CFF Guntersville Tournament Questions???

[jcb1968]

First of all,I would like to say that I had fun,and it was nice getting to meet some of the guys on the forum that I have not met before!
And I`m not wanting to open up a can of worms or ruffle anyones tail feathers,but in question about the weigh in time??? It was posted on the forum and everyone of us who were in it,knew that the weigh in was at 3:00 and I also know the boat traffic was rough because of the other tournaments being held out of the same ramp,but I have fished some big tourneys before that had 250 to 300 boats in it,and if you were 1 minute late,you were disqualified. Me and my partner loaded out boat up early to make sure we were on time and if we hadn`t of loaded up early,I would pulled up to the dock,bank or where ever and had my partner to have got our fish up to the weigh in promptly on time at 3:00. There was alot of guys up there at 3:00 to get there fish weighed in,just like us that were taking chances of the fish dying,and that were in better chances of a better place in the winnings,but had to wait 30 to 40 minutes extra on some of the other boats to get there to weigh in! Guys,I want to fish as many of these tounaments as I can this year,but rules are rules and pertain to me and every body on here who shows up to one of these tourneys. I don`t want to be ruled as being as trouble maker on this forum for just speaking up and saying whats on my mind! I`d just like to know if this is going to be the way that all of the tourney trail is going to be, or if the ones in the future are going to be promptly on time for the weigh in like it should be???

 

[RangerRob]

Valid points jcb1968, and we appreciate your feedback as well as your attendance. For starters, we were a little taken back by all of our company at the park. In an effort to allow for the additional traffic we were probably a bit lax in getting bags onto the scales ... no doubt about it.

That said - and this has been true for EVERY single CFF event that's ever been held - formality isn't a strong suit. Our events are run by volunteers and we're paying back 100%. No one is getting rich - we just want our gals and guys to have a good time. We obviously don't expect for rules to be bent, however we're prepared to go with the flow if need be and last weekends flow at the ramp was like molasses.

If formality is more to your liking, then there are plenty of events out there that pay 70% - 90% back and are run more staunchly by folks who are profiting from your attendance. If not, then we'll see you at HBSP in a few weeks! emoThumbsup

 

[Hagen]

Were competitors still fishing after 3pm or waiting to get out of the water? As long as they are at the dock by 3pm you cant control the traffic at the ramp. You could say you have to be standing at the scale at 3pm with your fish in the bag ready to weighin at 3pm or your DQed, but how do you know how fast everyone else will load there boats. The winner of the tournament could be who loaded there boat the fastest instead of who caught the best fish. I could come in 3hrs early park my truck and trailor sideways on the ramp and everyone not out of the water by 3pm would be DQed?

 

[RangerRob]

No one was fishing past 3, Hagen. We had one boat go back out (Ant's), but it was to tow another competitor's broken down boat. Anthony was on time, but ended up weighing a bit late as a result.

 

[Jmax]

jcb, I have fished tournaments for about 35 years and I have never heard of the deadline being at the wiegh in line. emoScratch It is usually inside the no wake bouys at the ramp. It was very hard to tell who was who in that chinese fire drill. Under the circumstances I feel the guys did as good as they could. That is the worst I have ever seen one of ours as far as the number of boats and the mess trying to get on. Me and my partner were about 20 minutes early but he got stuck trying to get out of where he had parked and no one would let him in line. emoDoh I think you should not find that again unless we happen to see it at the Nick. We have not had that much an issue on ours when we were there coming in by ourselves. The only other thing that could be done is to have a check in person to check off names as we come in at the dock next to the ramp so we would know if someone was late. jcb, you want to volunteer to be that person? Just remember you would need to stop early so you would be there before the ones started coming in. emoEvil Jmax

 

[Hagen]

Sounds like you guys did the best you could with the situation at hand.

 

[fhuffman]

sounds like you guys have a good tourny . when the ramp is crowded it can be a real mess...... But as a director and a competitor rules must be followed. That is why we have them. congrats to the guys that donate the time to help. with out the help of them , it would not exist. We [trilakes] have come up with a system that works and i will gladly teach and help your guys with this...... if you are interested..... I am sorry if this offends anyone .. but my objective is just to see a good tourny grow and prosper. It is simple and easy...and takes just two people to run it....please le me know if i can hep...

it is easy to see just a little thing get blown out of proportion and mess a good tourny up. It is the responsability of the competitors to keep a open mind and help .... everyone should try and run a tourny someday..... If they did ... All of the complaints would be over...
thanks
fred

 

[Kirk]

fhuffman - 3/15/2009 1:18 PM

Everyone should try and run a tourny someday..... If they did ... All of the complaints would be over...
thanks
fred

You typed a mouthful on that one. I agree 100%.

 

[joshcr]

I agree! it said safe light - 3PM 5 fish limit. It would be a sight to see a truck and trailer parked sideways on the ramp. I think the real Question should be blunt! (weigh in at 3PM or just be back to the ramp at 3pm)? when I read the rule page I understood 3PM to be the weigh in time.If I'm wrong Please educate Me.

 

[RangerRob]

joshcr - 3/15/2009 2:51 PM
If I'm wrong Please educate Me.

You're wrong. Read the first sentence in Jmax's post. Tournament hours have never been from launch to weigh-in line ... in any tournament. Tournament hours are from launch until your return to the launch site. Consider yourself edjumacated, Josh. emoIdea

 

[Bprice]

When a tournament says ending at 3, that means you are back at the ramp at 3. Never have I been in a tournament where you had to be waiting with your fish. Back at the ramp by 3

 

[Kirk]

It is sort of hard for everyone to get back and be standing with their fish in hand at exactly tournament end time. This would create a situation that would cause them to stop 30-45 minutes early just make sure they were ready to weigh in.

