My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Today had to be one of the worst days to hold a fluke tournament given the advisory issued and the weather conditions that existed. I will probably take some slack for this and know Paul is a member here and I had sent a message before the tourney. I have fished this tournament for years, even in some pretty foul weather when it was held in June previously, but nothing like today where we made the decision after our prop was not ready to replace to fish from a party boat, just so we could use our entry. The the entire fleet of party boats from Belmar made the call to return to port by 11AM due to the weather conditions and rough seas from a safety standpoint. The small boats I did see out there, I prayed for their safe return. Yes, there is the option to fish the inlet and bays and some were successful I understand but why force that? My ultimate point here being, I understand rain or shine and fully understand the disclaimers put forth by the JCAA.org for a captain to make a decision on whether to fish or not , but when the forecasted weather was as bad as it was and posted by 2AM in the morning, many anglers are putting up entry fees they are then not able to use. Consideration in the future needs to be given to a potential cancellation or postponement date. This is my .02 on this right , wrong indifferent and hope that the feedback is taken into consideration for all just as the date changes that have been made based on angler input.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Sharkipsy,

Your post is dead on topic. Don't care who takes exception to the post but running this tournament without a weather or cancellation date is not only ridiculous it's a COMPLETE disregard for everyone's safety. I woke this morning to small craft warnings but made the decision to head down to our boat at SRI. We thought we might be able to get one or two hours in and catch the one fish we needed before heading in. WRONG call. We headed out to the SGR and by the time we got out early it was blowing hard with building seas. Combined with the rain it was like being sand blasted at the rail. We fished for no more than a half hour which was in retrospect a half hour too much and headed in. Conditions were not safe....tournament should have been cancelled period. I'm actually shocked tournament officials don't cover their butts by having a standard provision when there's are small craft advisory's in effect the tournament is automatically cancelled. Whether there's a drawing to pay out the money or a new date assigned, it's the only right decision to make. Any other decision is simply putting money ahead of all anglers safety.

I have to laugh with the legal jargon in these tournaments that says all entrants sail at their own risk. I can assure you if someone lost their life today due to the conditions that existed, does anyone honestly think a law suit wouldn't be filed against JCAA and all tournament officials. Between the shot gun start at the Elk's which ignores safety every year and crap like what happened today with the JCAA, it's obvious it's all about money and not safety.

As Sharkipsy said someone will most likely take exception with this post but there is absolutely no way this tournament should have been run today. The Leonardo Fluke Masters tournament may have been a different situation as Sandy Hook Bay may have provided protection from the NE winds today but no way JCAA should have been run......plain and simple.

Question to the tournament officials, how would each of you feel if someone lost their life today because they ponied up $210 and took a chance early to get out and back before the winds kicked up only to find out the hard way they made a fatal decision. It doesn't matter what plans have already been made by the tournament, at minimum the prize money should have been raffled off if an alternate weather date can't be arranged so that all entrants have an equal chance of winning. How many boats that signed up for the tournament didn't sail today and just pissed away their entry fee. Even worse how many idiots took a chance and got caught in the 6 to 8 ft seas by 7 or 8 am.

Due to the complete disregard for anglers safety, this is one tournament I will never enter again and I suggest others to consider the same after the statement tournament officials made today by taking your entry fee and turning their backs on you from a safety perspective.

Sharkipsy thanks for starting this post....it's something which needs to be said and addressed!

Dakota

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Great post mike, it comes down to greed when you see things like that happen, the old mighty dolla.....

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

If there is no wind, row.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

We were supose to fish it but bailed with the uncertainty ofhaving to work. However if we got in no way we could have sailed on a 23ftr its just not logical to put lifes in risk. Obviously nobody forced anybody to leave the slip but its common sense witch was obviously missing from small boats who risked the day! Your comments are dead on And shoukd be taken seriously

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

We cancelled and thought it was a no brainer. They need to change the rules and have a rain date or, at a minimum, allow 2 days to fish.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

