The original post asked about the size of Largemouth & Smallmouth that had been caught on Winnipesaukee this past year. The best place to get this information is at the NH Fish & Game Department. If you want to email them and ask for the largest fish reported, you can reach them at
fish@wildlife.state.nh.us
Our organization (North East Bass Association of New Hampshire) held 2 events on the lake this year. 1 in August and 1 in September. The largest fish we reported are: Smallmouth = 4.27Lbs. and Largemeouth = 6.96Lbs.
Nice fish by anyone’s standards.
Now lets spend some energy on attempting to set the record straight for those who think the tournaments are the total cause of what they perceive as the decline in the Bass population.
I will speak only for the North East Bass Association of New Hampshire.
I am the President of this association where we maintain a membership of approximately 250. We are the largest non-profit bass fishing organization in the state. In 2003 we held 7 events. 2 on Winnipesaukee, 1 on Ossipee, 1 on Winnisquam, 1 on the Connecticut River, 1 at Moore Dam Reservoir and the last event was on Squam. The trail we run consisted of an average of 45 boats.
How do we run our events?
Start time is 7AM - no exceptions.
Finish time is 3PM
Boats are inspected:
Live wells must be operational.
Safety equipment must meet state and coast guard specifications.
Life vests must be worn when the gas motor is operating.
Kill switch must be operational.
At the beginning of each event, all participants receive a briefing which covers the times of the event (start-stop), mandatory observance of the state regulations re; the 150' rule, be polite to other boaters and land owners and respect their rights.
The tournaments we run on Winnipesaukee are headquartered at Ames Farm Inn, Gilford. When the boats are launched between 5:30Am and 6:30AM, they are not allowed to start their gas motor (our attempt to reduce noise). At approximately 6:45AM all boats start their outboards and idle (less than 6mph out to the markers near Diamond Island where they are staged for start (there is normally a Marine Patrol boat present at this time). At start, the boats leave the area at headway speed until they have reached the 150 distances and then they can go on plane. This process is repeated 1 at a time until all boats have left. In the event that a boat breaks this rule - they are disqualified.
Here is a question and you are all on the lake a great deal:
Do pleasure boats; ski craft and jet ski's start out into the lake with this level of safety observed. The answer is only the responsible drivers.
Now let's go to the daily activity of fishing:
Lot's of folks think that all bass boats do is race around the lake all day long.
That couldn't be further from the truth. When conditions permit and typically only in the early part of the day, we run on plane to our 1st spot to fish. All the boats are then using their electric trolling motor to move the boat along in a somewhat stealth mode. This is how a majority of the day is spent. Speaking for myself, I probably use the outboard to move 6 or 8 times in a day.
Live well systems:
The boats I have run (same as most on the water) had twin 18-gallon live wells. These well are capable of supporting a daily bag limit of fish. Most of us keep our live wells on constant and recirculate the water all day long. The pumps on my live wells (4 pumps) are all 500 gallons per hour pumps. This means that the live wells completely exchange the water 27.77 times per hour. This method of fish management is re-enforced by our tournament rule that imposes a 1/4-pound penalty for any fish that die.
Release of fish:
One would think from the comments in an early post in this thread that tournament angler’s just toss their fish back in at the shore at the end of the event. "WRONG"
At the end of the day, we set up three (3) 100 gallon tubs that are filled with fresh water from the lake and treated with a product called slyme which protects the fish's slyme coat (note; this product is non toxic and approved by NHF&G as well as the Federal Government). The fish must be brought up to the weigh in tanks in large bags that are filled with fresh water. After the fish are brought up to the scales and weighed, they are placed in a separate tank, which we refer to as the hospital tank where they are monitored for initial-delayed mortality. The fish are cycled out of this tank at a rate of approximately 20 fish every 10 minutes and placed in live wells (no more than 8 at a time and transported back out to deep water (I can't reveal the location, but it's at least 1/4 mile from Ames in several directions).
I would like to invite anyone to visit our events this coming year and witness for yourselves the professionalism and efforts that Bass anglers take to preserve the fishery.
Note: Anyone interested in the real statistics of the health of the fishery should contact Steve Perry, Chief of Inland Fisheries, and NH Fish & Game Department. Ask him for the statistics on the quantity and quality of the fish in Winnipesaukee. The records are consistently reporting an increase in both quality and size in the lake.
By the way, I haven't bashed anyone and must add that some of the information in this thread includes text that would lead some to believe that 4 and 5 pound bass caught in tournament was once routine - NOT TRUE. I have been fishing tournaments since the 70's and fishing in general for about 50 years. Smallmouth in that size class are rare trophies. Some people will always say the sky is falling.
My important message to all is:
1) Get the facts from NHF&G
2) Our organization and many others are doing more for the fishery than any other groups which unfortunately include state and federal agencies.
3) Take me up on my invitation to attend an event in 2005 and see for yourself.
Regards and Merry Christmas to all
God Bless America
JohnNH
John Cowan
President
North East Bass Association of New Hampshire