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I agree, I would like to see the photos of what happened. They should have been released by now. I tried doing an image search on Google about a week ago trying to find any photos, and nothing came up that was remotely close.
 
Discussion starter · #22 ·
You can contact Lane Gergly at Sure-Life and she may be able to direct you to some photo's. The problem is the negative affect the photos could create and fuel the folks who are against fishing.
Tom
Lane's #830/556.4801
 
If the story of the fish kill didn't light a fire under those against fishing, I feel the photos will not be harmful. I think that it will add realism to the whole story, because right now, just posting that it happened looks like an attack against BASS for holding a tournament on a "secret" hole. Furthermore, after having BASS say that they will not fish Falcon again, I would think that people would want the story of what happened to be spread far and wide in the hopes that the heads at ESPN/BASS will be held responsible for what allegedly happened.

Those against fishing will always be against fishing, no matter what is shown or said.
 
CastAway, Posting pictures on the internet will not solve the problem. It will
only fuel further recruitment for the anti-fishing groups. I know, because my
only sibling is a member of PETA. What happened must and will be dealt with
in an appropriate manner with input from all stakeholders and public agencies. There will be public meetings on proposed future ordinances. I am hoping that TPW will take an active role in protecting Falcon Lake from the overharvest of broodstock fish. The 13lb Sharelunker that died was approximately 6 years old, which is well below the national age average for a largemouth of that size. We will attend the public meetings, and offer input. Until that happens, there is not much that can be done. I will however post the link to the Falcon Lake Tackle report/blogs. There is also
a report on the recent BassChamps tournament that we were a part of.
I posted the mortality ACTUAL mortality results, including estimated delayed
mortality on another thread.

Here is the link: http://www.tackleandrods.com/lake/flash.htm

His statement about what happened during the Elite Series was posted on
April, 21st

As far as tournaments go, the goal to conduct tournaments with TOTAL
mortality rates well below 15%, and that includes delayed mortality. There are plenty of scientific studies dating back to 1974 indicating that the overharvest of a particular age class of largemouth bass in a SINGLE day
can impact a fisheries. My main concern was the overharvest of adult
broodstock connected with this event. We received our BassTimes today,
and there was NO MENTION of the high mortality rates. Of course
I did not expect them to write about it. I DO expect them to acknowledge
this fact at the public meetings, and more importantly publicly state what they intend to do in the future to lower mortality rates. Changing the time
of year and format would definately reduce mortality rates down at Falcon
and Amistad. Folks, this FAR from over!
 
I honestly hope that things will be mended at Falcon. After seeing what this fishery is like, it is one of the places that I would love to fish. I want those big bass to still be there when and if I do get the chance to fish it.

I fully understand where you and Tom are coming from, and I apologize for seeming to want to fan the flame. That was not my intention at all.

I also understand that folks do not want to believe that the # is that high, but I am well aware that is is probably worse than what they are actually reporting.

Let's just hope that the public meetings will find a happy medium for all involved and that Falcon can continue to be the fishery that we saw it be during the Elite tournament.
 
Castaway, Your first paragraph is precisely WHY we need to not only address this
issue, but push for better management of the lake. Falcon definately meets the criteria for a trophy bass fishery. A high limit slot restriction would ensure that it continues to crank out big bass for OTHERS such as yourself to enjoy. The reason why that lake and others down south are so good right now is due to periods of drought, but that is not a constant factor. Managing the population and various ages classes are constant factors that can sustain the fishery.

The Mexican gill netters really don't harvest many bass. Their net placement and design catch shallow schooling fish such as Tilapia, etc. We spoke with the TPW gamewardens and they said the most bass collected in the nets were 17 during the spawn. The new government in Mexico is doing a much better job, because they realize the economic value in a trophy bass fishery. Mexico is the destination of choice right now for numbers of trophy class bass. Tournament organizations can
do their part by adopting weigh in and format protocols that minimize the impact
to the larger female bass.

BTW, Tom is really Tony. Things can get screwed up in translation.
 