I am the JCAA president and I agree that we should have an alternate date in the event of bad weather. However, I still have only one vote on the board and on our fluke tournament committee. In addition to safety reasons, I want everyone to have a nice day on the water, catching fish and enjoying the competition. It is also the second year in a row that our tournament was held during a bad nor'easter. This is perhaps our biggest fundraiser and I know that we lost thousands of dollars in entrance fees because many people waited until the last minute to join and based there decision on the weather forecast. For the record record, I waited until almost mid-nightmidnight until I made my decision not to fish the tournament. (You could sign up until midnight the night before the tournament) . I would also like to point out that the weather forecasts have been wrong most of the time which makes our decision a tough one. It is hard to reschedule a tournament of this magnitude and we try hard not to interfere with the other major tournaments as well. Regardless though, I intend to push for an alternate date for next year's tournament. Lastly I am amazed by the quality of fish that were weighed in and I would like to thank everyone who participated. Congratulations to all the winners!

Paul Haertel

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

We left out of shark river in my 28 hydrasport, we fished outside to 1 then tried the river, conditions were tough to say the least. We went as far north as the red church. 12-14 ounces and shallow water only. I wish they had an alternate date getting too old for rough water fishing. at least my friends have a good story to tell lol.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

We fished out of manasquan on a 23 mako cc ran north at first light. Wind and seas were calm by 7 am it was blowing but still fishable.... 9 am we made the call to try some local spots out deep.. the fish were chewing and the conditions were brutal but we boxed up 15 keepers to 7.05 lbs Good enuff for 1st place out of MI...Tried the river for a few hours picked a few shorts and a keeper before weighing in.......Big Nut Required Style!!!!!! Sean

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

in all fairness it states clearly rain or shine so thats the chance you take when u sign up... that being said... it was horrible in the morning especially rain wise... made the decision to go only because we have the good fortune of raritan bay ....totally fishable all day and had fish up to 9+lbs .... down there i understand your stuck to the rivers if bad.... this is a fund raiser event clearly and if not for the calcutta being added this year we wouldnt have bothered again...

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Great post! We left SRI at 7:00 waiting out some of the rain- wasn't very nice out there... Got as far as Asbury and set up a couple drifts deploying the boat brakes- no bueno- surfed back into the inlet around lunchtime with nothing but snapper blues to show for it, fished the river for a bit,but you shouldn't have to flank 40-50' boats in the river fluking... That was enough for me.
Spoke to my buddy on another boat as well- we both said never again. Congrats to those who placed!

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

ALL the tourneys should have a rain date. MANY guys went out yesterday because they had payed pre entry. And I for one am not interested in paying to have a winner drawn from a hat because of inclement weather.

If I wanted to play the lottery at a chance of winning ALOT of money and dropping a hundred or two on that would be ok.

To draw for a few grand I would never be interested.

The fees to enter a tourney are for FISHING the tourney, and the bragging rights to go with the day. NOT just to win a few bucks.

SAFETY should def be first and formost of anyone setting one of these days up

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

MY thoughts exactly

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Since we are on the topic of safety and tournaments how about the pt pleasent Elks and the shotgun start in the inlet ..... If you have never seen it it's a joke and somebody is going to get hurt or killed I know every year they loose a number of boats due to this practice

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

The shotgun start is an easy one stay at port till 615 problem solved. Been fishing that tourney since beginning. We break inlet 615 620. No problem.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Paul,

First I appreciate you taking the time and making the effort to comment on the issues being raised in this post and on behalf of the JCAA. Many would avoid doing that so thanks for engaging in the discussion. Many tournaments have alternate weather dates so it is possible to schedule it accordingly. I'm sure it would create logistical issues but those issues should be dealt with as opposed to having anglers who contribute to your cause lose their entry fee by not fishing or worse risk their own safety by making a bad decision to sail which many including myself did yesterday. Not wanting to interfere with other major tournaments is just another way of saying the club doesn't want to lose revenue or entry fees by competing with other tournaments scheduled on the same day, it's not a matter of respect.

