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| We have got to start doing something about the amoutn of tournaments on the Winnebago system! This is getting ridiculous! I have fished most of the walleye systems in the state this year and every single one had at least 1 tournament going on, most had 2 or more! I know that tournament fisherman will argue that it doesn't affect the systems, but it has some impact no matter how small and with the amount of tournaments this accumulates into causing greater impact on the system. There is also the impact on the recreational angler's experience. Most of the time when a larger tournament is going on, you can count on at least one close call with between a rec fisherman and a tourney fisherman. To preemptively address the response on the fact that recreational fisherman take more fish out a system etc etc, the DNR is in place for this purpose. Their job is to monitor the health of a system and adjust bag and size limits accordingly. So when tournaments have an impact on a system, that affects the health of the system, causing the reduction of bag limits and size limits for those recreational fishermen who didnt even keep any of them. Also, the recreational fisherman is then stuck fishing a depleted home system, while the tournament fisherman drives off to scavenge another system....
So we need to get some sort of limit on the number of tournaments on a given system. It is getting out of hand. The DNR needs to mandate a fixed number of them on a given system. Don't worry about the revenue impact...the state will make more in permits sales due to the law of supply and demand. |
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Location: upper michigan | If you remove the tournaments you will not remove the fisherman! 98% of the tourneys on the system are local tourneys fished by guys that would be fishing anyhow. So now you have 2 guys in the boat only able to bring in five fish as compared to 3 or 4 guys in a boat bringing in 15 to 20 fish wich has more of a impact. It is your right to voice your opinion on this issue but please dont think that tournament anglers are all the problem. As I have fished a couple tourneys on bago and did my best to stay out of the local peoples way. Two difrent local boats went out of there way to ruin our fishing on ran his boat on plane up and down our trolling pass, another ran our boards over. There was also a couple that we had close calls with but they where just accidents no one trying to be rude. Not all tournay guys are bad guys and not all local guys are bad guys. You just cant throw them all in a baskett and call them eggs it just dont work that way. There will always be a few that make the majority look bad. I would not and will not recomend removeing tourneys. As a side not your complaints hold more credability with a name to them. |
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| Notourney, Your kidding right?
please justify your comments with facts! otherwise it's just a windy day!
Good Luck
Tyee |
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Location: Menasha, WI | Ignore the troll. |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | NoTourney,
I will assume that you are the one and the same NoTourney that posts on another well known Wisconsin fishing website. Your rhetoric is the same, as is the message you hope to promote that all tournament fishing is bad. You are more than welcome to voice your opinion and as long as you don't name call or try to make someone look bad, please feel free to visit here and use the website as often as needed.
To quote your message: "To preemptively address the response on the fact that recreational fisherman take more fish out a system etc etc, the DNR is in place for this purpose. Their job is to monitor the health of a system and adjust bag and size limits accordingly. So when tournaments have an impact on a system, that affects the health of the system, causing the reduction of bag limits and size limits for those recreational fishermen who didnt even keep any of them. Also, the recreational fisherman is then stuck fishing a depleted home system, while the tournament fisherman drives off to scavenge another system.... " Given the large number of tournaments that are on Winnebago and the connecting waters, and given the large number of fish which are caught in said tournaments, and given your statements of how "depleted" our system is of fish, if I didn't know better, I'd say the chances of me taking my kids out during a typical June/July day and catching and walleyes at all are less than 5%. And we all know that to be pure bull.
The Winnebago system and connecting waters have more walleye now than they've had in years. The work done by Walleyes for Tomorrow, the DNR, and other local sportsman has made sure of this. If this system were so depleted of fish, then why do are we without a size limit and a liberal daily limit of 5 fish?
These groups which I speak of are not just made up of recreational fisherman. Yes, they are heavily influenced by those dreaded tournament fisherman you speak so lowly of. You know, the ones who deplete the system and move on to scavenge another system.
If you have evidence to support your claim of a depleted system, please present it. Otherwise, what you say is not much more than alot of talk without support. We welcome and look forward to your reply.
Jerry Ruffolo
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Location: Neenah, WI | Hey, he's right.
