Thoughts on Womens WBT-and first woman in Classic

[mrbassky]

After looking at the field and the fact that Denny Brauer didnt make the classic I kind of have mixed feelings. :-/  The WBT is the easiest way to make the classic by far. There is some good competition but not alot. I dont care if thats what it takes to get the WBT going put the WBT AOY in the Classic fine. But lets be honest its an attempt to promote fishing to women but first a chance for ESPN to make more money. And I am very happy for the woman who made it I am sure she worked hard. It wasnt her fault they didnt have a full field all year and the same anglers fishing every tournament she just played the cards she was dealt. But its like the WNBA espn pushes it to try and be successful but really its not that popular. Be honest guys do you respect the opinions and advice of the women on the WBT like you do the guys on the elite series? I dont honestly. If a woman fished the BASS Opens (which they can) and were successful (which they have been) I would have alot more respect. I am not sure what to think about the WBT but I think women should either fish with the guys or not. And I dont see any reason they shouldnt be able too. If I ever have a daughter I would want her to fish against the guys and beat them. I know the pros dont have alot of respect for their knowledge honestly. They respect them as fisherman but when I was at Guntersville a couple years ago many of the pros were there for the Elite series event there the week earlier and they were helping the women get on fish. Could you imagine the women doing that for the men. You arent even allowed to share info in the elite series. I am not sure how I feel but I think in a way the WBT is kind telling women they cant compete with the guys and I hope the woman in the Classic finishes well so it wont look that way. But I heard a pro talking on Bassmasters and he said that none of the guys wanted to be the one who got beat by the woman. Ouch :-[ I think it would have been better if they put the top 5 women in one of the championships with the guys and let them qualify that way. just my 2 cents

[mattm]

I like the idea for the simple reason that it has a very legitimate shot at bringing more people to the sport.  It might stink for the one guy whos spot she took, but in the long run if it brings more people to our sport that guy will be much better off.

[BUCKEYEone]

Agreed, based on the fact that I think women should have to fish their way in just like all the men do.  There should be no differentiation between a male angler or a female, that way the playing field is fair for all who compete.  The same goes for AOY, there does not need to be a "male AOY" and "female AOY."  Keep it simple, the WBT is not promoting females in bass fishing, it is taking a step back in time.

[CWB]

It's like everything else today. A politically correct double standard.

Woman playing PGA events. Can you imagine a man playing an LPGA event? I don't have a problem with it if the playing field is level but too often it isn't. More power to her though and I wish her well. I wish my wife was that into fishing. Maybe we'd spend more time together! 8-)

[Raul]

There should be no differentiation between a male angler or a female, that way the playing field is fair for all who compete.

X2

[5bass]

[movedhere] General Bass Fishing Forum [move by] five.bass.limit.

[mrbassky]

I like the idea for the simple reason that it has a very legitimate shot at bringing more people to the sport. It might stink for the one guy whos spot she took, but in the long run if it brings more people to our sport that guy will be much better off.

Dont think she took a spot the number of spots and who qualifies changes every year it seems. Its not a 64 team bracket. I was just making a point about how hard it is for the guys to get in. I think out of 150 elite pros almost all are great fisherman. Out of the 50 that fish all the WBT tournaments maybe 10-20 are in the top teir. I dont know how good they are but there is a fast drop in the talent level. It would be like 10 pros fishing against a bunch of amateurs.

[UPS VT]

They added a 51st spot this year for the WBT AOY.  I don't have a problem with it.  Don't get me wrong when I say this, but are the Federation anglers fishing against as strong as competition as the elites?  Yes it is probably better competition that the WBT but I say give them a chance.

[LakeAnnaBasser]

They should just get rid of the WBT. The better woman in it should fish in the elites and the ones that dont qualify for elites should fish the open tourneys. The thing about fishing is that it is more mental and knowledge than it is physical... Just because your a man doesnt give you an advantage in this sport. And being a woman isnt an automatic disadvantage. Im fine with her getting in but i do think women should start fishing in the elites rather than having a way smaller playing field which makes it easier to get to the classic.

[Bass Dude]

I see a lot of posts stating that the competition in the WBT isn't strong.  Then in the same breath it's stated that you don't follow the WBT.  So how is the level of competition so freely thrown out here, when no-one really truly knows.  