The reality is the JCAA or any organization running a fishing tournament ultimately has a fiduciary responsibility to the people who sign up to not put them in harm's way. The fact that you yourself decided to NOT fish the tournament due to weather yet not cancel the tournament is insane. As I said in my earlier post, it is a simple matter of money over safety. An alternate date, regardless of the scheduling difficulties involved, should be mandatory in all these tournaments and the absence of means the officials running the tournament want everyone's patronage and cash but have no regard for their safety. I would hope your counterparts get it right prospectively and make the necessary changes next year otherwise I for one will not be signing up for this tournament. As you said, this is now two years in a row and I would have thought the tournament would have learned from last year's experience but obviously that's not the case. Maybe it'll take a $50 million gross negligence lawsuit against the JCAA and tournament officials for them to show some regard for angler's safety during the running of their tournaments.

Dakota

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Been on both sides of this, running and fishing a tournament and it's not easy.

IMHO you shedule it for Saturday and your weather date is Sunday. Both days are subject to small craft warnings. If you can't get it in Saturday or Sunday then a drawing.

A multi port tournament like the JCAA adds a lot of complexity. Raritan Bay no small craft while it's up on the ocean. Everyone's availability for the rain date etc.

You are dammed if you do or dammed if you don't, but like was mentioned above, you know the rules when you sign up.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Gerry,

No one is debating the rules as you and BB pointed out. This is what the entire thread boils down to which I think was very tactfully stated in the above thread. The JCAA and any other tournament should have a rain date for when there's a small craft advisory in effect. The multiple port set up adds complexity but I don't think it changes the fact if 50% of the ports were at risk and 50% had the benefit of being in an area protected by land. The point is yesterday's condition were not safe to fish in and the tournament should have been rescheduled or cancelled. As I said if one boat had mechanical problems and went down costing someone their life, how would this thread be worded. This is all about money over safety....period. For Christ sake you have the President of the JCAA admit he didn't fish due to the forecast and the tournament was still run. Hypocrisy doesn't get much greater.

If the tournament cared about angler safety, they would have changed there policy last year. And your correct, the rules are the rules which is why anyone who is fed up with them should simply not sign up for the tournament next year. There's virtually no prize money, the calcutta is paid out two- thirds which is the only tournament I know which holds back a portion of the Calcutta for themselves, and they obviously don't care about the safety of their supporters. This is one case where I disagree with you in saying "You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't" I don't see how anyone looses if they implemented an alternate weather date for the safety and parity of all entrants.

This shouldn't take until next year to decide so the tournament hopes everyone forgets what happened this year or for the last two years. The tournament if they care should issue a release immediately that says next years tournament will have a weather date and if there are small craft advisories posted the tournament will be rescheduled to such and such a date. Why would that be such a difficult thing to do IF the tournament officials truly care about angler safety. In the absence of that change I for one will not be signing up next year and I know of many others who share those sentiments.

Dakota

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

All,

I agree that our tournament should have a bad weather date and will push our board to approve one for next year. My decision not to fish the tournament had nothing to do with safety. I have a 30' Grady and 35 plus years of experience. I fish close to 200 days a year and can handle just about anything the seas can throw at me. I respect the ocean and never exceed my boat's capablilty or my own skill. I have fished in far worse conditions than yesterday but I am older now and have a bad back. I chose not to fish because I did not feel like taking a pounding which would aggravate my back. I am also fortunate enough to be retired and therefore I can fish just about any day.
That being said I certainly am concerned about the saftey and enjoyment of others who participate in the tournament. That is why I would like to have an alternate date. The fact that we have not had one in the past is not do to greed as someone said. There would not be refunds if an alternate date was listed in the rules and we would end up with far more entrants if the weather was nicer on the alternate date. As I said previously many people including me waited until the last minute and then decided not to join because of the weather forecast. The fact of the matter is that we lost a lot of much needed funding because of the weather. IMO an alternate date would be better for our entrants and JCAA as well.
The biggest problem in scheduling an alternate date is the booking of a location for the awards ceremony. An alternate date for the ceremony would not fly with a big casino in AC where we have held most of our awards ceremonies and it is unlikely that it would be acceptable to other large facilities such as the Holiday Inn in Manahawkin where we are having this year's ceremony.
I intend to show what others have posted on this thread to the JCAA board and I am looking for a little help here. Please let me know what you think. I don't think that the vast majority of people would want to go to a drawing so we are going to hold the tournament. My suggestion for next year would be to hold the tournament on 8/1 with a bad weather date of either 8/2 or 8/8. The problem with having the bad weather date the very next day is that we often have bad weather two or more days in a row. Having it a week later might interfere with other tournaments being run on the same day at any or some of our 9 or 10 weigh-in stations. The other problem is the ceremony. An idea I have is to hold the ceremony a couple days after the alternate date even if we hold the tounament on our originally scheduled date. For instance next year the tournament might be held on 8/1 with an alternate date of 8/8 but the ceremony would not be held until 8/12 regardless. Would that be acceptable to our entrants? Again, any input is appreciated.

