NG Shasta & WON Bass Pro/AAA Schedule Conflict

TXRIGGED · Post by **TXRIGGED** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:26 pm

Okay, so we know what the off-limits days are, and the official practice days are for typical FLW tourneys. Correct me if I'm wrong here too, but I recall Charlie Evans statement was ""you could fish on Shasta during the WON Bass event, as long as it is "within" the practice period, AND that you fish with someone who is either a immediate family member or a Pro or Co that is entered in the FLW tournament.""

So, if you are fishing as a Pro, how do you guarantee yourself that you are paired up with a AAA that is also fishing FLW? Or, if you are fishing as a Co in the FLW, what happens if you are paired up one of the days with someone that's not fishing FLW? THIS WOULD BE GROUNDS FOR A D-Q!!

Also, I seem to remember Charlie's statement mentioned that practice periods were shrunk down to 3 days. Didn't he also mention that practice would be on Sunday/Monday/Tuesday? So, doesn't this leave Saturday "off-limits"? But, if things are like they were this last year, where Tuesday is usally off-limits due to registration, then the practice period would be Sat/Sun/Mon, allowing you to fish WON BASS.

Just throwing this out for folks to chat about.

Peace-and-Hair Grease

bigbass111 · Post by **bigbass111** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:53 pm

Correct, you will be DQ'ed if you fish with anyone that isn't fishing the FLW....

But Honestly, do you think Charlie Evans gives 2 sh-t's????

My .02 cents

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:15 pm

I think someone was D-Q for them same reason at FLW at the Delta?

Jeff

Caudawg · Post by **Caudawg** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:38 pm

It's a shame for those who would fish both events if they could. FLW made this choice and knew exactly what they were doing.

As is, both events could and will suffer by the decisions the anglers have to make one way or the other.

With as tough as times are these days for tournament organizations...I'm puzzled by this development. It doesn't make good business sense in my opinion.

It's not too late for FLW to change their off limits restrictions for this one event. It would be a win-win-win for all involved.

Just my personal opinion FWIW...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:43 pm

From the FLW Outdoors website:

"Practice for each event has been condensed from four to three days â€“ Sunday, Monday and Tuesday â€“ and tournament waters will go off-limits six days prior to practice."

Tournament day 1 for the FLW Series Shasta is Wed Jan 13 with the final day Sat Jan 16. If there was a non-draw team tournament being fished on Sun-Tues then a competitor can guarantee that they don't violate the off-limits period. Sat-Sun events won't work with the off-limits as anglers would have to choose one of the other.

But look on the bright side here.. .with the off-limits the lake will have a chance to rest prior to a 150 boat tournament being fished. If you notice with the Stren events it seems like the lakes get pounded for a good 2-3 weeks prior to the Stren which makes for a tough tournament for most people.

Personally I like the off-limits period as it evens the playing field for all involved making the tournament format more appealing to a wide array of anglers.

In the best interest of WONBas I would recommend they do one of the following to maximize their participation:

a. Move the WON Bass Pro-Am to another weekend
b. Move the tournament to another nearby lake, but keep the same weekend if possible
c. Move the tournament to Sun-Mon and allow FLW confirmed competitors to self identify to avoid being matched with a non-confirmed contestant. (very difficult to do and could potentially DQ someone if they drop out of the Series or are not truthful).

Personally I'd like to see option 2 so that I could fish both coming from AZ. If I'm coming up and there's another big tournament for most of us Oroville is on the way and the tackle I pack is pretty similar to what I would use on Shasta (i.e. spots are spots). It's not like a night or day situation with Clear Lake/Delta.

If WON Bass moves to another weekend then that's just one less day I have to take off work for the FLW Series event. I can take off Fri evening or Sat morning via truck to start practicing Sunday am.

Either way I think the decision is in WON Bass's court. FLW's not going to budge given the larger organization issues with people and resources from a national tournament series that they run. Given the current economy we should be glad as anglers that they're coming at all and didn't abandon us out west.

Maybe what we really need is less choices out west so that overall our tournament participation would increase dramatically. I'm starting to wonder why the idea of "out-sourcing" in the tournament worlds isn't starting to take place. An organization like WON Bass, NBW, TBF, Anglers Choice, etc could just as easy act as an outdourcer for FLW such that the West could fish their own Stens or BFL region. This way FLW supports the west coast guys with the entry level tournaments (minus the television coverage) and the outsourcer could reap the rewards of increased tournament participation under the FLW flagship. The anglers would also win as they would have the ability to compete locally with the chance to qualify for a national championship.

Just food for thought. Given the economy, consolidation and outsourcing in the tournament fishing industry might be the key to weathering the storm while growing the sport for tomorrow.

edit -- sorry for the long post. Just finished packing the boat and ready to hit lake bartlet, AZ tomorrow and I kind of went off on a tangent. Time for bed I suppose. It's been a long week