LOC excludes solo fishermen

[john1947]

Hi,

Ive fished the LOC for years.I never heard of the rule that excludes solo fisherman. Went to weight a large brown the other day. I was told I needed a witness to register the fish.

Sometimes it's hard to find a mate to sign up for the derby.Alot of guys just figure they never have won in the past and won't buy a ticket.

Fishing alone is a difficult task.Bringing a large fish to net can be extremely difficult.So why tell a fisherman he can't register a fish unless he has a witness?

[Tim Bromund]

because people cheat when there is money on the line. That has always been the rule in the derby.

[W.W.IV.]

You should read the rules.

[ray koziatek]

ut oh is spearfishing out too..???

[Gator]

Yeah, this rule has been around forever. Don't know how you missed it

Sorry about the brown.

[LongLine]

John

The rule has been in every derby/tourney on the lake since day one. Sad that people, in order to satisfy their competitive streak, cheat. That’s not to say that most soloists aren’t a lot more honest, law-abiding sportsmen with watchful weather-eyes, you’ll ever meet. Cheating is not really the issue, as some “teams†have cheated. Some boats even with non-fishing observers have broken rules – some have been DQ’d (Hopefully all of them)

They used to required polygph tests of all prize winners & had big fish examined by trained biologists, however this places a tremendous burden on the organizers. In addition there are many other rules that could DQ a fish/fisherman where having an "observer" may help to keep things totally up & up, in the eyes of other competitors, such as the time, and location of catch, as well as manner, etc.

The thing to think about is that soloists (like myself) usually have smaller rigs. The derbies/tourneys attract partici[pants from all over – not just the locals that are familiar with the open water. It’s rare to find a soloist from Pa, Ma, NJ or the southern tier cruising around in a 25+ ft fully equipped lake boat. Usually we’re strictly recreational fishermen and have smaller boats.

This time of year, as we all know, the weather out there can turn, within minutes. The competition “mentality†of “Ah, 10 more minutes†could land a small rig in a lot of trouble in the event of bad weather & being out too deep chasing the elusive winning fish. The “observer†may offer a “sanity check†leading to their well-being. No derby/tourney wants the negative publicity of misfortune to anyone’s family during their contest. (Neither do our fellow fishermen). That’s not to say that having 4 guys in a 12 ft rowboat is all that smart, but chances are good that 1 of the four will realize that their boat is a little small to be way out there & speak up in time. (FWIW, IMO, some 10 meter boats shouldn’t be allowed out of their slips, regardless of the weather)

Bottom line – Congrats on the Brown. Don’t let the soloist rule deter your joy of fishing.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[slimyfish]

why is a witness the gospel?

is it not possible 2 people may lie for something like money?

jis sayin BTW i know a rule is a rule

but shore fisherman get ripped off IMO

[Tim Bromund]

why is a witness the gospel?

is it not possible 2 people may lie for something like money?

jis sayin BTW i know a rule is a rule

but shore fisherman get ripped off IMO

yeah, but it is probably much harder to find 2 people that can successfully fool a polygraph.

[LongLine]

but shore fisherman get ripped off IMO

Unfortunately, the "shore fisherman" is a victim of numbers and statistics.

i.e.:

1. Due to the timing of the derbies/tourneys, most larger fish are out of casting distance. Month & daytime

2. Somebody (who, IMO, should be horse-whipped - pardon my politics) invented linning & lifting.

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[plecos4sale]

Yes I fish solo most of the time but had to bring the wife a few times for the LOC ... Would rather not bring her as I fish to get away

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[shorething]

I have caught several fish that would have placed in the spring derby , mostly browns . A few would have placed high in the standings . I wrote letters to the eslo people asking about a shore division , never got a reply. Springtime , in my opinion , shore guys have a very good chance at placing in the derby . Many times I have had better luck than the trollers ! Just my 2 cents - Dave

[Tim Bromund]

Don't need a shore division, you can enter a shore/pier caught fish, just need a witness who's also registered, same as boat anglers.

