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NIB, how many big fish can a good comm get, realistically? I've seen guys come in this year with over 800 lbs. That's close to a 30# average on a 30 fish day.
Guys don't mind getting outfished on a level playing field. I certainly don't. If you beat me under the same rules, hey, I'll be the first to shake your hand. This isn't a comm/rec thing. This is the only tournament I know of that allows commercially caught fish to be entered. I don't have anything against commercial fishermen, just fish the OTW on your off days. If Lev went out there on a Monday and bagged that 57, hey, great job, kiddo. If Lev caught that fish on a Sunday and had two 40s in the boat, he had the advantage of keeping a fish that a rec couldn't. Still a great catch, but the deck was stacked in his favor.
Here is the other problem I have. Stevie Morris is fielding a team, OK, fine. I know Stevie is a straight shooter. It's not a problem with Stevie per se. It's a problem with what lawyers call, "the appearence of impropriety" #^&#^&#^&#^&'s is also an official weigh station--that's the reason the slips are getting in the same day they're caught. Now, if I catch a 35 lb fish on a Monday, and I take it to M&Ds to weigh, after I fill out the slip, Mike is going to send it in. If I catch a 43 lb on, say, Thursday, and weigh it in at Canal B&T, Bruce Miller is also going to send that slip in. When OTW gets it, they'll see I weighed in two fish in a week and the 43 won't count. Now, instead of being Stevie Morris, I'm Joe Sleazebag and I own a B&T. I'm a official OTW weigh station and I decide to field a team. What's to stop me from holding slips from my team for the week, and only sending in the largest fish for each member?
In the wrong hands, having your team captain as your personal weighmaster can be a problem.
Again, this is in no way a suggestion that these guys are doing that.
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