On the Wolftever TX I run we just tell everyone to be back on the Wolftever side of the bridge by 9:45PM rods down, no fishing. We post spotters to make sure no extra fishing is going on. If we see someone come under the bridge after 9:45 they are DQ'ed.

Depending on number of boats entered or other ramp traffic the weigh-in might be delayed or expanded by 30 or more minutes sometimes. I was still weighing fish last year a full 45 minutes after one the TX ended due to excessive ramp traffic. It happens!

 

[AThornton]

Yea there is just no easy way to go about it when we have the traffic like we had at Jackson Co Park. To make matters worse, there isn't much dock space to tie up to there at the ramp, so "docking" and coming to weigh your fish wasnt a real option either. Yes there were a few hangups regarding the weigh-in, but I feel that our 1st Tx of the year went well and I cant wait for future events to follow. Hopefully we will not encounter any more traffic jams like we did down there, but that is just something that we cant account for and we have to cross that bridge when we get there.

But just to be clear, from now on.....By the end of the designated time, boats must BE INSIDE THE NO WAKE BUOYS or otherwise mentioned reference points PRIOR to the ending time of the tournament. We have included a 2 MINUTE grace period, just to be generous. That does not mean you have to be in line with fish in hand by 3pm...just inside the designated perimeter

 

[joshcr]

Thanks for the reply, I agree the traffic was bad at the ramp. P.S. thnx for the edjumacation! LOL

 

[flip1up]

Yep, thats right. Be back in the no-wake zone, not fishing by tournament end. I cant believe someone is complaining that EVERYONE wasnt in line and weighing fish at 3 sharp. I have fished 200+ boat tournaments also and there is no way to have everybody in line at the designated tournament end. In fact some big Ts make you use their bags and only put 15-20 bags out. The park was a mess that day.

With that said, we on the commitee will have our ducks better in a row next time. I was suppose to weigh the fish. Billy and I got back 15 minutes early to do so. But I made the mistake of trying to get the boat out first. There was nowhere to tie up to though and the wind was howling pretty good. A beached boat would have gotten beat around pretty bad.

 

[dragfish]

I felt the tx was run very well. I believe it was wet willie collecting draw tokens at the dock. It is so easy to cheat in a tx, a late arrival is the least of my worries I quit fishing tournys years ago for a few reasons but, these tournys are the way they ought to be-fun,friendly and relaxed. Thanks to all ya' that volunteered your time, seeya' at the next one if Fishin' junkie will get in my boat again! emoToast emoThumbsup

 

[tndoe270]

It was a mess at JCP with the three tx coming in at the same time especially with a ramp that only has two lanes for those that could back good. Any tx's I have fished, you just had to be back inside the no wake buoys or to the check in boat by tx ending hrs not in line with fish. JCP was unusual for a Cff tx as most are timely and no interference from other tx's. I think it went well considering the situation and commend those who ran the tx and enjoyed visiting afterwards. Look foward to the next one.

 

[antman1331]

Since my name was brought up I feel I must explain my situation... I was back at the dock before 3pm... Upon arriving at the ramp I was asked by someone fishing our tournament if I would mind towing their boat back to the ramp... I OK'd this with a tournament official and went to retrieve the broken down boat... Upon my second arrival, I weighed my fish... Which by the way, I had left with the partner of the person who I had gone to tow to the ramp... I was still not the last one to weigh fish... I just want to say thanks to the guys for doing what they do on this forum and at the tournaments... That day was so chaotic... I am just glad we all made it out of there unscathed... Oh yeah... Did I mention I was fishing ALONE...

 

[yellburt]

<font face="georgia,palatino" size="3">someone told me that they had made reservations,an something just got screwed up .lol..that is the second tx that i have fished in probably 20years.i quit them because of the back stabbing an cheats,an i just saw no sportsmanship.well it was all different down at jcp,i really enjoyed getting to know a few of you guys.i got to thank shifworker for putting me on some fish , 2 weeks before the tx,in the same area that the tx was held.that was class.he knew that i was going to fish the tx,an he still told me were to go an catch some good-uns,how many other guys in other tx ,that would do that.yea right NONE...an i talked to malardecho,an bent rod ,an i thougth we were going to get to fish with them all day,at least thats what they said,we are going to follow you,to that secret hole,but when i drew number one on the blast off,we must have lost them,i tried to get tony to slow down so they could catch up.....so if any thing went wrong with this first tx,i could not find it an i hope i can make all of them....i wonder if there is enough parking at bennett lake boat dock,to hold one.it would be right between nick an mullens.cove ,two real fine places..just my two centsemoUSA </font>

 

[Buoy-Master]

antman1331 - 3/15/2009 8:40 PM

Since my name was brought up I feel I must explain my situation... I was back at the dock before 3pm... Upon arriving at the ramp I was asked by someone fishing our tournament if I would mind towing their boat back to the ramp... I OK'd this with a tournament official and went to retrieve the broken down boat... Upon my second arrival, I weighed my fish... Which by the way, I had left with the partner of the person who I had gone to tow to the ramp... I was still not the last one to weigh fish... I just want to say thanks to the guys for doing what they do on this forum and at the tournaments... That day was so chaotic... I am just glad we all made it out of there unscathed... Oh yeah... Did I mention I was fishing ALONE...

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emoTongue Did you fish by yourself Anthony?emoBigsmile
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