MSC held its May tournament from Dorn fishing facility on May 19 at Clarks Hill Lake. Weather was not bad, but fishing was tough for most. 54 anglers fishing 26 teams participated in the event. 28 Striped Bass were brought to the scales. Finishing in first place was Team Something Fishy Capt. Weston Thomas (youngest boat Capt. in MSC 14yrs old),Philip Morris, and Matt Blackwell from Lexington SC with their 2 fish creel of 52 lbs 1 ozs. Team Something Fishy also captured the Nichols Store of Rock Hill “Big Fish” award with their fish weighing 32 lbs 1 oz. Second Place was Team Reel Time Capt. Van Cook and Tom Gitto from Irmo SC with their 4 fish creel of 27 lbs 3 ozs. Third place went to Team Wildman Capt. Donnie Christopher, Justin Christopher, Skip Morgan, Thomas Higgins from Rock Hill SC, and Dan Young from Sumter SC with their 1 fish creel of 23 lbs 6 oz. The events West Marine “Smallest Creel” award went to Team Reel Broke Capt. David Hair from Lexington SC with their single fish weighing 4 lbs 14 ozs. MSC is a family friendly fishing club and awards our top finishing Youth and Lady anglers in each event. Meg Sponseller from Irmo SC was awarded the top finishing Lady trophy with her 7th place finishing spot fishing Team Let 'em Live. Weston Thomas and Matt Blackwell from Lexington SC was awarded the Youth trophies with their First place finish aboard Team Something Fishy.
Congrats to all the podium winners!
MSC May Results…
1 Team Something Fishy 2 fish 53 lbs 1 ozs
2 Team Reel Time 4 fish 27 lbs 3 ozs
3 Team Wildman 1 fish 23 lbs 1 ozs
4 Team Catchall 4 fish 22 lbs 15 ozs
5 Team Laid Back 4 fish 20 lbs 3 ozs
6 Team Hardcore 1 fish 18 lbs 8 ozs
7 Team Let 'em Live 2 fish 13 lbs 12 ozs
8 Team One Way 3 fish 13 lbs 2 ozs
9 Team Red Fin 2 fish 11 lbs 9 ozs
10 Team Hammer Head 2 fish 10 lbs 0 ozs
11 Team Next Time 1 fish 7 lbs 1 ozs
12 Team Pitcrew 1 fish 5 lbs 3 ozs
13 Team Reel Broke 1 fish 4 lbs 14 ozs
14 Team Striper Hyper 0 fish 0 lbs 0 ozs
14 Team Landlocked 0 fish 0 lbs 0 ozs
14 T
Way to go Weston, Matt and Phillip what an awesome catch. I don’t know how you guys kept it a secret until weigh in. I would have been all over the lake spreading the news. Maybe one day I can catch just one big fish during a tournament. Two big fish would be just to much for me to handle at one time.
Congratulations to all who caught fish. It was a tough day for us along with a few others.
What a day for Weston,Phil and Matt.Capt Van and myself thought we did pretty well till you opened your cooler .WOW . Ithink you should give your youth trophy back to the club. your are not a youth angler anymore. It was great to see your Mom and Grandma at the weighin From what I saw the whole club was cheering for you at your great day . Your Dad would be so proud. Congrats also to all the big fish catchers and Bryan my buddy from Rockhill for his 24lber.
Great work by Weston and his crew! Those were nice fish!! Several big ones weighed in but Clark’s Hill seems to be feast or famine. Tough fishing but a good time.
Weston, you did everyone proud!! My hat is off to you and your team!
To all of the others that had a good day, congratulations. Ours could have been great, if I had not lost 3 big fish in 40 minutes!! Oh well, my team mates forgive me, I think!
Yes the results were posted just about as quick as the fish were weighed in yesterday. I was beat out of second place by a man and woman at the boat ramp arguing over launching a pontoon boat. This club is supposed to be about fun and fellowship, there is no big money involved. I’ve been fishing in this club for 6 or 7 years and can’t ever remember a weigh-in being done in 10 or 15 minutes. There were over 20 fish weighed in so the weighin should have lasted longer if it didn’t start early. I’ve seen weigh-ins start late when tournament directors ran late and seen scales held open many times for a few minutes to let people weigh their fish in when they called in. I arrived at Gills Point boat ramp at 1:53 where a man and woman were fussing and arguing over backing a pontoon boat in the water. They took approx 20 - 25 minutes to successfully back a boat down the ramp and get it launched. When I finally got out of the water and was on my way to the weighin it 2:22. According to my gps in my truck I was going to arrive at Dorn at 2:50 so I called about a half dozen people to let them know what had happened and I was on my way and I HAD fish to weigh in. The rules state that weigh-in starts at 2:30. There is no check in time or other time that says you have to be at the weighin at a specific time. Other clubs and tournaments I fished have a lines out and a check in time that you have to be at the weigh in by. The way the club rules are now you never know if weigh in is going to last 5 minutes or 45 minutes. In my opinion the scales should be open for specific time period or instead of saying scales open at 2:30 say you must be checked in by 2:30. When I fish tournaments with a check in time I allow for delays at the ramp and also consider the ramp I am using and how busy it maybe. I wasn’t asking for the scales to open for an absurd amount of time but I arrived at 2:50 and the fish had been weighed, scales closed, checks written, awards passed out already, and pictures about to be taken which means that the weigh-in
Weston, you did everyone proud!! My hat is off to you and your team!
