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Very well said, and I agree on all accounts. I absolutely agree it is past time to remove live bait from the tournaments. And once that is done the industry will really take off. Stores would be forced to stock a larger amount of tackle for Crappie fishing, win win. I could not even come close to telling you when the last time I had minnows or shiners in my boat.
Very well said but there's the other side of the story. we talked to our supplier and he said he'd never been approached. So we made a deal to advertise on our shirts for free minnows. Seems like a good deal to me.
Good read, good thoughts. We use minnows but its such a hassle to keep them alive overnite. I have a two hundred gallon tank set up with an aerorater on it. Buying buy the pound is not expensive but we have a local store that charges 3 Bux a dozen. They normally die quicker than the ones outa my tank. Go figure. We are 50/50 minnows or jigs.
Why imitate a minnow when you can use the real thing. I catch my own minnows and I fillet and eat the crappie that tournament fishermen would want me to release. This is a two sided coin and tournament fishing is all about $$$$ money not catching a mess of fresh crappie for the table. Talking about trying to ban something because you don't agree with them not giving $$$$ money is not sporting anyway and this article that is helping PETA to ban all fishing. And that's all I got to say about this...
good read
Live bait and artificials both have their place. I only use minnows in colder weather. My opinion is that a tourney can allow or disallow. A fair playing field is all I would ask for. If you choose to not support the live bait industry, that is a personal choice.
This kinda smacks of political blackmail to me. In that if you don't sponsor our tournaments let me see what I can do to harm your business.
Don't we have enough of this stuff in the USA right now. I don't fish tournaments so should I write columns about how they should be controlled or even banned.
I like to fish when I feel like it. Not when some tournament is scheduled. However I realize not everyone feels the way I do. If there were not millions of anglers who do enjoy them. I am sure they would disappear. So while I do not fish tournaments . I in no way would speak out against them. It is purely a matter of personal preference.
There is enough opposition to two of our outdoor pursuits. Hunting and fishing have enough enemies.Really bothers me to see one of our own add fuel to the other sides fire.
Bream/bluegill fishermen use crickets and meal worms; catfishermen use nightcrawlers. Live shrimp are used in the southern coastal waters. Crappie fisherman are NOT the "last vestiges" of fishermen that use live bait.
I'm certainly not the best fisherman out there, but I'm not the worst either, and I've never seen that "using live bait isn't fishing, it's harvesting." If that were the case, why did Tommy Skarlis win CrappieMasters in Mississippi pulling cranks? You've made some pretty big claims in your article that I don't think you can back up.
If live minnows are such a sure fire crappie catching method, why are there so many companies in business producing soft plastics, crappie nibbles, hundreds of styles and sizes of jigs, feather jigs, hair jigs, crappie cranks, roadrunners, rooster tails . . . . . I could go on and on. I'd venture to guess that the revenue stream from all of this greatly exceeds the revenue from selling minnows.
I use minnows when the conditions call for it. Some days they want them and some days they don't. I don't always have them in the boat, but if I WANT them, I'm gonna GET them.
"It’s no different in shooting a deer eating out of a trough of corn."
I'm not a tournament fisherman & probably never will be, but I don't agree with that statement at all.
Never use em anyway
Options & opinions, everyone has one. I'm just glad we don't have someone come up with the idea of fishing with minners on odd days and fishing with plastics on even days.:Rofl Juuuuusssssst Kiiiiiidddding.
I was just thinking if minnow company's did sponsor tournaments then the cost would go up. I personally don't want to see crappie fishing become so commercialized as the sport of bass fishing has. This is my two pennies.
I guess catching perch "crappie" will be like everything else pretty soon in that if it's not done the political correct way we will start having protesters at the launches and bait dealers will be picketed.
This is about the dimmest article I have read lately. .......come on Government gives us more rules as a burden on our backs , beat us down until we don't have any more choices unless we pay for the commercial community to live the high life .
Fishing should be fun as long as it doesn't deplete the critters we are after .
x2 what Trapper said!
I have to agree that there are some ill advised comments as well as invalid statements. One such as bass fishermen not using live bait, apparently the writer is unaware of the very lucrative "wild shiner" industry in Florida which is the exclusive domain of trophy largemouth bass fishermen.
