Digital tournaments?? Lets brainstorm

OK Gentleman……. In the age of High definition graphs, 1ft contour chips, Heat seaking boats, Auto Pilot electrics, Underwater Cameras, Fishing forums… Don’t you think it is time to coordinate digital tournaments?? Trust me I understand many possible complications, but truth be told Tournament trails draw big followings. Bass tournaments thrive in part because of not nearly as many protective slots on the fish. Of course with many of the major fisheries protecting the spawning populations of walleyes this deals a serious blow to potential walleye tournaments. Tournaments are not only fun to participate in, but also provide great exposure for the angling industry, boat manufactures, tackle industry and of course the areas hosting the events. CPR (Catch Photo Release) has become as recognizeable to fisherman as FYI. Many anglers, as they become more conservation minded practice CPR even when the law doesn’t force thier hands. Every year I witness more and more anglers concerned about protecting great fisheries and less and less concerned with packing a freezer. Regardless of survival rates of fish being held in oxygenated livewells of course it is illegal to place slot fish in the box even if they are to be released with great survival rates in a tournament setting.

SO… Do we sit on our hands because of this roadblock, or do we press on with conservation minded walleye tournaments. I believe this is worth the effort for the sport, and beyond that I believe this is important enough to create huge economic impacts for the whole industry if properly coordinated.

I’m not the most technologically advanced, but I bet the tech boys could figure out how to record real time measuring and releasing fish. Now trust me I understand there will be plenty of things to consider and work out. Heck we sent boys to the moon we can figure out a digital tournament. Heck we could even create a digital tournament trail… I’m just not that fired up about tournaments consisting of catching 13-16.5 inch fish!!

What do you boys think!! Hey I’ve got broad shoulders, so if you think it is impossible no problem. Just state your name, so I can give you a call when this baby get off the ground!! You can say yep that Crazy “Daze” was babbling about that a couple years ago on IDO. If you think we can pull it off then lets put our heads together. I bet a little thought with the webcam companies… we could figure it out.

how difficult would it be to put an ‘observer’ on each boat – with a high-quality digital camera and a certified scale? With the quality of microelectronics, there would be not reason why the weights couldn’t be taken immediately after the catch. The data could be sent to an SD card and then ‘downloaded’ at weigh-in while video clips are played of each catch… that way, you’d still get the ‘drama’ at the weigh in…

Chris, take a look at what AIM is doing. It is an anglers ownen walleye circuit that will start in the spring of 2009.

I will fish your tournament. “Digital-Daze” tournament kind of has a ring to it. AIM I believe is doing something like this as well as Bounty Fishing tournaments where you compete online. I believe it is bountyfishing.com. Take a look you could ad a few bucks to your pocket with the MONSTERS you have been getting.

It’s funny you should mention this! I was just talking about something like this over at the local bait shop last Friday. This could open up a whole lot more oppurtunities for anglers to stay on home waters. So many northern Wisconsin lakes are in ceded territory and have very strict/small bag limits.Don’t get me wrong, I love going somewhere new as much as the next guy but my pocketbook is limited, not to mention time spent on the water. I have to believe participation would be through the roof. A guy could pre-fish weeknights after work and fish the tourney on the weekend.

I believe can be accomplished, and not just because I have been grinding the interworkings of it through my gears all night!! Those who fish tournaments know how exciting it can be. For me sure I’d love to win one. RUKIDDING ME… But more so than that I think it is necessary for the future well being of our beloved sport of walleye fishing to keep the youth involved. Tournament atmospheres are a lot of fun. Fun for the fans, and fun for the hosting communitties. The Fishing Industry gets a lot of press in tournaments. Hey I LOVE FISHING SMALLIES!! But you know what I LOVE FISHING WALLEYES TOO!! From a tourism standpoint I bet Leech, Winnie, LOTW, Rainy, Mille Lacs, Vermillion, Red…. Would love to be a backbone for a New-Age tournament that draws big followings. Sooooo……How to…… Would there be anglers whom attempt to cheat?? SURE!! But the fact of the matter is 99% of the anglers would keep their integrity.

Lets say that Tournament anglers were to be given a undisclosed digital tournament article of clothing that would be needed to wear during the tournament. This would eliminate any potential of fish being caught and released outside tournament times as they would not be in possession of this Jacket or sweatshirt… Whatever.. Heck make it something different each tournament that promotes the ares being fished. I bet local CVB boards would cover the expense for it.

Now that you have eliminated any potential for the mis-directed to use fish caught outside tournament timelines for final results you would need to be able to prove that fish are being released, and not re-used for another Photo. Fact of the matter is it wouldn’t be that unlikely to catch 2 (24 inch) walleyes. That would raise some eyebrows! Have to think about that… Webcam release? Hmnnn….

How would you keep weigh-in drama??

Lots of questions, and I’m not going to say that it will be easy, but I think very important to continue to promote angling for future generations.

Is it possible to have a tournament representative in each participating boat?? Probably.