Today, I’m going to hop on my soap box! There aren’t many things that I truly hate, but summer bass tournaments would be at the top of the list! Now why would this be? For several reasons that I’ll get into later, but the most obvious one….IT’S BLAZING HOT! It’s a time of year where anglers become babysitters, trying to keep their 5-fish limit alive for eight hours in a live well.
Summer bass tournaments in the South are a grind for both anglers and the bass, as the fishing is good the first hour, but can be horrendous the rest of the day. With daytime temperatures reaching the mid to upper 90’s and humidity levels over 90%, it takes all the fun out of fishing especially during the months of July and August.
A few tournament trails have or will drop their daily fish limit down from five to three which really helps in so many ways. For one, it allows for better survival rate, as there are less fish to manage in your live well and it means less bass being handled at the weigh-in.
Some anglers hate the three fish limit tournaments as they think it levels the playing field too much. They feel anyone can get lucky and catch three good fish. But if you go back and look at three fish tournament results over the years, it turns out that the same guys who win with a five fish limit are still at the top of the tournament standings with three fish.
Now, my personal reasons for hating summer tournaments would first be the exhaustion you feel at the end of the day fishing in high temperatures. Fishing in 95 degrees plus temperatures drains the life out of an angler! Next, I hate it when sweat is dripping off my nose or running down my butt! The heat just makes fishing difficult and unenjoyable.
But what I really look forward to the most is nighttime cramps that occur after fishing in the hot sun all day! There’s nothing more fun than waking up in the middle of the night as your calf muscles or hamstrings decide to tighten up like a guitar string. Thank the Lord above for pickle juice, as there’s pretty much nothing better for eliminating cramps!
Next, everything in your boat is blazing hot and will leave a mark on your butt if you sit on one of those latches that’s a part of the storage lockers. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up being branded like cattle at a stockyard.
Then there’s the wear and tear on your electronics which are large investments, as these units can cost up to $5000 each. It’s also hard on your rods and reels and the fishing line spooled on each reel. Nothing is harder on your equipment than the hot sun!
Even as anglers, we must take precautions to protect ourselves from the sun’s harmful UV rays. As a Melanoma survivor, I can attest to all the things I have to do in order to fish in high temperatures. These days, I always wear long sleeve UV protective shirts, a wide brim hat, long pants (most of the time) and plenty of sunscreen.
But my main reason for hating summer bass tournaments…it’s just not fun! It’s a miserable way to spend your day sweating to the oldies on the front deck of a bass boat! ZERO FUN!
The next issue (as if I need anymore) would be dealing with all the crazy recreational boaters like pontoon boats, jet skis and those awesome stupid wake boats that put out four-foot-high waves and disrupt everyone and everything on the lake! Sorry wake boaters, but there should be a limit to the size of the waves you all put out!
One rule I would like to see implemented strictly for wake boaters would be that they are not allowed on the lake until after 2:00 PM. This way there would be no conflict with bass boaters and wake boats being on the lake at the same time, as most summer bass tournaments are over by 2:00 in the afternoon.
Now I know I’ll get some good fan mail over my wake boater comments, but at least I’ll know they read my article! Just kidding wake boaters, hope y’all have fun as well, but keep your wakes down please! Till next time, enjoy your hot summer days on the lake as I hope and pray you won’t see me out there very often.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com
