The Great Prefish Debate!!!!

[IceManDude]

I'm sure many will offer their opinion on this one.

To Prefish or not to Prefish... that is the question!!!

This is in regard to the OFFICIAL PREFISH DAY on the Friday of the tournament weekend

[paul r]

3week ban before each event

jmho paul

[Breamingwithjoy]

I liked the idea of hookless fishing to find the fish but not overly spook them.

[gtxrally]

I liked the idea of hookless fishing to find the fish but not overly spook them.

I think BWJ has the right approach here.
You still want to be able work out what thay are taking. there are more factors than just catching a few to why the fish turn off etc like pressure changes and temp drops.

And also for most they don't get to fish these waters that often so they enjoy the 3 day fishing weekend.:p:p like me.

Dale.

[crusty]

I think having a prefish ban may allow some anglers to catch a better and more fish for an event.
I also think a prefish is ripe for exploitation. If an angler sends a mate who's not in the tournament out to fish then he's not breaching the rule but he's gaining a significant advantage.
I think it also gives a much larger advantage to an angler who lives nearby the waterway because he has a greater knowledge of the system to start with. The locals already have an advantage of local knowledge, banning the prefish means the advantage is even greater.

It might be that the prefish ban is beneficial to the town running the tournament as it means a serious angler needs to visit the town in advance of the tournament to work out the system if he wants to give himself a better chance. Maybe the better anglers do this anyway and it might explain my tournament record of donuts.

I think the prefish without hooks is a good idea, or maybe just a bit of education for the anglers advising them that in the prefish they should quickly explore areas and not catch lots of fish because they will likely make it harder for themselves in the tournament.

Anyway after all that I vote allow a prefish to level the playing field a little bit.

[dawson]

Agreed,

Hookless pre-fish is the way too go. Still allows anglers to locate fish and fishy areas without putting much pressure on them.

JD

[walloper]

i think pre fishing is a must as you may have never been on that particular water way and spending a day on the water in this situation helps when it comes to navigating. any one who stalks around smashing fish in numbers can't expect to do well in the spots they've hit. it boils down to common sense as individuals, but as a group, yes on pre fish it gets something of a pre-LOOKOUT BREAM, HERE WE COME. at the moment no pre-fish means, if your in the comp stay off that water way, trying to police that other wise, for example..go navigating without rods, is way too hard.
my vote lies with allow the pre-fish.

[tomd]

I'm with wolloper & crusty, the pre fish makes the event more professional and makes a chance victory less likely.

Everyone needs to develop their pre fish strategy so that fish are not unduly spooked.

PS if this discussion is a result of the VicBreamClassic event on the Glenelg R on the weekend I believe other factors were at play to shut the fish down on tournament day

[tomd]

forgot to mention that its a tournament, all you are trying to do is win. Doesn't matter how many fish you catch. If you want to catch fish, pick the best location, the best time, best tide, best time of year, least fishing competition etc and go for it.

if anyone thinks that by pre fishing they are "wasting" fish that they won't catch on tournament day, remember, the pre fish is optional.

[Squidgee_Man]

Personaly i reckon just because you find the fish on a particular day doesnt mean they will be there next. Fishing is a funny game 5% knowledge - 95% luck! I reckon the Prefish ban isn't really that great an idea. Allow prefishing i reckon, it cant do any harm imo. Seriously though theres gunna be people prefishing, i dont think everyone is honest and its not like the comp organisers are out patrolling is it? Anyway i hardly bream fish anymore as the novelty has worn off for me. I go in most of the Perth comps, which is when i bream fish as the comps add a bit more fun to plane old bream fishing for me, 1st or last doesnt bother me! I wouldnt pre fish even if it was allowed, saying that how many people would actually prefish if it was allowed? i think it wouldnt be that many compared to how many are in the comp.

[MinnowMan]

Squidgee Man is right. If anyone asks, we're not prefishing, we're just having a completely unrelated fish:) you can't really tell someone not to fish? can you?

[ttpman]

i think prefishs are a brilliant idea it makes the comp more faire, because of the locals in the competition that have fished the area heaps and for the visiters they may have never fished the spot before.

[ttpman]

Personaly i reckon just because you find the fish on a particular day doesnt mean they will be there next. Fishing is a funny game 5% knowledge - 95% luck! I reckon the Prefish ban isn't really that great an idea. Allow prefishing i reckon, it cant do any harm imo. Seriously though theres gunna be people prefishing, i dont think everyone is honest and its not like the comp organisers are out patrolling is it? Anyway i hardly bream fish anymore as the novelty has worn off for me. I go in most of the Perth comps, which is when i bream fish as the comps add a bit more fun to plane old bream fishing for me, 1st or last doesnt bother me! I wouldnt pre fish even if it was allowed, saying that how many people would actually prefish if it was allowed? i think it wouldnt be that many compared to how many are in the comp.

50%/50% i recon

[Emo]

Keep it the way it is, but if anything restrict the Friday prefish time to about 3 hours on the Friday.

