METRO L.E.T.S. '04 (Leading Edge Tournament Series)

[Dan Wood]

L.E.T.S. Go Fishing!!
METRO Leading Edge Tournament Series 2004

'04 Schedule

Top 5 of 6 events will count towards overall standings (allows teams to miss an event or toss out their worst event)

Official Rules and Information
L.E.T.S. is a league format event in which teams of 2
anglers compete for points. This is a multi-species
tournament series which allows for a wide variety of
fishing options.
League Size- 15 teams
Teams- 2 people must sign up to be league members.
Teams may use substitutes, but at least 1 registered
team member must participate.
Cost- League fees for 2004 will be $300 per team. All
fees will go towards event pay-outs, overall champion
payouts, and any
league expenses. The first 15 teams to send in their
dues will be allowed into the league. Last year’s
participants are allowed to register first.

Pay-out Schedule(based on a 15 team league):
Individual event pay-outs
1st-5th place Payout
Season championship pay-outs
1st-5th place Payout

Big Fish for each event will recieve a tackle pack from T.J.'s Tackle

1st place team in addition to payout, will recieve a tackle pack from Catch'n Tackle

1st place overall for the season will recieve a Catch'n Tackle Pack, Dennis Steele's Minnesota River Guide Trip, and a nice payout (TBD).

Event Payouts have not been finalized yet at this time.

Thanks very much to the following sponsors of the METRO LETS:

• FishingMinnesota
• Catch'n Tackle (1st place tackle prizes)
• T.J.'s Tackle (Big Fish tackle prizes)
• B.J.'s Bait Shop (Clearwater Lake Tournament Headquarters)
• Dennis Steele's Minnesota River Guide Service (1st overall guide trip)
• Cory & Tracy Frantzick Realtors (Rush Lake Tournament Headquarters)

Catch'n Tackle
http://www.catch-n.com

Dennis Steele's Guide Service
http://www.mnriverguidedfishing.com/

Cory & Tracy Realtors
http://www.AtHomeOnTHeLake.com

Events- Each event will be a 1 day tournament.

All events will run from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. with a lunch break / weigh-in at 11 a.m. unless otherwise stated (1 hr. maximum). This will allow for fish caught in the first part of the day to be weighed and released earlier.

The break can be waived if needed for some reason (requires a vote from league officers).

Rush Lake Event - Cory has offered the use of his property on Rush Lake for camping (Thanks Cory!). For those interested, it should be a good time. An option would be to come up and prefish Saturday, camp at Cory's (on Rush Lake) Saturday night, and fish the event Sunday.

General Rules- L.E.T.S. prides itself as being a
catch-and-release league. Taking some fish for the pan
is fine (selective harvest is strongly encouraged.)
1) All rules and regulations of the State of Minnesota
must be observed at all times. There will also be a
boat and trailer inspection for aquatic vegetation
prior to teams launching their boat.
2) A cell phone must be in the
boat at all times. This is necessary for safety and to
contact other teams for large fish verification.
3) Teams must respect other teams. No fishing within
30 yards of another team will be allowed unless
invited by said team to do so. Non league boats must
also be respected at all times.
4) All check-in deadlines will be strictly enforced. A
watch synchronization will take place each morning.
5) There will be a staggered start. Teams will draw
for starting position before each event. Boats will
then leave the starting point in 5 second intervals
with the last team being the starter boat. After the
break, this order will be reversed.
6) Scoring- The scoring system will be based on weight
converted to points. There will also be points awarded
for attendance.
Point values- 1 lb of fish = 1 pt (Across the board
for all species)
Attendance= 2 points per event
Walleye= Minimum size = 12 inches
Pike= Minimum size = 20 inches
LM/SM Bass= Minimum size = 12 inches
Sunfish= Minimum size = 7 inches
Crappie= Minimum size = 9 inches
Perch = Minimum size = 9 inches
Lake Trout= Minimum size = 16 inches
Muskie= Any legal fish will be worth 25 points
Catfish = state limits apply (will not be using the liberal border water limits and slots)
One bonus point will be awarded for each Pike,
Walleye, Bass combination brought in for a maximum
bonus of 3 points (1 pike, 1 walleye, 1 bass = 1 bonus pt. 2 of each species = 2 bonus pts., up to 3 maximum).

