PBR Tournament: One step forward, one step back
 

PBR tourny made a couple changes this year... one that is great, and one that isn't.

Change #1:
For those that dont know, they have switched their format to Catch and release for 2016, which i think is great. I was excited about this and ready to enter this year, UNTIL!!!!

Change #2: They no longer have separate categories for surf and boat for striped bass! So surf guys are competing against boat guys.

PFFFFFFFFFFFTTT !!!!

Now, I am confident I can produce 3 large fish this season, but I still think separate categories is the way to go, and I probably will sit this one out despite the C&R format.

Any surf guys signing up?

So they made it a boat tournament then. No point wasting the money if you fish the surf mostly.

Yeah was pumped to see it as a catch and release tourney now

One of the guys from the company made a good point about why they did one category

I guess the winning fish last year for boat and surf where close if not 1"-2" apart so they felt it was "a level playing field"

A theory is 50" boat fish will usually weigh more than a 50" surf fish so they felt the inch total wouldn't really effect the standings

I didn't sign up
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I haven't done a tourney since the striper cup about 5-6 years ago. I think of a tourney like carrying the 60 lb boga. When i carry the 60 i don't need it. If i carry the 30 it gets bottomed out. Join a tourney and i will catch small fish, don't join and the fish grow.

Hahahah! I know what you mean... sometimes a tournament entry form is like fish repellent.

The best nights are when you fish alone, and forget your boga and your camera

Oh so very true.

Haven't decided yet if I'll do it this year or not. I was excited to hear it was all C&R because I haven't felt like killing a dish for a tournament for the past couple seasons but then equally bummed there was no surf category.

Winning one week and getting the $300 is probably doable even against the boat guys but winning the season would be pretty tough.
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I stopped doing tournaments 3 years ago. Who give a F#$*K if you caught the biggest fish?? It's all BS now.

With the Striper stocks being what they are, I find it unconscionable to have any type of tournament that includes Stripers. C& R of big stripers also kills fish. They mortality is less than an outright kill but a certain percentage die.

So, I'm sure I'll get some push back from some who will maintain that C&R is "sportsman like". The only way the fish has a chance of surviving is if you unhook it without taking it out of the water and handling it.

If you are in a tournament that has a C&R category, then you will need to take the fish out of the water, measure it, photograph it, and get it back in the water. You think you can do that in, let's say 30 seconds or a minute or 2 minutes. I don't believe it for a second and I've been doing this for almost 50 years.

Nah, I'm done with tourney for good or until the stocks return to pre-2006 levels.

It is 8%, or 1 in 12 will die after release. That's why I won't target small fish and only use one forward hook on 98% of my plugs. I an no better than anyone else, I still kill fish also, I just try and limit my impact now (quality over quantity). 50 years of chasing bass tends to open your eyes.
Just stay safe out there whatever you decide to do, it's all legal after all.
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If you are prepare for it then getting the pics needed for C&R tournaments can take less than a minute. I always give the fish a chance to revive prior to taking it out if the water and I'll only take pics in areas that I can do it efficiently which means that some nice fish that could have been entered aren't. I'm sure not everyone who enters the C&R tournaments gets their fish back in the water very quickly but it can be done.
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Agreed Ed. I am just stating my opinion and what I will do. Understand it's legal but that doesn't make it right if fish die without being harvested and used for food.
I also agree that I've done this long enough so I don't have anything to prove and that does tend to open your eyes to reality.

God know I've killed more than my share of big fish, little fish, and everything in between. Last year I killed none intentionally, year before 2. I like to believe that everything I released survived but I'm certain there is a %age of collateral damage.

I emailed PBR headquarters and made them aware that I was very excited to enter their new catch and release format, but am not since there is no separate category for surf. They are probably trying to increase their profits by consolidating prize pools, and likely wont make a change unless they see that the lack of surf participant entry fees is costing them more than the savings gained from a single prize pool for striped bass.

I don't like any tournament C&R or kill I fish for myself and to enjoy my time either alone or with friends. I know for a fact that fish die when being let go especially large fish that fight long take long runs and come in exhausted

The reality of moving to a catch and release format is that they will lose a significant number of entrants.

When you lose #s, unfortunately you lose your things like specific categories.

I doubt we'll this tournament 3 years from now.
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