Paul Haertel

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

What I mean by damned if you do damned if you don't is someone is always going to be on the opposing side of whatever decision is made.

The small craft thing is not perfect either. I've seen small crafts up and it's been totally fishable and other times no small crafts and not fish able. Thing is you have to also apply some common sense to your own decision based on your experience, your crew, your boat, small craft or not.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Paul: I like your idea of Aug. 1 with an alternate of Aug. 8. Schedule the awards ceremony after the alternate date as you suggested. Good luck

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

The conditions were tough not unfishable the guys that won the flukemasters tourney were fishing 16 to 24 ounces of lead. That's how tournaments are sometimes you get them and sometimes they get you

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Fluke tourneys should not be about big boats, and crazy weights. It should be a fun day of fishing with friends. Just my opinion.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Paul,

Thanks again for taking time to respond and addressing people's concerns here. I think your idea of having alternate dates with the ceremonies scheduled at a slightly later date is a great idea and addresses the issue at hand. At minimum it gives entrants hope if the first scheduled date is cancelled they will still have an opportunity to fish the second date. There's always the chance we'll have inclement weather two weeks in a row but your suggestion is a 100% improvement over the current rules, is well thought out and I believe will be well received and appreciated by the folks who support your tournament. That's my .02, curious what everyone else has to stay. If it's viewed a positive, it might make sense to communicate that decision before next year as I'm sure many anglers would appreciate knowing that the tournament officials listened to their concerns and acted promptly in addressing them. As I said, I think your structure makes perfect sense for both the anglers as well as the JCAA since I would think more people would sign up knowing there was an alternate slot.

Thanks again for taking the time to address this on the site.

Dakota

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Gerry,

I understand your comments. There' always will be an opposing argument and marine forecasts aren't an exact science. And yes the ultimate decision to cast off the lines is the captains decision which I get.

My point is there comes a time when the tournament should make a call for the safety and parity of all entrants and the decision to not sail should not be left to each individual captain. Ultimate safety in a tournament is a combined effort between the tournament officials and captains. Under Paul Haertel's suggested changes, if the tournament officials postponed yesterday's event to a later date, no captain would have been compelled to get out and back in to beat the weather (which didn't happen) and all entrants would have still have had an equal chance to fish the alternate date. In my opinion, that's why tournaments have alternate dates and why at times it's the tournaments responsibility to make the right call. Making no call or having in your rules that the entrants sail at their own risk in my opinion is just a way for the tournament to shun that responsibility. And yes for everyone who wants to point out "You knew the rules when you signed up", tell that to the person's family who takes the chance and doesn't make it back to the dock.

It's amazing feeling like you have to argue safety but as you said "damned if you do, damned if you don't" Yesterday might have been fishable in protected waters but the ocean was not a place to be and as one poster pointed out if party boats came in at 11:00 because of unsafe conditions I would hope someone in this tournament shares the same concerns as have been voiced here and does what they can to address those concerns.

Paul Haertel, JCAA's President, has thrown out a suggestion on this post which I think addresses this entire issue. It would be great if others could respond to his proposed structure so he can bring it back to the tournament committee for consideration if everyone agrees it's a positive change. And again Paul I appreciate your involvement in this matter and willingness to address it on this site. That's how positive changes happen.

