4 Season/IDO Cat Fishing Tournament June 15/16

In conjunction with the In-Depth Outdoors Get ToGether being held on Saturday, June 16th, 4 Seasons Sports Shop in Red Wing has hit a home run and is holding their first Cat Fishing Tourney!

This will take the place of the Gentleman’s Honor Cat Fish Tourney that we’ve held in the past. We hope to see you all at the Get Together afterwards or after you get some sleep!

Here’s the announcement from Chris Winchester aka CatdadMn.

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Hello Everyone.

It is official we are putting together our first catfish tournament. It is open to Pool 3 and 4 of the Mississippi River.Please feel free to post or message me any questions you may have. I do not get on here more than once a day so please be patient. I will get back to you. Thanks Chris Winchester

Rules For 2012 4 Seasons Catfish Roundup Tournament

*Entry Fee will be $25/ person. Shore anglers are welcome.

*Tournament will be limited to the first 100 anglers entered.

*Tournament Hours will be 12:00 p.m. (Noon) Friday, June 15th 2012 – 9:00 a.m. Saturday June 16th 2012. Scales will be available at 7:30 a.m. Saturday Morning.

*Tournament waters off limits Thursday, June 14th at 8:00 a.m. until Friday June 15th at noon.

*Late weigh in will have a 5% weight Penalty per minute. More than 10 minutes late will be disqualified.

*Weigh in will be at Bay Point Park in Red Wing, MN

*3 Divisions – Largest Flathead Catfish, Largest Channel Catfish, Largest Carp or Buffalo.

*Tournament limit is one fish per species per angler.

*All Fish must be weighed alive and released. 25% weight penalty for dead fish.

*Ties will be broken by a coin flip.

*All fish must be caught by Hook and Line.

*Tournament waters are Pool 3 & 4 of Mississippi River. Shore fishing is permitted.

*Entry Must be received prior to June 8th. $15 Late entry fee after June 8th.

*All Minnesota laws pertain to this event. If you receive a ticket while fishing this event you will be disqualified.

Payout: Based on Full field of 100 anglers. 95%

Payback



Largest Flathead: 1st $500, 2nd $250, 3rd $100, 10th $50 Gift Certificate

Largest Channel : 1st $500, 2nd $250, 3rd $100, 10th $50 Gift Certificate

Largest Rough Fish (Carp or Buffalo) 1st 100 Gift Certificate, 2nd $50 Gift Certificate

$425 in Prizes to be randomly drawn at weigh-in.

To register please Contact 4 Seasons or Chris Winchester for entry form.

Or Download Registration Form HERE<<<

Four Seasons Sports, Attention Chris Winchester, 2301 West Main St, Red Wing MN, 55066

Please call 651-388-4334 or 612-598-7802 with any questions.

Located in Red Wing MN ~ Pool 4 ~ Mississippi River

Ph. 651.388.4334

Monday – Thursday 6-7

Friday and Saturday 6-7

Sunday 6-6

Just to ensure there’s no confusion, The Four Seasons/Ido Tourney is open to anyone. You do not need to be an Ido Member to enter.

What is 75% of 40#s?

If my nephew and I enter, as well as many other anglers I assume, will have a hard time keeping a big flathead alive, unless you use a stringer. I’d really hate to do that and inevitably cause wounds to the fish. I know they can take a lot, but a lot can also go wrong dealing with a big cat like that. Or did I miss something in the rules?

I know, I know, I don’t have to worry.

Sorry, I don’t want to sound negative, that isn’t my point. I probably should have approached this with “Any suggestions for a tub or other container to keep large fish alive until weigh in”? Yeah, that’s a lot better.

I sure hope I don’t have plans that weekend! Sounds like a lot of fun.

take the drain plug out of your boat until there is enough water in it for the fish, then just drive to the weigh in.

Can I noodle them!?!

Hah! No…but I figured there would be 200 walleye guys lined up with their #7 Jointed Red Craw Shad Raps by now.

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take the drain plug out of your boat until there is enough water in it for the fish, then just drive to the weigh in.

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Tried that last weekend.

i think it is very irresponsible to have people trying to transport a large flathead distances that could be as long as 15+ miles, and keep that fish alive and in the condition to safely release.

just like the live weight tournament being held on P2 the following weekend, these tournaments should be a “measurement” based tournament only, pictures with control items, pictures of the fish being measured.

I know that this creates the ability for anglers to “add inches”, but it is much better than having a bunch of large, trophy caliber fish dying either on the boat ride down, or shortly after being released.

The only way this could really work, is for people to have a 100 gallon cattle trough in the boat, and very few people’s boats could safely hold that size tank, full of water.

