Special Care Given BASS Fish at Elite Series

The “Sooner Run” BASS Elite Series bass tournament wrapped up last Sunday following four days of competition on Grand Lake. Professional anglers and their amateur partners caught 1,849 bass during the event. Of those fish, only 3% were judged dead at the weigh-in by tournament officials.

Brent Davis, GRDA Tournament Coordinator along with Lake Patrol personnel combed release areas following the tournament and reported finding only a handful of other bass that died in the days following the release.

“These professionals did things very well and are a good example for other tournaments,” said Davis. “They were able to keep the fish kill to a minimum.”

This remarkably high survival of bass caught and released is a testament to not only the emphasis BASS puts on fish care, but to the pro anglers commitment to protecting the fishery resources of the lakes, rivers and reservoirs that they visit during their tour.

BASS has been the leader in better tournament fish care since they first began promoting the idea of catch and release in 1972. Now, professional tournaments can boast a better than 90% survival rate of released fish.

Gene Gilliland, Senior Fisheries Biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) who has worked with BASS for over ten years, refining and perfecting live-release procedures said “BASS and the anglers that fish their tournaments do everything they can to protect the fisheries they visit. They utilize the best equipment and instruct the anglers on how to keep fish as healthy as possible – so they can be caught again and again.”

Davis checked the BASS waiting line tanks and release boats prior to the event’s first day weigh-in and found the water quality parameters to be well above the minimums necessary to keep fish healthy during the weigh-in and release process.