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...