Three Rivers MI Chautauqua Tournament Postponed

I just wanted to try and spread the word, because I know this will affect some people's plans, vacation time, and room reservations.

The Three Rivers MI board voted last night to postpone the Chautauqua Tournament scheduled for 7/21 and 7/22 due to current water temps and in the best interest of the safe and successful release of any muskies caught. Being less than two weeks away from the tourney and water temps over 80 degrees, a decision had to be made now. Hopefully things will improve with some cooler temps and maybe some rain, but you never know, and the board felt that waiting longer to make any announcement would create more problems for people's schedules.

A new date has not been set, but late Sept/early Oct or early Nov dates are being discussed. Please let anyone know that may have been planning to fish the tourney.

Adam A.

Thanks Adam!

I was unable to attend the meeting last night but have talked with the board members today and we have decided that the tournament is back on for July 21st and July 22nd.

Joel Morrow

For the best interests of the fisherman, not the fish????? If the water temps are still high then I will not be going and risking
killing fish. The local guides are not fishing and passing up guiding trips that they make money off of, that alone should be enough to decide for the group.

Muskies Inc......Fisheries, Research, Youth.........holding a MI tourney knowing the water is too hot doesn't really represent the Chapter very well.

The water temp at that time should be the deciding factor. I hope it's down by then and we can have it. I'm sure everyone has plans, booked rooms, campsites, whatever, I do as well......The best interests of the fishery should be the deciding factor not that we have a reservation somewhere. Hopefully we'll get some rain and cooler night before then but if not....I will not be going and I hope others decide was is best and not go either.

Think of the last time you released a fish that was hooked badly, bleeding bad, or didn't make it at all. You always wonder if it made it or not, bothers you for a few days. Anytime your on the water in that spot it goes through your mind. Anytime someone rolls out a release horror story you share yours.................it's not worth the risk

Hopefully the temps will change before then......if it's too hot.......shouldn't have it, period!!!!
Shame on the whole group if we think that pounding the daylights out of the water to win a tourney is the right thing to do.

OKay, I'm done venting.

Toothy,

I have to agree with you. Although I don't usually fish the tournaments, I am a current member of MI. One of the main reasons for that is the help preserve and improve Musky as a resource. I am certainly not responding about the tournaments, just in terms of high water temps in general. Although I have not seen specific data as to any precise temperatures that become dangerous for the fish, I have tried to follow the "80 degree rule". If water temps at 5am are near 80 or more, I pretty much pack it in until things cool off for a while. Sure, it may be that a quick water release will be enough to send the fish back into the depths no worse for the wear. However, on the flipside, it could also lead to a dead fish. Of course this could also happen in 60 degree water. However, the decrease of dissolved oxygen in warmer waters just make it that much tougher for a fish to recover. As much as I'd LOVE to be out catchin some toothy critters, I'm more than willing to give em a break for a while and maybe hit up the smallies until things are better suited to chase the big girls. A lake near me showed temps of low to mid-80's at least 10ft down the water column. I'm guessin its gonna take a while for that water to come back down in temp.

I guess if the decision made was "we are having it since cooler weather is on it's way as long as the water is below a certain temp." I would of been better with it.

We've been working our summer shutdown with long hours so maybe I'm just a little pissy right now........lol......

We do need to do what is right for the fish, always, no matter what.........................

3 Rivers recently made the neccessary changes for the tournament which will take effect DURING that time, not two weeks before. Who knows where the temps will be in a couple weeks? It is Chautauqua...if anyone has been fishing that region for sometime, they know weather patterns change very quickly up there and alot can change from now until then. Bottom line.

No, I do NOT think of the few fish that release hard for days because I realize that it is the nature of what we do. We are impahling massive trebles into fishes' mouths and fighting them to the boat...thats harsh under ANY condition as far as I'm concerned. I rather think about the hundreds, even thousands of fish that I and those I know HAVE successfully released over the years; and all the other efforts we have made as muskie fishermen to preserve the sport. Some die or have a hard time, get over it. So, where do we draw the line and say enoughs enough? If you have been around this game for 20 or better years, you would really feel the effects of how far muskie fishing has come since way back when. Trust me, it is a LONG way! And IMO postponing a tournament due to "prospected" high water temps is a bit extreme. Is that what we are turning into...extremists? It sure is sounding that way to someone who has been at this for a long time and to the rest the like.

I certainly commend the guides making personal choices to pospone trips due to the water temps. However I feel it is pretty pathetic to "dog" an organization, that has done a lot of GOOD over the years for muskie fishing in this region, just because they decide not to pospone an outing. Well, I should say, done as much as they effectively CAN due to the connection to a mid-western based organization like Muskies Inc. They certainly admitted to jumping the gun on the decision in fairness to ALL members. Regardless at how the decision came to be....I commend the guys running the club for making certain guidelines for possible hot conditions ON THAT DAY and above all; I commend them for admitting to when they were wrong and going above and beyond to make things RIGHT for the entire membership.

Paul Fec

I guess I see it differently....20 years ago most fish got thumped over the head, now 99.99% of the fish are released.
I guess given the chance the other .001% of Musky Inc fish most likey would of like to released them too.
I haven't been at it for 20+ but have been a catch and release fisherman my whole life for all species.
I fish year round including rivers in the winter and I know the hotter the water, the bigger the fish the harder it is to get them to swim away.....I know one thing I hate the most is that gut feeling that the fish your trying to release is in bad shape.

