IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
IceShanty Main => General Ice Fishing Chit Chat => Topic started by: bigfoot86 on Jan 23, 2021, 06:45 AM
-
I have never fished in an ice fishing derby before and was wondering what most people do with their fish if they were to weigh one in. I'm not sure what typical tournamentment rules are. Ideally it would be nice to release the fish so I wouldn't have to keep anything. For those that have some experience fishing in these tournaments, is it common to see people with some type of portable livewell or no? Do most anglers just throw their fish on the ice that they intend to weigh in? Obviously resulting in death of the fish.
-
Just a 3-5 gallon pail 1/2 full of lake water will work to keep a fish alive untill reqistered ( if done right away). @) @) @)
-
There are a few derby's in New England that will not accept live fish that Ive gone to. Rules are the fish has to be dead. Im not a fan of killing a fish that I dont plan on eating but for what ever reasoning they will not accept live fish. Hopefully it is different down in PA for you.
-
I always try and keep my fish fresh and alive to weigh they weigh more than a dozen fish. I know a couple guys that would have won if they would have just kept the fish on water even dead. Just my opinion fishing a derby now. Here is how I take the fish to the weigh ins.
(https://i.postimg.cc/p5V26Vfj/20210123-091154.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/p5V26Vfj)
-
Every tourney I have done here in MN all fish have to be alive. That helps to eliminate cheating and illegal fish. Just put it in a bucket with a little water. It gets weighed in less than 5 minutes after being caught and the officials release it right after weighing.
-
Tournaments around here are going to CPR - catch, photograph and release. Requirements are a bump board and the day's Control Item.
-
Drill a few holes overlapping each other without going through, poke one through just far enough for the water to fill the holes. I’ve kept trout and salmon alive in this kind of “live well” for days. A bucket or cooler with some lake water will keep them alive to get to weigh ins.
I don’t know about how they’ll do getting released, I eat them after weigh ins.
-
Any signs of a fish being frozen at a derby here in Wyoming results in a disqualified fish, so we have to get them checked in while the fish is "fresh". Officials usually punch a hole in their dorsal fin, so the fish can't be checked in twice. No possible way to release a checked-in derby fish with any chance of survival, which is unfortunate & a lot of fish possibly go to waste.