I've got to ask about those CBA Ringers

[TAzGa]

Why were McGill and Kilgore invited to fisn the CFF tourney? ... neither of them are registered members (admittedly so). Having these clowns show up goes against the 'spirit' of this whole series. When they were at the sign up table, Al challenged the guy asking for their screen names... I don't know which one was signing up, but he said he didn't have one and neither did his partner. When Al told him that this was just for registered CFF members he said he had been invited to fish by Billy. Billy had left to put his boat in the water, Al tried to catch him to question him and things started getting confused. It was close to time to shut down the sign up table so, Adam just let them sign up thinking that Billy had invited them for a reason. I thought they were friends of his and he was wanting to get them interested in the forum and didn't think that much about it... until I saw the names after they signed up. These guys are ranked 3rd in the CBA and kicked our butts and looking at their night tournament results, they've been on good fish. They weren't there for the tourney to make friends, enjoy friendly competition... they were there strictly to take money. Al did ask them to register and do a report .... I bet we get good information from that...IF it happens. If we let non member ringers like this rape the tourney like last night, you'll see participation drop considerably. I moved out into the crowd at the end of the weigh in to see what ppl were thinking when these guys brought their fish up... there were several whispers, and ppl wondering what these guys were doing in the tourney. I don't think it went over well with a lot of folks.
Wasn't that a rule violation?... I wasn't that involved with the weighin and scoring... my son Mike thought he heard Billy say something like 'don't pay those guys in first'... this made me think he had already discussed it and a decision had been made to not pay them since they weren't members... so, I didn't say anything... I moved toward the door between the crowd and tourny committee in case of a confrontation. But, those ringers collected their $230 and scooted... nothing was said. I didn't mention anything about this after the tourney to Billy ... he was busy, and I was ready to get home... so, I'm not trying to go behind anyone's back.... my main concern is why were they invited... or were they even invited? ... if they weren't, we should call them on the carpet for lying. These guys just moved into a fun little tourney to grab some money while they were fishing. That sucks... if I wanted to fish against those folks, I would sign up for the big tourneys.

Randy

 

[churly]

Randy,

I dont have a horse in this race because I wasn't present. I will say that McGill and Kilgore are really good fishermen as you mentioned and they didn't show up to make friends or contribute to the forum. They came to take everyone's money and thats what they did. They don't even hang out and do much socializing at the CBA's. When guys like these are on fish, they look for any dogfight they can find to go win money-thats just how they work. I have talked to both and they are good guys. I think if you have rules, you have to stick by them. Even if they would have gotten mad.

 

[Buoy-Master]

Thanks Randy and I appriciate you posting this here.

NO...they weren't invited as a "come on out and fish with us" type deal from me.

Robbie ask me what time the tournament was Friday night. I told him 8-2. He said he was thinking about fishing it. He sorta ask me like he was a member. Never he said he was or wasn't one. I never asked. Its was late Friday night and we were about to head to the house.

I told him that he needs to remember that the CFF event wasn't gear for big competitors and that if we were to pull 30 - 40 boats, the payout was the same. $200. He looked at me and asked where the rest goes. Jason immediately told him that we pay it on out. I thought we had discouraged them from fishing it but telling him the payout cap.

Mass confusion at the sign up...I never did see him until we were putting the boat in. I called Al and I guess they had already said he could so long as a report was made. I was ok with that but yea, knew what was about to happen. I even told Robbie that he better hold up that end of things.

Serious guys, I had NO idea he wasn't a member. I guess I took it that he was from asking about the time. Thats my bad! I did know that they browsed the forum form time to time also.

He has registered this morning so half of the agreement is done. As for calling him out on the main forums, I dont think we need to do that that. But I will stress my concerns with him and share our conversations will this committee.

This may cause some bitching but I dont think it will hurt our turnout for the rest of the season. 200 isnt worth getting all upset over but the principle of it is. I can see that. I'll take blame for not just coming out and asking them Friday night if they were members. It really didnt cross my mind the way were had our conversation. Jason's either.

