A fishing tournament, or derby, is an organised competition among anglers. Fishing tournaments typically take place as a series of competitive events around or on a clearly defined body of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

with specific rules applying to each event. They can take place on or along the edge of

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s, including ice covered bodies of water.

The tournament

Fishermen compete for prizes based on the total weight of a given species of fish caught within a predetermined time. This sport evolved from local fishing contests into large competitive circuits, especially in North America. Competitors may be professional fishermen supported by commercial endorsements. Other competitions are based purely on length with mandatory

catch and release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture, often a fast measurement and weighing of the fish is performed, followed by posed photography as proof of the catch, and then the fish are unhooked and returned ...

. Either longest fish or total length is documented with a camera and a mandatory sticker or unique item, a practice used since it is hard to weigh a living fish accurately in a boat.{{Cn, date=February 2021}. The very first Sports fishing tournament was held in 1947. Tournaments usually involve individuals if the fishing is from the land and teams if conducted from boats. A score is awarded for each fish caught. The points awarded depend on the fish's weight and species. Occasionally a score is divided by the strength of the fishing line used, yielding more points to those who use thinner, weaker line. In tag and release competitions, a flat score is awarded per fish species caught, divided by the line strength. Usually sport fishing competitions award a prize to the boat or team with the most points earned. Thomas Wayne Jones Sr. won the American Bass Anglers (ABA) competition in 2007. The tournament was held in November at the Harris Chain of Lakes. He was the first African American to win the ABA National Championship Tournament. Thomas Jones was awarded a 2008 Triton Bass Boat and a Championship areas.{{Cn, date=February 2021

The Internet

Traditional fishing tournaments take place on a confined body of water where a group of participants pursue a common goal and the fishing tournament results are kept within the host community. The

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

has started a new trend giving fishing tournaments a worldwide presence. The internet lets fishing tournaments take place in multiple bodies of water spanning multiple areas within a country, and even multiple countries. Now anglers who live hundreds of miles apart can participate in the same fishing tournament, pursuing the same prize while fishing in different bodies of water.{{cite news , title = New site hosts online fishing tournament , publisher = Sport Fishing , date = 2008-06-24 , url = http://www.sportfishingmag.com/news/news/new-site-hosts-online-fishing-tournament-1000062080.html , access-date = 4 Aug 2009 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090423184253/http://sportfishingmag.com/news/news/new-site-hosts-online-fishing-tournament-1000062080.html , archive-date = 23 April 2009 , url-status = dead {{cite news , last = Dana , first = Oppedisano , title = Recreation: Fishing while surfing the Internet , publisher =

Naples Daily News The ''Naples Daily News'' is the main daily newspaper of Naples, Florida, and Collier County. It is owned by Gannett and has a circulation of more than 40,000. It was previously owned by Milwaukee-based Journal Media Group, which was formed by a ...

, date = 2007-08-08 , url = http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/aug/08/recreation_fishing_while_surfing_internet/?sports , access-date = 4 Aug 2009{{cite news , last = Shepherd , first = Jim , title = BountyFishing.com - Online Tournament Angling - Not allowed in Tennessee , place = The Fishing Wire , publisher = Chattanoogan.com , date = 2007-07-21 , url = http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_110431.asp , access-date = 4 Aug 2009 Not only are new fishing tournaments being conducted online but now event officials, whose fishing tournaments have been annual events for past decades, are placing their fishing tournaments online as well. Existing fishing tournament participants can post their results online in real-time. These changes have lowered the fish mortality in many tournaments as participants no longer have to kill their fish for weigh-in if they already know it won't be a top contender.

Records

The official guide to world salt and freshwater fish records is the ''World Record Game Fishes'', published annually by the

International Game Fish Association The International Game Fish Association (''IGFA'') is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current World Record fishing catches by fish categories. Fishermen who are sport fishers are careful to follow their string ...

(IGFA). The IGFA maintains records for nearly 400 species around the world. The records are categorised, with separate records for juniors, for the type of tackle and line used, for fly fishing, and locality records. The IGFA also organise the world saltwater championship tournaments, the saltwater fisherman's equivalent of the Olympics.

Regional tournaments

In the US, there are nearly 60 million anglers, outnumbering the number of Americans who play

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

(24.8 million) and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

(17.8 million) combined. There are an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 fishing derbies and tournaments in the US annually. It is important to note that not all states require fishing events to be registered so it proves difficult to estimate exact numbers.{{Cn, date=February 2021

Environment

Because of the potential for large fishing tournaments to impact the environment and fish stocks, standards for fishing tournaments have been developed. An environmental standard designed in Australia rates a tournament's environmental performance as well as social and economic aspects.{{cite web, url=http://www.neatfish.com/ , title=NEATFish, a Standard for the National Environmental Assessment of Tournament Fishing , publisher=Neatfish.com , access-date=2012-07-29

Notes

{{reflist

References

* ''2009 World Record Game Fishes''.

(IGFA). * Miller M, C Daxboack, C Dahl, K Kelly and P Dalzel (eds.) (2001
Proceedings of the 1998 Pacific Island Gamefish Tournament Symposium
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. Honolulu.

External links

{{Commons category, Fishing tournaments
American Sportfishing Association

Find out about UK Tournament Fishing
{{fishing tournaments {{fisheries and fishing