July 2, 2012
Dear Bass Tournament Director:
You are receiving this letter because your club has an upcoming tournament scheduled on one or
more of the following water bodies: Squam Lake, Crescent Lake (Wolfeboro), Wentworth Lake
(Wolfeboro) or Ossipee Lake.
It has come to the attention of the NH Fish and Game Department that a number of clubs have
been conducting bass tournaments on connected water bodies even though a permit for only one
of the water bodies has been issued. For example, a club that receives a permit for Wentworth
Lake (Wolfeboro) and then fishes both Wentworth Lake and Crescent Lake.
This is unlawful due to the following:
Fis 503.06 (a) (4) Culled black bass shall be released immediately into the same body of water from
which it was caught, and in a physical state as to reasonably insure its survival;
Fis 503.06 (a) (5) Black bass entered for the weigh –in at bass tournaments shall be released unharmed
into the same water body where caught …..
The reasoning behind the above rules is to keep fish from being transferred from one water body
to another. While bass can obviously move between water bodies that are connected (such as
Big and Little Squam Lakes), the degree of movement between such water bodies is unknown
and low return rates to a fish’s original water body after weigh-in/culling displacement could
have negative impacts on the greater bass population in one or both lakes. Additionally, water
body specific bass tournament data compiled by the NH Fish and Game Department from
tournament clubs will not be accurate if bass information on a water body specific report is in
fact coming from two water bodies. Furthermore, your permit only allows you to tournament
fish the water body specified in the permit on that date.
Obtaining a separate permit for two adjoining water bodies on the same day where both water
bodies would be fished throughout the day is not an option as logistics of keeping fish separate
and ensuring that fish are culled and released back to their original water body would be
unmanageable. However, a viable option if clubs still wish to fish both connected water bodies
in a single day is for clubs to obtain a permit to fish one water body for half the day and then
obtain a separate permit to fish the other connected water body for the other half of the day. For
example, a tournament and weigh-in could be held on Big Squam Lake from 7 am to 11 am and
then a tournament and weigh-in could be held on Little Squam Lake from 12 pm to 4 pm.
As such, the following applies when a bass tournament permit is obtained for these specific
water bodies:
Ossipee Lake: Upper, Middle, and Lower Danforth Ponds in Freedom are considered separate
water bodies and fishing the Danforth Ponds with a bass tournament permit for Ossipee Lake is
not permissible.
Big Squam Lake: Little Squam Lake is considered a separate water body and fishing Little
Squam Lake with a bass tournament permit for Big Squam Lake is not permissible.
Little Squam Lake: Big Squam Lake is considered a separate water body and fishing Big
Squam Lake with a bass tournament permit for Little Squam Lake is not permissible.
Crescent Lake (Wolfeboro): Wentworth Lake is considered a separate water body and fishing
Wentworth Lake with a bass tournament permit for Crescent Lake is not permissible.
Wentworth Lake (Wolfeboro): Crescent Lake (Wolfeboro) is considered a separate water body
and fishing Crescent Lake with a bass tournament permit for Wentworth Lake is not permissible.
It is legal to hold your weigh-in on a connected water body as long as all bass are released back
into the water body in which they were angled. For example, clubs with a permit for Big Squam
Lake may hold their weigh-in on Little Squam Lake as long as all bass are released back into Big
Squam Lake.
If you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact Fisheries Biologist Gabe Gries at
(603) 352-9669.
Sincerely,
Stephen G. Perry
Chief Inland Fisheries