[walloper]

Personaly i reckon just because you find the fish on a particular day doesnt mean they will be there next. Fishing is a funny game 5% knowledge - 95% luck! I reckon the Prefish ban isn't really that great an idea. Allow prefishing i reckon, it cant do any harm imo. Seriously though theres gunna be people prefishing, i dont think everyone is honest and its not like the comp organisers are out patrolling is it? Anyway i hardly bream fish anymore as the novelty has worn off for me. I go in most of the Perth comps, which is when i bream fish as the comps add a bit more fun to plane old bream fishing for me, 1st or last doesnt bother me! I wouldnt pre fish even if it was allowed, saying that how many people would actually prefish if it was allowed? i think it wouldnt be that many compared to how many are in the comp.

fish have tails they move around... your first sentence rings true. you lost me at the end of your reply though Squidgee_Man, can you explane.

[Powerbream]

"Dad reckons fishing is 10% brains and 95% muscle, the rest is just good luck."

[Squidgee_Man]

I just reckon even if they got rid of the pre fish ban that many people wouldn't take advantage of it anyway, so in other words why have it!, does it really make that much of a difference having it? I do tend to dribble on a bit.....;):D

[Emo]

I just reckon even if they got rid of the pre fish ban that many people wouldn't take advantage of it anyway, so in other words why have it!, does it really make that much of a difference having it? I do tend to dribble on a bit.....;):D


Isn't this discussion about whether to ban the official pre fish on Friday?

[IceManDude]

Isn't this discussion about whether to ban the official pre fish on Friday?

That was the idea.....maybe i should've been a tad more specific

[Squidgee_Man]

I thought it was pre fishing (b4 comps) in general :confused: Anyway im for getting rid of the pre fish. If if it stays just go for a pre whiting / mullet fish;) Bream are a bycatch.

[Squidgee_Man]

Haha, i just relised this is about the comp over east, my bad:D. There is a comp this wkend in Perth so i got muddled up. Anyway pre fishing in general should be wiped out for any comp in any state. Allow fishing right up to the day of the comp i say.

[Hooked]

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: :confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: :confused::confused::confused::confused:

[Emo]

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: :confused::confused::confused::confused::confused: :confused::confused::confused::confused:

HAHA At this point in the debate I think we need to clarify things.

"Official Prefish day"= occurs on the last day before the comp and is the day where anglers are allowed to fish in the comp zone.

"prefish ban"= the 2 weeks prior to the comp where anglers aren't allowed to fish the comp zone

The question Iceman is asking is, Should the official prefish day be discontinued, therefore reducing the pressure on the system prior to the comp?

Continue:D

[Breamtastic]

i think i two week ban on the river and say if the tournament was on sunday allow the sunday the week before a prefish day.. the friday seems to close for every one to hit the river..

[Emo]

i think i two week ban on the river and say if the tournament was on sunday allow the sunday the week before a prefish day.. the friday seems to close for every one to hit the river..

That would be unfair as most of the entrants who live 3 or more hours away would not have the chance to get away 2 weekends in a row. The locals would get an advantage

[bender]

You need a pre-something on the friday to allow those that are new to the area the chance to find any dangers like hidden reefs or whatever ......those same people can look back at past comps to find the right lure etc...BUT...maybe we should just make it looking only on the day so that the fish dont get flogged.

non boaters get the advantage when in a new area as the boater is likely to be local or will have some idea...jmo...

and fishing is 50/50 luck/skill

[Hooked]

and fishing is 50/50 luck/skill

I make my own luck and "skill" is my middle name.:p:D

[bender]

well we will soon confirm that at albany..... :p

[vegasbreamman]

I think 2 week ban is enough . For example look at Walpole last year. The classic coming up I have never seen as many boats prefishing as i've seen the last 3 weeks will be intresting to see wat happens .

[bender]

yeah...i saw a boat like yours being towed by a car like yours being driven by a bloke like you and he has been there a hundred

times and thats only in the last week.... :p:p:p:p

[Bear]

Personally, I prefer the WABT rules. 2 weeks before the event for the pre-fish ban and no rods allowed in the boat on the Friday so you can look around, but not fish. Worked then, don't see why not now.

[bender]

and the bags of fish at the weighin were always big.....worked alright

[Shortytheyakker]

The classic coming up I have never seen as many boats prefishing as i've seen the last 3 weeks will be intresting to see wat happens .


It will be interesting with all the rain and storms,,anybody prefishing might have wasted their time as conditions have changed and the fish may have moved shop,,,

[crabcrusher]

"Dad reckons fishing is 10% brains and 95% muscle, the rest is just good luck."

Words of wisdom from one one the finest philosophers of all time. AKA Steve Kerrigan (Mr Steve Curry)

[phil jagger]

You need a pre-something on the friday.

I agree and it should be pre comp drinks. Yew! And then eat some Gulp? worms.

[MinnowMan]

You need a pre-something on the friday.

I agree and it should be pre comp drinks. Yew! And then eat some Gulp? worms.

hahah drink to that! phil-osopher:D

[n-fish]

I don't think you need a pre fish ban people have to be sensible when pre fishing

I like the fact that you can have a fish the day before (ABT) to double check your gear and lure selection and if you have not fished in a while you can get some practice in

not everyone can get out for a fish every weekend some of us can only get out once a month if we are lucky

no pre fish = more drinking = massive hangover for the first day = even bigger hangover for the second day

[Pete D]

I think it should be left as is maybe reduce the hrs allowed out on the prefish day but too me part of winning a comp , well i would imagine :D:D, is to have a not necesarily sucessfull prefish but a smart prefish day . and i reckon 70 % skill/knowledge 30% luck :)