[John/NH]

Up here in New Hampshire, we already have some restrictions that we are dealing with. To hold a tournament we have to apply for a permit from NHF&G and a water event from NH Department of Safety ( Marine Patrol). We can't start until 7 AM, can't use PA Systems, on Winnipesaukee at Ames Farm we must stage boats about 3/4 of a mile from shore, we can only use 50% of the parking at state owned ramps, and we can't use lead.

Now the department is coming up with more restrictions and this will be discussed in an open public forum this Wednesday. ( live wells must be run all day, culling ropes must be the type that clamp to the jaw ( not the type that pierce the jaw), fish must be released at least 300 feet from shore and or weigh in sites and weigh in may not be held at the launch site.

My question is; do any of you that fish or more importantly organize events in other states have any types of logistical problems or regulations to deal with?

Please advise and thank you in advance for your help,

John/NH

 

[Paul_M]

Callahan Lake near Danbury CT. It used to be known as Candlewood Lake.

 

[RANGERZ21]

Candlewood is not nearly as bad as what tournament organizers in NH have to go through. Most of the restrictions seem to be with the interest bass mortality but also alot has to do with the public use of their facilities and the congestion is may cause or with the lake residents (noise, parking, etc.).

Not to endorse the regulations but it's just an example of overkill and when too much of a good thing is not good.

Tournament fishing on the whole has been and will continue to be an easy target for state agencies since they are not attacking an individual but a generalization. Truth is, that on any given day, a non-tourney guy can launch at 5am, fire up the big motor and speed out from the launch breaking many of the limitations imposed on organized fishing.

Is this discriminatory? I'm not a lawyer. Anyone out there have any opinions?

 

[wnybassman]

Wow John, those are some serious rules!

Most of our State Park launches require a tournament permit to hold a tournament. This was originally done to limit each launch to one tournament per day. If this was enforced, I have no problem with this restriction, but the fact of the matter is multiple tx's still operate out of the launches at times. Those without permits basically get a slap on the hand and a small fine. Those permits run anywhere from $25 to $50+ each.

Other than that, we have no other rules in WNY and the Finger Lakes area. We can launch at any time (some clubs have blast offs BEFORE daylight) and often times a large open tx will completely fill the parking lots with just the tx trailers. Anyone coming to launch after that is out of luck. First come first serve I guess, we all pay the same for use of the facility. We just happen to get there at 5:00am or before.

 

[Scully]

hey buddy

Hello my friend....long time. WOW...looks like they dont want you guys fishing TX's up there. In Connecticut there some gudelines you must follow. first....you need a permit from the DEP. If you dont file by December of the proceeding year good luck at getting a date for your tournament. It doesnt cost you anything however. If the tournament is run out of a State ramp you can only secure 50% of the lot to park your trailers. You cant start the tournament before 7am. You have to return the results of the tournament to the DEP in a timely fashion; and If you dont, no permits the following year. Next year, no tournament out of State launches on Holiday weekends and if you have more than a 25 boats field you need to have a "safety monitor". I believe that just means someone to help launch and recover boats, though I am not sure. Hey...they have the ball....what can you do. Lets get together in the spring....been too long.

Scul

 

[Iceman]

WOW!!!

Man, that sucks! I think stuff like that will creap into our lives here in NY. I do the permits for our club and got a letter this summer that 2 ramps on the Sacandaga are now off limits for tournaments. I Hope that the state officals (fish and game) in all the northeast come to the fact that tournaments are here to stay. We put alot of money into local economies too. Hope all works out for everyone.

 

[John/NH]

I think we can all attribute restrictions to what we call NIMBY = Not In MY Back Yard.

As part of my duties as Tournament Director for the largest non profit group in NH, I always attend all the fish & game commission meetings and have tried to paint a picture for them = If you purchased a home next to a playground would you have the right to stop children from playing on the swings. The lakes associations think that they own the water and anyone that is not a waterfront owner is not welcome.

On several occasions when it appears that we are backed into a corner, I have told the department that they wouldn't want us to show up at the capital during a busy day with about 500 bass boats = the Governor might be a bit unhappy. The executive director agrees that this would not be something that the department would like to see but, they keep pushing - Politics 101.

Thanks for the feedback,

John/NH

 

[JPBass]

Those are indeed some tough rules. Is that lead ban for everyone or just tournament fishermen?

It does seem though that most of the new restrictions are geared toward reduced mortality, which most of us strive for anyway, except for that last one,"weigh in may not be held at the launch site". WHERE THE HECK DO THEY EXPECT YOU TO HOLD IT!?!?!? Are there other public docks on your lakes where you could feasibly hold a weigh-in? Or would this ruling, if passed, pretty much outlaw tournaments all together in your state?

If this ruling is passed it certainly seems like an infringement on your rights as a taxpayer to me. Maybe those 500 boats up at the state capitol isn't such a bad idea.

 

[John/NH]

The real issue is the impact on small groups. If they can't use the public facility they will need to rent a spot. We rent facilities on our large trail.

An example was this past September on Squam Lake: Private Beach rental fro weigh in for 2 hours = $400, Parking for 40 boats ( overflow from 50% restriction) = $320, Permit $25.

Lead: It's everyone. No lead other than on Rivers and streams. This was driven by the save the loons group.

Mortality:

The state never did a thing about mortality nor do they manage bass. They are adopting our regulations re; weigh in procedures and maintaining your live wells. They want us to run fish out at least 300 feet from the weigh in site. This is so the property owners will not see any delayed mortality fish floating ( my guess, but I am convinced this is the reason = reduced call to F&G).

 

[JPBass]

Yep,

If a club the size of ours had to start paying for a site to hold our weigh-ins we'd be out of commission for sure.

Hope things work out for you guys up there.

 

[Scully]

interesting side bar

John

Recently, on Long Island, an elderly couple living in Coram sued that village to have a small playground located adjacent to their house closed. They claimed the children, mostly teenagers, who were playing basketball in the playground were causing them undue stress and inducing severe medical problems.

Their claim went on to detail the continuous pounding of the basketball which casused the couple severe headaches as well as the "foul mouth cursing" which was causing them stress and anxiety. Their suit caused an outcry of public opinion against them, however, the suit was settled and the playground closed.

Municipalitys hate to be sued. They will do almost anything to make them go away. As fishermen, we need to be careful or OUR playgrounds will be closed to US as well.

Scul

 

[Bink]

John, Like I said on NES if the rumor is true that All T particapents must have a permit copy with them at all times and anyone has the right to demand it be produced,I'm very worried. As for the culling ropes that pinch on IMHO they stink but I have seen guys poking around a fishes gills way to long trying to get that thing threaded. Didnt NH have the 50% parking rule two or three years ago, I remember trying to get a permit for Pawtuckaway two years ago and being told we were only allowed 50% of the parking spaces and the State claims only 10 spaces at that ramp so we were allowed a 5 boat permit. By the way that lot had 30 marked spaces but the State(who built it) only recognized 10 spaces and I went and took photos of the lot and sent them to F&G but they would not admit to the spaces in question. John, I heard you spoke at my friends club meeting last week(Mac,owns a gambler) keep spreading the words and thanks.