A running point total will be kept towards an end of
the year league champion. These points will be based
on order of finish. 1st place will receive 15 points,
second 14, and so on plus attendance points. Ties will
be determined by largest fish caught. End of year
ties for score points winner will be determined by
total weight calculated for the year.
7) Limits- Each team will be allowed one persons'
legal limit per day.
8) Lifejackets- The wearing of lifejackets while teams
boat is under power of main engine is strongly
encouraged.
9) Live wells- All boats must have a live well or
other means such as a cooler with an aerator capable
of keeping fish alive. Stringers and fish baskets will
not be allowed.
10) Fishable waters- Any water that can be accessed by
boat without having to pull, push or drag the boat
will be deemed tournament water. The use of a
push-pole, oar or paddle will be allowed.
11) All teams must remain in their boat except in case of
emergency, or at breaks and weigh-ins.
12) Fishing in Minnesota presents a wide range of
weather conditions that anglers must face. Events will
only be cancelled in the event of lightning. The event
will not be completely cancelled, only postponed until
the lightning has passed. In event of lightning, all
boats must return to the starting area within 1/2 hour
from time lightning is spotted by league president.
This will allow ample time for teams to reach safety.
Teams failing to report in will loose all points for
that day except under conditions where teams must take
immediate cover and unable to make it back to the
starting point. Teams will be contacted by cell phone
or marine band radio if a postponement is called.
13) All rules and scoring decisions will be made by
league president and are final. In the event of a
rules violation or conflict by the league president,
the league vice president will make the call. Any
rules changes will be announced prior to each event.
14.) All on the water verification will be done using
published formulas to decide weight. All formulas will
be posted prior to the first event.

NEW RULES FOR '04

15.) Short fish penalty. Any fish more than 1/4" under
prescribed length will be thrown out including 50% of
teams largest fish. This rule shall also apply with a
slot fish violation.
16.) Impose 30% weight penalty for any published rule
violation.
17.) Random drawing for a complete bag check at weigh-ins.
Every fish in the bag gets measured on the official
stick. No one knows until they come to the scales if
they are going to be measured or not. This doesn't
mean that a measurement on any other fish or bag can
not be requested at any time.

To request further information on L.E.T.S., please contact:

League President
Dan Wood
[email protected]

League Vice President
now open, email me if interested...

League Treasurer
Steve Wood
[email protected]

League Weigh-Master
Rob
[email protected]

2004 Application Now Available

Please Make Checks Payable to "LETS METRO FISHING TOURNAMENT".

Click Here for 2004 Application

To Join, complete application and send full payment of $300 per team to:

Dan Wood
17241 Fairmeadow Ct.
Farmington, MN 55024

Any team member that fished in 2003 will have the first chance to fish again in '04. Those spots will be held for '03 team members until March 1, 2004 or until payment is recieved.

[This message has been edited by Dan Wood (edited 02-12-2004).]

[wounded minnow]

We're in, and looking forward to it!

[Dan Wood]

Yea, it will be a blast again in '04 with some great new lakes and rivers! Look forward to having a lot of the same teams back and some new ones as well. This should fill up fairly quickly I think based on the response thus far.

For those that have emailed regarding registration, I'll post the registration forms on this thread on or before Feb. 1st.

Please feel free to email with any questions.
[email protected]

[wastewaterguru]

Considering whether or not I am gonna do it again this year.

I need a new partner. I have a couple of people that I want to ask but haven't yet. Is anyone that fished last year looking for a partner or know someone looking. This is a preliminary inquiry and any interested parties must meet my written qualification standards, agree to split costs and follow my substance abuse policy.....

[wastewaterguru]

Well, whoever did the schedule just ruled me out. Why would you possibly schedule a tournament on Mothers Day??????????????????

I already have two that I'm gonna miss now. Guess I'll sit this year out anyway.

[wastewaterguru]

Is there any chance of rescheduling that event??

I did manage to find a partner. I will probably enter whether or not that event is changed...but,

Am I the only one that doesn't want to fish opening day/mother's day??

