FLW Tournament Perspective!!!!

[Raider Ronnie]

(Qoute) In my opinion anybody can go get live bait and put them over fish and take a big fish, thats a no brainer,


I've got to respectfully disagree with you on that one Julie !!!
Some are FAR better than others at fishing live bait, being Mackeral, herring, pogies, ect.....

[Fisherwoman]

Raider Ronnie, don't take that the wrong way buddy, every fisherman is good at some method and some are better that others. What I meant by that is that 90 % of the time fish are more willing to take live bait than and artificial. So if you have it it does make catching fish easier most of the time if you know how to do it.

[sokinwet]

First congrat';s to captain and crew on the win; great job!! Having fished f/w bass tournaments for many years I know just how much of a rush it is to be sitting on top waiting for that final boat to weigh in! (And conversely, how bad it feels to have that last boat beat you by oz's!!)
As far as the 34" slot limit goes, I think that idea stinks and know that it kept a lot of locals from participating. If you think it's hard to get a 28-34" fish on artificials just try to put BIG fish in the boat using those same baits. It would certainly be a better "test of the best" than a 2 fish slot limit that adds a good degree of luck into the skill equation. I frankly can't believe that only 10 boats weighed in fish. Maybe they should have spent more time jigging and less time on the radio!! JMHO

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Fisherwoman

Raider Ronnie, don't take that the wrong way buddy, every fisherman is good at some method and some are better that others. What I meant by that is that 90 % of the time fish are more willing to take live bait than and artificial. So if you have it it does make catching fish easier most of the time if you know how to do it.

Julie,
My reply was more towards fishing live bait and getting BIG fish!!!
And when even there are days that the fish are finicky, some are MUCH better at getting the fish to eat than others.
Maybe it depends of what some think a big fish is !
To me, a 20 - 25lb fish is NOT a big fish! Maybe for my son , but not for me !!!
Year in year out in Boston harbor we have the usual same guys who allways get the big (40lbs + ) fish.
It's not because they are just fishing live bait or they are just lucky,
They put their time in and are just better at it !!!
Lots of guys don't even know how to find or get the bait !

[Fisherwoman]

Raider Ronnie, I totally agree with you there!!!

[blue oyster]

i think they should allow boats of all sizes , i find it hard to believe my 18 ' parker is not seaworthy

[Squid kids Dad]

I dont think its meant not to be seaworthy,but it might not be able to keep the live well on board ,as far as room goes...???

[sokinwet]

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!