Don’t Stress the Bass!
Lost in the BASS Post Season/Skeet Reese AOY controversy was the fact that Aaron Martens lost the Lake Jordan tournament by a mere 3 ounces.
That is, he lost by 3 ounces AFTER he accumulated 24 ounces in penalties due to four dead fish. (Ouch!)
The narrow loss adds yet another 2nd place finish to Aaron’s record, bringing his grand total to 8 2nd place finishes in BASS tournaments. Adding salt to his wounds is the fact that fellow competitors have been quick to tease Aaron the new nicknames “FISH MURDERER” and “SERIAL KILLER”. (–Double Ouch!)
Long fights on light line can stress fish out. (Photo: BASS / Seigo Saito)
Aaron is doing is best to shake the Lake Jordan loss off, but in talking to him you can tell that the pain is still fresh. “I’ve never had fish die on me like that” he told me, “Once they started to go, they just went.”
Were it not for BASS’s strict rule against culling dead fish, Aaron would have won the tournament. Likewise, keeping one more fish alive would have paved the way to victory.
This was on my mind as I read this fish care article by Lee McClellan. The article gives several warm weather fish care tips that would have helped Aaron out, namely:
According to some, rock salt works as well as more expensive livewell treatments.
- Cool the livewell water by no more than 10 degrees.
- Add 1/3 cup of non-iodized or rock salt for every 5 gallons of water. (He points out that regular ol’ salt provides the same benefits as more expensive livewell treatments.)
- Play the bass quickly after hooked. (Hard to do when finessing with light line!)
It should be noted that Aaron has extensive history fishing the WON Bass US Open on Lake Mead in 100-plus-degrees temperatures, i.e. he has a respectable fish care track record in blazing hot conditions. “I don’t know why some fish show signs of fatigue faster than others,” Aaron said. “Some fish just don’t make it.”
Fish care issues aside, this whole situation has us wondering about the fairness of the dead fish rule. By Alabama law, every person fishing that day had the right to catch 10 bass and kill them regardless of size. Yet in a BASS tournament you can’t kill a single one? Isn’t parading dead fish on stage worse PR than showing live fish to the public?
What are your thoughts? Vote in in the poll!
Category: Aaron Martens, AL, BASS, Jordan (AL)
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
PS: This is probably what those bass felt like when the ice hit that 90 degree water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fygUofPdqhw
Except, without adult beverages involved, it didn’t turn out so funny!
Great. Im sure a 7 pound bag of ice didnt have anything to do with the fish dying at all, when I watched it I had to rewind it to make sure I was seeing it correctly!
Some ice = Good Idea
7 pounds at once = Dead Basses!
Easy up on Martens, now. That is what the biologists have been preaching to fishermen for over 30 years. When will they realize that ice and the effects of quick temperature changes, and levels of salt that a freshwater fish would never experience are all huge stressors for fish. Heck that much salt will dehydrate a fish and potentially cause renal failure.
Fish need stable conditions not huge swings in their environment. Come on biologists…come up with some real science…