To all of the others that had a good day, congratulations. Ours could have been great, if I had not lost 3 big fish in 40 minutes!! Oh well, my team mates forgive me, I think!
Rick
There’s nothing to forgive my friend! Just one of those things. It could have been any of the 3 of us on the rod losing those cows. When we hook fish that size, the odds of getting them to the boat are at least 20:1. They don’t get that big being caught. Despite only landing 2 MSC keepers in 2 days of fishing, we learned quite a bit about fishing that lake. We’ll get em in August!
Congratulations Something Fishy, along with our other podium finishers! You boys will cherish that memory for a lifetime!
I would like to add my congradulations to Weston and crew on a great day and one I am sure you guys will never forget. Even more then their great day I do not think I have ever been prouder to be a member of Midlands Striper Club than I was Saturday at the weigh-in. Some of us had a painfully slow day and others had some success but Saturday afternoon was more about a celebration of the “coming of age” of one of our own. This weigh-in was not just a celebration about a great day had by a great young man, but it sharing the time with a young man and his family by a Club who long ago adopted them as their own. All you had to do was look around at Lee, Craig, Tom, Billy (and others)to see Weston’s friends and mentors all sharing in His day. We already knew Weston had become a good fisherman but if you spend any time at all around him you will see that he has also grown into a fine young man. Thank You all.
Excellent Job Weston… Like everyone said, we are all very excited and pleased to see you bring those two mama’s to the scales. You learned well from the best and remembered what you learned… Take that with you in life and you will go far. Great Job!
Yes the results were posted just about as quick as the fish were weighed in yesterday. I was beat out of second place by a man and woman at the boat ramp arguing over launching a pontoon boat. This club is supposed to be about fun and fellowship, there is no big money involved. I’ve been fishing in this club for 6 or 7 years and can’t ever remember a weigh-in being done in 10 or 15 minutes. There were over 20 fish weighed in so the weighin should have lasted longer if it didn’t start early. I’ve seen weigh-ins start late when tournament directors ran late and seen scales held open many times for a few minutes to let people weigh their fish in when they called in. I arrived at Gills Point boat ramp at 1:53 where a man and woman were fussing and arguing over backing a pontoon boat in the water. They took approx 20 - 25 minutes to successfully back a boat down the ramp and get it launched. When I finally got out of the water and was on my way to the weighin it 2:22. According to my gps in my truck I was going to arrive at Dorn at 2:50 so I called about a half dozen people to let them know what had happened and I was on my way and I HAD fish to weigh in. The rules state that weigh-in starts at 2:30. There is no check in time or other time that says you have to be at the weighin at a specific time. Other clubs and tournaments I fished have a lines out and a check in time that you have to be at the weigh in by. The way the club rules are now you never know if weigh in is going to last 5 minutes or 45 minutes. In my opinion the scales should be open for specific time period or instead of saying scales open at 2:30 say you must be checked in by 2:30. When I fish tournaments with a check in time I allow for delays at the ramp and also consider the ramp I am using and how busy it maybe. I wasn’t asking for the scales to open for an absurd amount of time but I arr
Rick my point is that there is no consistency in the rule. One month the weighin may last 10 minutes, the next it may last an hour. I have seen weighins held open for people in the past when they have called ahead. I have also seen weighins start late because the tournament directors were not on time. There is nothing in the rules that say you HAVE to be at the weighin at any time. The rules only state that the scales open 30 minutes past lines out. There is no rule as to when the tournament director calls last call. They knew I was on the way and had fish to weighin. I wasn’t asking for everyone to stand around and wait for 30 minutes. That would be absurd. Unless there is a “check in time” that says you have to be at the weighin at a specific time every effort should be made to make sure everyone has the opportunity to weigh their fish in within a reasonable time. The club is supposed to be about fun and fellowhip so what’s the harm in holding the scales open for a set period of time to have some consistency. I got there at 2:50, a mere 20 minutes after the scales opened and the awards were already being handed out. That means the weighin couldn’t have lasted more than 10 or 15 minutes. That’s not a long time to make sure all club members get a chance to weigh their fish in. It’s just something the club needs to look into. All other tournaments and clubs have a check in time that says you have to be there at a certain time. Our rules do not have that. They do not define when the tournament director calls last call.
