to mike smeltzer .vic and tommy v.rory franks. marty salchek.ron kotch john shriver john whitaker steve mcClung ed hankins jeff brown the odnr and all the guys who pushed for better fish care and handling thanks for the for the tips and lessons over the years and yes they have and allways will be passed along .


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## Buick Riviera (Jul 15, 2007)

Thanks for your info Bassbme. Your insights show that the permit system is to manage parking lot and ramp access, not the resource, so my point remains. The bass are maintaining themselves thanks to the ecosystem of PL, not any management. The populations of other inland lakes, Alum Creek for example, aren't so lucky.


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## lakeslouie (Jan 11, 2006)

charles d minor said:


> What did it take to win the Wednesday night tournament ?


Did you get your question answered Charles? Too bad your thread got hijacked like that. A lot of folks on here don't have the balls to start their own thread, they just start bitchin. Too bad cause there is some good discussion here.


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## Buzzking (Feb 15, 2013)

What did it take to win last night? We left early-only 4 fish-around 8 pounds.


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## lakeslouie (Jan 11, 2006)

Buzzking said:


> What did it take to win last night? We left early-only 4 fish-around 8 pounds.


We didn't fare so well either. I heard Jeff Brown had 23lbs. That is awesome!!


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## millerveer (Jul 12, 2013)

lakeslouie said:


> We didn't fare so well either. I heard Jeff Brown had 23lbs. That is awesome!!



23 pounds? I spoke with someone who told me 14 pounds won it.


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## Buzzking (Feb 15, 2013)

lakeslouie said:


> I heard Jeff Brown had 23lbs. That is awesome!!


Well that was last week and it was 13.33lbs. It's crazy how that grew 10lbs-LMAO-And thank you Louie. The sun shines on a dogs butt once in a while!

Maybe 23lbs next week!


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## lakeslouie (Jan 11, 2006)

we didn't visit the weigh in, lol. Guess my source was off a bit!!


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## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

Buick ...... your view that the permit system is merely in place to manage the facilities of the lake, and not the health of its fishery, do not match mine. You interpreted my examples from the view point that bass tournaments, a catch and release endeavor, hurt the fisheries of the respective lake they are fished on. And that having fewer bass tournaments would result in a more healthy fishery. Those may be your feelings, but there is really is no evidence to support those feelings. 

Speaking strictly of the lakes that I have experience fishing in bass tournaments over the last 25 years, I have seen no falling off of those fisheries. To the best of my recollection, weigh in results have stayed fairly consistent over that time. If there has been an increase or decrease in a fisheries productivity over the years, it is more the result of physical changes in a lake's environment, rather than an increase in tournament fishing pressure. As I said, I'm speaking of overall tournament results, not my results or the results of the average or casual angler.

Does the added fishing pressure on bass as a result of tournaments equal more educated fish? Of course it does, but it doesn't result in a lessor number of fish. Just because we don't catch them, doesn't mean they aren't there. As has been mentioned in earlier posts to this thread, anglers of all levels and for all species have to adapt to continue to catch fish. The angler that doesn't adapt, is going to show diminishing results for their efforts. 

In actuality ..... the Portage Lakes chain offers a classic example of a fisherman needing to adapt to catch fish, and it isn't as a result of increased fishing pressure. It's because of the water clarity change. As I stated in my earlier post ... prior to a month ago, I hadn't been to Portage Lakes in close to 10 years. I was shocked at the change in water clarity. When I first started fishing the Portage Lakes years ago, it used to be what I would call, a stained water environment. That isn't the case any more. As a result of the increased water clarity, weeds are more prevalent and in more areas than they were in the past. They were thicker around the docks, and growing in deeper water, and in larger areas. I went there with rods rigged and ready to fish it as I did in years past, but the change in the lakes physical environment forced a change in tactics. I had to adapt to get on fish. 

Fisherman are some of the best people I know at coming up with excuses as to why they didn't catch them. I'm guilty of it as well. Instead of placing the blame on the state for poor fisheries management, maybe we should place the blame where it more likely falls .... on the shoulders of the fisherman that fails to adapt?

I hear a lot of people complaining about what they see as poor fisheries management on the part of the state. What's so poor about it? What would those that complain, do differently? I'm certain that they would base their management practices based on their angling results, but would their management practices result in a more healthy fishery, or would it screw up a fishery in another anglers eyes? Every angler wants better results, but how would they achieve it?

IMO, our state is dealing with a less than ideal situation when it comes to available water resources. Not every lake is suitable for healthy populations of the most sought after fish species. They're doing what they can with the available resources and monies they have. They have on going habitat enhancement and habitat restoration projects. They've adjusted length limits at various lakes, and installed slot limits at others. All in an effort to improve fishing. Even though there are a lot of anglers that only target bass, it isn't all about bass fishing. The state has a lot of people they need to make happy. I for one, am happy with their efforts. Even in the face of a higher number of bass tournaments, I think we have some pretty darn good bass fishing in Ohio. At least here in northeast Ohio.

Sorry if I was part of hijacking the thread. Just wanted to share my feelings on the discussion it turned into.


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## charles d minor (Sep 3, 2012)

I have enjoyed reading the posts . I also fish a few tournaments. I am in my second year fishing with the outlaw bass club.


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## Dinger (Aug 24, 2005)

To Lakes Louie!

Ding


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## kritterkare (Jul 30, 2014)

The first time I saw a big weigh in like in this video I was kind of disgusted but what ever, this is the world we live in.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

What disgusts you about that??? B.A.S.S. is at the absolute TOP of the fish care ladder.

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## kritterkare (Jul 30, 2014)

Looks more like a corporate sponsored rock concert then a fish care ladder, What is up with the multiple screens, flashing lights, fog machines and dramatic intro music and sound effects. 
I understand the whole corporate thing and sponsors, the fishing industry is huge and pushes the sport but corporate logos is not my idea of what the sport should be, not to that level anyway.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Neither should football, baseball, hockey, etc... as well I'm assuming?

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