Tournaments have a huge impact - but it's all positive - on the economy, the fishery and the industry. He just needs to see the light... 
Edited by schmidtwi 4/20/2006 7:41 PM
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| All I'm going to say is that I am excited to see these big tournys come to the Bago system.They have educated all of us and done so much for the industry. I would even ignore a hot spot if I knew a pro was there or gonna be there to allow him to do his job. Keep them coming! |
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Location: Rhinelander | I agree, the Bago tournaments have a huge impact. POSITIVE! And, thanks Walleyes For Tomorrow for all the work they perform at these events. |
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| I believe that the average weekend angler impacts the system much more than the all the tournaments held on this system. First, most tournaments are catch & release. Does this mean that all fish are released, and survive? no. In fact , last year at the Merc, there was a high mortality rate. I know in my own case, it was a livewell recirc failure that led to 5 of 6 fish dying. But, these fish were not wasted. They were cleaned, and distributed to food pantrys in the area. Second, I see and know lots of guys that go out, and fish for limits of fish for the freezer. They completely ignore the 2 day possesion limits, and not just on walleyes. There is no way all these fish are consumed by the guys that catch them. Some are given away, but I know some are tossed when they get freezer burned beyond recognition.
I fish a few tourneys every year, and also recreationally fish. Every once in a while, I'll keep some eaters. Most everything I catch goes back, and certainly, it doesn't get wasted.
Tourneys are good for the system, as most tourneys contribute somehow to a local club. They are good for the local economy, as are recreational anglers. Tourneys teach new methods, and have kid's and underpriveledged programs.
As for the DNR only managing the resource based on the recreational angler, I have to believe that the tourney's are part of the successful formula that KKK is using to improve this system every year. |
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| My guess is that tourney fishermen have better fishing ethics than the standard weekend angler, so I don't see Tourney's having a negative effect on 'Bago at all. |
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| So you're telling me that all of the tournament anglers prefishing for their local bar event dopn't keep any fish all week, or the week before, or the week before. Blinders on both sides won't solve the problem, and believe me, too many tournaments is a problem to tourism. The proliferation of small bar tournaments does little to nothing for the local resorts. That's where the baraometer for tourism dollars into a community starts to really show. Yes the PWT and the bass tournaments that draw anglers from all over the country DO have a VERY posative effect. But they also have strickter rules and work hard to co-inhabit the system. HOPEFULLY, the DNR's ability to do more then just issue a permit will come about to work for all concerned. There has to be some middle ground. When places like Larry & Jan's Resort in Fremont are totally quiet during the walleye run because of fears of being run off the river, there is reason for concern. We all need to work together to make room for it all. |
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| Now that sounds like a bunch of hot air seeing as both tourny and rec anglers all come from the same overall population of anglers. |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | Doc,
Most tournament fisherman do not keep fish before, during or after an event. It's considered taboo. I can count on one hand how many fish I've kept from Winnebago and connecting waters over the last 6 years of tournament fishing. No blinders here. As for the folks at the resort in Fremont: if they stay off the river for fear of being run off the water, that sounds more like a recreational fishing problem than a tournament fishing problem. But I supposed that given the incident on the river today you now have a prime example of what you speak of. I agree with your take on the generation of tourism dollars. The local events are social gatherings, not money makers for the area. The only events which bring a condierable amount of money into the community are major events run by the PWT, MWC, or FLW. |
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| Jerry,
First, the situation on the water today was not a part of what I'm talking about, glad no one was hurt. The boudries and effect on a broad area by events that do little to generate tourism dollars are my main concern. Even with the PWT in town, there were available rooms in Fremont this weekend though, still events like the PWT are a BIG plus to our area. Boats in New London didn't even see those guys and actually were a day or so ahead of them as the fish came back. Plenty of rooom for both.
Second, I agree whole heartedly that those with professional asperations above and beyond the local "social" tournaments, do not keep many, OR ANY fish prior to the event. But that's only a percentage of the guys fishing those events. I've seen local guys keeping fish every day during the week, then running around with a yellow ribbon on their bow on Saturday. I KNOW you're one of the good guys, but "taboo" to a lot of fisherman, even some who fish tournaments, is the little guy on Fantasy Island.  |
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| I think one thing that really upsets the local anglers is the arrogance of the tournament guys and the way they act. Both on and off the water, just look at the way they view the local anglers...
QUOTE: "While many competitors had to contend with increased fishing pressure from recreational anglers"
It's not very hard to find quotes like this in just about every article about results posted by the official sites of the tournaments.
I think that the tournaments have had an effect on the sport of Walleye fishing on the Bago Chain. With a tournament going on every week on the Bago chain, it's no longer any fun for many local people to just take your kids out for a day on the water.
All you see now is $40,000 Walleye boats everywhere.
Why in the world does Walleye fishing have to be a competition?
Starting tomorrow, I'm launching an all new WST tournament on the Bago chain, the World Sheephead Tournament, now's there's a tournament series even the local's like me would support!!
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Location: Rhinelander | Old Timer,
I don't see much of what you describe at all, and I attend every PWT, FLW, the Mercury Marine National Walleye Tournament, and several local events. The statement you quoted wasn't a quote from a Pro, it was a quote from a writer in context to what was actually happening on the water during competition. That isn't meant in a negative tone toward the local anglers at all, it simply says that the Pros had to share their spots with more local anglers that day than before, which adds additional challenge to the day's work.
The boats the Pros run are what they are. Why is it it somehow unacceptable to own a Ranger, Tuffy, Yar Craft, Warrior, Polar Kraft, G3, Lund, or other Walleye Boat? If I have a nice Pick Up, am I somehow not a nice guy? How about a big SUV? I see those at kids soccer matches everywhere. I saw at least a dozen big rigs, including Rangers, Tuffys, Tritons, Bas Cat's, and Lunds launch Wednesday morning that were NOT in the PWT. I always get a kick out of it when a comment made seems to be an attempt to ridicule an angler because he runs a nice rig and chooses to compete. I suppose since golf courses are closed to the public during a tournament, and Tiger has an expensive set of clubs and wears a nice shirt and hat, it wouldn't be fun to take a kid golfing anymore and all Pro golfers are rude people...Not.
The idea that if there's a tourney going on with 50 to 150 boats on that huge body of water it's no longer fun to take a kid fishing ( most events are over by 4 PM anyway) seems a bit odd. I saw dozens of anglers sharing space with the Pros by the Winneconne bridge yesterday and everyone seemed to be happy. When the Pro's left the water, those spots were filled by evening fishermen arriving after a work day.
Any angler intent on fishing for food will keep walleyes. That's not the intent of the Pros in most of the larger Team and Pro format events, especially during the event. If an 'local tournament' angler keeps fish during the week, and then competes and releases the fish during the weekend tournies, there were probably 5 fish saved that day from that fellow's livewell by the fact he was competing. Just because an angler chooses to compete for enjoyment and perhaps the HUGE National GLORY of it all (  ), what is it that suddenly makes his harvest practices somehow more unpalletable than if he DIDN'T have that yellow ribbon on the bow? I watched a BUNCH of walleyes go into buckets and livewells this week out there; isn't that why the system is managed for the fish?
Sometimes 'eletists' can be found on both polar opposites, just listen to the chatter in any bar. |
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Location: Manitowoc, WI | Well said Steve. I agree 100%.
