Need Advice On Keeping Our Draw Club Healthy

[LApanic]

So....

 

I've taken over the presidency of a local draw club started in the mid 70s

 

Little background:

• 52 members
• 20-25 active members
• meeting first Tuesday of every month (except November & December)
• tournament first Saturday of every month (PARTNER-location determined by tournament committee)
• We have a spring 2 day (travel) tournament (PARTNER-location voted on by membership 2 months prior)
• We have a fall 2 day (travel) tournament (PARTNER-location voted on by membership 2 months prior)
• We have a summer MINI 2 day (safe-noon) local tournament (location determined by tournament committee)
• Points are kept through year to determine top 10 that will fish the classic (November Tournament)
• Points consist on weight caught (.25lb for dead fish), 1.0 points for meeting attendance & .5 point for tournament attendance

 

Again this is a draw club....that has been on average....13-15 boats per tournament with 10-12 of the boats paired with random non-boater.

 

For the past 2-3 years this very proposal has been brought up and NOT voted in.

 

" If at the tournament meeting, 14 people want to fish; 8 boaters and 6 non-boaters and once it drawn you have two boaters left, obviously.  I propose we change it from the remaining 2 boaters HAVE TO pair in one of their boats to the remaining 2 boaters can either pair up or fish in their own separate boats and have two singles fishing"

 

It hasn't been voted in for several reason with the main one being that the health of the club in the camaraderie 1st and competition second and slowly this format will break up the club into a boaters club with a few non boaters.

 

The second reason that is mentioned for keeping the pairing format is safety.  A lot of the founding, early members are still in the club, retired have nice boats but also health issues.  For safety concerns, we have kept the the pairing format.

 

With all that said, if there were 8 boaters and 7 non boaters, the last boater drawn would fish by himself or just not fish.

 

Im 31 and the youngest in the club by 6-7 years and have maybe 10 members of less under 45-50 years old.  The "old timers" have been in clubs that have been ruined because of the mandatory pairing being lifted.  But can see the other side just as well....You retire, buy a 75k ranger and can pre-fish on Friday if you want to.  You come to the meeting and your drawn lat along with another boater and both want to take their own boat and gear for obvious reasons.

 

I don't want to make this to long and drawn out, but what's everyones opinion or thoughts on this based on experience or what you currently do in your draw club?

 

Hope this all makes sense

 

P.S.  We have 3 partner tournaments through the year (the spring, summer and fall 2-day)

 

thanks for any opinions or advice

[gardnerjigman]

I wish I could help ya... I think I'm still cross eyed from reading it. Anybody have any ideas for him?

[Logan S]

Your club sounds pretty similar to ours, set-up wise.  

 

Sounds like your members are afraid that if you allow open boats it will turn into an all boater affair?  It's a legitimate thought, as it an be an be an advantage to fish alone for a number of reasons.  It can take away the non-boaters incentive to keep fishing if there are too many boaters to compete against I guess.  

 

Our club allows open boats, we have 1 or 2 every now and then these days.  We used to have waiting lists for non-boaters though, but many have bought boats and evened the numbers out.  

 

One thing we did a while ago was to separate the boaters and non-boaters into separate divisions.  The boaters only compete against other boaters and same for the co-anglers.  For both individual TX's and AOY.  We did this because it can be difficult to compete out of the back of a boat against the guys in the front....The results showed it as well, as we never had a non-boater win AOY.  We felt it was better to split into divisions to avoid having the co-anglers feel like they were just adding to the pot.  It has worked well for us and it brings out a fun competitiveness in everyone...Since boaters not only want to do well themselves, but most also want to put their Co-anglers on fish to win (since they are competing against each other).   

 

Really though, I think the most important thing you can do to keep a club healthy is bringing in new members.  Without new members the club will eventually slow down...We do things like kids fishing derbies and fishing seminars to try to draw new members.  We also keep our website updated and that is actually what draws most new members.  That all depends on how your club is set up though, we try to keep ours very open.  

 

 

 

I think forcing boaters to get in another boat will do more harm than good in the long run...I would not like that rule at all!  Sorry I don't have more advice for you, hope it all turns out for the best.  

[Felix77]

I am a co-angler in a club with a very similar format.  We do however allow the extra boaters to fish alone.  At one point they did have the boater/boater pairing rule and over time the club ruled against it because boaters want to fish with their boats.  Period.

 

We know that those going out have a distinct advantage over someone who is sharing fish with the co-angler but it seems to work for us.

[LApanic]

 

Your club sounds pretty similar to ours, set-up wise.  

 

Sounds like your members are afraid that if you allow open boats it will turn into an all boater affair?  It's a legitimate thought, as it an be an be an advantage to fish alone for a number of reasons.  It can take away the non-boaters incentive to keep fishing if there are too many boaters to compete against I guess.  

 

Our club allows open boats, we have 1 or 2 every now and then these days.  We used to have waiting lists for non-boaters though, but many have bought boats and evened the numbers out.  

 

One thing we did a while ago was to separate the boaters and non-boaters into separate divisions.  The boaters only compete against other boaters and same for the co-anglers.  For both individual TX's and AOY.  We did this because it can be difficult to compete out of the back of a boat against the guys in the front....The results showed it as well, as we never had a non-boater win AOY.  We felt it was better to split into divisions to avoid having the co-anglers feel like they were just adding to the pot.  It has worked well for us and it brings out a fun competitiveness in everyone...Since boaters not only want to do well themselves, but most also want to put their Co-anglers on fish to win (since they are competing against each other).   

