Ok I'mgonna check derby results.....

[Mortigan]

I hope my schedule let's me fish a Pro/Am next season, as well as be an observer. I think I'd enjoy both.

[Finders Keepers]

I meant to take pics of the leader boards at Sodus this past weekend, but I helped Vince take his monster king over to weigh-in and then never got the chance to snap the pics. I'll try to have our report up later today with some pics.

Jerry - Thanks and congrats on your finish as well! Finding numbers of kings in the conditions we had was tough enough, but numbers of larger kings is that much more impressive!

Wayne - I love fishing against the bigger boats and the competition! Once again, we were the smallest boat in the field and did very well beating many of them! How sweet is that!!?? Again, it's not how big your boat is or how much gear you have, but rather how well and effective you can run your program and adjust to the changing lake conditions.

Dave did a fantastic job running the events this year and we're already looking forward to next year!! It's amazing how much goes into setting up these kinds of events (we're getting a first-hand look as we set-up the first ice fishing pro-am series scheduled for this coming winter). Cudos to the entire tournament staff!!

For those who have not fished the tournaments, I encourage you to try at least one next year. It's a blast and like Jerry mentioned, even if you don't make it into the money (and with the new format there is lots of opportunity to do that), the experience is well worth it!

[slimshady]

A Ustream live feed of the weigh in and results might give those who never experienced a tournament a window into the action. Those among us that are techno-savy, particularly the up and coming youngsters with their smart phones might just sign up for the next tournament. I'd probably have never gone to a professional football game if I never saw one on TV. Many thanks to all the volunteers that help make these events possible.

[on the lam]

A Ustream live feed of the weigh in and results might give those who never experienced a tournament a window into the action. Those among us that are techno-savy, particularly the up and coming youngsters with their smart phones might just sign up for the next tournament. I'd probably have never gone to a professional football game if I never saw one on TV. Many thanks to all the volunteers that help make these events possible.

Thinkin outside the box nice idea...

[A-TOM-MIK]

Thanks! I literally get a little choked up as I reflect back on the week I spent with them. It was a perfect week with a perfect ending and I have never had more enjoyable, or a prouder moment in my entire life. I made sure they understood it was not about the final results, but the spirit of good sportsmanship and enjoyable competition.

Welcome to my world Rod, its an awesome place to be

Tom

[keith]

Right on... I support any and all tourneys and derbys on the lake and its a matter of getting it right before its released to the public. But since I guess a few tourneys are perfect I will be waiting to see a perfect winners list this saturday at 310 since weigh closes at 3 for the Sandy shootout. Oh and when its posted it better be perfect! Dont change it on me monday morning!

Mistakes happen it doesnt matter if its a 1000.00 buy in tourney or a 75.00 sat fun run. I want to see it right when its released not changed a few times with apologies. We are all human!

Ray don't worry the Sandy Shootout results will be posted by 7 p.m. Saturday night, they might not be perfect though, we are only going to randomly pay the winners based on unofficial results.

[Silver Fox]

Your turning out to be a real beauty tails

[ Post made via Android ]

[ray koziatek]

How strange i recived a facebook post from a friend who I havent seen for 25 years..

"NEVER WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING TO EXPLAIN WHO YOU ARE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE COMMITED TO MISUNDERSTANDING YOU "

"SOMETIMES THE HARDER YOU TRY TO DO GOOD,OTHERS WILL TRY HARDER TO DO EVIL"

Kinda blew me away!

[Mortigan]

Truth.

[Tall Tails]

WELL SAID:

Brian---Tall Tails (BIG thanks to VOLUNTEER Marlene also)

Tim-----Finders Keepers (You guy,s REALY GET the WHOLE tournament concept from lake O promotions to Pro-Am having FUN to mentioning the Recooping fact of exhaustion)

And Congrats on a STRONG 2 tournament East End Pro-Am run !

Rod-----Congradulations on your team win in the open. You stated & SHOWED what the Pro-Am Open division is all about -FUN/less expense than almost ANY tourney out there/FUN & MORE FUN with family and friends......

FINAL NON-FISHING thoughts:

Winning or even placing in a derby/tournament is a BONUS. The satisfaction/enjoyment comes from being there/competing AND MAKING MEMORIES.

It is better to compete and lose on ANY tourney level than it is to NOT compete and complain.

Honestly ask yourselves how many more years or tourney,s do you think life has in store for any of us ?????????

Jerry

Rebel Charters

This whole rant was probobley due to the fact that in my 30 ++ years tournament fishing, I WAS THE OLDEST PERSON on the boat in last weeks Oswego Pro-Am. THAT NEVER HAPPENS.....

And THE BIGGEST COMPETETOR EVER out there,which is also one of my best friends (Thrillseeker Vince/Stephanie &&&& CREW) has caused us to both to step up the Competative nature & execution we both LIVE FOR. BUT that FACT causes strain on a relationship & I would deep down rather have the dinners/casino,s & French onion soups-Ice cream with Vince as "FRIENDS", instead of the FUTURE "ATTIC/BASEMENT trophy,s we win against each other as "COMPETETORS". That goes for every other team i have met along the way also (to Many to even count)

And the fact that i still have not learned how to consume alcohol beverages yet.

Very well said from a class individual! See you at the next one Jerry!

[ Post made via Android ]

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

They are not perfect, nor are the people that shape them. Some retooling needs to take place, and the "comm" thing straightened out, but like Jerry said how many events do we have left during this "hey day" of Lake Ontario? We always have fun and most importantly LEARN, at each event.