And I can't wait for the WST.....it's right up my alley. |
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| What kind of impact has tournament fishing had on our area?It has had a tremendous impact with both positive and negative effects. Pre tournament days on Lake Winnebago if you had a 16 foot boat with a 40 HP engine, and a bonus livewell in your boat you really had a great fishing boat compared to most of the anglers who were fishing back in those days. With the wind and treacherous waves you were pretty much forced to find a protected area or stay off the water on those rough water days. When tournament fishing started on Winnebago, tournament fisherman were forced to fish on rough water days and the result was busted up boats and equipment. A positive came from those earlyTournament fisherman it forced manufacturers to build bigger stronger boats that would take the abuse tournament fisherman would throw at them. Anyone who has ever been on a big body of water and a big blow kicks up is dam glad walleye tournament boats are what they are today. I for one was in a PWT tournament on Saginaw Bay as an Amateur angler many many years ago when the wind kicked up and produced ten foot waves, if you have ever been it that situation and heard one distress call after another you know your in deep trouble if you capsize or motor dies or you run into someother type of problem. Thankfully we made it back to tournament headquarters without incident because we were in a boat that could handle that type of situation. However I would also say that the advancement we have seen in tournament fishing boats has probably had a negative effect on the weekend warrior who doesn't fish tournaments. How? I think he pays more now for his boat and motor then he would if tournament fishing didn't exist. Fisherman are the market the boat and motor industry goes after, want proof? Price pleasure boats compared to fishing boats and it is obvious fisherman are paying more money for their rigs in comparison to the pleasure boat shopper. Tournament boats selling for between 35 and 50,000.00 dollars make that weekend warrior boat selling for 15,000 look like a great deal. Does everyone need a tournament boat to feel safe while fishing, NO but the guys that run circuits do on occasion need those big boats to make it home alive. Do you need a tournament boat to catch as many fish or more than the top PWT anglers, of course not, as a matter of fact I am waiting for the day that some great local fisherman enters a major tournament and wins it fishing out of a 14 footer, that would be very cool!
The effect Tournament fishing has had on fishing electronics is almost unbelievable, I am not going to go into great detail on electronics but what I will say is that many Anglers including many professional tournament anglers should spend more time learning to interpret what their graphs and flashers are showing them and also utilize all the features that are available on their equipment. Thanks to tournament fisherman you have the best electronics available to you the down side however the good stuff isn't cheap.
Tournament fishing has taught tournament and non tournament fisherman new methods for catching fish, gave us a better education on the ways of the walleye and I might add supplied the DNR with information they never could obtain without the information they gather at a major tournament. Another thing I will say is the average person is very miss informed when it comes to tournament fishing especially when it comes to sponsorship, I often have to laugh to myself when I here guys talking about a tournament pro and the free boat he received from his sponsor. Although I could say alot more about this subject, as a matter of fact probably write a book on the pros and cons of tournament fishing, in closing I would like to offer some advice from my prospective to the young guy out there with the dream of making a living fishing. First off just like anything else learn your craft and learn it well. If you can afford to enter some of the major tournaments as a co/angler do so, soak up as much as you can, next spend as much time as possible on the water and learn to read your electronics and while your fishing ask yourself questions, like how are the fish relating to this structure and what effect is the wind and weather having on these fish. Pay close attention to details is the water clear or cloudy, if the water is cloudy, is it due to run off? Carp stirring up the bottom? Are bait fish jumping on the surface? Why and what kind of bait is it? Ect.... Once you can catch fish on a very consistent basis, think about starting a guide business. Be willing to guide on many different bodies of water, because you will learn that there is a progression you can follow relating to the body of water and the weather. Be willing to guide cheap to establish a good client base and to build up a name. Always work to get as much media exposure as possible, and someday deep into your career try and put together a TV fishing show. If I was 20 years old again that would be the basic outline I would follow to try and make a living fishing.
You can't truly love walleye fishing and say tournament fishing has had no impact on your fishing education and the equipment you use, there are positives and negatives but overall I think the positives far outway the negatives when it comes to walleye fishing tournaments.
Thanks,
Ron Floyd
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Location: Appleton wi | Its unfortunate that some poeple have such a negative attitude toward tournament fishing and in alot of cases these poeple may have 1 bad experience with a tournament boat.Frankly there are some complete idiots who fish tourny's and they shouldnt be. Take for example this weekand at petenwell during the flw league event. 3or 4 boneheads were fishing up near the dam and trolling with planer boards with the boards 50-60 feet out the sides of there boats and basically and screwing everything up for the locals and fellow tournaments guys.This idiots are lucky someone didnt go off on them there were two boats who tangled there lines with shore fisherman and trees and then just floated there with a mess and the individuals cruising the river with your boards 50-60ft is "your responsibility to keep out of the way of other boats " or dont use them in that tight situation and not to come so close and hook other poeples lines. As a fellow tourny guy and a lifelong fisherman I can totally understand why there is such ill feeling toward tourny guys.I'm not using names here but i and other know who you are but i do not and alot of other guys that were there who witness it have zero respect for you. Get your head out of your butt poeple and start using your brains. Enough said!!!!!!!!!! Ritch L Shelley
Edited by eye Lunker 4/23/2006 4:25 PM
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Location: Appleton wi | Oh by the way! WELCOME BACK SKEETER nice see your thinking alittle fishing these days.Hows your boy hunter doing I hope he has been doing well compared to 5-6 years ago. I hope he's well and your family is also. Take care and thanks for your comments above.