Dakota

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

My true feeling is, pay your money and go fishing! If it is too rough fish the river or
Bay but just sac up and fish ! Hell if
I have to use 36 oz so be it! Makes winning that more special.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Capt. Paul,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to all the sharp and accurate criticism. I have 2 words for you....well done......your class shows through!

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

My thoughts also been in 4-6s in 20 footers multiple times..... Comfortable? No but we did it and caught fish if your not willing then get out of the game

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

I love when all the heroes start posting when it comes to a clear safety issue. 20 ft seas.....I've fished in them before. Use 84 ounces of weigh and sac up! Real intelligent responses. The point of the post isn't about everyone's tolerance for pain, it's about overall safety and fairness to ALL entrants in these tournaments.

Look at the facts. Party boats from either Pt Pleasant and or Belmar returned early because the seas were too rough. That in itself should be enough to know the tournament should have been cancelled because condition were exactly what was being forecast early Saturday am. Look at the tournament results 6 of the 9 ports didn't even have 10 fish weighed in. It's clear to see Jersey City and Sandy Hook fared much better probably because they were more protected from the NE but the ocean ports got hammered. How many of the entrants do you think paid their $210 and didn't fish? The number has to be significant. Is it fair that many people pay their entry fee and don't even have a chance to wet their line....absolutely not. That's why tournaments have weather dates, so all entrants have an equal chance. If the tournament doesn't deal with this situation how long will it be before there aren't enough anglers registered to justify having the tournament. A weather date is a win / win for everyone and it's absolutely the right thing to do from a safety perspective whenever there's weather forecast like there was on Saturday. I've also been out fishing in rougher seas but it's not worth the risk of someone getting hurt because there's money on the line and someone doesn't want to lose their investment in the tournament without fishing.

Somewhere in this entire process angler safety needs to be taken into consideration. Anyone who argues against that point I'm sorry I just have a hard time understanding your perspective.

Dakota

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

4 to 6ftrs in a 2oftr thus is why a tourney should be cancelled! Its about having common sense for those who dont! Not taking a shot at tourney official but there is prime example!
Just sounds foolish and puts lifes at risk not only yours but the men and women who come save you! Not guna ho on obviously itl make no difference

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

True Dat....

an alternate date is always nice but this is not the only tourney that doesn't have one so ya cant complain when its clearly stated, if your not in the money leave the sour grapes in your vineyard... its called FISHING, NOT, CATCHING..... as Gerry stated there have been NUMEROUS tourneys that ran event on the alternate date that turned out to be 10x worse the the original....

again.... ya KNOW the rules when u sign up..... Rain or Shine...... don't like it, stay home.... Most tourneys are fund raisers for some club or good cause.... feel good about your donation and fish where you can if your in it.... I personally will always have alternate places to drag bait or bounce tails.... if one thing, area or technique is all you know then your at a disadvantage before you leave the dock.....

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

well you just gave the answer to the question.... don't like the rules don't sign up.....

and as far as Calcutta moneys..... Pt Elks takes a big cut also....not a third.... but they do take money off the top..... from our 36+ grand we got 32 g

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

BB

Never said an alternate date would be the end all answer but it would certainly add an option which currently doesn't exist. Maybe an alternate date doesn't pan out but then again maybe the untold number of anglers who signed up and didn't have a chance to fish could have if the event was rescheduled to next week. Also I never said the rules don't clearly state the tournaments position on this so once again you state the obvious.

You sail out of the Highlands area, Staten Island, Newark Bay somewhere in that area and as a result you and anyone else who sail from that area have the benefit of fishing the ocean or ducking back into the bay if need be. Ocean ports don't have the same benefit of such a wide body of water which is why you can see the results drop off so precipitously in Belmar, Pt Pleasant and other ocean based ports. Belmar down to Cape May had severe conditions and are more exposed to a NE than the Sandy Hook area. I'm making a suggestion which I believe would greatly benefit the tournament and all entrants which is the same reason I believe Sharkispsy started this thread. You on the other hand and as always choose to post your sarcastic bs and use the thread as a platform to beat your chest about your fishing abilities. No body really gives a shit about how many spots you have or how many fluke you put in the boat because at the end of the day you're just a sarcastic self-righteous lost soul. If you don't have anything constructive to contribute to the thread, refrain from posting anything or maybe you can grace the site with your thoughts about Paul Haertel's recommended changes to the tournament so we can provide him with some feedback to his earlier post and maybe make some positive changes to the tournament for '15 which I believe will benefit all anglers as well as the JCAA. OR you can simply choose to continue telling the entire board how great a fisherman you are which as I said before no one really cares.....your choice.