Deciding to moving an outing to cooler weather is the right thing to do. Sure it's just a fish, it's just another weekend, not like we can't move it. I don't think knowing the fish are going to "release hard" is okay. It doesn't represent the club well. If there was concern enough to think about postpone it then it's a concern worth looking at.

If the decision to still have it that weekend (as long as the temp was below 82 degrees)was rolled out I would of been prefectly fine with it

For the 20+ year vets I guess this can be viewed as the next stepping stone to improving muskie fishing more so than what it has already become. This decision could change outings to come in the future to protect the fish. The Chapter will set the standard. This is just to protect the fish that we all love fishing for so in my mind I just think it's a no brainer.

I am a member of the club and have taken vacation time off to help the stocking of Kinzua since that is what I can do that is in my area. I don't come to the meetings since it over 2 hours drive but I do what I can, I donated retrievers to the club, listed fund rasiers, paid the shipping cost and listing cost out of my own pocket. Dogging the club, the club I belong to you say........I guess in the end if this is what got the cut off at 82 degree rule stated than everyone can be ticked off at me. I'm a big boy I can handle it.

I am very happy with still having the outing and having a cutoff temp. If that would of been the way it was released to start with none of this would of even come up. I would of commended the club and the decision to even have a cutoff.
Thanks to all the revisited the decision and come up with something we can be proud of, represent the club in a fashion that others will follow.

LOL Saw this one coming a mile a way.

I see no issue with people voicing their concerns related to the sport that we all "know" and love. We all have "OUR OWN" reasons for chasing these fish. We all have our beliefs as to what we can do to best preserve and give us all a better shot at landing these beasts. Hopefully we do it in a manner that is best for ALL parties involved, including the fish. Obviously, we are not all gonna agree with everything, but lets take a step back.

Sure, maybe some of us throw a little more "respect" their way than what others feel they (the fish) are entitled. Well, I say "get over it". Yep, things have come a long way over the years. Theres absolutely NO denying that. Does that mean we stop trying to progress?!?! Get real! Apply that logic to everyday life and I say good luck.

And come on, you "think about the hundreds, even thousands of fish that I and those I know HAVE successfully released over the years;". Really?!?! Sorry, I couldn't leave that statement alone. I'm gonna go out on a limb and ask you to please let us know what type of tagging system you were able to put on "hundreds, even thousands" of fish that let you know they lived a healthy and fruitful life after visiting your boat. Or wait, not only yours, but other people you know. Damn, I'm guessing the Fish Commission in every state would love to have that technology! Of course thats a joke, can you see the trend I am trying to make here?? I am certainly not questioning the amount of fish that you have caught. Just trying to figure out if that was pertinent to the discussion.

The way I see it, an "organization" is only as good as the sum of its parts, a democracy if you will. That means that those involved hopefully should have a say in the goings on within said organization. Sure, there will always be those that are outnumbered within that group. Does that mean their say doesn't count? Well. if that is the case, I guess I personally made a bad decision. LOL

A LOT of research would have to be done before anyone could put a "number" on a situation that might be harmful to these fish in terms of water temps and the struggle of the fight involved. We may never know. However, I plan to give them a "break" (the whopping 4-6 that I might hook during the Summer) until things cool off a bit. LOL Yep, thats right, I don't have the 20+ years chasing musky. it only takes one "questionable" release for me to be bummed out. Thats just me. I was that way for 20yrs with the trout too. However, that mindset won't stop me from reading more studies to see what the newest research might find. Until then, thats my choice.

Jay Jones

I commend those who work hard to organize these tournaments and also respect the fact that we do take the health of the fish into consideration when doing so. I am sure I will ruffle some feathers here, but just how far do we take this? I think we are going a
Little overboard here with this temp debate, this is certainly not our first hot summer.

You're probably right about that. I am definitely not trying to attack anyone or any group. Just sharing my opinion, and you know what they say about those. :) Of course we are not all gonna agree about all the topics out there. I don't see anything wrong with that. Agree to disagree and lets hope that we all get what we want out of this sport that we devote so much time and energy to. I'm just hoping everyone is having better luck being able to get on the water this year than myself. Good luck to all.

I have had no luck lately mostly fish the allegheny, so far nothing! I recently bought a jet to allow me to fish good areas that I once could not get to, motor runs great but fishing is bad

Sounds like you are having the kind of luck that I do. I started out the year great. Had an awesome hooking percentage (can be ridiculously horrid on the flyrod), but then I've just been having a tough time being able to get back on the water for one reason or another. Its a good thing I'm saving some vacation time for the Fall cause I might have to take a full week just to hit some of the local waters. Hope it picks up.

North Basin has Pea Size Algae and surface temp of 80 degrees at 6:00 am and 83 degrees by noon.I have rebooked most of my charter dates to late September er & October. I still have 4 days to do clients could not move, I will fish from 5 am to 10 am each day.90 degrees out Tomarrow, so temps will continue to rise.I never received any complaints about moving the Chautauqua Tourney from July 28th to October 6th.

Larry,
Glad to see you moved your tournament and guide dates that you could. It is the best thing to do for the fish; water temps are just too warm, to stress the fish. I have seen other tournaments have also been canceled. Thank you for putting the fish first and not your personal gain ahead of them.
Frank

Boated small one tonight in low 30s , very active fish and hit the bait very hard at the boat. Managed to find a feeder creek where water temps where the water temp was cooler.

Kong,

Nice, glad to hear it. Maybe the floodgates will open up for ya. I've been scouring the maps for this area lookin for similar type setups on a couple local rivers. Might have to try and get some scouting missions in this weekend.