I think we are asking for either a bunch of dead fish, or a possible boating accident when the guy with a 15′ jonboat loads up 100+ gallons of water in a trough and attempts to run 5 miles to a ramp for weigh-in.

Just my $.02 is all.

For those of you fishing the tournament – Good Luck!

I’d like to see 100% penalty for a dead fish

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In conjunction with the In-Depth Outdoors Get ToGether being held on Saturday, June 16th, 4 Seasons Sports Shop in Red Wing has hit a home run and is holding their first Cat Fishing Tourney!

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There’s a get together on June 16? Where is that posted?

Or were you guys trying to keep it a secret so I didn’t show up? Mission failed.

I like the idea!

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If you have scales available I’d be willing to donate my time weighing fish from 11PM Friday until 7:30AM Saturday. You’d have to find another person or two to weigh fish from 12PM Friday until 11PM. This would allow anglers to weigh fish immediately rather than try to keep a fish or multiple fish alive for 18+ hours.

This tournament is a great idea and I’d like to see it be a success!

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I’m in – I’d help.

Oh, Jakob and Ryan are too scared to compete.

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If you have scales available I’d be willing to donate my time weighing fish from 11PM Friday until 7:30AM Saturday. You’d have to find another person or two to weigh fish from 12PM Friday until 11PM. This would allow anglers to weigh fish immediately rather than try to keep a fish or multiple fish alive for 18+ hours.

This tournament is a great idea and I’d like to see it be a success!

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This same thing was done for Major League Fishing(MLF) bass fishing. This concept is wonderful, and decreases on the mortality of fish during a tourney.

Hate to play Devil’s advocate, but hopefully it helps sort through things.

So, you can only weigh 1 fish per species per the rules? So if you catch one in the afternoon and weigh it are you done for that species?

I don’t support this tournament either, or any tournament for big fish unless there are weigh-in boats everywhere.

And for what it’s worth, we’ve heard from the DNR that they would prefer people not transporting big fish either.

Are you guys pulling a permit to have over 25 boats?

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I don’t support this tournament either, or any tournament for big fish unless there are weigh-in boats everywhere.

And for what it’s worth, we’ve heard from the DNR that they would prefer people not transporting big fish either.

Are you guys pulling a permit to have over 25 boats?

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.. …….rrr

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Yes, Permit allows only one fish per species so you will have to decide when you catch one if thats the one you will weigh in.

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Ah. That sure adds to people having to formulate a strategy. I kind of like it. I do have a large enough cooler for a substantial fish. It wouldn’t require too much work for an attentive fisherman to keep a fish healthy for a trip to the weigh-in, as long as the weigh-in was available start to finish. I think you’d be fine if you had to lock through the dam too.

I am not rereading the rules, but I think it should be stated, no culling and you either keep a fish and go weigh it immediately, or release it.

This format actually sounds more interesting, because you have to have a plan going into the tournament. You could make decisions that cost you the tournament, if you don’t plan ahead.

in an effort to stop the senseless deaths of many flatheads i stopped in at 4 seasons and volunteered to be a mobile weigh in boat for this tourney. if these guys decide to not to use weigh in boats i would suggest not fishing in this tourney. i’m pretty sure if all the out of towners had an assult of their home waters like this they would not be happy about it. just my $.02.

Judging by the thread, it sounds like there are more mobile weigh in boats signing up than participants. Might end up being where people volunteering to be a weigh in boat could just be paired up with boats and be officials in the boat. Although starting Friday afternoon and going all night makes that difficult to manage.

If multiple scales are used, there should be rules to test the scales afterward to offset any discrepancies in scale accuracies. I realize that more than likely this won’t be necessary, as I would doubt winning fish would be within a pound of each other. Even when when it comes to the winning channels, but you never know. Better to be prepared in the event it happens.

Absolutely, I have voiced my opinion against that tournament as well, all documented on DTRo’s site.

I will never support a tournament that demands people move fish they’re caught off of their spawning grounds to wherever the official weigh-in station is.

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mfreeman451 and rwcathunter – Does this mean that your both against the pool 2 cat tourney as well? To my knowledge there is only a single weigh station for that contest. Just curious about your thoughts on that?

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The reason why everyone wants to be a “weigh-in boat” is that they get to slide around and see where people are fishing.

If anyone wants to get some spots on P4 now is your chance.

This is all still being flushed out. I wouldn’t have a weight boat meet me at a spot I was fishing. I’d have a secondary destination where I would meet them. I also think in this instance the fish should be brought back to where it was caught when we are talking flatheads, which is the species where most of my concern and thoughts have centered around. We all know the studies of how flatheads will migrate to the same place or very close to it every year. I think moving the fish miles away from where it has already migrated at best assure that fish is not spawning this year. And we are talking mid-June when most these fish have staked out and battled for their territory.