Dakota

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

lmao..... i did agree with Paul... but guys that KEEP CRYING they couldnt fish it, it should have been postponed i have no pity for..... Rain or shine is to simple for you to understand i guess..... Its a Charity event..... period...... just proving my point that if you rely on one place or method then hope ya can cast to and reach them from the beach..... as in the case of the elks tourney when complaints were lodged at the meeting the directors reply was..... we been doing this for 20 yrs, dont like the shot gun start , leave at 7 not 6.... not a good answer but its their game take it or leave it...... the only problem i see with the alternate date is that this event would be competeing with 2 other tourneys this week bringin in even less entrants....:)

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Now I understand the inclusion of the word “Broken” in your screen name. The problem is I’m attempting a logical conversation with a child so I’ll try putting this in terms even you can understand. So I get this right, your position is if we had a hurricane this past Saturday, the tournament should still have been run and under no circumstances weather wise should it ever be cancelled. I know those are the current rules but that’s the change I’m suggesting the tournament should make for the betterment and ultimate safety of all involved, JCAA included. Your position is the tournament should assume no responsibility for the safety of the participants in an event they sponsor. They ask participants to support their cause but they want zero responsibility for angler’s safety when weather conditions deteriorate like they did Saturday. I struggle with how anyone can have that point of view as it contributes to creating an unsafe situation and favors ports that are less impacted by the weather element like Sandy Hook and Jersey City in this past tournament. You continue to bring up the issue of multiple places to fish, which we all understand no one on this planet has more numbers in their GPS than the great and powerful Bobber. I bring up safety and you translate that into fishing locations. Your words not mine. You have a propensity for twisting things around to facilitate the points you want to make. Sandy Hook provides a completely different set of options as opposed to Belmar, Pt. Pleasant and probably most of the other ocean based ports. Having fishing options has everything to do with location and structure as opposed to your implication of number of way points in anyone’s given GPS. I suppose guys sailing out of Pt. Pleasant and Belmar should have attempted running 20 or so miles up to Sandy Hook in Saturday’s conditions to take advantage of the protection that area offers. You imply inside fishing areas in Belmar or Pt. Pleasant are comparable to areas in Raritan Bay which is simply not the case. I have well over 150 way points in my GPS but if I had to access the ocean to fish them it presented the same unsafe situation. Because you enjoy the benefit of an area which has quality locations to fish regardless of the weather and wind conditions, you translate that into meaning anglers from ocean based ports simply don’t have the magnitude of numbers to fish as the great one himself. Your narcissistic views, even for you, are reaching new levels. And for what it’s worth, I signed up for a fishing tournament, I didn’t make a $210 pledge to a charitable organization……period! Direct me if you can to where it says “JCAA Charity Fundraiser”, maybe I filled out the wrong application. JCAA may very well use the funds in a charitable manner, I have no idea and don’t really care since it’s none of my business, but I signed up as I’m sure most everyone else did to compete in a fishing tournament as opposed to making a contribution to a charity as you infer.

It wouldn’t surprise me if there were 100 entrants who never left the dock Saturday due to the weather conditions. There had to be at least 15 on the SRI bridge alone at 5:30 Saturday morning who decided it wasn’t worth the risk to sail. If there were that many anglers who opted not to fish and each was in the fluke Calcutta, that would represent ~$21,000 being ponied up by anglers who never had an opportunity to wet a line. That’s simply an inequitable situation for participants who are being asked to support JCAA’s cause. Just look at the port results themselves as two thirds of the ports didn’t fill the top 10 spots.

