[ivanputski]

The writing has been on the wall for YEARS to make the tournament based on length not pounds, for multiple reasons:

* Length format allows you to upgrade your catches throughout the weekend (nothing worse than killing a fish early in the night, only to catch a much larger one soon after)

*Length format gives people the option of releasing a fish, as well as giving an angler the option of keeping it IF THEY CHOOSE. (somewhere along the line, it seems the organizers have confused "length format". with 'catch and release". In a LENGTH FORMAT , No one is forcing you to let it go... it just gives people the option to do either... everyone wins)

*How many bluefish have we all killed , that we had no intention of ever eating, just to bring them to the scale?
PLENTY ... be honest with yourself. Easier to measure it and throw it back...

*Pounds/kill tournament makes ZERO sense with the new 35" max slot.
Having an angler catch a 47 inch slob that doesn't count, and a guy with a 32" bass gets the "biggest bass" award? From a competitive stand point, this makes no sense, and isn't even worth participating. Im not busting my a$$ all night in search of the "most-medium" fish.
If I'm losing sleep, I'm out to succeed to the maximum... Not have the rules penalize success.
(Imagine running a race, and you're disqualified for running too fast simply because the rules say so)

Lets be honest guys... YOU ALL HAVE IPHONES NOW.... (We all have the ability to take a quick photo of a fish with a tape measure. If its not a perfect pic, who cares... there should still be some honor system where we believe each other.)
if this tournament has even the slightest chance of surviving and keeping participation high, it needs to be length-format... not pounds/ mandatory kill.


These fish need a break... Will this one kill tournament send bass the extinction? not likely... But clubs like ours should be the ones that lead by example and demonstrate the ability to adjust our actions and habits based on the current status of the fishery. I fished this tournament for the last 15 years, and it was always something that I looked forward to for months... the group effort, the extra push... the breakfast meet up and the anticipation of who won. I no longer fish the spring and fall tournament for a few years now, but would eagerly participate again if the minor format-adjustment were made.

Say what you want, but the points I've made make a lot of sense, and are difficult to find fault with.