Logan S

Unfortunately, the mindset among most tournament anglers these days is sort of 'get in and get out'...They are looking for low or no commitment, they just want to signup, fish, and go home. This is a big reason why the traditional club format is dying out.... The clubs that remain successful are the ones like mine where we essentially make it so that's all people have to do to fish, once they become a member. Meetings, non tournament events, and other stuff is all optional. We have some guys who remain at a distance but most guys that come in, eventually get more involved in all the other stuff. Your biggest hurdle is just numbers....It's a snowball effect thing because guys aren't going to want to jump in a 4 boat event, you've got to build around a core group and then add more and more until you're up to a point where outsiders think it's worth jumping in. Then you'll need to manage it effectively, because tournament anglers are NEVER happy . You need enough rules on the books to keep order but not too many to where it's micro managed, it's a fine line. Take a look at our site for reference, you won't need all of this from the start but should give you some ideas about all the things that go into a club...You can probably pick and choose aspects that fit what you want accomplish. https://www.fishonbassanglers.com/

Clubs are generally not for profit - 99.9% of anglers would turn away once they found out the founders/officers were taking a rake.

I was on the river this same day - Saw Ike. I was fishing in a tournament and Ike was there practicing for the Elite event later that week. Here is how much space he gave me when he came up to me. Since it's so far away, just take my word for it that it was Ike. I was hoping he'd come closer so I could say hi to him . If you listen to Ike in the video it sounds like he did the exact same thing to me, went around by 50-80 yards, that he did to that guy. It was above and beyond IMO. The guy in that video was looking for a confrontation and he got it. Most of us Potomac locals have been embarrassed by that guy ever since Ike put that video out. I ran into a bunch of Elite anglers on this day....No drama from any of them. (BTW, I am in no way putting myself on the same level as these pros competition-wise with any of these statements)

In a multi day tournament you can absolutely put yourself in such a hole that even if you caught the lake record limit, you would still miss the cut. Sometimes, you really don't have a chance in the most literal sense. OP is asking about trying out a local tournament, he's not getting an entry into the Elites - Even if y'all were right about this stuff, it still wouldn't apply.

To the OP, just fish the tournaments man....It's not this dramatic in real life. Lots of hot air in here by people who seemingly don't have actual experience in tournament fishing. Are there jerks out there? Sure, just like any other day on the lake or any other situation in life. It's not the norm though. There's a lot of camaraderie and respect out there on the water that doesn't get noticed by outsiders because it doesn't make headlines or boost youtube views. You got people here pointing at Ike for examples of negativity or whatever....The guy has a had a 30+ year career in tournament fishing and there's what, 5 or 6 incidents with him in these videos? If a handful of incidents over 30+ years is the 'worst' example, I'd say it's not that bad out there. FWIW, he's a been a class act in all my interactions with/near him - Good person in my book.

Since no one actually knows what happened, it's pretty much all personal agendas...And manatees too, apparently. I was simply stating the reason I wasn't going to share mine.

The accident itself is obviously tragic, but the lawsuit is not that complicated... The boat driver's liability insurance is likely relatively low, most are in the low 6-figures. The suit/settlement is likely seeking 7 or 8 figures. In order to get there they need to get the deeper pockets and/or additional smaller pockets involved...Thus, MLF and likely half a dozen other organizations were lumped in. I bet the guide service/operator of the boat that was struck is also named (I haven't read it). I'm sure they used the strongest and most negative language possible as well. Lawyers doing lawyer things (which is their job). MLF and other big tournaments cancel, delay, and postpone tournament days all the time. They have no reason or pressure send boats out in unsafe conditions...There are no refunds to give and they don't lose anything. All they have to deal with are upset anglers, who are generally upset all the time no matter what anyway. MLF may end up settling for some amount just because that might be the most risk-averse thing to do, but not because it's their "fault". My personal take is that since no actual charges were filed against the driver, authorities didn't find it to be reckless or negligent...Or at least not enough to warrant being charged. So I'm of the opinion that it was indeed a tragic accident. As such, it doesn't seem right to me to use it as a platform for or against any personal agendas.

I built one of my flipping rods with a basic spiral guide train. It's neat and I get comments on it, I generally use it more of an example to people if they ask about it since when you talk custom rods, the topic comes up occasionally. At this point, I don't plan on building any more personal rods with a spiral...Nothing wrong with it, just not worth the special attention to me.

Add me to the "no keepers on the split grip" team . My normal spot is on the guide-side of the rod - so top for casting, bottom for spinning - as close to the reel seat as possible. It generally won't catch the line here. My 1 big exception is if the rod is going to be used for spinnerbaits or buzzbaits, then I'll put it 90 degrees offset, on the side of the reel handle. This is so that when the rod sits on the deck of the boat the wire arm of the baits don't smash into the deck. 2nd exception is for BIG treble hook baits like glides or oversized cranks....In this case I don't put a keeper on at all and hook the treble to the reel instead. This is because on the oversized hard baits, the hook keepers just don't keep them in check....They need something a little sturdier and the reel keeps them secure much better.