I don’t know what is so hard to understand. There is no conspiracy theory here that the people who don’t support these tournaments are participating in. Most of us do not think that you should stick huge fish in coolers and move them around the river. The DNR informally mentioned to one tournament organizer as cited in another forum that they are not big fans of people possessing these fish for long periods of time or transporting them in inadequate storage containers.

The sport of catfishing is growing wildly popular in Minnesota and everywhere else on it’s own, I don’t see how having a tournament changes anything.

DTRo is running his tournament to inflate his own ego, and these guys are doing it to increase awareness of their bait-shop to the public so they can get more revenues.

Is that honest enough for you?

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I appreciate the honest response.

Between not taking fish from their spawning grounds and giving up fishing spots, it seems like you wouldn’t support any cat tournament.

I would like to see the sport of catfishing grow in Minnesota. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), tournaments are one of the biggest ways to get the word out. I strongly believe that the majority of cat fisher people have great respect for the resource and don’t want to see the fishery harmed in any way (Pool 2 or Pool 4).

I’m not trying to start a war with you (or anyone else), but that’s where I stand on the subject. I really believe that the negative impacts will be minimal as long as everyone does their part.

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I don’t know what is so hard to understand. There is no conspiracy theory here that the people who don’t support these tournaments are participating in. Most of us do not think that you should stick huge fish in coolers and move them around the river. The DNR informally mentioned to one tournament organizer as cited in another forum that they are not big fans of people possessing these fish for long periods of time or transporting them in inadequate storage containers.

The sport of catfishing is growing wildly popular in Minnesota and everywhere else on it’s own, I don’t see how having a tournament changes anything.

DTRo is running his tournament to inflate his own ego, and these guys are doing it to increase awareness of their bait-shop to the public so they can get more revenues.

Is that honest enough for you?

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honestly, if they did a few weigh-in stations, everything would be ok. one up on the middle of P3, baypoint, and further down P4.

That way people could safely and efficiently get fish weighed and returned to the water asap. no 15 mile boat runs, or locks to deal with.

we are not talking a 28″ walleye here, we are talking something that is big enough that you would potentially need something the size of a stock tank, to keep the same ratio of fish versus water, that a standard livewell does with a 28″ walleye.

how many people’s boats can effectively and SAFELY run the river, with a large stock tank full of water in their boat?

i would garner to say less than 5%, if that even. we are talking 500+ pounds of water alone in that tank.

If a 100quart coleman cooler holds 25gal of water and is 40″x18″ (thanks mudcatkid), and you want to add a fish let’s just say is 40lbs, you would need to get rid of at least half of the 25gal of water that it can potentially hold, so now we are down to 12.5 gallons of water or roughly .3125 gallons of water per pound of fish.

That sounds sub-optimal for running a big fish around to me.

Add that to the fact that you should probably be returning the fish to where you caught it, unless you don’t care if it spawns this year or not, you’re talking about a potentially long ride in a coffin for a trophy fish that up until recently apparently, some of the more outspoken sportsmen wouldn’t even consider taking out of the water for a picture!

Something doesn’t add up..

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If a 100quart coleman cooler holds 25gal of water and is 40″x18″ (thanks mudcatkid), and you want to add a fish let’s just say is 40lbs, you would need to get rid of at least half of the 25gal of water that it can potentially hold, so now we are down to 12.5 gallons of water or roughly .3125 gallons of water per pound of fish.

That sounds sub-optimal for running a big fish around to me.

Add that to the fact that you should probably be returning the fish to where you caught it, unless you don’t care if it spawns this year or not, you’re talking about a potentially long ride in a coffin for a trophy fish that up until recently apparently, some of the more outspoken sportsmen wouldn’t even consider taking out of the water for a picture!

Something doesn’t add up..

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follow the dollars…

I’ll toss my two cents in here, but that’s all I’m giving.

Transporting a 50 pound flat in a cooler alive has and can be done. In fact, transporting 70 pound blues from MO to MN has been done in a cooler with no ill effects.

I’ve been fighting with the WI DNR for a number of years over the 25 flathead limit per day and I’m not overly thrilled of the 10 fish limit MN has on boarder waters either. Not to mention the snagging of wintering fish that goes on. Talk of a winter close season closes ears with the DNR’s.

TWENTY FIVE FISH LIMIT. Four anglers can legally take out twice as many fish in two days as this tourney could possibly take out…maybe. IF I was a WI resident I could use bank poles without ANY limit. NONE

So after all of this my question is, does any of the above promote cat fishing to anyone? It doesn’t. Having a live weigh-in in Red Wing does.

I sure wish I could muster this much passion when talking to the DNR’s from the catfish supporters we have.