Proposed 2023 CFF Tournament Trail Schedule

[Dropshot]

Date	Venue	Ramp	Day/Night
2/18/23	Chickamauga	Dam	Day
3/4/23	Nickajack	Shellmound	Day
3/18/23	Chickamauga	Dam	Day
4/1/23	Chickamauga	Dam	Day
4/15/23	Nickajack	Shellmound	Day
4/29/23	Chickamauga	Holly Circle	Day
5/26/23	Chickamauga	CFP	Night
6/16/23	Nickajack	Riverpark	Nigh
6/30/23	Chickamauga	CFP	Night
7/14/23	Chickamauga	CFP	Night
8/18/23	Chickamauga	TBD	Night
9/16/23	Nickajack	Sullivans	Day
10/7-10/8/23	Nickajack/Chickamauga	TBD	Day/Day

 

[Dropshot]

Updated rules to be released soon.

 

[elwestb]

Do we have permits for all of these lakes?

 

[ringgoldranger]

Hey guys- when will this be official? My brother wants to fish some tournaments this year so we will jump in the day ones anyway.

 

[Dropshot]

Dates are pretty much set.

 

[FishingwithRusty]

as i plugged these dates into my calendar, i cant believe there are so many night tournaments, i dont mind night tournaments, btw. did you guys(tournament committee) not pay any attention to the feedback of the members? the NUMBER ONE complaint/suggestion was FEWER night tournaments. HOW DO YOU LOOSE PARTICIPATION? dont listen to your customers/members.

 

[flyman]

I will throw my 2 cent out here. We meet as a committee to try to put together a fair tournament schedule that did not conflict with some of the major tournaments coming to or already scheduled in this area. We did listen to the comments and remarks made through the gripe page. And reduced the number of night tournaments that were schedule the previous years. We also try to accommodate the members that hunt, by ending the season earlier. There are some other changes that are going to come out in the rules changes as well. This trail is not meant for everyone, but we do try to make sure that the people that fish have the opportunity to have some fun. I have been active on this trail for 5-6 years and there are a lot of you guys that have fished it much longer than I have, I think this is a fun trail with some darn good fishermen and some damn good people. There is no such thing as a perfect club or trail and there never will be because people are involved. This is a good tournament series and regardless of some of the comments on this thread , we did listen, and changes were made and more to come. I agree participation is dropping. I personally think it’s because of the number of tournaments and clubs available now. I may be wrong but that’s my opinion. We don’t want to lose any members but I don’t believe we need to beg people to fish with us either. Finally, if you want to fish only day tourneys then there is probably a club for that, if you only want to fish diffeeent lakes or only nights those opportunities are available, however if you like a mix of day and night with limited travel this might be the trail for you. I would like to remind everyone Patrick does slot of work for this series and doesn’t make a dime for it. We cannot make everyone happy but we can at least make the majority satisfied. These are my thoughts and not those of the committee. If your still not satisfied after this explanation ( at least from my point of view) maybe this trail is not for you.

 

[FishingwithRusty]

youre part of the committee Flyman? how many people are actually on the committee? and how does one get selected to the committee?

the idea or mentality of "maybe this isnt the trail for you" is pretty much the same as saying "f*ck you, we're gonna do what we want" and a sure fire way to loose more participation.

i have been a member of this forum since before i moved here in 2016 and have been very active since Sep 2016 when i moved here. i LOVE this sport and love the competition and the comradery which is why i fish as many of these as i can, you guys are local, youre here in my backyard. some may think im a butthole because i dont hold my tongue and am not afraid to challenge/question the status quo but those of you that know me, know better. i genuinely want to see this club/group/forum do better and have more participation/fun.

 

[flyman]

yes, I am part of the committee. There are 7 of us on the committee. as for getting selected, I was asked several years ago. My comments are not that " I don't care" I do, however I also understand that not every club is not for everyone. I this is not a mentality just an opinion. just like I don't want to join a club that travels, it may be a great club with good people. But not for me. that's all I'm saying ..not every club is for everyone. Not meant to be directed at any one person specifically. just my opinions.

 

[elwestb]