Jerry--Congrats on a great Eastern run and Sodus Tourny, but you are dead wrong about the trophies, plaques, mementos. In the past when there wasn't enough to go around, my clients have taken it upon themselves to order more. My client at Sodus on Sunday said to me, "this means more to me than the money", as he gazed at etched glass 2nd place plaque. This gentleman is uber successful and has fished all over the world. The memento will help him relive the memories in his home state of NH, and generate interest in future events and trips to Lake Ontario while it is displayed on his office desk. Basement clutter? I don't think so. While I was paying for gas at Krenzers before the trip home, I saw in the case near the register next to the marina awards, a 2nd place Pro Am trophy. Tim earned that one fishing with Billy V. Guess what? Today, Tim fields his own team. He has the fever.

I recently learned the original Challenge Cup was retired. When I shared this with an O-town Captain, he was distraught. He stated that he dreamed of one day hoisting it and having his name on it.

Tim-- Thanks again for the ride to the weigh in. We boated into town, and that would have been a tough lug down the sidewalk. You guys are right on about Salmon deserving their due in the tourny world, and you are probably inspiring more young sharpshooters to get involved despite boat size. Great job last weekend.

Whatever shakes out with these events, we hope there are some viable ones down East because we love to visit.

[TOP SECRET]

Guys love the constructive criticism! For those of us starting up our own tourneys it gives us ideas of how to better things!

A few of my thoughts from the propen:

Big things

The prizes for each division should be available the day before... I still have no idea if I might have won a new car or a new spoon.

Results should be posted by the end of the weekend... If they need help I can show them many easy ways to post results from a smart phone... it literally takes 15 seconds.

The old am division and now open division were always treated like a halftime show. It should be given the same amount of detail and attention as the pro division, just with lower payouts. The LCD screen vs tossed together whiteboard was a bit of a slap in the face to open guys. Definitely could have put the open division on the right side of the lcd. Recommendation: love the open format, just call it the amateur division (which it basically is) and keep it to ams only, but keep the rules the same.. 3 big fish and no observer are very important to many of us "intermediate" fishermen.

Small things

Make all boats enter and leave from the proam port. Simple reason is these tournaments are helped to be put on by many local companies and tourism boards, so why not keep the tourism dollars in those ports?

Move the open division weigh in closer to the pros. I sat there for what felt like forever waiting for the pro weigh in. Also have each team pose with their three biggest fish for pictures...

Those are my thoughts, keep em comin, there is always room to improve these great tournaments!

Nick

[ Post made via Android ]

[FAT NANCY'S]

As a long time sponsor and participant I think any input we can get from both people already fishing in the Pro/Am's or simply interested in them should be welcomed. This year I believe we saw a major step forward with the new trailer and scale system for weighing the fish. How nice was it to see a teams total score without having to add different weights together because the old system couldn't handle over 100 pounds at a time. Looking to next year I would like to see the open division incorporated into the same video screen setup we used this year and maybe add a couple more monitors towards the back of the tent so everyone can easily see them. How about having the top 20 teams weigh in reverse order on Sunday to add some excitement? A live feed for the weigh in is a great idea, along with getting the results posted on the web site the same day. Right now perhaps we need a few more volunteers to make some of these things possible. I agree with everyone who has posted that you need to have fun in these events no matter where you end up finishing. I've had the great fortune to fish with the Cold Steel team now for 6 years and I can tell you we make it a priority to have fun! We have done very well in the tournaments also which certainly helps with having fun but we have had our bad days and we still find something to laugh about. So if you are even a little competitive give one of these tournaments a try, even if you finish last you still will have had a day on the water with friends fishing and that's hard to beat. If every team that fished in an event this year got one new team to give it a try next year imagine what those tournaments would be like! Good luck to everyone the rest of the season and hope to see you in Oswego for the A-TOM-MIK event in a few weeks.

[muskybob]

Any chance of seeing what the final prize payouts were for each Pro/Open in each Port for this year. Just curious & figure it might generate more interest. Thanks

[ray koziatek]

How nice to have others offer suggestions without someone jumpin on them...some of my memories that I thought were cool to have pics are:

The weigh in line ya almost never see 50 or 60 coolers in a row with some pretty beat guys waiting..

The fish check station should have a few shots explaining whats going on..them guys must get some pretty tired arms lifting 100,s of fish..

The dec fish check,and how they use the valuable information to better monitor our fisheries,with a little clip info and tracking devices..(chips)

The total poundage will blow away someone who never heard the total weight for the weekend..

And how some communties use the fish not needed by the fishermen,for church dinners and feeding the hungry and a note of "bring a Cooler" its a pretty shure thing you will be able to take a few home,If ya like fish..

We all have noticed the drop in numbers of entrys , Tho many teams sre still in from the first tourny many years ago.

The main reason we Were hesetant years ago to "Get In " was the invision of teams able to put fish in the cooler at will ,well it ant that way if you see the boats racing in at deadline at the piers you know many struggle to get a full box..Hey if ya shut down on a good pod of fish Yer "Golden" as long as their willin to play,sudden storms or currents can "Level The Field" as we say and a week of prefishing doesnt always mean yer gonna do good..

So ya have plenty of time to get a team togeather for next year...maybe a "what to expect" flier could be made so teams could make shure they feel comfy at their first "Captians Meeting"..Many who have fished 1 or more derbys tend to forget that first time through the door can be Nervracking to say the least ..

As stated winning is cool but to share the PRO/AM experiance is something all fishermen need to do..once in yer lifetime. HEY YA GOTTA BE IN IT TO WIN IT!

I'll bet if ya called the comittie members (give em a couple weeks to recover) they would welcome ya with open arms to help set up tents , hang ,sponcer banners,set up stage and soundsystems,help with trash,and all the little details that Help make the Pro/Ams so exciting...

Ray K.

[Mortigan]

You, sir, are much smarter than you like to pretend...

[muskybob]

You, sir, are much smarter than you like to pretend...

His wife wrote that