Hey Ron, we all know that it's your son who catches all the fish and you just drive the boat!.
You hit the nail on the head with your observation on who is catching big fish on a regular basis. There is no substitute for time on the water when it comes to developing skills and that "fishing" intuition and intensity that good fisherman have. I used to be pres. of a local bass club and constantly heard complaints about scheduling tournaments on waters that a "few" would have an advantage on. The fact is that it was almost always the same guys finishing in the $$ and they could catch more fish in a bathtub than most of the complainers could catch in a bass factory! Good fisherman make their own "good luck" regardless of the technique being employed and they are usually proficient in all methods whether it be trolling, casting, jigging, chunking, live bait fishing, etc. My complaint about the "slot limit" tournaments is that the "luck" element becomes too much of a factor. Given the number of big fish in the haba this year (anything over 34" is big to me...or big enough $$) I still can't believe the tournament weights were not within oz's for the top 20 boats...never mind 29 boats getting skunked!!! Sorry about the rant...I'm at work and bored!
Threaded Mode