wow. i sure am glad he is in Wis and not MN. not that it matters, it affects all of us. i just sent a rather large email to him, and strongly urge the rest of you to do as well. he is unwilling to come in here and face any of us, only shows his worth as an arrogant, self righteous jerk. he is completely misleading the public, and he is the one that can solely take the blame. not that he cares at this point, but i gotta hand it to him – if he is looking to stir the pot, he did more than that, he kicked the whole kettle over.

what a terrible thing to call himself an “outdoorsman”.

jeff

maybe i should clarify. i believe what Kristi meant by the “fishery” was the effect the tournamanet would have on the river, PR, and the community. it seems there are those that are commited to making it very difficult for any organization to come into their home town and sponsor an event.

as far as losing money, i would think on the top side it appears as so, but underneath what type of write off does this create for Wal Mart, and also the outside revenue from just the tournament it creates. marketing i think is what it is called.

i believe the RCL is doing the right thing, and also believe it is not because of the field size for the reason of cancellation. they have proven at all other events they have a book by which they go by and stick to it. examples: they could have moved the May Lax date to another water, but chose to give the community the benefits and postponed the event to July; in Erie they chose to not let the competitors out for a day because of weather – once again showing their is a greater casue than dollars and cents.

it is hard to believe what some people think i guess, but i can read between the lines on this one and any organization that is so commited to the anglers, the communities, and the fishery cannot be bad in my humble opinion.

jeff

i have to say that i just received a call from Kristi at Operation Bass and she asked me what to do with the entry fee. i opted to put it onto the championship tournament and told her that their perseverance is second to none.

i asked her to be as candid as she could, and she reaffirmed that the fishery was the ONLY reason for cancellation, and that they will never sacrifice the fishery for the sake of a tournament. she had expressed some anglers are very upset, but that they will not deviate from their long term goal as to being a first class walleye operation with the fish and communities being FIRST, tournament SECOND. i applaud them and cannot think of a more well run organization. one has to remember that they are not contingent upon entrie fees, they have a major sponsor that is picking up the tab (for the time being) and they have the luxury to think responsibly and not be persuaded. i agree that it would be nice to see fields of 150+ teams, but for now, a fledgling series, they are doing all the right moves and the teams will come – without a doubt.

by not moving the tournament to another water, which they easily could have done, only supports that the RCL series is really after moving the walleye tournament scene forward in a truly positive manner. they have taken all the right steps to ensure everyone is heard and accounted for. i can only support such credible and sincere actions.

after making my cancellation to the Guest House, i could only feel sorry to the businesses as he stated i was one of fifteen that will be cancelling, bringing in a total of over $2500 in rooms alone for him. i hope in the future it works out again in LAX, because the townsfolk deserve it.

jeff

i can get very excited about all of this – obviously! it is a known fact that, after breaking it all down, you can average about $1000 per angler, per 2 day event. that is why i thought $300,000 is not too far out of reach.

just a note, bob replied back, and it was just a note saying thanks for the letter. i stated to him i hope he feels good about what he has accomplished. how the RCL can continue is beyond me, if they make it they will easily become one of the most, if not the most, tournaments around the nation.

what i have a hard time understanding is how people like bob feel that they can blatently keep writing their opinions, but then have the balls to come and attack us for what we say on the web to each other?!?! what a joke! i have always been willing to meet face to face with all these so called “environmentalists” and have yet to be taken up on the offer. i stand behind my name and all those that express their views here. without being defamatory, or name calling, our opinion should be just, if not more, important than those of the media.

once again, if you are going 55 mph, but someone “thinks” we all should be going 45, who is at fault? pretty easy when you put it into those terms. and i am like all you above, i have fished mille lacs a ton, and never brought more than 1 meal home from there – ever. do i care if someone takes his limit – no. and i also do not hold the C and R fisherman in huge esteem. both individuals are excercising their rights, and if within the law, i can truly say i am happy for the both of them.

just though that i would add that i also contacted the publisher Mike Jameson and told him to read these posts.

jeff

Edited by 800proX on 07/11/01 11:48 AM.

i have already mailed him hougie. i have been an avid reader here, and now feel the need to jump in. why is that because someone conforms with the law (catching a limit), he/she is labeled improperly? this has happened at mille lacs, and thanks to Steve Fellegy in the Outdoor News he has subsided some of those fears of “Meat Hogs”.

last i looked, if you chose to keep a limit of fish, you were well within your right to do so. now it seems there is another group out there (media, greenies, etc…) that seem to think otherwise. i have been very hot at mille lacs, and now can understand your frustration. i was going to fish as an amateur at this event, and can truly say LaCrosse will be out over $300,000 for this. my only hope is those that drove it away will reimburse the community for their spledid efforts to “Save The Walleye”!!!

jeff