Ive had alot to deal with this week, here on CFF, home and work and really haven't been real sharp on things at all. Its to the point were Im stepping down (Brandon included) as CFF Admins. Its not because of the last 72 hours either! Its the last 72 months!

I dont want everyone thinking I invited ringers to fish with us but at the same time I can see where it may look that way by having a brief conversation with them. Robbie and Wade`are great guys and I know Robbie will hold his end of things up.

If the vote here is for me to dismiss myself from this committee, I'll do so but i didnt think these guys would fool with a measly 200 bucks.

 

[Buoy-Master]

Did he ever come on out and say he wasnt a member at the table? If so, why wasnt a call made to me explaining that he said i told him he could fish it? That bothers me a bit. I dont fool too much with the sign-ups. I weigh and record the points here.

 

[AThornton]

Well I will be the first to say that we were stuck with a tough decision last night, and I will also admit that we were probably wrong in that decision, but hindsight is always 20/20. McGill flat out told me and Al that he was invited to fish. Now I talked to Billy on Friday night after the Ratmans Tourny, and Billy told me the exact story of what went down on Friday. He told me McGill asked him about the Tourny, and when Billy told him about the payout he asked "What in the hell do you do that for? Where does the rest of the money go?" Maybe Billy misunderstood this and maybe I did too, but to me, that means "Hell no I'm not fishing your Tourny".....so I guess Billy and I were both figuring it to be non issue

Guys I dont blame Billy one bit for last night, and I dont blame Al either. Al was questioning this guy and he flat out said he was invited. I dont think he was invited just like Billy said, but he showed up with 5 minutes left for signups, and what were we really supposed to do? I will take blame for it since I went ahead and signed him up. I have no problem with that what so ever and I will deal with somebody if they get all upset. But in that specific situation, myself or Al didnt know what to do.

Youre not stepping down off the committee Billy. Thats retarded. This is a damn good committee and I want to see it stick together for the rest of this year and even into our series for next year. Yes we made a mistake last night. We should have just turned him away, but it was a split second decision and it had to be made there on the spot. Put that on my shoulders since I was doing the signups. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN!

 

[Buoy-Master]

Thanks Adam. Robbie may have took it that he was welcome to fish it and within everything going on...late night...messed up boats...and everyone talking, he could have taken it that way the same way I thought he was a member. So last night didnt start at the table, it started Friday night at the ramp. i should have been thinking clearly enough to say "hey, your a cff member right?" But I didnt.

Trust me guys, I would never invite a non member to fish, not to mention 2 Chickamauga "Pros"

Your right Adam, it wont happen again!


Now, with Brandon and I stepping stepping down this week and handing things over to new admins and moderators, I will still remain on CFF and have a direct link as a CFF / First Light middle man so to speak. I want to be able to reach them and get what i can for the CFF Trail next year. Without changing a thing (unless we feel the need to) I plan on getting banners and more local sponsorship for the trail. The payout 1s deep and cheap (all dirty minds need to not touch that) but I can see us bringing in more certificates and prizes form local sponsors.

This trail has pretty much been flawless this year. We've hit one bump...we go over it and move forward.

 

[TAzGa]

Billy,
I'm not blaming you, or Al or Adam for this... it's just a situation that happened and I really didn't believe the guy when he said he was 'invited' by you.. but, with things happening so fast there wasn't really any time to validate things... I actually thought that if he were invited that you did it to get a novice into the forum... I wouldn't think that you'd invite one of the chick pros for sure, especially with them not being members. I know you know the rules and have always been straight up with everything you do. It may have been a misunderstanding with Robbie thinking (or imagining for his own benefit) he was invited. Like Churly said... he wasn't there for nothing but the money and people like that will shoe horn themselves into these type of tourneys if possible when they're on fish to take the money and run.
Like Adam said.... there's now way a situation like this would be looking to vote to have you dismissed from the committee emoEek you do an outstanding job and this wasn't your fault. I just hate that it happened and those guys should stick to the tourney's they are actually invited to and leave the little guys alone. I blame them... not anyone in CFF.

