Thread: Todd H. Stirring It Up...

4 tournaments, 4 states, 50 boats(teams), $500 per boat, per tourney. Must be prepaid!! for all 4 tourneys to compete. $20,000 goes back to fishers each tourney. $5000x4 goes to top 4 at end of season(tournament ?). Tourney directors(???) get $$$ from selling adds. Just thinking<*)}}}><

Funny how we know all about these inside things isn't it Chatt? Especially since our friends and families have tried to make these very same things happen for several years on the Crappie circuits. $100 -$200 entry fee's just will never produce the kind of money people are willing to travel to compete for anymore in any numbers. I think I agree with your $500 per event amount statement. It would get it to come much closer, but there better be 100% manditory polygraphs for all paid finishes to accompany those bigger pay outs! So many stinking cheaters out there...

We need to go wet lines together again sometime soon! I'll buy the pizza this time! Love ya man!

P.S. As an after thought, most of you wouldn't believe the well oiled fishing machines that is the Team of Caps & Coleman when they are single poling minnows on slip bobber rigs on the wood- poetry in motion! I've never seen it done better! I Think I'd rather compete agaisnt them spider rigging! LOL!

<,"}//>{ Tim

Tim,,, you & me and prolly several others can remember the LARGEST field of crappie fishers at any tourney. RATHBUN, IOWA. Crappiethon had over 600 entries on a 12000 acre lake. 50 miles to find lodging. Church groups fed contestants because resturants full. Hauling in bait in by the truckloads. It wasn't fishing,,, it was like musical chairs. Don't leave your spot,,,, there aint any other to go to. <*)}}}><

LOL! yup! Dad and I took 17th or 23rd at that one, been so long ago, can't remember anymore. We'd of placed higher too if it hadn't of been for me flipping off the aerator switch instead of the boat's bilge pump on! Caused us to lose around 2 lbs with the big deads in the live well that we had to swap out for early caught dinks. I'd sure love to see that level of interest again! We caught a $1,000 tagged fish there that year too!

<,"}//>{ Tim

It would be so nice to see Crappie fishing tourneys get the popularity of the BASS gig. But, I personally don't want to watch people spider riging to win a tourney. I feel like the best fishermen only need one pole and no live bait to catch good fish; cause then you would have to really prove yourself!
When I fish with a certain couple of guys - there is a rule - NO MINNOWS IN THE BOAT! Jigs and lures only - it makes you step up your game, and I think that is how tourneys should do it!!!! My 2 cents?

Originally Posted by bighook

It would be so nice to see Crappie fishing tourneys get the popularity of the BASS gig. But, I personally don't want to watch people spider riging to win a tourney. I feel like the best fishermen only need one pole and no live bait to catch good fish; cause then you would have to really prove yourself!
When I fish with a certain couple of guys - there is a rule - NO MINNOWS IN THE BOAT! Jigs and lures only - it makes you step up your game, and I think that is how tourneys should do it!!!! My 2 cents?

My answer to this,,,, step up 'your game' & BEAT the minners with jigs. Look AGAIN @ the walleye circut. Yep,,, teams & live bait. Look at their entry fees. Good Grief fishers. You are not 'elite' while argueing who's best on the 'bank'. <*)}}}><

I was refering to the biggest fishing contests being the BASS tourneys. They are the ones making all the money, and they don't troll with spider rigs or use live bait. Live bait would change the game considerably - but then it wouldn't be about skill and knowledge so much, as anyone can throw out a minnow and cork and sometimes luck into a giant fish. I was just saying to set the skill level high and get the lure industry to really throw money in the pot, they are not going to want to see live bait dominate the wins in the circuit! Walleye on the other hand is a different ball game- they do great with the live bait and partner system, but it doesn't create the fame and money of BASS tourney champions. Now if Kevin Van Dam and Edwin Evers started fishing as a team using live bait in Walleye tourneys I would change my mind!!! Tourneys aside - it's all good - catch'em any way you can!!!

I am not sure we can really handle the truth if it comes down to it. Comparing the sport of bass fishing to crappie fishing is to me apples and oranges. Bass fishing styles absolutely favors tackle manufactuers and chatt is right walleye fishing compares much more favorably. THIS IS GOING TO STING A LITTLE, crappie fisherman are poorly organized and too cheap to make tournaments go on overdrive. That being said I applaud what you are trying to do in OKlahoma and hope maybe we could get some guys in kansas organized to help. We need to recruit fisherman-we all know plenty of people who are capable of fishing tournaments and who would even be a role models for the other guys. Crappie.com has helped organize fisherman somewhat but we need to do more-and there is a lot of guys who won't share anything with other fisherman and tear down each other even on these boards-those actions are not helpful. Fort Gibson fall tourney was great-and its too bad the newbies and novice fisherman didn't show up -they would learn a lot.
Live bait-Capps and coleman won world championships because of their brains not their minnows-find the biggest fish-catch em-that's all it boils down to. If you don't wanna fish with minnows don't- don't wanna watch em-don't. But there is way more too it than what's on the end of the line.