multi fish pictures

[Mike R]

I want to add before I continue that this is not an attack on Big Daddy Blue Ranger,"Nice fish by the way." This is just something that I personally would like to get other opinions on and his pictures are just the latest example. Why in the world if your not in a tournament would you drag around these larger post spawn bass on a week day? Even from a tournament standpoint it's rough on these large fish. Why put them through the undue stress?? What happened to the days were guys would catch a big fish take a picture of it and put it right back? I'm seeing a lot more of multi fish pictures of guys with huge limits on weekdays. Like I said my opinion, I just hate to see it.
Mike

[BIG DADDY BLUE RANGER]

Actually I agree with you... and I ran my livewells continuously, added almost half a bottle of Rejuvenade and drained and refilled the livewells twice just to try and reduce the stress... they all swam away lively I'm happy to say... but I just had to have a pic on a day like that............. What bother's me more is watching other tournament fisherman lay bass on the carpet,,, you know like when there culling and all five are on the deck... or boat flippin em in and just laying em down...now that's stress on our little green friends, removes their slimecoat, and probably has a lot to do with why we see so many fish with sores during warm water months.

[NaCl]

*NM*

[fishhook]

blue daddy i agree, i fished a little make shift tourny last saterday with six other boats, and you want to talk about pissing me off they dumped there fish out of a bucket after weigh in didnt try to revive them or anything, after i weighed my fish not only did i stay there and watch my fish swim off but i sat there a revived 4 other fish that were laying there about dead, s@#t gets under my skin

[gt5bass]

Actually sometimes if do what Big Daddy did, Rejuvenade and livewells not stop and refreshed several times if they are in there for a while, the fish can be released less stressed and more recouperated, than after you yanked after the water. They have had to recoup a bit. I have had post-spawn fish that I have caught and went to put back and they went "belly up". Grabbed dropped in the livewell with some rejuvenade and ran them for a while and monitor the fish and when I released the fish you hardly could tell the fish was post spawn. Had all its color back and it swam away vigorously

[BIG DADDY BLUE RANGER]

Hopefully I don't sound like I'm on a soapbox here, since I maybe already an offender, but I was just thinking of a few other not so fish friendly practices.

Nets.. how many guys do you still see using the cheaper nets with fin tearing scale removing knots..... instead of the more fish friendly rubber or knotless dipped nylon types...

Limits...why are there still a few 7 fish limits for team tourney's on big fish waters..delta, clear, pedro... more fish in the tank= more stress.... also think about non-shared weight pro-ams,, that's ten in the tank and sometimes HUGE fish.

Fish tags... I know the pin type are more secure and make it easy to grab to pull fish out.. but I still don't like the idea of poking an extra hole. I see a lot of fish with torn mouths and every onece in a while catch one with the top lip half rotted away from guys who like to pin the top lip... I still use the clip on type even though there a pain sometimes and slip off.

I remember watching some big tourney weigh-in on TV where they actually weigh the fish in a bucket of water,,, just another way to help em out. Seemed like a great idea.

OK I'll stop,, before I go off and join PETA or something just as crazy....

[Long Nguyen]

Nice limit of fish James.
You're killin em on the river this spring!

[Fish Chris]

Heck, I'd just like to have a multi (big) fish day ! In all of my years of trophy hunting, I've never caught more than two DD's in a trip, and I've only done that 5 times.

Speaking only for myself, when I catch a big one, it stays in the livewell just long enough to get out the scale, set up the tripod, take photos, weigh, and release it.

I remember once I had a DD in the live well, and was getting my camera setup, when "whoosh" ! A big bass goes on the chase of a trout, 25 feet from my boat ! I practically throw down the camera... whip out a swimbait.... and Whack ! But it didn't hookup Probably the closest I'll ever come to holding "two big bass" at one time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BTW, even during the 10 to 15 minutes I might have a big fish in my livewell, I have to check on it about 5 times ! I am always just so concerned (yes, probably over concerned) that the fish is going to stress out and die. I'll tell you, if I fished tournies, and stuck a big one, I'd be a bucket of nerves for the rest of the trip, and would waste half of my time, tending to the trophy bass in the live well.

Anyway.

Fish

[Tobe]

NICE!

[supermat]

Big Daddy Blue Ranger,
This isn't a bash on you as I have done the exact same thing on several occasions but more recently I've stopped doing it. On a day like that why is it not just as prestigious to post 4 or 5 photos in a row of big fish? You've got the same clothes, conditions are the same, people can tell its the same day. You know what I mean? Then you're not stressing the already stressed fish (the 9 lber looked 90% dead as it is... she must have had a ROUGH spawn but I'm sure she'll look normal again in a couple weeks). Out of curiosity, did you check how long that big one was, she looked to be a pretty huge fish, regardless of actual weight.

[spanky99]

I don't know about the rest of you but that pic is awesome. I would die to have a pic like that on my desk at work. 4 or 5 pics at different times just doesnt have the same effect as holding up a 40+ limit of fish. A (as in one) picture says a thousand words and when I see photos like that all I can O MY GOD! You must of thought you won the lotto.