To me, flouro is the cold weather line, it sheds/repels water the best. If your guides are icing then braid is too and it's probably making your guide icing worse. I guess you could use mono, but outside of topwater I personally don't...And topwater ain't too thigh on the list if I'm worried about ice. T-Wing isn't immune to ice but it's a wider opening on the cast which helps...And the snap back and forth it does when engaging the reel shakes some ice off if you're lucky. When you're out in those kinds of conditions everything sort of sucks, so I've taken care to notice these little things that make it suck slightly less.

First place I ever experienced guides icing up was on the St Johns, I grew up down there ....Don't jinx yourself.

I spend plenty of time in freezing weather, majority of my casting reels have T-Wing. If its cold enough to ice - your guides, tip, levelwind, worm gears, etc are all going to have issues - My experience is that the T-Wing movement when you engage it actually shakes some of the ice off occasionally.... So at worst its the same as any other reel...At best its a little better. But when you're in these conditions nothing works as it should. I've been out on days where I actually found that I could ONLY use T-Wing reels because everything else was freezing too much....Though it was still challenging. I generally don't get into gear arguments but was compelled comment because to me, the T-Wing actually has tangible benefit in icy weather.

Don't think the anglers liked it. Only a couple guys actually had a chance to win AOY and they overshadowed the actual tournament and tournament winner...For a while the winner of the tournament didn't even get a trophy.

Tournament trails and things like AOY exist and are popular because people generally want to see the "best of the best", not the best on 1 weekend or the best at 1 technique or the best during 1 season. What BASS did is along those lines - You will have to be good with it AND good without it all year long. Anglers can't use it as a crutch OR an excuse anymore. The coin flip was a great way to avoid crazy accusations or theories...I love the fact that GVille and Champlain won't have it. All or nothing is easy and definitive, but not as much of a true test in today's bass fishing world.

....Oops, posted in the wrong topic carry on...

John Geirach writes about fly fishing, but I find all of his books to be very good. His books fit into what you described in the original post.... A window into the adventures, misadventures, and day to day life of a hardcore angler.

Seems like a pretty good way to handle it. Nit-picking a little bit here, but since the the Classic will allow FSS regardless, I might have skipped the special St Lawrence flip and left it at 4 out 9 elite events allowing FFS....Because when you add in the Classic it brings it up 5 and 5 on the season.

People have been saying for a couple years now that they will see bass "run away" from the FFS ping on pressured lakes. I've seen what I think to be the same thing too - However do we really know if they are running away or did we just spotlight fish that were already moving? Or is it the waves slapping the hull, etc? I generally believe fish get conditioned to sonar and other boat noise, but its not really an exact science.

There's nothing about the NPFL that is a "senior tour"...Go look at the roster, if anything it's average age could be younger than some of the other tours...It's at least similar. Saying it's can be reserved as the senior tour solely because of their stance on FFS is kind of insulting to the anglers that fish it. They seem to be doing a lot of things right and the anglers seem to have a very positive outlook on it. They've already attracted a lot of big name anglers, mostly from BASS, including one of the most well known FFS fisherman (Walters). Anyone that claims it's only "old timers" that want FFS to be addressed on some way is either uninformed or intentionally trying to stir the pot.

It's a symptom of a stacked field....When the entire field is strong, its very difficult to win or finish high so a lot of times the AOY winner might not notch a win during that season. Between anglers improving their electronics skills and the schedule negating the some of the electronics dominance, this Elite season looked to be a gauntlet. Trey had a great season an stacked high finishes, but he had 1 dud....Which is also a symptom of a stacked field, you can't have a dud no matter how good the rest of your season is. When an angler stacks wins and top 10's (or a couple anglers)....It's usually a sign of a top heavy field.

Maryland gets to claim Roland before FL does 😂 ... He started bass fishing here before he moved to FL. (Kidding mostly, just neat bass fishing trivia for MD) Realistically, the obvious name for MD are Bryan Schmitt and JT Kenny... MD has surprisingly good bass fishing however we are small enough that our bass fishing scene includes a ton of anglers from our border states too. MD anglers spend a lot of time in VA too.

Trey and Chris stumbled a bit and Jay and Fujita caught em.... Legitimately a 4 man race for AOY on the final tournament is amazing. I really hope BASS puts a camera in all 4 boats tomorrow even though not all of them are in the top of the tournament standings. Getting to see 4 guys battle for AOY on the cut day of the final tournament of the year is something we might not ever see again.

There are objective improvements in higher end rods...In the blank, components, and build quality. There are also other factors like aesthetics, warranty terms, and brand recognition that factor into the increased price... Generally speaking, a $400 rod is objectively better than a $60 rod. Where you start splitting hairs is when you compare rods closer in price point. It's entirely possible that a $300 rod performs at a higher level than a $400 rod.. If the increased price is due to things like aesthetics, warranty, branding, supply chain, or other similar factors. The great thing about bass fishing is that we have countless options at all price points, so you can get in at any level you wish. In the end, the fish don't know or care what you use to catch them.

Not really any different than getting waypoints from another angler, guide, or one of those sites where people can buy/sell waypoints. Digital bent rod pattern....

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Anything else is likely playing right into what they want to happen.... Getting a reaction/response from you. IMO we should be self aware enough to recognize that some people view fishing as cruel, especially if we release the fish afterwards (IE, not using the fish for food). Always has been and always will be. Nothing will change their mind and the best thing for all involved is simply polite disengagement.