 

Really though, I think the most important thing you can do to keep a club healthy is bringing in new members.  Without new members the club will eventually slow down...We do things like kids fishing derbies and fishing seminars to try to draw new members.  We also keep our website updated and that is actually what draws most new members.  That all depends on how your club is set up though, we try to keep ours very open.  

 

 

 

I think forcing boaters to get in another boat will do more harm than good in the long run...I would not like that rule at all!  Sorry I don't have more advice for you, hope it all turns out for the best.  

 

This was something I have been pondering for months now trying to look at all the pros and cons and have found little to no cons to this format EXCEPT in our Top 10 classic.  Historically there is rarely a co-angler make the top 10 and fish open boat against the other 9.  I was actually the first one in a while last year, but was fortunate that my father-in-law didn't make it and was able to take his boat and truck and fish it.  Our fall back now is just that, if your a no-boater and make top 10 then one member has a 16' stick steer aluminum that is available, but thats all.  So my thoughts is either just have AOY for co-anglers and no classic (which makes the most sense) BUT there are several boaters that go no-boat just to switch it up some. So that brings me to our yearly point standing and having one set of standing for all...with unidentified anglers/co-anglers OR my thoughts were to have, like you said, 2 completely different divisions...points, AOY and all.

 

I'm a no-boater and don't like the rule either because when I get a boat soon and fill it up, I wanna run it every tourney and not cherry pick stuff to put on the back of someones boat.  That is the main reason I want to find something to keep getting new members as others fall out.

 

the kid's derby's and etc is a great idea and already do a big fundraiser thats a "Men's Night Out" charity benefit we put on...like a ducks unlimited deal, rods/reels/guns/beer/bbq/2 auctions.  The only problem with being more "open" is the guys in their 70s that started the club like our "referral/vote in" a friend deal even though we don't mind publicity.  To be honest it's a lot of old school BS, that is at it's turning point right about now.  Got young bloods running the show, but as much as I hate to say it, just have to wait for the old to move on and the new to come in...it's just life.  

[LApanic]

I am a co-angler in a club with a very similar format.  We do however allow the extra boaters to fish alone.  At one point they did have the boater/boater pairing rule and over time the club ruled against it because boaters want to fish with their boats.  Period.

 

We know that those going out have a distinct advantage over someone who is sharing fish with the co-angler but it seems to work for us.

I know it's gotta be changed sometime, it's just going to have to be the right time!  We've had non-boaters, several, say....I won't be back if things change to the open boat format

[LApanic]

 

Your club sounds pretty similar to ours, set-up wise.  

 

Sounds like your members are afraid that if you allow open boats it will turn into an all boater affair?  It's a legitimate thought, as it an be an be an advantage to fish alone for a number of reasons.  It can take away the non-boaters incentive to keep fishing if there are too many boaters to compete against I guess.  

 

Our club allows open boats, we have 1 or 2 every now and then these days.  We used to have waiting lists for non-boaters though, but many have bought boats and evened the numbers out.  

 

One thing we did a while ago was to separate the boaters and non-boaters into separate divisions.  The boaters only compete against other boaters and same for the co-anglers.  For both individual TX's and AOY.  We did this because it can be difficult to compete out of the back of a boat against the guys in the front....The results showed it as well, as we never had a non-boater win AOY.  We felt it was better to split into divisions to avoid having the co-anglers feel like they were just adding to the pot.  It has worked well for us and it brings out a fun competitiveness in everyone...Since boaters not only want to do well themselves, but most also want to put their Co-anglers on fish to win (since they are competing against each other).   

 

Really though, I think the most important thing you can do to keep a club healthy is bringing in new members.  Without new members the club will eventually slow down...We do things like kids fishing derbies and fishing seminars to try to draw new members.  We also keep our website updated and that is actually what draws most new members.  That all depends on how your club is set up though, we try to keep ours very open.  

 

 

 

I think forcing boaters to get in another boat will do more harm than good in the long run...I would not like that rule at all!  Sorry I don't have more advice for you, hope it all turns out for the best.  

 

We look at our club as camaraderie first and competition 2nd, in a sense.  there are 3 no membership partner trails along with the Club so they're isn't a lack of tournaments by any means.  Know that Im in a position to change things up some want to make the right decision to keep ******** Bassmasters alive.  Because if it wasn't for that draw club, I would be drunk right now, probably firing off random pistols from my couch on the back porch, instead of working my a** off as a developer during the week thinking about Saturday AM and how much I love competitive fishing and don't even have a boat yet (december can't get here quick enough!) Plus I look at my son's future as well along with other youngsters

[BrianinMD]

As a co-angler, in the same club as Stratos20SS, the boater vs. boater/co-angler vs. co-angler setup is one of the best things about the club. With a random draw to see what boater I fish with each tourney I get to fish with different guys. Everyone has their own style and I get to learn from each. Also, our club is setup to help everyone learn, we are competitive but not to the point of being jerks to each other. The two most important features for keeping new members around are being able to learn and being treated with respect. When I first started thinking of joining a club some had a very bad reputation for treating co-anglers like second class members they didn't stay around very long. If they get treated bad because they are a newbie or a lowly co-angler they won't stick around. As Logan said, without new members the club dies and by the sounds of it your club has a lot of older guys who may not be doing tourney's much longer.

 

Can't talk to the boater side of things, never been a boater in a tourney.

[LApanic]

Thanks for the input guys!  It truly helps a lot!!