Harrisburg – Bass tournaments in the state are not only increasing, but they’re evolving as well and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission wants to keep ahead of the trend.
The agency is in the process of surveying tournament bass anglers to find out their preferences when it comes to competitive fishing. The survey carries a price tag of approximately $5,000 and is funded by the sales of voluntary permits.
The original plan called for PFBC staff to meet directly with anglers at tournaments to make them aware that a survey would be arriving, but COVID-19 restrictions forced a change. Instead, the agency contacted every tournament director they have on file, along with anglers, and sent the survey to 916 individuals.
So far, bass tournament anglers haven’t balked at sharing their opinions.
“A little less than 50% have responded so far, and in the survey world that’s outstanding,” said Andy Shiels, the agency’s deputy director for field operations.
The PFBC conducted a bass angler survey in 2016, but the current study is different in that it focuses on the preferences of bass tournament anglers.
It’s a group that is growing every year, according to Corey Britcher, director of the PFBC Bureau of Law Enforcement, who said the agency has been issuing more special activities permits for tournaments with 10 or more people.
“The numbers are increasing, including the virtual type of bass tournaments which has really jumped over the last two years,” he said.
The rise in virtual tournaments – those where the fish is weighed and measured in the boat and released, as opposed to a formal weigh-in at the end of the event – is one of several evolutions in competitive bass fishing events. The changes in tournament types could influence how the PFBC manages such events in the future.
“In the old days during the 1950s the tournaments were catch and kill,” Shiels said. “Then it moved to catch and release and now, particularly through the kayak tournaments and Major League fishing, it’s catch-photo-release.
“There is a movement toward a format that doesn’t require catching and holding fish for a weigh-in.”
The preference of Pennsylvania bass anglers for specific tournament types is one of the aspects that Shiels said the agency wants to learn more about from the survey.
Survey results should be available early next year and the deadline for completing surveys is expected to be in mid-December – about a month after a final reminder is sent to anglers.
“We want to get a sense of where Pennsylvania bass anglers are in this tournament evolution, and that will give us a direction of how to manage tournaments moving forward,” Shiels said.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions in place across the state earlier this summer when the bass tournament season was getting underway, the PFBC canceled permits issued for some events being held in a county that was in the red-phase.
The lone exception was virtual tournaments, where registration is conducted digitally or by phone, and the traditional weigh-in table is replaced by a photo taken by each angler showing the weight of their fish displayed on a scale. Such a format allowed the event to abide by social distancing guidelines.