[hawkeye625]

I'm pretty sure some of the steelhead from the spring derby came from the shore. As long as you have a witness. I've only been doing the derby for 2 years, but the witness rule was one of the first that caught my eye and I don't remember reading anything that says you can't fish from shore.

[Blind Squirrel]

I fish alone 9 out of 10 times so I don't get a derby ticket I wonder how much $ they are missing out on by not allowing lone fisherman to enter fish,if I could enter a fish caught solo I wouldn't go out without a ticket in my pocket

[W.W.IV.]

Its sad there are so many fisherman out there without a friend to fish with, but without these rules there wouldn't be any of these Derbies and tournaments because no one would put up the money knowing the money was going to cheaters. If they open up these derbies as you would like they will lose money, there will be more dropping out than will sign up. I say quit whining and ask someone to fish with you, I do.

[Blind Squirrel]

I wasn't whining,just stating the reality of it.I am retired and the guys I fish with are not,vacations are mostly taken with their families in mind.To say lone fisherman are cheaters is ridiculous if you were to fish alone does that make you a cheater also?I do realize there are a lot of people that try to find ways to cheat,but I would think that they wouldn't have any trouble finding someone that will cheat with them.So to say there isn't cheating going on because they have someone to fish with doesn't hold water.

[W.W.IV.]

Mr.Squirrel, I'm also retired so I know what your talking about and if it wasn't so far to the Oak we could get together. Now as far as cheating goes You and I might not but there are plenty that would. . I wouldn't fish a Pro Am with open communications and GPS numbers for every fish you catch, But the two man rule for the LOC doesn't bother me. So go on out there and hammer some of those hogs before the creek freezes over.

[Blind Squirrel]

The open comm for the pro ams is a whole nother can of worms,I fished out of olcott back in the early 90's and you could not comm with anyone.In the years since I haven't paid much attention to them and could not believe that you are able to comm with other boats.Only one person needs to find the honey hole then call their buddies in and score big,now that takes a lot of skill.As far as the LOC I went to an awards ceremony a few years back when I was lucky enough to have an 8th place fish and one of the top fish was thrown out because they questioned a young boy that would not lie for the father,so you see there are even people out ther that would have their child cheat to cash in.

[plecos4sale]

Why is it if you fish alone your a "cheater" any more then if you fish with others. Not whining or cheating

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[W.W.IV.]

Its the old story, All fisherman are liars except you and me and I'm not sure about you. So theres rules throne in that cover all of us, end of story .

[Mortigan]

All comes down to a person's ethics. My father (who's no longer with us) was a trader at at heart and firmly believed in Caveat Emptor - "Let the buyer beware". He'd sell you a nickel for $20 if you were dumb enough. That said, he never broke a fish or game reg in his life and kept me fishing the old ESLO derbies in the eighties so he'd have a witness when he finally caught "THE FISH". He never did.

I was about twelve when I proudly brought home a small brown trout for dinner - cleanly shot in the head with my bb gun. It was a hell of a shot. I got to eat it - and lost my gun, my freedom and some of the hide on my butt. It's mostly how you're raised.

[dbutts]

This is why I do not participate in any of your derbys, tournies, pro-ams or what ever else. I fish for fun, relaxation and dinner. As soon as you involve money, it brings out the worst in people.

[ Post made via Android ]

[GAMBLER]

Dave Chilson has to do what is in the best interest of the derby to keep cheating out. If you don't like the rules, start your own derby and see how easy it is to make everyone happy and keep cheating to a minimum.

[Mortigan]

No, thank you. I served on the board of the local dart league for two years and will never make that kind of mistake again. Participation can be fun; management is work.

[plecos4sale]

That brings me back in time. I was one of the founding members of dart league. About 1977 Hey WW I will do my best to find a friend . Will you be my friend?

[ Post made via iPhone ]