I love this discussion! Here's more of my 0.02.

Many things have changed in the last year or two with respect to running in a kickboat tourney.

In the past running did stress the fish a whole lot more than it does now. With the new livewell rules that have been put in place by both clubs and the fact that the vast majority of guys are using kickboats and not using drag bags anymore the mortality rates have dropped dramatically. I have kept the records on this for BnT ever since I started as the assisant TD in the delta region and have the numbers to prove it!

I think angler awareness and the new livewell rules are responsible for the reduction in mortality we have seen this year in kickboat tourneys. Drag bags flat out injure fish, even before they are ever placed into a running livewell in your vehicle. In the past drag bags were very common even for some kickboaters. Not anymore!

There are permit conditions that the DFG has given Rich and the SCBBBC that are designed specifically with the well being of the fish in mind. One is you can only transport 3 fish (hence the 3 fish limit at the classic). This is done so that the livewell isn't overcrowded if it is only a minimum size 48 quart ice chest. Next you must have a recirculating pump in the transport livewell and it must be running 100% of the time fish are in the tank. And finally you must use a product such as Rejuvinade in your transport livewell when fish are present.

I have been at the weigh ins at these running tourneys with the new rules and conditions in place and I can tell you that the fish coming to the scale have never looked better. You can tell no difference between the runners fish and the non runners fish as far as I can tell.
Nobody can ever make me believe that the fish in the livewells of the boats going back to Konocti Vista on Saturday afternoon that were getting beat by the 4 foot rollers were better off than the fish that came back to State park in a truck.

Do I run? No.
Will I ever run? Not unless I think I need to to win a tourney!
Did I ever think running was bad for the fish? Yes, I was right there with Rob on that one.
Do I think it's bad for the fish now? No, at least not any worse than running a lake in a boat.

You guys should come to one of these tourneys and see for yourself!

MT
My mission in life is to daily confuse one person's thinking with the facts.