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Wisconsin Bass Home |
By Jeff Mitchell It happens every winter. Your local club gets together and discusses where they should have tournaments and when. Or maybe you even run a local circuit that pre-selects lakes. Everyone has their own ideas about when and which lake to fish. ‘This lake will be hot,’ or ‘we went there last year and didn’t catch anything’ are common phrases heard around this time. So, how do you go about selecting lakes that will be good for your club or for the circuit that you are running? Here are two perspectives to consider when choosing a tournament site. The Tournament Director Perspective There are many considerations when someone is looking at a possible tournament site. Believe it or not, the first thing that should be considered is parking. "The biggest thing that a club or individual needs to think about is not necessarily the size of the water," states Wisconsin B.A.S.S. Federation Tournament Director Roy Bragg, "but the number of parking spaces." Generally, a club will look at the fishing or how many acres the lake is before the parking issues. "I see a lot of clubs fishing smaller lakes. I think that a club shouldn’t take up more than 50% of the parking. It’s when a club ties up most of the parking and launch area and leaves nothing for the public that it can become a problem," Bragg explains. Small clubs generally don’t have to deal with this issue; however, it can become a problem for even a small club. A lot of lakes under 400 acres have limited access or limited space for parking. A club with only 6 boats can take up a vast majority of these parking spaces. "I really encourage our federation anglers to look for a larger lake with plenty of amenities for everyone." A lot of tournament directors disagree with this point. They state that if it is public parking then it doesn’t matter who is using it, a tournament or someone out for fun. Bragg disagrees. "Remember that it isn’t the pros who the public sees at the launch every weekend, it’s you. It’s the grassroots fishermen that are the ambassadors for our sport. When the public has a problem with tournaments, it’s generally not the large, nationally run ones, it’s the weekend clubs." The next issue that clubs and organizers should look at is the size of the lake. There is no hard and fast rule about how many boats per acre that a tournament should have. Many people suggest 50 to 75 acres per boat. Bragg’s suggestion is even more conservative than that. "I usually suggest, as a rule of thumb, 100 acres per boat. Now I know that means if you have 10 boats you should have a 1,000-acre lake. Granted, that would be ideal but I know it doesn’t always happen. I see a lot of clubs fishing 400 acre lakes or even smaller." Many lakes fish ‘bigger’ than they actually are because of the shape, the depth and the cover and structure of the lake. There are many instances when 6 boats on a 400-acre lake would never even see each other until the end of the day. However, this is more the exception than the rule. "Remember, whenever we are out fishing, we are the representatives for our sport. If we want continued public support, we have to act like the conservation of our resources is important to us." When selecting the lake for a tournament, it is a good idea to submit your tournament to the local B.A.S.S. Federation. "We keep a list of all the tournaments that are submitted to us on our website—www.wisconsinbass.com. This allows everyone, not just our members, to see when and where tournaments are taking place. Our division directors will notice when there are user conflicts. We try to help mediate them and get them settled so that everyone is happy," Bragg says. "When a couple of small clubs, say under 8 boats, are fishing the same water, it might not be a big deal. When we are running our state tournaments or another organization is running a tournament with over 50 boats, it can become quite a problem." Even if you don’t belong to your local federation or are even ‘competing’ against them to attract fishermen, it is good practice to list your tournaments on their websites. Even though they have no jurisdiction over the lakes, an organization like this usually goes out of their way to help the tournament angler. "We are not here to judge where you should be or where you shouldn’t be. We just want to make fishing in Wisconsin great," Bragg says. He suggests listing your tournaments as early as possible to help with any conflicts. If it is listed by February or, at latest, early March, most "user conflicts can be settled and avoided easily." Permitting is becoming a more popular tool for states to help regulate tournaments. Even permits have limits. In Wisconsin, like many states, has a permitting process. "If your tournament has pay outs over $500 and has more than 20 boats in it, you need a permit," Bragg continues. "This allows the state to help control the number of boats and people using a popular launch." Bragg tells of many tournaments launching out of Alma, Wisconsin to fish on the Mississippi River. "Pool 4 is a popular tool. It wouldn’t be hard for a couple of tournaments to schedule on the same day. This helps the state to deal with potential conflicts." It also allows the organization that gets the permit first choice of the body of water. "We recently had to reschedule our state tournament. Unfortunately, I had to reschedule it 3 times due to other organizations having permits. It was a hassle but in the long run, it’s worth it." Scheduling a large tournament when another tournament is already launching and running out of the same area can create confusion and difficulties even for the fisherman. The Landowners Perspective "Most landowners are pretty tolerant of tournaments," states Dan Lee, President of the Chapman Lakes Conservation Association. The Chapman Lake chain consists of Big Chapman Lake and Little Chapman Lake located in Kosciusko County in North Central Indiana. Together they comprise 638 acres of water with Big Chapman Lake large enough for skiing and power boating. "The only time we really don’t want to see tournaments on the lakes is during the weekends that are really busy." Lee states that the first weekend in July continuing on until the first weekend in August is the busiest time on the lakes. Children are out of school and a lot of families have friends and relatives visiting. "Generally, the tournament anglers conduct themselves well. There are two major complaints that I hear about. The first is that the anglers jam their trucks and trailers into our small public launch area. The second complaint that I usually hear is that the anglers, when they decide to move from one fishing location to another, go as fast as they can without regard for the safety of everyone on the lake." Lee mentions, "…by and large, most of the tournament anglers are courteous to the folks around here. They watch their P’s and Q’s and are good neighbors." Lee suggests a couple of things that tournament angler can do to help the image that they bring to a lake. "I’d love to see the sponsors of the tournament return the bass to the spots where they were caught. All of the research that I’ve read has said that a bass doesn’t migrate that much after it’s released from a tournament. That they seem to stay in one particular area for their lives." Of course, doing this is not practical or feasible. However, using a release boat to return the bass around the lake instead of just by the launch can help with this. "I live on the windy side of the lake. So after some tournaments, I will see some bass floating on the surface. I’m a fisherman and love to fish just like the tournament fisherman." Taking every precaution with the fish to make sure they stay alive and are releasable are some of the easiest steps that one can take to ensure the maximum survival rate. Something that anglers do not always consider but is important not only to the landowners but also to most tournament directors is to convey a professional appearance. Bragg thinks it is important to maintain proper etiquette when at the tournament site. "We all know what language and actions are considered inappropriate, especially around children. Now, I’m not claiming to be perfect, but when the public is around, we need to be careful." Language is the not the only thing that bothers locals. Simple things can be done to promote the sport and guarantee a welcome back from a local homeowner’s group or launch area. Throwing your trash in a proper container or taking it back to your house with you is one very easy step. "For the most part, I think tournament anglers are much more tuned in to the lake’s ecosystem. I see them being careful with trash, making sure that they don’t spill fuel into the lake and other things like that," Lee says. One of the things that the homeowner’s group does wonder about is if boaters are taking the proper precautions to make sure that invasive species are not introduced to waterways. Lee says the questions about invasive species have slowed down because "There are now zebra mussels in our lakes." Boaters need to be sure to clean and wash live wells, boats and trailers before moving from one lake to another. The accidental introduction of non-native species can be very detrimental to a water system. ‘Hitch hikers’ can range from fish to invertebrates to plants. Eurasian milfoil and curly leaf pondweed are other invasive species that Chapman Lakes Association has estimated will cost them over $150,000 to control and monitor for the next five years. This is just for one chain of lakes. If boaters are careful, the spread of these invasive species can be slowed or stopped and large expenses can be avoided for other homeowner groups. Summary Many factors need to be considered when scheduling tournaments. The most important factor seems to be that anglers need to conduct themselves in a professional, courteous way. The anglers need to remember that many people make their homes around the lake. Just as most anglers wouldn’t want someone outside of their window at 5:30 a.m., landowners don’t want that either. But most owners are understanding of tournament anglers and ultimately don’t have any issues with them. "There are a few participants who don’t pay a whole lot of mind to common sense, but most of the anglers are courteous in public," Lee says. Being courteous and following simple rules, tournament anglers can choose the ‘right’ lake every time and make sure that the next time a tournament is held on the lake that the anglers, landowners and fish will all have a better time. Secondly, tournaments need to be recorded in a way that the public can have access to them. Using local groups, like the Wisconsin B.A.S.S. Federation, is an effective communication tool. Finally, all tournament anglers need to be aware of simple things that they can do to help the habitats of all the fisheries they visit. Cleaning up garbage, rinsing bilge and live wells, and making sure that they leave the lake as clean as when they arrived, help not only to promote the sport but also help to ensure good relations with homeowners. About the Author: Jeff Mitchell has a degree in biology from Calumet College of Saint Joseph. He is currently employed at the John G. Shedd Aquarium where he has worked for the past 10 years. He is a member of the Nitro Boat’s State Team and an avid angler. |
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