Did you fish the Grassroots Divsion or the pro side?
I fished my first "big time" Crappie tournament and it was lack luster to say the least.
First the directors were.. well... straight up smart a holes when you asked them something.
2nd for 260 bucks I can’t even get a cool grab bag or a package of tube jigs for free? You would think having Bass Pro and Toyota as a sponsor would have something for the fisherman. I fished allot of local tournaments that had good give a ways.
3rd the seminar should have food and drinks!!!! a water fountain aint going to cut it
4th I had no clue how to weigh in the fish or where to go, no signs, no one telling the new guys how and where to line up. (extra stress on the fish )
5th if you wore a shirt or had a wrapped boat, then it was worth taking your pictures and talking to you.
6th no one was there checking to see if anyone was late to weigh in
7th you stand in line for 45 minutes to weigh after being on the water all day, in the sun and they had no water or anything for us.
If you want money, Crappie Masters might be ok for you but if you want to have fun and feel like you’re in the so called biggest crappie tournament than it was lacking for me. I hope this isn't the future of crappie tounaments. It isnt made for the little guys.
In our government-controlled schools we are taught that Lincoln was our greatest president because his war ended slavery and saved the Union. As usual, the other side of the story – the side that reflects poorly on the government – somehow gets lost. – Richard J. Maybury, The Abe Lincoln Hoax
Did you fish the Grassroots Divsion or the pro side?
Monk
Can't disagree MO QWACK
I never quite understood the whole weigh in line they wanted us to wait til our boat #'s were called and send up so many at a time so you could keep the fish in the livewell til they needed to be weighed then abandoned that idea and said that the line wasn't very long we should go on up. Then we also had a 45 min. wait and our fish were pretty much boiled by the time we got to the scales. I don't know what would be a better idea but when you have 130 boats it's got to be tough to figure it out when there is only one scale.
I agree they could be little more understanding of folks not knowing there exact procedure because every tournament has a little different way of doing things
Fish crappie USA its more family oriented
James & April Linderman
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Be glad you only fished one of these tournaments to figure out that it's not your thing.... we fished the CM, specifically the MO circuit for 3 years, qualified for the Nationals every year, placed high in almost every tournament we fished, made some jingle, and met some good people......but, decided that the stress, long hours, etc weren't worth it (to us).
A day on the water shouldn't be all work and no fun...... but, might entertain it again someday, who knows.
Just my opinion.....at the ripe age of 27.
10 years ago when this CM started, run by another regieme, it was wonderful. You had a 60/60 rule, which stated you could go to your spot early if you had a 60hp motor or were 60 yrs old or older, so you didn't have to outrun the 200's. I fished every year from inception to 2 years ago. I fished it in 6 states and won some money(never enough to pay expenses). 3 or 4 years ago the blast off started looking like a NasCar race. Your johnson was measured by the quality of boat and the uniform and the sponsorship you were able to get. If you continue to donate to these hickory nuts, good luck. Ive caught more fish and had more fun since kissing the CM good-by, and I haven't lost any sleep over it. Im sure they havn't lost any sleep either, but they no longer get my
$1,500.00 a year. There are some good fisherman in those tournaments that never make the front row because they are not the chosen few who can bend the rules because of there sponsorship. This isn't sour grapes, it just fact. I still love the small tournament and the great fisherman who fish them. I have fished from Alabama to Iowa in the CM tournaments and I can honestly say that other than the guys that started fishing them when I did, I have not met one guy worth talking about. Thats my opinion at the ripe age of 70, and I hope you fish for the next 43 years Mr. 27.
MO Qwack,
I fished my first CM tourny in Arkansas this year and can understand some of your complaints. At the seminar down there they had a buffet of finger foods and a bar to buy drinks at. Not sure why they dont do that at all of them. I can for sure understand that if you werent sponsered then you werent worth talking to or keeping up on the stage for a few extra comments. I can understand that the big names might be why some of the people come to the weigh ins and they want them to have more exposure. Down there they had a guy going through the line checking how many fish you had and i believe signing a card. I also heard them a couple times giving a count down to the deadline to be in line. Maybe they put more effort into it because it was a two day tourny or the one pole. I'm not sure. You would think they could give something away no matter how small it is people would appreciate it or at least have something to remember it by other then a bad taste in there mouth. Overall I had a blast at our first one, maybe they were short handed or somebody dropped the ball? I would say give it another shot and maybe they can redeem themselves.
I agree maybe they were off thier game but my 260 bucks wasn't. I had a blast fishing with my dad and caught a ton off fish and with a little help from a couple of big fish we would of finished dang good. Someone knew there wasnt food at the seminar or water at the wiegh in. It cost me 20 bucks to drive to the seminar to find info out that was on the website. and took hours the day off the tourament to find out who won the raffle. I saw NOTHING Bass PRO or Toyota did and I mean nothing. I'm glad your dealings were better than mine.
In our government-controlled schools we are taught that Lincoln was our greatest president because his war ended slavery and saved the Union. As usual, the other side of the story – the side that reflects poorly on the government – somehow gets lost. – Richard J. Maybury, The Abe Lincoln Hoax
my biggest complaint from the cm is the length of the seminar. they always give away alot of stuff at the seminar's i've been to, but it would be nice if everyone got a patch or something. the line to weigh in is miserable in every tourney i've ever been in that had 50+ boats, it's certainly not for everyone but i love to compete and enter every tourney i can afford to, got a "blockin' on the river" tourney comin' up in a few weeks!!!
I clever quip fishing ironic statement crappie!
CM i will say needs to get their acts togather...have fished quite a few of them this year i understand what you mean by the directors by a-holes...but betty is a great lady...i see alot of people try it but like i tell people its not for everyone
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