[Dan Wood]

Actually opener is on the 15th, not the 8th. Pool 4 is open all year, so this allows us to get an event in before opener. Opener is scheduled 2 weeks before Memorial Day (as I was told by the DNR).

Since when does Mothers Day keep us off the water? That event should be on the 8th (Saturday), not the 9th. Sorry for the typo. I went back and moved some of the Saturday events over to Sunday and did that in the process on accident. We are attempting to avoid both Mothers Day and Fathers Day for events.

[This message has been edited by Dan Wood (edited 01-12-2004).]

[Lunker]

The Balsam Lake Bandits will be back!(we'll be on time this year, I promise!), a few questions. One, who all is planning on returning from last year? I heard dennis is statewide bound, canopy sam told me last year he is out, wwg is a maybe, who else? Also, for the pool 4 event, I know the walleye/sauger season is open there, but what about bass that early? Looking forward to it, and I think we might have a new boat, hopefully one thats more dependable(our malfunctioning battery took us out of the croix event last year) And one more thing, where is madison lake?

[Dan Wood]

Lunker,
Glad to hear you guys will be back!

Bass should be going good on the south end of pool 4 at that time. Take a look at the ExtreamBass tournament results from last year at that same time (there were a lot of big largemouth and smallmouth bags that came in). ExtreamBass will be holding a tournament the same day, but they are putting in farther south and will be fishing both Pool 4 and Pool 5. There are a lot of good backwater areas down in the river, plus Lake Pepin which is a short ride up from Wabasha.

Madison Lake is in Blue Earth county (down towards Mankato).

Madison Lake

[This message has been edited by Dan Wood (edited 01-28-2004).]

[wastewaterguru]

I am in. Mr. Clean and I are teaming up. I'll get the app. and money in in the next couple weeks.

Looking forward to another fun season.

John

[BDR]

Where is the tournament schedule? I am considering joining one of these leauges if I can still get in. Thanks

Brian

[Dan Wood]

I don't think ImageStation is allowing the use of their server for linking to images any longer. I noticed all of the pics on this board from ImageStation are no longer valid. I'll get the schedule back up on another server shortly.

[Dan Wood]

Here is the schedule....

[BDR]

thanks Dan!

Brian

[Lunker]

Is that the Rush Lake up around Rush City? Are all the species staying the same?

[Dan Wood]

Yea that is the Rush Lake by Rush City. As of now the species remain the same as last year. Catfish limit was reduced to statewide limits and slots I believe (not border water limits).

[Dan Wood]

Catfish will be following state limits on all waters. 5 fish total (only 1 over 24").

[Lunker]

About Pool 4, remembering last year, is the dam always open in the spring around when we'll be there? Wondering if we can expect the same flood water conditions as last year(only time Ive ever driven a boat through the woods !

[Dan Wood]

Lunker,
Last spring the water was pretty high during that time, hopefully it won't be quite so high this year. The bottom end of pool 4 has a lot more for backwater areas to get out of the main flow too.

[Dan Wood]

If anyone is interested in the league but doesn't have a partner, either post it here or contact me. There is one person that I know of looking for a partner.

[email protected]

[Guest]

Hello,
My coworker directed me to this league... I'm new to the area and would love to get involved. However, I don't have a boat!

Does anyone need a fishing partner? Email me and we can talk. [email protected]

-Alina

[FishinFix]

If you or anyone you know is looking for a half way decent angler to join this series with, I'm your guy. The only problem I have is I don't have a boat. Please let me know if you hear anything. Thank You

[BDR]

Dan, you have mail!

Brian

[Dan Wood]

Anyone interested that has a boat and no partner? There are at least two people interested in fishing that are looking for a partner with a boat.

Brian -
We still have a few openings - I'll get the info. out to you today.

[Dan Wood]

Here is the application for the METRO LETS:

2004 Metro LETS Application

Please make checks payable to:
"Metro LETS Fishing Tournament"

send application and payment to:
Dan Wood
17241 Fairmeadow Ct.
Farmington, MN 55024

[This message has been edited by Dan Wood (edited 02-24-2004).]