First off, all members of the Tournament Committee were asked to join the Committee by other Committee Members and then voted on again for their acceptance. The Committee tries to select tournament dates, ramps and lakes that do not conflict with other tournaments, However it it almost impossible at times with so many other events to choose from and sometimes we will have a conflicting date that we just can't avoid. At that time participants simply must decide for themselves as to which event they want to fish. We try very hard to do what is best for everyone participating. We did change and lower the number of night events last year and again this year. Last year I think we had six night events. This year we have five. Last year we changed the hours on the night events as requested by participants on another thread similar to this. We also try to avoid deer season to accommodate other anglers. This past year several anglers wanted to change the night events starting time back like it was in 2021. And so we did. Request were made for fewer night time events again and we lowered that number (again) for the second year. We have had several make comments to go into November with the schedule and force the anglers decide whether to fish or hunt. We are trying to avoid that situation. Now please, do not suggest that the Committee does not listen to the comments and suggestions because we do. Buy we simply cannot make decisions that are going to please everyone and we cannot make changes just for one or two people. We are not trying to be difficult or make it hard on any one person or persons. Sometimes another Tx. event pops up that we were unaware of and schedules on the same date and lake we have chosen, so we have to make a late decision to avoid that conflict. Things happen and we are always trying to adjust to best serve everyone. It is a on going process through out the year trying to make adjustments. Decisions are not only altered by just this thread. We get other phone calls and emails also from anglers that do not want to post their opinion on this thread so there are other opinions and votes that you may not be aware of that influence the decision making. As for the current Committee, these guys worry and work their butts off trying to make the CFF Trail a fun and enjoyable experience. We have had Committee Members in the past did not last a month because they couldn't stand the heat. Most of you out there have no idea how much work and planning goes on behind the scenes by these guys for no money or other consideration (as most Tx. Trails provide) for themselves. It is a thankless job but we still love it.

 

[rayb]

Very well said Earl.

 

[billyc]

What ever the dates or day or night my partner and myself will show up and fish. As for interference with other tournaments they don't see to mind interfering with are tournaments so the hell with them. As far as deer season is concerned its not open every weekend and a tournament is only one day . My only thing I will request from committee is don't wait til last minute to post any changes to rules and don't wait til last minute to decide where we are going to fish if something changes . Some of us run businesses and have family stuff.

 

[Dropshot]

I was going to post a long rebuttal to all this, but after sitting here coughing and taking my antibiotics I know that 5 is less than 7 and the difference in "lose" and "loose". Earl and Ken have expressed the thoughts and efforts of the tournament committee admirably, and anyone that wants to talk is welcome to call me and discuss. We cannot make everyone happy, and as my wife just said, "you sure do spend a lot of time to try and make people happy for no reward". No good deeds go unpunished. Have a nice evening.

 

[FishingwithRusty]

Dropshot - 2/1/2023 10:12 PM

I was going to post a long rebuttal to all this, but after sitting here coughing and taking my antibiotics I know that 5 is less than 7 and the difference in "lose" and "loose". Earl and Ken have expressed the thoughts and efforts of the tournament committee admirably, and anyone that wants to talk is welcome to call me and discuss. We cannot make everyone happy, and as my wife just said, "you sure do spend a lot of time to try and make people happy for no reward". No good deeds go unpunished. Have a nice evening.

by all means Patrick dont over exert yourself, perhaps if being on the CFF tournament committe is such a time consuming, stressful and thankless position and given your medical/physical conditions you should resign the position until youre healthier.

since you know the difference between 5 and 7(which is great) perhaps you can also recognize that almost 50% of the tournaments are at night. of the 19 posts on the on the bitch and gripe thread almost HALF (9 of 19) mention fewer night tournaments and 5 are not even related to the topic of the thread, so more than half the people that took the time to respond mentioned fewer night tournaments. REDUCING THE NUMBER OF NIGHT TOURNAMENTS BY 1(ONE) IS NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE INPUT FROM THE MEMBERS.

and thanks for pointing out my spelling error(i did it twice, smh)

Earl, Ken and the other committe members, i hope you recognize this is not a personal attack against you, this about the decisions made as a committee.

for the record, i dont mind night fishing(even if i cant seem to catch them after dark on this pond for some damn reason), most of you know i live in soddy, put in at holly circle and run to the lower lake for most tournament registrations.

 

[flyman]

Rusty, I don't take it personally, but also understand we do listen and will continue to listen to all opinions. and as a committee try to make the best decisions we can for the group.

 

[FishingwithRusty]

almost 50% of the tournaments are at night. of the 19 posts on the on the bitch and gripe thread almost HALF (9 of 19) mention fewer night tournaments and 5 are not even related to the topic of the thread, so more than half the people that took the time to respond mentioned fewer night tournaments. REDUCING THE NUMBER OF NIGHT TOURNAMENTS BY 1(ONE) IS NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE INPUT FROM THE MEMBERS.

 

[Dropshot]

Four posts asked for an even split. We did them better. Though motivated, I will abstain from any personal attacks, but will simply say we want as many people to fish as want to fish by the rules and regulations we have in place. I will end this conversation echoing what Ken stated, "not every club is for everyone. As a tournament committee member and CFF Forum moderator, I will simply wish everyone good luck on the water to everyone in the coming season.

 

[rippinlips2win]

Curious question, does the Tx committee ever change or is it the same year over year?

 

[Dropshot]

Normally new members are added as others quit. Over the past 3-5 years, we added Ken, RayB, Dusty, and Ronnie. Mark Eustice, Earl, and Myself are the senior members. Since the start of the CFF Trail, members have been recommended by CFF Forum admins, moderators, and tournament committee members.

 

[rippinlips2win]

Got it. Thx