For Fun?

[Josh Smith]

Hi Folks,

 

I'm not competitive in nature when it comes to sports.  At least, not against others.  Others are a gauge I use to judge my abilities, and this is one reason I'm on Bass Resource to begin with.

 

When I shoot, for example, I'm shooting to beat myself, not to beat other competitors (if any).  I might also be shooting to demonstrate something, say, to prove the Mosin as as good as any Mauser, but mostly it's a personal competition with myself.

 

I have thought for a while about entering a local tournament of some sort.  If I can see how I am doing under the same conditions as other guys, then I can get a much more precise idea of where I am and where I should be.  I have no idea if I'm ahead or behind the curve, or just dead center.

 

My concern is making folks mad.  Tournament anglers are there to compete against others, from what I've seen.  They have fast bass boats to get to certain locations before the other guy.

 

I would enter with my deep V boat, bought for reservoir fishing and not necessarily speed.  It has a 15hp outboard on it, and will only take up to a 35hp.  I've never liked the outboard; the trolling motor, which is also considered a little light for this boat and stern mounted, is my preference because I believe fishing should be a quiet activity.

 

Now, were I to enter a local tournament with my humble equipment, would I be likely to make the real competitive anglers angry, or how would I be seen?

 

If it's as a nuisance of any sort, I'll do something different as I don't want to mess with them or their sport at which I'm sure they're making at least a little money.

 

On the other hand, if I can go out, fish, and compare how I did compared to others at the end of the day without unknowingly messing with anyone, then I might just have at it.

 

How would professional anglers see someone like me, were I to do this?

 

Regards,

 

Josh

[Lund Explorer]

Hi Folks,

 

I'm not competitive in nature when it comes to sports.  At least, not against others.  Others are a gauge I use to judge my abilities, and this is one reason I'm on Bass Resource to begin with.

 

When I shoot, for example, I'm shooting to beat myself, not to beat other competitors (if any).  I might also be shooting to demonstrate something, say, to prove the Mosin as as good as any Mauser, but mostly it's a personal competition with myself.

 

I have thought for a while about entering a local tournament of some sort.  If I can see how I am doing under the same conditions as other guys, then I can get a much more precise idea of where I am and where I should be.  I have no idea if I'm ahead or behind the curve, or just dead center.

 

My concern is making folks mad.  Tournament anglers are there to compete against others, from what I've seen.  They have fast bass boats to get to certain locations before the other guy.

 

I would enter with my deep V boat, bought for reservoir fishing and not necessarily speed.  It has a 15hp outboard on it, and will only take up to a 35hp.  I've never liked the outboard; the trolling motor, which is also considered a little light for this boat and stern mounted, is my preference because I believe fishing should be a quiet activity.

 

Now, were I to enter a local tournament with my humble equipment, would I be likely to make the real competitive anglers angry, or how would I be seen?

 

If it's as a nuisance of any sort, I'll do something different as I don't want to mess with them or their sport at which I'm sure they're making at least a little money.

 

On the other hand, if I can go out, fish, and compare how I did compared to others at the end of the day without unknowingly messing with anyone, then I might just have at it.

 

How would professional anglers see someone like me, were I to do this?

 

Regards,

 

Josh

 

Anyone who would get angry with you for your choice of boat or any of your equipment is most likely an idiot, and the rest of the group is already going to know it long before you ever show up!  Perhaps the only question that may (and perhaps should) come up would be your ability to keep a limit of fish alive for the length of the tournament.  As long as you have a working livewell though, I can't think of any rule that states that you have to spend a minimum amount for a boat to compete.

 

You may want to look into a smaller club to begin with as the more serious big spenders shy away from groups with lower entry fees and lower payouts.  If you find that you are near the top of the standings within that group, then it would be up to you to see if you match up to one of the bigger circuits.

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

 

Thank you for your answer.

 

I figured (maybe wrongly) that there were assumed minimum requirements for the sport.  As long as it's only a functioning live well, I'm covered!

 

Thanks again!

 

Josh

[mjseverson24]

I would check the rules section of any tournament you are looking to enter. Some of the ones I fish have a 16' or 17' length minimum on the boat, and a HP minimum at like 50 HP as well as it is up to the tournament directors discretion to allow a boat to enter or not. If you are fishing big waters and it is windy, the director may have no other choice than to forbid smaller boats from competing for none other than liability reasons. I would at least ask the director for his opinion, the worst he can say is no.

