FLW Red Wing

[thump55]

Good discussion. I am glad the co's that fish with me will never have to make that decision.

Do you think that as the sport grows and we see more "full-time" co's that this could get worse? With more pro's/co's getting to know each other and fishing together more often, will you lose some of the anonymity that keeps people in line?

Dave S

[FuzzyIL]

What if the co-angler is solely responsible for the boat arriving late? The co-angler still gets his points in your perfect world? What if the co-angler has an injury forcing the pro to avoid pounding waves out of concern for his partner. What if the co-angler pops off planer boards on the last pass of the day and the pro has to run back and retrieve them and that 90 seconds was the time they we late?

There are very professional pro's and less professional pro's. Same is true for the co-anglers that have less stake in the game and are not held to the same standards.

What if the co breaks gear, steals way points, gives out way points freely, loses concentration, uses drugs or whines all day? Who do you see about that?

[Burr]

I believe the pro has the option of refusing a co at the beginning of the day. I'm basing that on a seminar given by a pro - paraphrasing -
He said he only had one co-angler that was a 'bad experience'. And that co-angler told him before the day started that he was not going to be able to help him fish that day. The mistake the Pro made, was he should have spoke with the tournament director prior to the start of the day, and had a replacement co-angler named. He did not, and it was indeed a bad experience.

So, it can happen, but I believe that co angler would find himself without a ride rather quickly, with the program in place.

Being exposed to having is happen once is unfortunate, and an existing exposure. Being exposed to having it happen time after time does not exist in the current program. At least that is my understanding.

I agree with Chad - the more money involved, the more temptation there will be.

As a co-angler, I hope to never get put in that situation. I certainly appreciate a pro that makes those hard decisions to stay within the rules. Money can buy things, but integrity means a whole lot more in the long run.

Question that may clarify/confuse this cituation. Is this scenario legal or not legal for FLW rules. A Pro and Co catch 7 fish as was the bag limit for this tournament. They stop fishing as required and measure/weigh their fish to see which ones they are going to way. Before leaving their spot for the weigh-in, the reach into the live-well and release the 2 they are not going to weigh rather then haul them back to the weigh-in and let them sit for an hour while they weigh the other fish. As someone in another boat, this is going to look as if they are culling fish and maybe what is what started all this. Just a thought, I didn't hear or see a rule that said you must keep all 7 fish until after the weigh-in. Any thoughts?

Question that may clarify/confuse this cituation. Is this scenario legal or not legal for FLW rules. A Pro and Co catch 7 fish as was the bag limit for this tournament. They stop fishing as required and measure/weigh their fish to see which ones they are going to way. Before leaving their spot for the weigh-in, the reach into the live-well and release the 2 they are not going to weigh rather then haul them back to the weigh-in and let them sit for an hour while they weigh the other fish. As someone in another boat, this is going to look as if they are culling fish and maybe what is what started all this. Just a thought, I didn't hear or see a rule that said you must keep all 7 fish until after the weigh-in. Any thoughts?

[Juls]

Good point Red Wing Co.
That is certainly something that could be misunderstood when watching from a distance.

As far as I know, it's ok to release the two fish you don't plan on keeping once you reach your limit, and are done fishing for the day.

That's what I do, right or wrong, since I don't want to stress out any fish more than I have to. The sooner they are out of my livewell, the better.

I will have to check with Sonny to see exactly what the procedure is regarding letting the two extras go....when and where etc.

Juls

[Juls]

Good point Red Wing Co.
That is certainly something that could be misunderstood when watching from a distance.

As far as I know, it's ok to release the two fish you don't plan on keeping once you reach your limit, and are done fishing for the day.

That's what I do, right or wrong, since I don't want to stress out any fish more than I have to. The sooner they are out of my livewell, the better.

I will have to check with Sonny to see exactly what the procedure is regarding letting the two extras go....when and where etc.

Juls

Legal by FLW and the States of MN/WI as far as I can tell....as long as they don't try to fish for more walleyes.

Legal by FLW and the States of MN/WI as far as I can tell....as long as they don't try to fish for more walleyes.

Only problem with releasing the two fish before you weigh in is if you slip on dock & dump bag, fish somehow flip out of boat, or one of your livewell fish dies, you may wish you still had one of the two fish available or both.