My .02 on JCAA Tournament

[formakos]

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

[arat]

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

[bbfisherman]

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

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

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

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.

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

[BCinerie]

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.

[Ryelof]

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!

[arat]

Originally Posted by BCinerie

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.

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

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

[kmaty]

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