Indiana tournament fees

[Danny]

Have you guys seen this story on bassfan?

Here's the link:

http://www.bassfanarmy.com/bfa_news_article.asp?id=183

Thought you might be interested.

Danny

[rangerpro]

everyone needs to face it. Indiana is the biggest rip off joint of any state in our area. Our fees have continued to rise over the last 15 years and what kinds of improvements have been made to any of our state run facilities? I have been fishing tournaments for over 25 years and take Monroe for example...all of the fees have increased, everything from the the park entrance to launch fees to camping fees. I was up there last weekend and I swear some of the campsites have the same picnic tables on them that they had 20 years ago. Still have the same restrooms with the same stalls and mirrors and it costs 3 times more to camp on the same site as it did 20 years ago.
As far as the revenue that is generated goes look at some of the outdoor or tournament friendly states and read about the impacts that tournaments have on their local economy. It is huge! YOu go to Tennessee or Alabama and you are welcomed with open arms and invited back year after year. They want our business in their areas because they know it benefits them. The thing with Indiana is that they cater to the rich blowhards that want to set out in the middle of the lake on their houseboats and drink their fruity drinks and not have the waves rocking them...you know the fat old men with their 25 year old girlfriends that come out waving their hands and throwing a fit everytime there is a ripple on the water!!
All I can say is that Indiana needs to DITCH MITCH and get a good old hunting and fishing governor that appreciates the outdoors

[GeoFisher]

Man....you have a SHORT memory.

* It was NOT Mitch Daniels that shutdown the ramps and state parks.
* It was NOT Mitch Daniels that turned a 2 billion surplus in to a 700 million deficit.
* It was NOT Mitch Daniels that diverted money from the Fish and Wildlife to other projects.
* It was NOT Mitch Daniels that caused us to FAIL Fed Highway Standards, costing 250 million in highway money.

Look to the A$$ in office BEFORE Mitch started cleaning up his mess.

[hardestyeric]

I can't exactly argue the post you made but it sure doesn't seem like Mitch is doing anything to correct the problem. Maybe if they would quit skimming money out of the DNR budget the CO's could start doing some more things and hold fee's steady.
By the way, all the ramps that were supposed to "close" at Monroe are still open and still being attended to. At least they are still mowed and the bathrooms still have toilet paper. The closings never really happened at Monroe.
Eric H.

[Viper201]

Rangerpro,great post!!You're absolutely right about the difference in how tourney angler's are treated here versus how they're treated in other area's of the country.Many other states compete to get the larger tourney's scheduled on their waters.They build weigh in sites,have restrooms with running water {not outhouses},provide tournament support and their local chambers of commerce actually PAY money to have certain circuits come to their town for the positive economic impact.Lots of good posts on here and many that aren't so good either.Anyone that truly believes a large tourney doesn't generate much needed income for a small town is sadly mistaken,especially in the cool weather months when the fair weather crowd is still layin in the house.

Been lots of talk lately too about all the pleasure boats that do not have the motorized boat permit,its easy for many of us to see who gets targeted for not having that on their boat and who doesn't and yes,complaints have been made.

[hardestyeric]

In that article, it states that the DNR is trying to re-coup some of the "extra" fee's they incur when there are tourneys. Can anyone help explain what these additional fee's are? I have fished a few tourneys in my day and never once seen any additional DNR support provided. Maybe I missed it but I didn't see it.
One circuit I fish has all ready been forced out of state. Looks like it might be the trend of the future. And a lot of tourneys on the Ohio.
Eric H.

[Moose1am]

The IDNR Biologist don't just work at the lake when you fish them. They get there late and stay there until Midnight sometimes conducting their fish surveys in early April. I know because I have watched them work the surveys. Lots of work gets done that we don't see or learn about. But you can be sure that changing fish populations create the need for better surveys and news regulations. That requires some research out in the field to determine the fish population dynamics. When lakes get pressured and fish populations plummet the IDNR fishery Biologist gets an ear full. It's up to them to determine what each lake can sustain in fish population and what the regulations should be to try to please ALL the fisher persons. They do a lot of hard work and they get very little pay for what they do. Try to make a living off the State of IN at the DNR and you will figure out that it's not the best paying jobs in America.

Unless you can walk a mile in their shoes and know all the facts then it's sort of hard to really judge their effectiveness.

Lets face it guys. Indiana is an INDUSTRIAL state not a state that depends out of state tourists to finance our outdoor recreational facilities. Now KY is much more progressive when it comes to protecting their outdoor recreational activities. Patoka and Monroe combined don't compare to one KY lake in size or in revenue generated for a state.

Regards,

Moose1am

[hardestyeric]

Moose,
I never once questioned the DNR's effectiveness or methods. I was simply inquiring as to what "extra" fees where involved in tournaments. I have NEVER seen a DNR person standing around at a weigh in. I haven't seen them doing their surveys during tourneys. If they were doing tourneys, couldn't they simply obtain a copy of the weigh slips instead of standing around until the middle of the night, as you said?
They are going to have to do all that you mentioned whether there are tourneys or not. They still need to keep close tabs on the dynamics of the lakes.
Your explanation doesn't convince me at all. I still don't understand how a 100 boat tourney every weekend is adding to the debt of the DNR.
Eric H.

[mikedaleo]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-27-06 AT 05:03PM (EST)[/font][p]I agree with you Eric. It just seems that there are lots of anti-bass tourney folks out there. I can't tell you the number of times I have seen live bait fishermen keeping any and everything they catch. In KY the DNR guys will check livewells on the water and off the water, yet they are not trying to re-coup any money, whether that money is in wages for extra DNR officers or whatever. in Indiana, I have never had my livewell checked. I have never seen a DNR officer at a tourney weigh-in, the only time I se them is to collect parking fees.

[bullrdr6]

This is just another reason why more and more tournament circuits are moving out of Indiana. I know our club is not having any tournaments next year at any DNR maintained facilities. We will try and go to Boggs and maybe the river but the remainder will be on Kentucky and Barkley lakes.

In my opinion Indiana DNR has no idea how to manage their fisheries. They keep adding fees such as the power boat fee and now a new fee for tournaments. Where is all of our tax money going? The property tax rate in Indiana is higher than any other of the surrounding states. I know several people and I plan to as well, move to Kentucky when I retire if not before because of the high taxes.

Like mentioned before, this will have a huge impact on all the local businesses around the lakes. If they don't have tournaments, and I'm not just talking bass, this will put a lot of businesses out of business.

Charlie

[Moose1am]

I think that the Indiana DNR does a great job. It not the biologist's fault that the Governor of IN take the funds generated by the DNR here in IN and spends it elsewhere and not on fishing or hunting related activities.

I have been told by people who work for DNR that this is happening. DNR could fund itself and be more self supporting if they were not being bleed to death by the politicians.

I am surprised that the State has not Sold Patoka to a private individual already.

Regards,

Moose1am

[GeoFisher]

Not the current governor........

Show me an EXAMPLE of the current administration doing this.

I know of Many in the previous administration, but I don't believe Mitch's watch has squandered, or used money collected by the DNR for other purposes.

Later,

Geo