I for one am extremely impressed with the way things went. </font id=“red”>Biggest hiccup I saw was that they didn’t get a VHF for the takeoff. The weigh-in went very smooth, which I expected. We are used to having weigh-ins. Not blast offs. That was the largest raffle give away I’ve ever been part of. My team had a great weekend. Caught fish and even won a little money. The organizers should be commended. It took a lot of hard work from a lot of people. Who didn’t get paid, btw. Unlike bass or flw. I’m looking forward to the next one.
Jorge, Joby, and Reeldawg, I agree. Biggest complaint that I have was the check-in boat. It was too far back in the cove and wasn’t identified as well as I felt that it should have been. They should have been out farther out into the open water. That way all the boats that did motor over wouldn’t have had to weave their way through the boats just to check in. All-in-all, I was happy with how things went for their first time putting on such a big event (except my fish catching ). You live and learn and I’m sure that the next one will be even better.
-The size of a fish is directly proportional to the time between when it’s lost and the story is told. - Me
-What’s the best eating fish, you ask? I’ve found that for a lot people, its the ones that they happen to be able to catch, clean, and cook. - My Dad
-Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. Anatole France (paraphrased)
-RIP my “Puppy Dog” 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. I’ll never forget him. What a special friend he was.
-Team Gonna Fish
Yes. I forgot about that. The check-in boat should of been anchored farther out with flashing lights. I knew Friday night when he said they had a big light system, that wasn’t gonna work well. With led lights I knew every boat was gonna have a big light system.
Larger tournaments with considerably larger fields have gone and do go out of Dreher with zero issues every year. From the guys I’ve talked to, they all said “better than expected” so it definitely sounds like there are some things to be learned by the tournament directors/coordinators. Just seems like they made it more difficult than it needed to be.
No matter how much it hurts, how dark it gets, or how far you fall…you are never out of the fight.
I was very pleased with how everything turned out. Yes the blast off could have been better but it all worked out. This single event has raised tx striper fishing up a whole new level in the southeast. Things are very bright for striper tx’s in the future.
I especially liked the tanks that we could put our fish into while waiting for our turn to weigh in. Was also very happy to see DNR there to gather the live fish for transportation back to the lake. They also took the 16 dead fish in so they could do age/sex/size test on them.
Very pleased with this tx and looking forward to the next one (hearing will be hartwell or the hill)
“All fisherman lie. And if they say otherwise, then they’re lying”
I agree, the blast off was a bit confusing but everything worked out. They will learn from this tournament and make improvements to the next. It was good to see some of you at the Capt’s dinner and I can’t wait for the next one. I also found my dream boat, The Dog House was a beast!!
Yep, I had some concerns but other than looking for other boats with same color card for the blast off, I thought it went extremely well. I called in on the phone number they provided but understand they did not use it. Great captains meeting and tournament over all.
I also had concerns never being in a striper tx this large. Bass fisherman do it all the time but. Not us.It all went well and even better for our team .His Witness 2 . 3rd place in open thanks to Van Cook for all the work ,Ryan and Charlie ,and Warren for the bait. CONGRATS to all the winners and participants like Chip said this tx brings striper txs up another level.
TOM GITTO
Team Shad Up and Fish member
20ft Sea Hunt cc Red T Top
Upstate pirate… That boat was AWSOME!!! I bet it had $80grand in aluminum in it. I would like a smaller one. 28’ is hard to pull boards. Bet they had a time in that wind Saturday.
I agree, the blast off was a bit confusing but everything worked out. They will learn from this tournament and make improvements to the next. It was good to see some of you at the Capt’s dinner and I can’t wait for the next one. I also found my dream boat, The Dog House was a beast!!
Carolina Skiff 218 DLV
140 Suzuki
Yeah, but they also didn’t weigh in any fish while 1st place in the Open was in a “slapped together at the last minute because I broke my boat” pontoon … soooooooooooooooooooo
That was a good looking boat for sure buuuuuuut ITS not the size of the boat that counts . It’s the size of the fish in the boat that counts. Saw lot of boats that made me drool this past week. Great weekend.!!lot of nice people as usual.
TOM GITTO
Team Shad Up and Fish member
20ft Sea Hunt cc Red T Top
[qoute]Bass tournaments have been doing the “bass in a bag” weigh-in line for years and their mortality rate is extremely low. Typically a fish is dead when it hits the scales as opposed to dying while in the bag waiting for weigh-in. The check-in boat is just for timing. To start checking fish then would created a much larger log jam than a weigh-in line.
I don’t know if it’s a matter of lack of tournament experience or what, but I believe some of you are over-thinking this. Weigh-in systems that work have been in place for years so there’s no need to re-invent the wheel.
Earn it everyday
If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.
Never shoot a large caliber man with a small caliber bullet.
[/quote]
I fished BASS tournaments for over 30 years. And no, it is not difficult to keep Largemouth’s or Smallmouth’s alive in a live well, or in a weigh-in bag. However, keeping Striper’s alive will not work in a live well!! And if they are alive when the boat arrives at the dock, the biggest reason they may die is waiting in line for a bag for a weigh-in. Keeping striper’s alive is totally different from keeping bass alive.
In striper tournaments, the highest chance of having a fish die is when taking it out of the “striper tube” and the wait before being able to weigh the fish.
Striped Bass are in no way similar to Largemouth bass. They require water moving thru their gills continuously. They cannot sit by a stump waiting for a dinner to swim by, like largemouth do. That is why you need a striper tube to keep them alive until weigh-in. A striper tube pumps oxgenated water continuously thru a striper’s gills.
Comparing bass to stripers is like comparing catfish to bass. The catfish has a much better chance of survival.
Well out of 211 fish only 17 were morts. Some of those 17 were mine I’m sad to say but they were to a good cause. I had a terrible morning Saturday when my battery to my trolling motor remote died on me. Hard to believe a $5.00 piece could ruin your day but at least we figured out what the problem was. Luckily I called Lake World and they had one battery left and they met me at Jakes with it. Have to give those guys a big THANK YOU!!! Finally got back up the river around 12 and started catching fish and brought 2 to the stage. Time to get ready to take it to the Hill now!!!
You are right Rick, no matter how pretty your boat is, you have to be able to put fish in the boat!
). You live and learn and I’m sure that the next one will be even better.
Hard to believe a $5.00 piece could ruin your day but at least we figured out what the problem was. Luckily I called Lake World and they had one battery left and they met me at Jakes with it. Have to give those guys a big THANK YOU!!! Finally got back up the river around 12 and started catching fish and brought 2 to the stage. Time to get ready to take it to the Hill now!!!