New York Bass Nation Club Guidelines for Tournaments to Implement Clean Drain & Dry Practices - Draft

New York BASS Nation Club Guidelines for Tournaments to

Implement Clean Drain and Dry practices

The Clean Drain and Dry law is in effect.  Each affiliated club holding tournaments or other boating related events needs to be aware of their responsibility in making sure that all of their members are participating to follow the law’s guidelines.  

Tools needed:  a quality leaf rake, a box of large garbage bags, the industrial strength and size are best, a box of protective rubber gloves and the clean drain and dry fliers.

The process:   In the morning, several club members spend a few minutes cleaning the launch ramp of floating vegetation and any other debris before the club launches their boats, putting the debris in a garbage bag and leaving it at the designated spot for debris at the launch.  

In the afternoon, some volunteers should again clean the ramp before pulling out the boats.   Then retrieve all of the boats, weigh the fish and return them to the water.  After the fish are weighed, each boater must then completely clean the boat and the trailer of all debris, including the axle area of the trailer.  They must also pull the bilge plug and the drain plugs in their live wells AND lower the main motor to drain all residual water from the motor.  “Coughing” the motor several times will force water out as well.

In July, August and September, each boater should have a spray bottle with a mild mix of bleach and water.   When the boater arrives home, they should take a few minutes to spray the bleach mix on the boat hull and trailer to make sure that any zebra mussels or other aquatic life that may be attached are destroyed.  The inside of the livewells should also be cleaned and rinsed thoroughly.   Then leave the livewell lids and the back compartment lid open to the air so that the inside of the livewells and the bilge area can dry out.   This should prevent the spread of zebra and quagga mussels plus spiney water fleas and other invasives that are difficult to detect.

If the club has the clean, drain and dry fliers available, they should take a few minutes before leaving the launch to distribute them on the windshields in the parking lot before leaving the ramp to help spread the word on clean drain and dry and invasives.

Weigh-In and Release Process
 
The weigh-in process is one of the most critical factors for
fish survival in a live-release Competitive Fishing Event
(CFE). The manner in which fish are handled and then
released affects fish mortality rates. In our club we have
Al Coleman and Bill Carlstrom as our weigh in dedicated
staff to the care and release of fish and they provide the
scales and process to care for stressed fish.
 
PLEASE ENSURE YOU BRING YOUR FISH TO THE WEIGH-IN WITH A MARKER IN YOUR LARGEST FISH FOR QUICKER WEIGH IN!
 
Guidelines:
Avoid leaving your fish too long in your livewells while waiting
for a weigh-in especially on days above 70 degrees F.
Fish are to be transported, handled carefully without undue delay and
released as soon as possible from the weigh-in site, according to
the following criteria:
• Al Coleman and Bill Carlstrom are our designated weigh-in supervisors present at our weigh-in  station and on duty at all times during
weigh-in periods. Weigh-in supervisory duties may be transferred between individuals, but must be clearly assigned to ensure accountability. Supervisors responsibilities include:
 
 
1) Ensure careful handling of fish throughout the entire process and monitor handling process and exposure times.
2) Ensure compliance with guidelines throughout all processes (judging,
weighing, release).
3) Assign specific duties and responsibilities to volunteers to cover all
aspects of the weigh-in.
 
• Minimize fish handling and always use good handling techniques:
o Use wet cotton gloves for any fish handling.
o Use a rubber-mesh dip net if fish need to be moved. Maximum one fish indip net at a time.
• Judge fish for overall health while still inthe livewell of the boat. Healthy fish should be weighed or measured and immediately released..
• Do not expose fish to atmosphere for more than 30 seconds at any one time. To minimize air exposure, boat docking facilities and weigh-ins
should be located close to each other.
• Release fish immediately and directly back into the water body from which they
were caught gently and ensure they swim off under their own power.  If by chance
any dead fish are weighed in they must be taken from the premises.