I won't sit back and let Jason take all the heat for this association's rules and/or lake choices for the first year. Jason contacted me last year on this idea and it has been in work ever since. There has been a lot of time and money sank into this idea, for example $400.00 for a very high dollar certified weight scale and many miles driven securing weigh in sites while burning our own gas, etc.

The idea was to get it started and then to grow it across other regions of the state. Yes, as it stands right now, it is centered around the central part of the state or within 100 miles of Little Rock (Dardanelle being the farthest lake). We left the May date open and even suggested some lakes to the other regions (Pine Bluff, Heber, etc.) for members to vote on. This was intentionally done as we knew we could manage the weigh in sites and the extra work that goes on with putting one of these tournaments on without counting on someone to help us out.

If you notice, the championship is also TBD. This was also done intentionally as the idea was to let the more "frequent" participants choose a neutral lake where it would be held, meaning "leveling" the playing field.

Also, as we have done in the past, anyone placing in the top 3 of any of these tournaments are expected to tell the "How, Why and Where" they caught their fish before they are paid. This gives the rest of the participants a learning experience from their trip and advice on what they could try the next time they visit the lake.

This trail was not intended to be one sided at all. This was meant to be an activity to give us all something to do and meet up every now and then doing what we all like to do.

Final thoughts are that Jason posted his number at the bottom and asked to be called for any comments. How many of you called before you posted your thoughts? I think if you would have called Jason, he would have told you almost everything I'm telling you now and some of the misconceptions would have been cleared up.

The dates and lakes that were chosen are very good dates and coincide with some of the best fishing times for each lake in my opinion, except maybe the first date in February at Conway. I will go out on a limb here and say that Jason would be willing to give this date to another lake. So here's your chance, if you are one of the one's not liking the lakes chosen so far, step up and take this date. Call myself or Jason and let us know your lake choice and where YOU will be hosting the registration, weigh in and awards.

So, instead of bringing negativity to something that was meant to be fun, pick the phone up and call and lets discuss. As always, if I can help anyone out on anything, please don't hesitate to call me.