pro bass fishing tournaments

Question
why do these pro fishermen use 12 to 18 pound fishing line? these tournaments are all about hook and horse in. why not use 6 to 8 pound test line and see where the real skill is. play the fish and land it. to me this shows where pro skills come in.  not hook and horse it in with these high weight lines.  thank you

Answer
Hi Rick,
There are a few reasons why the pros use heavier line most of the time. Perhaps the primary reason is the fact that losing fish in tournaments can be a very expensive deal. The lighter the line the greater the chance of breaking the fish off. When a pro is in a modern tournament they could be fishing for more than $100,000, if they win, and a lot less if they don't. For example, at the Woman's Bassmaster Tour tournament on the Red River in Shreveport, LA, the first place lady won $50,000...while second only paid $5,200. As one fish could have made the difference you can see that any fish lost can be very expensive.
Secondly, while there may be more skill involved with landing a fish on light line it is also much more stressful for the fish. Stress is not good, it can lead to the death of the fish . All fish weighed in in tournaments must be alive or a penalty of at least 4 ounces (and as much as a pound) is imposed. That can cost a win also.
And third, time is important. If an angler spends 2 extra minutes playing a fish that could be as many as 5 or 6 casts he did not get to make. Putting the lure in front of the fish as many times as one can is key to getting as many bites as possible during a tournament day.