SureLife said:
Castaway, Your first paragraph is precisely WHY we need to not only address this
issue, but push for better management of the lake. Falcon definately meets the criteria for a trophy bass fishery. A high limit slot restriction would ensure that it continues to crank out big bass for OTHERS such as yourself to enjoy. The reason why that lake and others down south are so good right now is due to periods of drought, but that is not a constant factor. Managing the population and various ages classes are constant factors that can sustain the fishery.

The Mexican gill netters really don't harvest many bass. Their net placement and design catch shallow schooling fish such as Tilapia, etc. We spoke with the TPW gamewardens and they said the most bass collected in the nets were 17 during the spawn. The new government in Mexico is doing a much better job, because they realize the economic value in a trophy bass fishery. Mexico is the destination of choice right now for numbers of trophy class bass. Tournament organizations can
do their part by adopting weigh in and format protocols that minimize the impact
to the larger female bass.

BTW, Tom is really Tony. Things can get screwed up in translation.
No, I am speaking of our Bassholes member, oldschool, whose name is Tom.
 
The only problem is that there will not be a next time. BASS has already declared that this was the first and last trip to Falcon. Their reason? The facilities were too bad for them to attempt another tournament.

I don't know if I fully believe that they weren't "prepared" for it. Someone above stated that BASS had touted Falcon as the lake that would break ALL the records BEFORE they left Florida, which they did. I have the proof on DVD.

All I want to see is BASS admit that they did wrong, be willing to contribute to the relief effort, and to sign a couple of biologists, with permission from TWP, to assist in finding out what exactly happened and to assist in getting Falcon back to 100%. Is 100% fully possible? In time, yes. In 1-2 years..........probably not. 3-5 years, perhaps.

I was also under the impression, and I believe that someone here mentioned this, that all these bass in this lake were the hybrid bass that are "stupid" for a lack of a better term. They eat and eat, and grow and grow. This particular hybrid is called the "Gorilla" hybrid. It's not the F-1 that are being stocked in a lot of places. I read a BASS article, and this evening, when I get back from fishing, I will try to find the article that I read, that describes this species. They say that this species is great for existing ponds where bass fishing is tough, because these bass are so aggressive in feeding, that they will basically train the existing bass to either eat or die.

If that's the case, I do believe that 3-5 years down the road, Falcon will be at 100% or better, but it's going to take a lot of effort from all parties involved. BASS has the means, but do they have the will? :dunno:
 
First off, ESPN/BASS DOES HAVE INTENTIONS TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR. They
have already sent the Zapata Chamber of Commerce the, "letter of commitment".

Second off, They DID KNOW BEFORE HAND that hugh sacks would be caught, and
that was HIGHLY PUBLICIZED. The Zapata Chamber along with others are not pleased
with how this was handled by the TPW biologist(s) that were there. I was not there
so I can't comment on this. But there is video footage that will be presented to the
Inland Fisheries director regarding this. I have no doubt that this will addressed in
the future meetings.

Most of the BASS Federation Nation organizations do a good job from what I have seen. They do a good job with education, conservation and fish care. The TBFN
conducted a smaller tournament down at Falcon last weekend and their mortality
rates were VERY LOW.

ESPN/BASS only had TWO release barges, at 700gallons each. There is NO WAY that
1,400 gallons can keep UP. We pushed the envelope last weekend with 2,700 gallon
release tank. We weighed in 112 teams with 5 fish limits, not 10 fish. I posted the
mortality results on another thread.

"You take this many fish catches to any lake in the country, with another tournament
organization OTHER than BASS, you will have more than 50% more dead."

NOT TRUE! We did it last weekend! It just can't be done with five fish PER livewell and two release barges. Anglers were given very detailed instructions BEFOREHAND, which made a BIG DIFFERENCE in our mortality rates.

Excuses and denial don't cut the mustard! Solutions and acknowledgement will! I don't think that anybody down here expects them to pay for what happened, but we
do expect them to fess up and come up with some solutions. Changing the time of
year and the current format would be solutions that everyone can live with.
 
I really wish that they would leave our lakes alone down here. First Amistad and now Falcon. They go and kill of all of the fish, and then people from all over the world come to see if they can catch fish, which puts more pressure on the lake, which of course, makes the fishing worse
 
Noo I dont think so. Trust me, the only difference in Del Rio is that velvick bout that anglers lodge. Actually, more and more places are closing down
 
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