Kim Bain is a fisherwoman.  I don't know if anyone else has seen it, but her and Andre just won an Southern Kingfish Assoc. event.  Now I'm most of you are going to give Andre all the credit, but again we aren't out in the boat with them so you don't know.  I'm guessing that with her being from Australia she has probably caught some fish that are bigger and smarter than our beloved bass.  Just because they fish the WBT does not mean that they aren't true fishers and have more fishing knowledge than us, and we shouldn't think of them as anything less than the men fishermen.

If she does win, which means she beat the best of the best, will you guys against her being in the Classic, consider her as a true World Champ?  Or will you still think she didn't deserve to win because she shouldn't be there in the first place?

[mrbassky]

I see a lot of posts stating that the competition in the WBT isn't strong. Then in the same breath it's stated that you don't follow the WBT. So how is the level of competition so freely thrown out here, when no-one really truly knows.

Kim Bain is a fisherwoman. I don't know if anyone else has seen it, but her and Andre just won an Southern Kingfish Assoc. event. Now I'm most of you are going to give Andre all the credit, but again we aren't out in the boat with them so you don't know. I'm guessing that with her being from Australia she has probably caught some fish that are bigger and smarter than our beloved bass. Just because they fish the WBT does not mean that they aren't true fishers and have more fishing knowledge than us, and we shouldn't think of them as anything less than the men fishermen.

If she does win, which means she beat the best of the best, will you guys against her being in the Classic, consider her as a true World Champ? Or will you still think she didn't deserve to win because she shouldn't be there in the first place?

I follow the WBT its in Bassmasters every month. The reason I say the competition isnt as strong is the weights that are brought in. It doesnt take near the weights it should to win. And not only that the dropoff in weight is huge.

Out of 83 pros at the Old Hickory for example:

1st-36.5

2nd-28.8

10th-21.13

20th-13.2 Last spot in the money you had to catch 13.2 in 3 days

30th-9.5

40th-7.13

the pros a week later (4 day tournament 106 anglers)

1st-44 after 3 days

2nd-41 after 3 days

10th-33 after 3 days

20th-30.12

30th-28.2

40th-25.15

50th-17.0 last in money

The mens tournament had worst conditions and it stil wasnt close.

At the WBT on Clarks Hill in September it took over 3 days 74pros

1st-24.14

2nd-24.10

10th-17.5

20th-14.12

The Weekend series event on Clarks Hill 2 years earlier same time

1st-21.9

2nd-19.14

10th-14.12

20th-8.8

out of 51 anglers, pretty comparable till you consider this was a 1 day event not a 3 day event like the WBT

Fact is the WBT is about the same competition as weekend series event at best. There are some good anglers who always finish high and couple probably compete with the guys in the Opens and Kim-Bain is one of them. But there are also alot of Women fishing the WBT who couldnt compete in BASS weekend series. If she does well in the classic it will show she could compete not that the WBT is good.

Fact is the WBT is at best the same as

[Bass Dude]

Personally, I think RW should close all threads on this subject!!  

When "smack" is talked about the other pros, it gets closed down because we are spreading negativity about them.  In the end, all that ends up happening on these threads is that the women get bashed for not being good fishers (or at the very least, not being as good as the men).  Not only does she get bashed, but the entire WBT gets trashed for the lack of talent.  It really does nothing constructive for the sport or for this forum.  I think we need to step back and realize we're all fishers and love this sport with equal passion.  We should be doing whatever it takes to promote the sport and move it forward, especially in these times.  One really good way to do this is to spread the love of our sport to women and children.  They are the demographic that our industry is lacking---and would be better off including.

[Glenn]

mrbassky : Who gave you the right to pass judgement? I must have missed that part.

"Fact is".... what fact? Where you there at any of these tournaments, or are you just making things up?

"Fact is" I was. I fished Clarks Hill during the same exact time those women were. The fishing was b-r-u-t-a-l. The fish had lockjaw. But I had the benefit of fishing with the 2 top male anglers on that lake. 2 guys who consitently win on that lake. 2 guys who live there and know everything there is to know about that lake.

We managed to eak out 1 or 2 fish per day, and that's it.

The fact that those women brought in limits each day is a testimony to how good they really are!

And you have the nerve to pass judgement based soley on weigh limits only? That's mighty arrogant of you. The "fact is", if those weights were from men's tournaments, you'd have all kinds of comments about how tough the conditions were. Oh ya, you weren't there, so how would you know?

"Fact is", your sexist, biased comments don't belong here. >

Bass Dude : I completely agree with your last comments, and am closing this down for those very reasons.