Design a tournament....

[billmac]

So we've talked about this a lot over various threads, but I wanted to get a synthesis of what folks are thinking about tournaments.

 

A wealthy benefactor gives you the opportunity to design and operate a new bass tournament trail.  The goal is to find, if you can, the anglers that are truly the best in the field.  You are specifically instructed not to worry about sponsors or media ratings.  You only want the most versatile, knowledgeable and adaptable anglers to rise to the top.    What does that look like?  

[roadwarrior]

39 minutes ago, billmac said:

What does that look like?  

 A day on the lake at Pickwick.

 

[billmac]

My first instinct is the way the old Classics were run.  Unknown lake. Limited practice.  Identical rigs, and a limit on tackle.  No FFS, perhaps downscan only.  I would add some of the conservation minded rules that the MLF have implemented.  CWR.

[Ski]

BASS VS MLF... Playoff ladder, Crown 1 Angler "World Champion" as of now both series have a "World Champion" 

 

[scaleface]

Three day event , 10 largest bass over a pound  count . Weigh them on the boat and release them .

[Tennessee Boy]

If the goal is simply to determine who are the best anglers then make them fish for bigger fish over several days.  If you are concerned about creating something that people will want to watch live then something more like MLF.

[ajschn06]

Bracketed tourney- seeded 1-64..... 1 and 64 seeds go out in the same boat, they get one hour, biggest fish moves on...

[billmac]

1 hour ago, ajschn06 said:

1 and 64 seeds go out in the same boat, they get one hour, biggest fish moves on...

I think that would work if they alternated getting the front of the boat.

4 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

If you are concerned about creating something that people will want to watch live then something more like MLF.

What I have in mind is finding the best angler, not the best show.  As best that could be accomplished, I think controlling for all other variables other than angler would be key.

[ajschn06]

1 minute ago, billmac said:

I think that would work if they alternated getting the front of the boat.

Get a marshall that controls the boat.... make em both go off the back, one on either side....

[InfantryMP]

If I could design a tournament I would have the old school smashed with the new school. 

 

MLF catch, weigh and release (Conservation minded)

Best 5 Bag or something similar

Big Bass

 

I think the "best" anglers will get their limit and then test their skills by going for the large bag. The MLF guys now just need to find groups. They are good enough to catch em of course, but to win, you need to beat guys like Wheeler who catches all of em basically and runs the score tracker up.

 

The 5 bag limit really allows the skills to be shown to go get the biggest 5 that the angler is able to produce. 

 

 

 

 

[J Francho]

Spec boats outfitted with spec electronics. Bring what ever you can fit in the standard storage. There's a blind draw of co-anglers that are ams that form a team with the pros. No prefishing. Catch and release. Best 10 fish limit wins. Doesn't matter who caught them. 

[RichF]

Limiting equipment is the #1 thing for me.  No crazy electronics, no auto-pilot trolling motors, no $5000 batteries, etc.  We all know that the number one thing preventing the most talented anglers into the realm of professional fishing is money.  Obviously there are a lot of pros that belong due to their skill but there are A LOT that don't.  

 

Fishing new places could be a good thing, although, I'm not sure how sustainable that would be.  I like the idea of not advertising tournament waters until closer to the event to prevent the mass info grab and pre-practice.  Practice is good but maybe just a couple days before the event.  Of course, this would be difficult too, due to the logistics of travel, lodging, time off, etc.  

 

I'd like to see:

 

Max HP - 150

1 bow graph, 1 console graph, downscan, gps

No pre practice on tourney waters until right before event, 1 day practice

2, maybe 3 day events

CWR format but only count biggest 5 each day

 

[desmobob]

Kind of like production class motorcycle or automobile racing... affordable, even playing field where it's all about participant skill.  They could even require the same rod/reel/line/lure selections.

[Tennessee Boy]

Why not go back to row boats and cane polls?   I think limiting horse power is a good idea for safety reasons but if you want to find out who is the best angler in 2021 you have to allow them to use 2021 technology.  

[desmobob]

17 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Why not go back to row boats and cane polls?   I think limiting horse power is a good idea for safety reasons but if you want to find out who is the best angler in 2021 you have to allow them to use 2021 technology.  

 

If that's in reply to my post, I didn't say or mean anything about limiting technology; just thinking about trying to make the playing field as even as possible by everyone using the same equipment.  

 

In bass fishing, I'm guessing that technological advancement is driven by the consumer market initially, where in motor racing, the advancements may initially be made in the racing teams and then trickle down to the consumer goods.  So even-field fishing tournaments probably won't put a damper on R&D.

 

Anyway... just daydreaming out loud.  I have never followed tournament fishing and don't have much interest in it.  But mankind will compete/race with anything he gets his hands on and I have been involved with other competitive sports.

 

 

[Tennessee Boy]

3 minutes ago, desmobob said:

 

If that's in reply to my post, I didn't say or mean anything about limiting technology; just thinking about trying to make the playing field as even as possible by everyone using the same equipment.  

 

In bass fishing, I'm guessing that technological advancement is driven by the consumer market initially, where in motor racing, the advancements may initially be made in the racing teams and then trickle down to the consumer goods.  So even-field fishing tournaments probably won't put a damper on R&D.

 

Anyway... just daydreaming out loud.  I have never followed tournament fishing and don't have much interest in it.  But mankind will compete/race with anything he gets his hands on and I have been involved with other competitive sports.

 

 

I was replying to several post about limiting technology.  Your post hadn’t shown up in my feed when I typed mine.  

[billmac]

I'm all for limiting technology myself.

[huZZah]

16 minutes ago, desmobob said:

But mankind will compete/race with anything he gets his hands on

Like their kids grades? Color of the lawn?  Money donated? Money made? Hot dogs eaten? Beers drunk? My personal fav: the people that just have to accelerate  faster than you at a light. 

 

What?!?!!

[HaydenS]

I would love to see MLF vs BASS!

[ajschn06]

4 hours ago, J Francho said:

Spec boats outfitted with spec electronics. Bring what ever you can fit in the standard storage. There's a blind draw of co-anglers that are ams that form a team with the pros. No prefishing. Catch and release. Best 10 fish limit wins. Doesn't matter who caught them. 

This sounds awesome- limit the amount of setups a team can have on board to add an extra layer of strategy.  I like having guys pick their own co-anglers too.  I know this was a “one tourney” type thing but those would be fun changes to make for a full season run of that style 

[jbsoonerfan]

This one would probably only be a one time deal. A team tourney with the best in the world and they pick their teammate. So maybe DC and MDJ or Matt Lee and Jordan Lee for example. 4 day tournament. First day-both anglers fish, weigh all fish over 2lbs, CWR, add weights of both anglers. Second day-both anglers fish, only count the 10 biggest (5 per angler) CWR. 3rd day-only one angler fishes, weigh all fish over 2lbs, CWR. Last day-only one angler fishes, 5 biggest and bring them to the scales. 

[MN Fisher]

4 hours ago, HaydenS said:

I would love to see MLF vs BASS!

Team Tourney:

 

Winningest Pro - KVD - picks a five man team from MLF

Current BASS AOY - Seth Fieder - picks his own team from BASS

 

CWR format, five biggest bass per boat, teams weights add together.

[TnRiver46]

I think it would look like the bass master classic without the expo

[NoShoes]

Im noticing a lot of people banning side scan. Do y’all feel it’s too much an advantage?  
 

Looks like I need to learn to use mine ?

[billmac]

52 minutes ago, NoShoes said:

Do y’all feel it’s too much an advantage?  

 

I would limit to downscan, but honestly, I don't think I could defend banning sidescan too vigorously.