New tournament rules for this year

a brief article was posted in last weeks C-J
this needs the attention of ever tournament angler in the state




[url]http://fw.ky.gov/Fish/Documents/KYSP_Tournament_Permit.pdf[/url]

Don't see how anyone can afford to have a tourney having to have a million dollar insurance policy to have one

It does not look good

Tournament fishing brings a lot of money to the different lakes but still aren't as favored as the big boats,skiers, waverunners etc by the marinas. Tourney guys don't use the marina gas etc. I'm sure the nearby motels and restaurants will suffer as much as the tourney folks. Maybe we need a lobbyist to stand up for us?

Being from New England originally I can tell you this has been going on up there for a while. They only allow so many permits for tournaments on every lake. Your club has to be be super organized and have those applications in as soon as they start taking them. Some of it has to do with lake access. There are several really good lakes that literally have parking for 20 rigs. I noticed all the different tourneys being held on Nolin and Rough on any given Saturday and Sunday and wondered if anyone kept track of what was going on. I guess the answer is no. There used to be a spot on the KDFWR website where you could list your clubs tourneys but I don't believe you were obligated to do it. I can tell you with the construction at the State dock on Rough you might see them enforce this during this spring.

From what I have gathered is this is coming from the State Parks Division and not Fish and Wildlife. So maybe we should start a petition to defund the state parks from receiving tax dollars until this goes away.

I read the application and the way I understand it the application was only a application to hold an event at a State Park. If my interpretation is correct then a tournament can be held on a public lake with a public ramp without the permit as long as its not inside a State Park. If that is true then there is countless ramps across the state still available to use without having the permit.

As for the permit I have mixed emotions. I feel like some bodies of waters can benefit from this application whereas some places it is not necessary. It's one of those deals where law makers have applied it to all state parks thus not having to make the decision which one benefits and which would have no impact.

I am one the fence when it comes to holding tournaments and requiring a permit. Tournament anglers have as much right as any other angler to be on the water. However it can be depressing for non tournament boats when they get a day to go to the lake to pleasure fish and the parking lot is overflowing with boats and the large majority are only on that body of water because of a tournament. Again they have as much right to fish public water as I do but that still does not mean its not frustrating to be crowded at the ramp and possibly on the water. Requiring a permit for all tournaments at all ramps would cut down the possibility of overcrowding at times but not all the time. Having the permit and making it public knowledge could help people avoid crowded ramps and water but only doing it to state parks is not a cure all for every ramp. My personal belief is I already have enough government regulations so no more permits for any of the ramps that are open to the public. I can not have it both ways so I just deal with the hand has been dealt.

I would like to add that I do not see myself as a anti tournament person. I do on occasion fish in a tournament. In fact there is three open tournaments coming up this year that have my interest. I may or may not fish them. If I went the rest of my life and never fished a tournament that would be fine. However I would not be surprised if I fished in 2-5 a year because there is a fun factor for me. I don't take tournaments so serious that they take away from the fun factor of fishing. After all fishing is what I really enjoy the most. If I am in a tournament its just a way do do a fun activity, nothing more nothing less but I do take the fishing aspect of a tournament serious. I strive to catch the best 5 I can. When the day is done I compare my catch to the other competitors. My goal is to figure out the fish and then find out when the tournament is over how I compared to others. I have personally seen people spin themselves out before ever wetting a line because X angler showed up and he is dead ringer to catch fish. I understand everyone will not have the same opinion as I do and I am fine with that. I just wanted to clarify that I am not anti tournament.

On a side note there is something I would like to see the Ky Department of Fish and Wildlife change. They have a page that is strictly voluntary to list a tournament on. [url]http://app.fw.ky.gov/TournamentManager/tournamentschedule.aspx[/url] The purpose of the page is so people can look at the listings and avoid scheduling tournaments on top of each other for the same ramp or boody of water. Plus it allows recreational anglers the chance to look at the schedule and avoid the ramp or lake if they choose to do so. What I would like to see changed is the option is the tournament open or closed to the public. The overwhelming majority list their tournament as open to the public but what's not listed is only if you pay a membership. Some are truly open with no membership but the overwhelming majority of the open tournaments listed require a membership. To me paying a membership is not open to the public. It's open to members only. Instead of asking if the tournament is open or closed to the public I would like to see it ask if the tournament requires a membership Yes or No.

Most of the smaller tournaments on Cumberland only have a 10 bucks per person the first time that goes to the classic pot with 1 dollar/per entry in every tournament going to the classic as well to just have a bigger payout out the classic. They'll usually let you buy( pay an entry for 1 tournament if you only like one having fished enough to be eligible to fish the classic. Everyone has to pay entry to fish the classic too & this makes for a way better pay out in the end with several more places getting payed. Lots also pay out for big smallmouth & largemouth in classic too. I have no problem with this, but when you have to pay 30 bucks membership/ per person i think that's a little much though.

I will tell you what i think is a little much is this. You here all this talk about having to have Insurance to have a tournament, and you go to your local state park to get the info and they tell you that your tournament has to have Insurance and you get it, and go back to your state park office the next day with a ( $553.00) $ 1.000.000 worth of Insurance and they tell you that you don't need it. That is ( B.S ) I DON'T KNOW WHO STARTED THIS BUT IT COST ME $553.00 AND I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT. To all the tournaments out there it is not true about this Insurance stuff.:mad::mad::mad::mad: