I'm a college angler at the University of Wisconsin and I feel the same way as a lot of these others guys do. First off, we're piggybacking with the Everstarts, which had 300+ anglers flogging the water for the past week and the off-limits areas are huge, and total available fishing area is relatively "tiny" compared to the Everstart boundaries (whole lake usually). Most of our tournaments with the FLW series are held in southern locales (due to warmer weather, and year-round seasons) but those are a 9+ hr drive for us in WI, plus an "off limits" practice period the week before the event. With school and work, we just can't drive down there and practice easily, especially those of us in clubs that have to pay their own way in gas and everything. Not to mention having these tourneys on huge, sprawling lakes that we've never fished before, and aren't anything even remotely similar to what we find in the north (we don't have giant reservoirs in WI). Plus it seems like every dang tourney, there's something funky going on with the water or weather (water dropped over 6 ft. in three days before KY lake tourney in early april, 41 degree water at LOZ etc.). To top it all off, you only get a 6 hour fishing day - you don't even get a full 8 hrs, which in these early spring tourneys would be monumental with letting the water warm up a degree or two more.
So to recap my lengthy sob story, we're driving 10 hrs each way to fish six hours on a giant lake we've never been to before, usually in cold water conditions and on the heels of a major tournament with 150 boats. Rough rough rough. I know, I know. Everybody has to face the same conditions, and that's part of fishing and what separates the good from the bad, but man, it kinda sucks. Not to mention your boater isn't allowed to say a peep about any locations or likely lures that have been working. I can do all the internet research in the world and still bomb. Frustrating when you know you're a good fisherman and can clean house on the lakes back home, but fizzle and bring in two, one, or none fishing the supposed "best" lakes in the country.
I'm happy that they give us this opportunity to fish in a "big" tournament, but not a fan of the way it is run. To add one more tidbit to my saga, they have a rule stipulating that you MUST be an active student to participate, meaning that if you are a senior and are to graduate in May, you are ineligible for any tournaments that summer or fall. FLW finally listened to us northern boys and is hosting an FLW college tourney on the Wolf River Chain in Wisconsin this June, but alas, I graduate in a few short weeks, and will not be able to fish on water I grew up on, and actually know how to fish
Oh well!!!
