POSSIBLE TOURNEY RULE CHANGES

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Wallerbass, check out http://www.mnsportfishing.com We met with Al Stevenson Tournament director for MN.D.N.R and talk about all the possible rule changes for tournaments.
There will be a public input time them another meeting with us then the D.N.R. will make rule changes from there.
The MN. Sportfishing Coalition will make bullet points for anglers to see our positions on every rule change intended.
The MN Sport Fishing Coalition beleives these are some cures to the changes the D.N.R plans to make.
Tournament anglers are less than 1/10 of 1 percent of MN. anglers but are possbly the most regulated.
We need a voice that will be heard across MN.
WE are a strong economic impact on the state,we have a right to sportfish in MN,and are the driveing force behind the fishing ind.
Without tournament anglers we would all be fishing out of row boats and fishing with worms and bobbers,we are the driving force behind a great American sport,I must say again
A great American sport.
At the rate Tournament Bass fishing is growing it will surpass NASCAR with-in ten years.
The MN.Sportfishing Coalition is open to any group or indv.
intrested in protecting sportfishing in MN.

Dave, thank you for your passion for fishing.
I’ll give you my take on tourny fishing, I’m not going to debate it. This is for your information as you deal with the DNR.
You will NEVER be as large a sport? as NASCAR. Nascar is a viewer sport and fishing is a participation sport. Therefore you will always have people against the sport because they don’t understand it or are not involved in it.Tourny fishing is driven by sponsorship and entry dollars. Those people have a vested interest and not the best overall interest for the sport. When the major dollars are from attendence and TV revenue than the public will become more interested. As it is now they watch Ranger and Trition boats with Berkley line and Bomber and Rapala lures. On TV these are the major sponsors simular to Ford ,Chevrolet, Dodge. I know I’m not explaining this right but I do see a difference between the two and I think the public does to.

As for tournies in Minnesota you may be right that only 1/10th of 1% of fisherman fish tournies. Unfortunately that leaves 99 9/10% percent to complain about a lack of parking spaces at the ramps.As long as people see tournies going on with 200+ horsepower boats blasting up and down the lakes and rivers AND they have no place to launch you will have problems. Remember the people complaining will tend to be middle aged with good jobs that don’t care about your rights to have a tournament. They view their right to have a peaceful day of fishing to be just as important to them. And there is alot more of them than you.
I can see the day when there are privately owned ramps just for tournies on the major lakes like Tonka, Mille Lacs, Vermilion ect.
I am not opposed to tournaments, I just think you have to many people involved that only think of themselves and not about the good of the sport when roaring around the lakes and rivers.

It is a subject that will be discussed by the DNR in earnest in the next few years. I will say I don’t think you will like the final outcome as I don’t think fisherman care enough to do what they need to do to rectify the situation.

My last point is this………
The arguement that we are better fisherman BECAUSE of advances made by tournament fisherman is a old well used arguement. Please explain why I’m better off with locators,camera’s, 200 hp motors, trolling motors ect.
Yes, it may be more enjoyable with those things but I don’t know that I’m better off or better yet that the resources are better off.

Good luck in your efforts, I do commend you for caring about your sport and passion.

Brian MN,you knew I would respond so please don’t take it personal,look around you,do you think all the 200 and 225 horse moters on walleye, muskie and bass boats arn’t an allure that was set 35 years ago by guides and tournament anglers,to me I bet you read in-fishermen and don’t think that about every tip they give about walleyes ,muskies ,and bass come from anglers that are determined to progress in tournament and sportfishing these are the things that progress the sport and tech. of cathing of fish,if you choose to tell me that your bobber that is ,or should be a slip bobber by now was not promoted by a guide or a tournament angler to bring it to a common product that is used by all anglers you are just looking the other way,have you turned on T.V,to see where tournament angling is at and where it is going.
B.A.S.S is owened by Disney Corp. ,F.L.W is owened by Iwrin Jacobs.
The newest of all allures for anglers is Redfish,this is a whole new venture of sportfishing that is opening new markets to different comp. because of tournaments.
The NASCAR comparision might hurt some feelings of NASCAR fans but is not a stat that I made up and for your thoughts.
As for the stat you seem to agree with that tournament anglers are 1/10 of 1 percent who are all the other people with bigger moters than yours flying around the lake,better yet who are the people with the ski boats and jet skie’s who I must guess you feel disrupte your {peaceful day] are they who you persume are fishing 1 of those bad bass tournaments who fill up your boat ramps,I must tell you if there where tourneys or not the ramp you try to get on by 9:30am would have been full by 7:00am.the early bird gets there worm and tournament anglers are the 10% that caught 90% of the fish there I said it and it hurts alot of people,
I don’t want to say that tournaments anglers are the best bar none,but you and I must be honest unless a worm and a bobber are your go to tech. you have been influenced by pro anglers.

I don’t know how big fishing will get, but I have to say that it has indeed become a viewers sport, and not just a participation sport. ESPN wouldn’t put 6 hours of bass fishing on every saturday morning if no one was watching