Randy

 

[Buoy-Master]

I know you werent blaming me Randy. I was sorta speaking to the general mass. (members) With this last night and the new forum...You know.

 

[Pointer 78]

Chalk it up to a breakdown in communications. No one is at fault. Let's make sure that a committee ruling is called to discuss something like this beforehand, even if it delays the start of a tournament. We've got a good thing going with this trail and I'm confident it will continue.

 

[Wet Willie]

Guys, the bottom line on this issue is two fold. First, the guy misrepresented his conversation with Billy from Friday night and second, I take full responsiblity for making a bad decision to let these two fish. I did question the guy, the same as I have in other cases, and turned others away, and should have done the same this time. There was confusion about whether he was a member or not, with no real way of knowing without a copy of his profile, which I didn't ask for (didn't think about it at the the time). I went against my gut instincts and should have sent him packing and I didn't and doing so put everyone's entry fee at risk, as well as the credibilty of this committee. I spent my whole night on the water thinking about this issue, knowing what was likely going to happen.The members that fished last night deserve to be upset and are owed an apology and I intend to give them one on the public forum.I am not going to trash Robbie or his partner, but I want the members to know that this won't happen again while I'm involved. For what it's worth, Ispoke to Robbie as he was releasing his fish and he assured me he would sign up and post a report, which is meaningless I know, but maybe it will make a difference somehow. Also, I apologize to the committee for allowing this issue to happen and putting us all in a credibilty risk. Al

 

[Wet Willie]

I see now that Lucky Strike registered and made a report.

 

[Pointer 78]

<p align="left">You're being waaaaaay too hard on yourself Al. No one blames you so don't blame yourself. Has any of the regular members brought it up? If not, I think it would be a bad idea to bring it up.</p>

 

[Buoy-Master]

**** Al...your doing a great job. I wont sweat this and you dont need to either. They dont qauilfy for the classic and I doubt they will fish another. As for attendance, I cant see it changing. I'll be surprised if it does. And if it does...it could be drops in people that are not in the points race. Ive seen that before in other small trails.

 

[TAzGa]

Right... Al, it wasn't your fault... his misrepresentation of his being 'invited' is what was the issue. I'm with you on the apology thing, but... there shouldn't be any statement made unless someone starts a public thread on it. I know there were folks upset... I heard a few mention something about him being a CBA ringer ( or something similar) .. but, the vast majority probably don't even realize who it was. Nothing has been said yet, and there's no reason to stir the pot out there byt bringing it up.... this committee is doing an excellent job and you're a big part of how well it's doing. I was there too and I didn't push the issue with Robbie either... I agreed with you and Adam ( because I didn't realize who it was and would have objected before a decision was made if I had known ). It looked to me like it may have been a situation where Billy may have been encouraging someone to participate in the forum (as we all should) and I didn't want to send a guy packing and give him a bad first experience with CFF... but, after seeing who it was and realizing they were just taking advantage of the situation to line their pockets... I wish WE ( not just you and/or Adam ) had enforced the rules... I feel as much blame as you guys do ... but, it's all water under the bridge now... let's do as Jerry says and learn from the experience... one bump in the road won't kill us... it's still a fun tourney and the participation is strong emoSmile

 

[AThornton]

I agree Randy.

Al, dont go beating yourself up. It is what it is and if it comes up on the forum, then we will handle it accordingly. But dont go throwing it out there to cause an uproar if everyone else is overlooking it and moving on.

Just drink you a Diet Coors ot two and take one of those things that you slipped in Robs beer last night! emoBigsmile I mean seriously Rob, a damn mouse? Come on man! emoLaugh