Besides, a young child is not always adept enough to detect the delicate bite on a jig, but they can sure see a bobber go down and set the hook on a nice crappie. A live minnow can make the difference is a good day or bad day for kids and adults alike.
Wow, what a bashing of small business!!! This is total BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I apologize for not being as clear in my article as i intended. I tried to make two points.
1. Tournament fishermen should not use live bait. It takes (in my opinion) the sport away.
2. The Live Bait Industry should promote the sport of crappie fishing.
I'm in no way trying to tell Crappie Fishermen what bait to use. If you're fishing for food or fun, use whatever you wish. Young kids should be introduced to crappie fishing in any manner their parents wish to use.
If we're going to enjoy this fantastic sport we need all the help we can get to keep it going. I'm so glad to get you thinking of it as a sport. I enjoyed the comments and opinions.
I'm not trying to bash anyone or any business big or small. I'm only suggesting that they put something back into the sport. They should be crappie.com's NUMBER 1 SUPPORTER.
I would imagine that they (the minner suppliers) would bring more to the table "IF" they stood to gain from what it "financially" what artificial lure manufacturers do. Per your article "the minnow" already owns 99% of the market share. From a logistics and practical stand point it would be a near impossible sell for one farm to promote "my minners are better than their minners, so Mr. Angler you should buy MY minners". How does ACME Minner Farm in Mississippi benefit from a crappie tournament on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. You see artificial lure manufacturers shelling out the big money because of the financial gain potential that it offers them. It makes a lot sense for one, for the other, not so much.
"It’s no different in shooting a deer eating out of a trough of corn."
SNORT, SNORT, Lead me to the trough of minnows.
In your article you clearly state that: "let's show them that we don't need their product". That seems to indicate that you are calling for a boycott of the minnow farms. We have enough opposition now from the libs.
You should come over to some of the minnow farms and see for yourself just how many minnows they produce. In the millions. Pike and Musky fishermen/women still use large shiners. Also many places in Texas buy all the really large shiners they can get for trophy bass. And as mentioned earlier, the trophy bass hunters in Florida pay several dollars each for the 8-10 inch golden shiners. The farms sell shiners and tuffies in all sizes. The real small ones are sold all over the country as feeders for larger tropical fish. While a boycott of minnows by crappie fishermen/women would be somewhat problematic for the minnow farmers, it would not have a long term effect.
Let me get this straight, your product cannot be used in this "Sport", buttt, I expect you to support this "Sport" with some of your profits. Is that about right?Quote:
Originally Posted by BassCat21
Sir, your business acumen is severely flawed!
As for tournament fishing, anything beyond the local club having a friendly contest on local waters, I consider bad for the fish and the waters they are in.
Nothing I dread more than seeing a fleet of rigs that look like rolling billboards pull into town. The local waters are beat down, the fish population is subjected to extreme pressure
with a higher mortality rate than tournament folks let on, an very few of the people who actually supports the fishery (you know taxpayers and anglers who buy licenses and tackle which has hidden taxes
on it) receive anything from it other than a crock of dung from the local Chamber of Commerce about what a great event it was.
Tournament fishing as far as I am concerned is an exploitation of a resource that is not supported by those exploiting it. Please do not quote me numbers about positive economic impact, etc, etc. I know BS when I hear it.
If fishing is a sport, it is a competition between you and your quarry. As soon as you make it between two or more people it is no longer fishing.
I fish to enjoy the outdoors and challenge myself on occasion to sort out what I need to do to fool the fish. Most time I really do not care how many fish I catch, I do it to refresh my soul. Dang, getting all Izaak Walton on ya'.
I'm not a tournament crappie fisherman, I just enjoy catching pan fish. I must say I do get a lot of enjoyment from using soft plastics/artificial lures to catch them. Here is South Louisiana it's a little difficult to routinely get shiners but when I can I try to carry a few with me in the boat. Common sense tells you that OVERALL live bait is more natural than artificial. I think the article was a good one as everyone is entitled to their opinion and it does make you think.
The Market always decides ............