INTRODUCTION Competitive angling events have been around since about 1950, and in the early 1990s there were over 10,000 black bass Micropterus spp. tournament events occurring annually in North America (Duttweiler 1985; Schramm et al. 1991b). Although there are no recent tallies of the number of events, black bass competitive angling events clearly remain popular. These events generate economic benefits by supporting local retailers, restaurants, hotels, and rental accommodations (Schramm et al.