Quote Originally Posted by kc View Post
I used to go nuts on this board bitching about tournaments and everything you are saying and what I have experienced on the water has made me pretty much despise tournaments too. The points made on this thread are all mostly true - it is not all tournament fisherman that are rude by any stretch and there are many rude pleasure fisherman and of course pleasure boaters. But what it boils down to me is how tournaments absolutely dominate the water at certain times. I mostly fish Barkley and Ky and Saturdays during prime season (like now) are absolutely the worst days to try to be on the water. There are so many tournament and other boats too that it can be a joke trying to find a spot without a boat on it. Add in how most want to gun it as soon as they start moving and run full out until zipping past you like you aren't there, dropping it on top of where they want to start regardless of who is close, and jump up on that trolling motor like their first born were on the line and you know what day it is. I definitely show my age and attitude as I drop it down long before I plan to stop and idle for long distances trying to take in what sights and sounds there are to behold in that area sometimes sitting there for several minutes after shutting her down to continue to take it in. I just have a hard time understanding how it is square to have umpteen tournaments with hundreds of boats all converging on the same water on the same day with little to no oversight. Since I am purely a pleasure fisherman and try to enjoy all the little things that SLP mentioned I generally avoid fishing Saturday mornings into the afternoon and since I still work Monday to Friday like most that takes a big chunk of free time out to unwind on the water. I can't wait until the day I can walk away from that and find the freedom to fish any day of the week I want. Saturdays during season will be totally off limits then. It is sad what the competitive side of this past time has taken us to. And for those of you who try to back peddle on the comments and support the tournament side - you know what I am saying. I have watched blast-offs and late afternoon returns with bass boat after bass boat for over an hour and you just know what it is going to be like on the water that day and no those aren't pleasure fisherman or pleasure boaters going by for that hour. Nuts...


kc
This was as much or more of my point of this thread than anything and you are saying the same thing. What is to many and is it way to much.....I say yes and it needs some form of regulation and I am a staunch conservative and usually hate gov regulations. I mean seriously take a lake any lake and tell me this time of year isn't just stupid with tournaments. I have litterally quit fishing on Saturdays as I don't want to compete with a hundred plus bass sleds for every point or bay. It is just crazy and something needs to be done but it won't.

Money will always rule the day. I would love to see the slot on smallmouth at Cumberland like Dale. In fact make it even more agressive and start running these tourney's away and it will. The Cumberland river spiked in elevation when the slot was implemented on Dale from all the tears shed. I heard it all...F that lake I will never be back, blah blah blah. Well now they are back and hammering it to but still not as bad as the big C. Are we trying to protect our fisheries or some jackwad trying to be like Ike.