1 Amberjack or Cobia

[narcosis]

I am not sure that I understand the grid from the rules sheet. It says one amberjack or cobia. Does that mean one of each or only one fish of either species? Sorry for the confusion, but I am new to the tournament.

[kitefisherman]

You can weigh either one cobia or one amberjack

[biggsy]

Only one of those can be turned in. One Amberjack or Cobia. Turn in the largest of the two as only one trophy for largest AJ or Cobia will be given out. :cowboy:

[Ironhed]

as far as points go you only get 20 so no reason to shoot the largest aj or cobia unless you think it will be the largest one take of the day right? just get 20 lbs or more for the aggregate part of the points

[narcosis]

I also wasn't sure about the "fish must be gutted" rule. When must they be gutted? Immediately after being caught, any time before they are weighed, or after they are weighed to make sure that someone didn't stuff lead down their throats? Again, sorry for the dumb questions?

[kitefisherman]

any time before they are weighed and preferably not at the tournament site - they're not set up for that.

[Slay Ride]

Kite: Isn't your big day coming up? Shouldn't you be working instead of learnin the newbies? :) Just messing with you man. Sorry Nar, didn't mean to hijack. These guys are all correct.

[kitefisherman]

Les: Just finished my last extension about an hour ago. I am going spearfishing this afternoon.

Happy Easter! See you in two weeks!

[biggsy]

They must be gutted by the time you weigh the fish. If not, you will get one of the weighmasters yelling at you to "gut the damn fish." :D

Here is an example from the past...well I can't find the pic of Chris yelling :)

If someone is going to cheat they are going to find a way to cheat. The tournament is on an honor system. If you get caught breaking that honor, well let's just say you won't be welcome anymore and this is a very large community.

[Financial Advis]

I am weighing the fish and you betcha they will be gutted.

good luck to all

[Ed Walker]

Thats the rule but gutting a fish before you weigh it makes abosultely no sense whatsover. There is not a fishing tournament on planet earth (or another spear tournament I bet) that would ever require you to change the weight of the fish you caught before putting it on a scale. The only reason fish are typically gutted before going in the box or on the scale is if they are going to the fish house, which these do not.

[kitefisherman]

Gutting the fish helps preserve its condition and food value. I have never been to a spearfishing tournament (SBO, SPO, SO & WCC) where the fish were not required to be gutted and properly iced. It just makes sense to care for your fish.

[cerobit]

If someone is going to cheat they are going to find a way to cheat. The tournament is on an honor system. If you get caught breaking that honor, well let's just say you won't be welcome anymore and this is a very large community.


not good to mess with mother karma :eek: If all i bring to the weigh station is a puny flounder, I'll be proud to call it my own. Couldn't even imagine cheating!!!

[Joespear]

Any suggestion where I can look to learn about the kinds of fish you guys shoot. I'm from the No. East and our fish are different. ie How can I find out which kind of grouper is shootable? I suppose the best thing would be a site with all the excluded fish.

[kitefisherman]

This fish list from the nationals site shows many of the fish that we hunt. Click on a picture to learn more about the fish. http://www.longfins.org/fishlist2006.html

[Ed Walker]

Ive never been to any of those tourneys so I didnt know that but I do fish for a living and never felt that gutting my catch was paramount to proper care. Im always out of town when they have the big tourneys anyway so its not like Im trying to make some big push for or against and I totally support the SBO and SPO but having fished maybe a hundred and fifty fishing tournaments from flats to marlin and a handful of freedive tourneys, the gutting requirement has always seemed very odd to me.

[RichT]

Ive never been to any of those tourneys so I didnt know that but I do fish for a living and never felt that gutting my catch was paramount to proper care. Im always out of town when they have the big tourneys anyway so its not like Im trying to make some big push for or against and I totally support the SBO and SPO but having fished maybe a hundred and fifty fishing tournaments from flats to marlin and a handful of freedive tourneys, the gutting requirement has always seemed very odd to me.



Ed,
Tell ya a story that was told to me a while back...
Apparently, there was a non gut spearfishing tournament going on a while back and some guy was having his fish weighed.
The story goes that the weighmaster was holding one of the guys bigger fish by the tail, upside down when a long cylindrical ice chunk weighing several pounds mysteriously fell out of the fish's stomach and then mouth!
I can only imagine the look on peoples faces. :eek:

Its pretty amazing to me but having been around and participating in many, many tournaments, I have seen and witnessed quite a few acts of alleged cheating. On the other hand, I have also witnessed people who have been unjustly accused of cheating while serving on several protest commitees.

People DO cheat plain and simple whether its a spearfishing tournament or a game of cards. Unfortunately its just in some peoples nature. :mad:
Putting steps in place to minimize as many possible opportunitys to cheat is always a wise decision.IMO

I also agree with Kite wholeheartedly that gutting and bleeding ANY fish as soon as possible after catching will make for a whiter, tastier fillet.
In addition, it seems as though the fillets will last far longer in the fridge or when frozen on a fish that has been gutted vs one that has not.

[T2K]

They must be gutted by the time you weigh the fish. If not, you will get one of the weighmasters yelling at you to "gut the damn fish." :D

Here is an example from the past...well I can't find the pic of Chris yelling :)

If someone is going to cheat they are going to find a way to cheat. The tournament is on an honor system. If you get caught breaking that honor, well let's just say you won't be welcome anymore and this is a very large community.
I new to the tournaments (I too entered the SBO). I think it's cool how the spearfishing community is in it for the sport and the tourny is on an honosty system. Not many sports can trust their competitors like this. Another reason I love spearfishing - the people who do it are awesome.

[ROCK BOTTOM]

All fish are weighed in whole (not gutted) at the Hell Divers Rodeo. The Louisiana Council of Underwater Dive Clubs keeps fish records so people bring their catch in whole. We could never change that aspect of our tournament.

Zz

[kitefisherman]

Does the 28" limit apply to almacos and bar jacks - or to just AJs? Is a yellow jack considered a bar jack?