I also want to congratulate Weston and his team. I am really proud of you! It was a rough day for Team Landlocked but thats why they call it fishing! I also want to take a moment thank Lee for helping David at the weigh in. It would have cost me at least another $40 in fuel to get the scales and not have any fish so I really appreciated others stepping in. I also feel bad that Bryan did not make the weigh in but unfortunately the rules are clear and MUST be followed. You don’t always make friends upholding the rules but I find that if you are fair and consistant others will respect you even if they don’t agree with you. Most everyone that fishes our events know that winning is not about the money and all about the “Bragging Rights”! Its this reason we need to keep our family friendly club mentality but allow fair competition between members. I cannot speak for the tournament directors before me but I can speak for the last four years since I have been tournament director and we have never kept the scales open longer than the time it took to weigh the fish and make last call. As Rick or someone in this post added it does happen. Last month an angler probably had first place creel but missed the last call. I personally don’t think any changes need to be made and if you want to compare “check in” policies that other events have to ours than just plan on being there when the scales open and you will never risk your creel. If anyone thinks its easy being tournament director(s) our nominations will be open in October (I think this is right) so I encourage your participation. I will support MSC and our rules and regulations to the best of my abilities even when it may not be popular to do so. If the club decides to make changes and they are approved, I will support those without prejudice.
Richy
“My biggest worry is that my wife (when I’m dead) will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it.”
Rick my point is that there is no consistency in the rule. One month the weighin may last 10 minutes, the next it may last an hour. I have seen weighins held open for people in the past when they have called ahead. I have also seen weighins start late because the tournament directors were not on time. There is nothing in the rules that say you HAVE to be at the weighin at any time. The rules only state that the scales open 30 minutes past lines out. There is no rule as to when the tournament director calls last call. They knew I was on the way and had fish to weighin. I wasn’t asking for everyone to stand around and wait for 30 minutes. That would be absurd. Unless there is a “check in time” that says you have to be at the weighin at a specific time every effort should be made to make sure everyone has the opportunity to weigh their fish in within a reasonable time. The club is supposed to be about fun and fellowhip so what’s the harm in holding the scales open for a set period of time to have some consistency. I got there at 2:50, a mere 20 minutes after the scales opened and the awards were already being handed out. That means the weighin couldn’t have lasted more than 10 or 15 minutes. That’s not a long time to make sure all club members get a chance to weigh their fish in. It’s just something the club needs to look into. All other tournaments and clubs have a check in time that says you have to be there at a certain time. Our rules do not have that. They do not define when the tournament director calls last call.
I have only been in the club for 4 or 5 years. But, in that time, I have never seen the scales “held open” for anyone. I have seen at least 4 boats not get to weigh their fish, because they missed “Last Call”.
I had planned on being at the weighin at 2:30 as I always do for every tournament. I was at Gills point at 1:53. Dorn is only 20 min from there and usually weighins take longer than a few minutes so there is usually a little buffer of time. You better bet for now on I will always treat the scales opening time as an absolute check-in time. If the tournament directors are late opening the scales is there a penalty? Do their fish get disqualified? If not I want to be a tournament director so I always get to weigh my fish, even if late! Lol. Also, just so I am clear on the rules in the future, when does the tournament director call last call? You can’t say when the last fish is weighed in becasue the tournament director knew I was on the way just a few minutes out. There is also no rule that says you HAVE to be at the weigh in when the scales open. There is no check in time in the rules.
I guess my perspective is the tournaments are supposed to be about family fun and fellowship and promoting striper fishing yet in situations things get way overly competitive for what the tournaments are. What is going to happen if there is a similar situation in the kids or womens tournament? Are you going to tell some kid that they can’t weigh their fish in? Other than next month there are no big payouts. If we are going to get this serious about the tournaments lets raise the entry fees and fish for some real money. Something that justifys the competitiveness. As long as people aren’t standing around for long periods of time what is the harm in making sure that everyone gets the chance to weigh their fish in?
It took us 32 minutes to get from Gill Point to Dorn and that was hauling… well you know:sunglasses: We opted to put in up there so as not to have to run an obstacle course in the dark from Dorn, knowing full well were quitting early if we had something decent.
I’m certain it was a painstaking decision for the tournament directors to close the scales knowing Bryan had a nice fish on the way but there has to be some consistency. There are too many variables in holding them open while waiting for a competitor that is late. Do we only do it if a person calls? If so, what do you do if their cell phone died and they can’t call but you know they have fish and “should” be on the way. How long is too long to wait? What if we do it for one person and then another person doesn’t feel they were given the same opportunity? There is simply too much gray area to allow for flexibility. It sucks, but you can’t treat each situation differently and expect there not to be more, and bigger, problems. We all know the scales open and there is no guaranteed amount of time they will remain open. If something happens and you don’t make it on time, hopefully you still had fun fishing that day and take at least a little satisfaction in knowing how well your creel would have stacked up in our more fellowship, less competitive club.
