Missouri Smallmouth Challenge

[Stoneroller]

sorry my bad, I'm putting my own money into this tournament and i'm a bit touchy on the whole subject after the riverbassin fiasco. I'm not making a penny. It's costing me and the sponsors to provide this event.

I'm honestly doing this to try to get something started in this state. I'm kind of shocked that there isn't an ongoing paddle power tournament in Missouri as it is. Ron has hit closest to the big underlying reason why I want to start a tournament trail, except unlike BASS, the CPR format is far less stressful on the fish and the month long format, far less stressful on the angler. The month long photo submission format allows anglers to fish on their own terms. It also relieves the fishing pressure that would be present in an event style format. First and foremost I want to promote the more conservation oriented side of self powered fishing, which includes everything from the lack of a gasoline powered engine to the actual CPR format. How many of you collect trash you see while fishing? I don't' see many jetboaters/partyfloaters worrying about that kind of stuff. We are a different breed of angler. And that is why MSA is involved.

And I'd also like to address the two schools of thought on tournament fishing via prizes and egos. One school thinks it's a competition for a bag of chompers and wants cold hard cash or solid gold for a prize. The other school sees prizes like that as bringing out the worst anglers and the worst IN anglers. I'm learning from, ahem, FAILED tournament trails that were giving away huge prizes and then seeing those first place prizes end up on ebay the next day. The prizes will fall somewhere in between 'dream kayak' and 'are you kidding me'. The bottom line is for this to be fun for everyone. I can't make everyone happy but I can provide an outlet for those who wish to participate. Which is why there is a low entry fee. The more people who particpate the more places get prizes. If you win a prize it will at least be more than the $5 it cost to play that month.

I will say the angler of the year award will be something worth having. So it will benefit a participant to get in on this at the start and enter a fish every month. Plus who knows we might even help MDC or clean up some trash while having fun.

[Wayne SW/MO]

No doubt if one wanted to compete in something involving bass, this would be soft on the resource.

[Stoneroller]

I would like to give a HUGE thanks to Phil and Lilley's Landing for putting the banner up in the forums. It's a really big deal to me, so thank you very much Phil.

[Feathers and Fins]

I don't really have a problem with the way your tournament is structured. It's just that I don't care for competetive fishing any more, or the attitudes it brings to fishing, and while there is nothing wrong with how you have structured this one, my worry is about what it might encourage down the stream, so to speak. B.A.S.S started very small and informal too. Decades ago, I fished tournaments on lakes, and won a few, but what I noticed during the process is that the only one smiling was the guy getting the check. It misses the main point of the pastime, I think.

"God does not deduct from a person's life the time he spends fishing," except in competitions.

Besides, I think you should not allow guides, outfitters or resort owners in this. I would probably have an unfair advantage, because while most may fish a few days a month at most, I fish almost every day and catch a lot of big smallmouth bass.

Ron I have fished these tourneys before and I was like you at the start, but quickly came to understand they actually add to the enjoyment of the sport and actually got people out more. I never saw an attitude develope in them as they were NOT "Elitest" style but more toward just the average person.

To prevent guides an unfair advantage I have seen a rule inplace they were not allowed to submit on days they guided with client or after. In other words it had to be their off day. I was actually more concerned about the retired people who had 30 days of fishing they could do winning vs the guides.

[ness]

Did anybody get a screen shot of Dallas' first post? I am late to the party -- it's not the first time, BTW.

[Al Agnew]

It will be interesting to see how many participants you have, and what kind of entries you get. I'll probably enter for the months that I'm in Missouri (I'll probably only be here in June and July). But I would be very interested in seeing final tallies of all the entries, just to see how many people are catching how many fish how big.

[Chief Grey Bear]

No doubt if one wanted to compete in something involving bass, this would be soft on the resource.

Agreed. There is also a fishing show that is some kind of tourney with the pros and they weigh and release right in the boat. They also have a 1 minute penalty if you don't get the fish to the boat. Sounds like they are finally coming around.

It will be interesting to see how many participants you have, and what kind of entries you get. I'll probably enter for the months that I'm in Missouri (I'll probably only be here in June and July). But I would be very interested in seeing final tallies of all the entries, just to see how many people are catching how many fish how big.

Yes this will very interesting for a number of reasons.

[Mitch f]

This looks pretty cool, except I've only been in a kayak once in my life. Are they supposed to go downstream?

[Wayne SW/MO]

This looks pretty cool, except I've only been in a kayak once in my life. Are they supposed to go downstream?

I've seen them go upstream, downstream and even going down the highway.

[Feathers and Fins]

I've seen them go upstream, downstream and even going down the highway.

Wayne you owe me a new keyboard i just spit coffee all over mine.