 

Mitch

[CDMeyer]

You go do it bud, anyone who gets mad is an idiot and you are the bigger person..... They are not pros either. No one would judge you who has a heart

[Fishes in trees]

All I got to say is research the group/club you are going to be fishing with.  In the past, fishing BFL as a co angler, I've drawn boaters who were under-equipped and not really prepared to compete, compared to the rest of the field.  I drew a guy at a Pickwick wild card event who towed a light aluminum rig from West Virginia to Florence, Alabama, primarily for cost reasons.  Once he got there, he realized that he had the boat, but didn't have the skills to successfully fish the tail race area.  (An aluminum boat, which can bounce off rocks, is the perfect boat to fish this area)   The boat (17' with a 50 hp engine & 6 gal portable tank) literally didn't have the range to go very far on Pickwick.  I drew him for the second day.   I'd caught a few fish the first day, and was in outside contention for the top 6 (which is all that matters in the Wild Card format)

 

This guy did very little research on PIckwick prior to showing up.  He inadvertently shows up in a boat that is perfectly suited to fish the tail race AND the tail race is the only decent fishing area within his range.

Then he busts out with (fishing that tail race is scary and I'm not going to do it)  I was a little steamed.

 

It is one thing to enter a tournament under-equipped - under powered - under informed, whatever, should you be fishing solo or as part of a team.   Fishing in a blind draw format, you are putting a co-angler into a non-competitive situation.  In my opinion, that ain't cool.  

 

The rest of the story for the tournament, we ran a mile or so to a diversion canal and then ran another quarter mile to the back of the canal, where we stayed all day, rotating between pitching at barges and pilings.  There weren't any fish in the canal that day.   Never saw a shad flip or any evidence of food in the area, BUT there wasn't any current and it was safe boating and it was within his range. For the record,  4 of the 6 boater spots came out of the tail race.  All of the co-angler spots came out of the tail race.

 

If this would have happened during a regular BFL event, I would have registered a protest, but as it happened during the wild card (last tournament of the year) tournament director mentioned, after the fact, that it was unfortunate.

 

The conclusion to this rant, if you are going to enter tournament competition under-equipped and under powered, do it in a solo or team format, with a team mate who is aware of what he/she is getting into.

Just my opinion, which is formed (or tainted if you will) by my own experiences.

[tomustang]

I have thought for a while about entering a local tournament of some sort. If I can see how I am doing under the same conditions as other guys, then I can get a much more precise idea of where I am and where I should be. I have no idea if I'm ahead or behind the curve, or just dead center.

I think you're missing an important factor here, the anglers you would enter with would be seasoned specifically for that tournament or even trail. they most likely have established patterns for specific times for the events.

There's too many factors to base what you're looking for on. the group in the tournament could all be newbies that know absolutely nothing or they could have been doing the same circuit for 20 years.

[J Francho]

Look for a tournament with an open team format that weighs best single person limit.  That way, you can fish alone or with a partner.  There's a ton of tournaments around here that only require a working livewell and proof of liability insurance.  My buddy runs a Monday nighter on Oneida lake.  No one cares about whether you're donating to the pot, fishing for money, or just having fun and making friends. These are my favorite format.  They can be pretty competitive, too. 

 

One thing is for sure, always beware of the guy with little tin tiller.  They never come to the weigh in empty handed, and rarely leave empty handed.

[Lund Explorer]

Look for a tournament with an open team format that weighs best single person limit.  That way, you can fish alone or with a partner.  There's a ton of tournaments around here that only require a working livewell and proof of liability insurance.  My buddy runs a Monday nighter on Oneida lake.  No one cares about whether you're donating to the pot, fishing for money, or just having fun and making friends. These are my favorite format.  They can be pretty competitive, too. 

 

One thing is for sure, always beware of the guy with little tin tiller.  They never come to the weigh in empty handed, and rarely leave empty handed.

 

It's amazing how many people think it's the boat that catches the fish.

[J Francho]

I can think of only one tournament where the speed of my boat came into play as an advantage.