Here’s the simple truth of the matter. Saturday’s conditions should have prompted a cancellation date but since the tournament elects to not have a weather date and ignore angler safety the tournament was on. I’m not asking anyone to change this year’s tournament. What I am campaigning for is a change for next year and beyond because sooner or later JCAA’s luck will run out and someone will sail in conditions like Saturday’s that will cost someone bodily harm if not worse. If that happens, everyone loses and I assure you there will be a lawsuit regardless of the verbiage in the rules and regulations. GUARANTEED! If the JCAA cares about the safety of the anglers who support their event and the parity of making sure everyone has an opportunity to fish, they should immediately implement a weather date to back up those sentiments. It’s in everyone’s best interest including the JCAA as I believe more people will sign up. It presents an option and a fall back date which currently doesn’t exist and it takes the decision of sailing in severe conditions out of the equation. How is that not a win situation for everyone? It appears JCAA President Paul Haertel understands this and is in favor of this change but apparently other officials involved don’t feel the need to concern themselves with participant safety.

Either way, Sharkyispy’s initial post and my subsequent posts were an effort to bring this matter to a level where constructive discussion might lead to a positive change benefiting the JCAA and all future tournaments. Paul took the time to address the board, which is very appreciated, and laid out an alternate structure earlier in this thread which in my opinion makes perfect sense and addresses the points which were thrown on the table. I was hoping more people would opine on his proposal so he could take it back to the Committee to review and hopefully facilitate adopting changes to the 2015 tournament. As usual you choose to take the thread and turn it into a sarcastic, I’m holier than God, I’m the great and powerful Broken Bobber, I can fish anywhere anytime and charm the board with your normal sarcastic pompous bs attitude which quite frankly is growing old. If you have nothing constructive to add to the thread, do the board a favor and refrain from saying anything. Your nauseating self-indulgent posts serve no purpose here and are relevant in your own mind, no one else's.

Dakota

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

My ultimate point here being, I understand rain or shine and fully understand the disclaimers put forth by the JCAA.org for a captain to make a decision on whether to fish or not , but when the forecasted weather was as bad as it was and posted by 2AM in the morning, many anglers are putting up entry fees they are then not able to use. Consideration in the future needs to be given to a potential cancellation or postponement date. This is my .02 on this right , wrong indifferent and hope that the feedback is taken into consideration for all just as the date changes that have been made based on angler input.[/QUOTE]

An excerpt from my original post quoting what my intent was. Some would rather turn this into something else than attempting to influence change for all involved, so be it and that will probably never change in itself. I have sent Paul PMs to which he has also responded and appears publicly, he is looking for input to help make that change. Maybe energy provided towards your input for all is best. Thank you Paul and the others posting for having the wherewithal to listen and attempt to make a difference.

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

I think most would agree with the long winded Dakota.... alternate date in the FUTURE would benefit all including the JCAA.... but you continue to complain about this past weekend which again was run by the current rules, so complain after the fact that ya either couldnt get out or catch where ever you were..... Oh well..... why did ya sign up...... JCAA uses the doe to fight for yours , mine, everyones rights and concerns in the Saltwater Sport, If anyone has to sweat the entry fee or losing it because they couldnt fish, maybe they should use the money elsewhere.. Also a huge attraction for some is that EVERYONE who entered weather you fished, or did not, weather you weighed in or did not, you still have a shot at the GRAND PRIZE BOAT AND TRAILER..... as stated earlier by Paul H. he didnt sail not for safety issues, but for basic i guess wear and tear on his body.... EVEN though i agree with your argument for FUTURE CHANGES... YOU keep getting personal and bring me up in your argument... Its hilarious...... but a haters gonna hate.......

Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

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Re: My .02 on JCAA Tournament
 

Thanks to everyone for their input. I will keep everyone posted as to what we decide to do next year. However, we probably won't decide until the winter when a decision will be made as to where we will have the awards ceremony. By the way, we had over 400 people at this years awards ceremony and gave out 55 door prizes that I beleive were each valued from about $50. to over $200. You did not even have to fish to win one of those as also was the case with the boat motor and trailer. To top it off we had a 50/50 that paid $2045.. Thanks to everyone for their support!

Paul