Edited by eye Lunker 4/23/2006 3:24 PM
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| Lunker, Hunter is doing fine, has good as he can be expected to be. As for the fishing I have been thinking about getting back into it. I guess I can blame Lonny Ziemer for that, ( just kidding Lonny) went up to De Pere a few weeks ago with him and had a good time, brang back lots of memories. Probably wont fish any tourneys, but can't rule it totally out. If the MWC is at Big Stone in 2007 I'll be there. Starting to look forward to retirement and throwing around possibly doing a little walleye guideing at that time. It is still a ways off but something to start to think about and look forward to. Thanks for the welcome back, Ron |
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| I live in FDL and have fished the south end of Winnebago for many years -- I am not a tournament fisherman but fish for purely personal pleasure. I do not feel that tournaments have a negative impact on the fishery but do believe that there are too many tournaments, it seems far too easy to get a DNR permit to start a small local bar/tavern tourny. I do also understand when some rec fisherman complain about tourny fishermen antics -- though the large majority of tourny fishermen are pleasant and polite on the water, there are always the few rude ones that ruin it for everyone. In my experience, due to the locations I fish most often, my negative run-ins always occur during the Merc tourny -- every year there will be that one guy who comes out in the 7:30 or 8:00 AM flight that decides to cut you off and fish the same shore you are trying to cast or jig a weed bed within casting distance of you. Even though these things happen, I try to keep an open mind and not stereotype all tourny fisherman -- I hope other rec fisherman can do the same. |
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| I was very disappointed with the unsafe boat operation, lack of respect for safety, total lack of courtesy for others, and general moronic behavior of not a few but many of the boats prefishing for the upcoming tourneys around me for the last two weeks on Petenwell. When they think your just another local who they will never see again it is amazing what you see and hear. So it is no surprise to me that some folks literally "hate" tourney fisherman... I was getting a pretty solid dislike for them myself by weeks end.
There were also some very different pleasant experiences, but unfortunately they seemed few and far between. I realize that most of the top echelon of tournament pros weren't at the two tourneys, but hey the negative impression had no less effect . As to the comments made about damage to fisheries, and fish population, and the fact that they are for the most part,(except in the most broad sense), nonstatistical and unsupportable, what difference does that matter if all the locals and fun fisherman around these tourneys only remember the circus clowns in town for a couple of days????
I was actually embarassed at more than one point that I was actually going to compete in some part with what I saw around me the two weeks before, and at least three times concerned about my guide clients safety. Don't know how you expect to turn an everyday fool into a weekend genius, but tournament anglers need to start policing their own, instead of worrying about offending other tourney anglers. Cause if we don't pretty soon science won't matter, all that will matter is the sick feeling the non-tourney anglers get having us around. On my part I am gonna watch everything I do personally on the water a lot more closely when representing tourneys. My guide customers never complain when I slow down to an idle before and past other boats I have to come close to... so what makes a tourney situation different. Oh I forgot half the field only knows one or two spots and they have to race to get there right??? Wrong .... not the half the field only knows one or two spots that was right on... but the racing to get there.
Edited by Mountain Man 4/26/2006 10:37 AM
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| Ron, great to here you are back and that all is well, take care, tom |
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| Thank you for your candid response!!
When tournaments ask for the spotlight to be shine upon them, sometimes they fail to address to each and every boater how they affect the sport of tournament fishing.
It's a big problem when a tournament guy comes blowing through or trolling through your area with 6 boards out in 4 feet of water in the midst of 25 boats. More than once, I have heard them get an earfull from a non-tourney boat who tells them to get the (substitute bad words here) out of here.
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