[swimbait]

It has everything to do with knowing how to handle fish correctly.
It has everything to do with checking the fish regularly
It has everything to do with using the right amount of treatment in the water
It has everything to with the water temperature
It has everything to do with the condition of the fish
It has everything to do with the size of the livewell
Most of all, it has everything to do with knowing how to handle the fish correctly

Some people know how to handle fish. Some people, quite frankly, don't. If you've fished your entire life, you probably have a strong idea of how to keep fish alive. If you just started last year, maybe you don't. It takes time to learn and understand. To be able to look at a fish and tell that it's not doing well.

I take most of my pics of single fish because I don't like having to worry about keeping fish alive. Occasionally a situation comes up where I can get a two fister. Maybe once a year. If it happens, cool. If not, cool. I know how to take care of fish. I bet Big Daddy Blue ranger does too. I've been reading his report on this site for ... at least 5 years.

If you hold the big ones for a group photo, just do it in good conscience. Respect for the fish always brings good karma

[Larry Hemphill]

Remember that water temp has a lot to do with keeping bass in a livewell for awhile at Clear Lake. Occasionally it is ok to keep some in the well for a group photo if the water temp is no higher than 68-70 degrees. They don't need as much oxygen in cool water. After it gets warmer, take a pic of a big bass and let her go! Make sure she is in your livewell while you get the camera ready!

[straitline]

I guess this is the new thing to bitch about!!! The guy caught A bag of A lifetime, I would do the same thing..

[bassindon69]

WTG! Big Blue!
Well now I have something to say about this one . I have caught 3 fish over 10 in the same trip, two times now. Another trip with two over 10. Lots of 8's and 9's and on... Some times the bite is on and you load the wells fast, that's just the way it goes at times. As soon as my wells are full or the bite dies what ever comes first (most cases 15 min or so) then it is time to take pics and set them free and start over again. For me and my pics it is just how I felt when I unloaded the wells if I want a double shot or not. It is a lot better to just do one for sure. But some of us would like to have the two DD's at the same time also, I have and they do it because it is a cool looking pic. I do not believe I have hurt any big fish in any way. Most over 10 are not in a well for more then 15 to 30 min in most cases. I think most of us do our best to take care of them. I have two wells in my boat and the last time I loaded them fast I had a 13 a 12 and 11 in the front larger well and a 7 and 6 in the back smaller well. At that time I knew if I had kept fishing and got another big one I had no more room, plus I was at my 5 fish limit anyway, time to stop. That takes me away from good fishing taking pics of 5 fish for another 15 min or so. Did I miss out on another big one? Maybe. But I know I took care of what I had. As far as water temp, Most I catch are in 65 or cooler and this is good cool water for them. I hope everyone takes care of the big girls they boat the best they can. I don't feel it is right to say anything about a guy that keeps fish in his wells on a week day for a short time and talk undue stress. The tourneys is where the undue stress is. Being that I do both. I have caught many big limits but when you have over 30 lbs in your wells for over 7 hours and can't wait to get them out of there and then you have the scale time and pic time, Now I think you could say that the weekday guy should say.. man I wish those weekend tourney guys would stop stressing and killing fish. I know not many fish die in tourneys but a few do. What makes it better to stress the fish on the weekends? Money....thats what it is about.
If it was for the friendship there would be no cost and no prize tourney, you would do it just to get together. Your kind of saying here its ok to do it if it's for money but not if it's not.
Think about it.
Some times it is very easy to see why many don't post here. They them self do not want undue stress LOL!!!
We all live and learn all the time.

Don.

[Shawn R.]

Very good topic of which i have a strong opinion! First, of all i have been guilty of keeping multi fish in the past for a prime "photo op." but ive had a change in heart! It doesnt bother me on deeper pre spawn feeding fish but anything caught in the heat of the summer or during the spawn should be released IMMEDIATELY! I watch it on a daily basis this time of year, guys catching a big bed fish and live welling them for a later photo op. Ive even seen big fish on a stringer for an hour waiting for their buddies with a "better" camera after i offered to shoot a pic with my camera. Alot of us have become so obsessed with taking pictures of ourselves without thinking of what is best for the fish and the lake! Ive head the argument that both fish will find other mates and spawn anyway and this is true however, big fish are found dead all the time and it makes me wonder how they are being handled in the first place! I now practice what i preach! I have caught a 15.5 this year and most recently an 18lb 0. Both fish i would love to livewell and parade around and show everyone however i did the right thing! Incidently both fish were spotted the next day with the same male on the same bed each time and NO i did not catch them again I mean no disrespect to anyone and to catch 2 or more fish on the same day requires a TON of skill. This is just my opinion!

[miklanderson]

First let me say that is one heck of a picture. Nice fish.


The only question I have is...I've seen a lot of these photos with multiple fish. I was told it is illegal to keep live game fish in the live well unless you're fishing a tournament. Is this correct or am I way off base here? Before the bashing starts, let me say that I have no problem with the guys that do it. I'm just wondering about the legality of it.