just wondering what you all fish!

[bassNspear]

Im curious to hear if you all fish more weekend tournaments or more weeknight stuff? Im looking at different options for next year, but wondering what you all look at when your looking to get into a tournament trail or weeknight tournaments! Payout? entree fees? location.

Just curious!

[pushbutton]

this is just my personal opinion from my perspective......but tourneys really are not worth it. every year i get the itch to match wits with a brain the size of a pea and those that try to outsmart them. this is usually on lakes that i know and still end up pre fishing and burning up gas, equipment, time and money. even when ending up in the money...the money really does not add up. after i retire maybe i will fish in more, maybe if my young son learns to be competitive, but until then will probably spend my fishing time in a more leisurely capacity. keep in mind, the closer i get to june 17th, i may start getting that itch again

[RickyBobby]

I'd say number of boats is primary with location being next in importance. I'm looking for enough boats to make it competitive and make the payout worthwhile, but not so many that its too crowded on the water and at the ramp. I fish with a group that does 5 events that are spread throughout the metro. As long as one or two are within a half hour of me I'm satisfied. We do weekday events during the high usage months (June, July, August) and I like that alot. I also like fishing 8-hour events better than the shorter weeknight events for the simple reason that it gives me more time to "crack the code" and scrape together a respectable bag, especially if its water that I'm not super familiar with.

[Cecil]

I look at entry fee/payout and location. I would rather fish for less money on a lake I enjoy. Keeping in mind its a hobby.

I do enjoy weekend tournies a lot more though. Nice to get away for a weekend and relax rather than be rushed on a weeknight and have to work the next day. Hard to focus as much...

[Jig Master]

This year I fished the mankato area bass tour and the bassmaster weekend series. The mankato tour is great with over a 90% payback. It is a team circuit, and has some good sticks fishing in it. We made the money in two of the five tourneys. You're never going to get rich fishing tournaments. I do it for the competition and comradarie. It's simply something that I enjoy. The weekend series MN/WI division was cancelled for 2010. The BFL is still an option, and you can fish either boater or co-angler in that circuit. Most everything is on the river, a cool fishery that not many from the twin cities fish. I live in the east metro, and there's really no weeknight tourneys to speak of over here. You could join a BASS or FLW club too, but they usually have weak competition, at least when compared to other tournament formats. Although they are good for beginners.

[RickyBobby]

There's plenty of east side weeknight tourneys..... Frankies, Greenhorn, just to name a couple

[grab the net]

A weeknight league is really a lot of fun. Low entry, small payout, keeps it what it should be, fun. Still very competitive in our group. Tournament circuit = pre fishing, travel, higher expenses, especially if you are going to fish lakes that are completely new to you. Missing out on a hot bite because you have to pre fish.

[skeeterpro1]

To me i feel like finding a good circuit that is a good price and has a good payout. I believe that fishing new lakes is one of the best parts about tournament fishing. How do people find fishing there same area lakes over and over fun when the best is going out figuring the bite out and beating people based on what you can find out!

[Chad_Fish]

I fish 2 weeknight leagues which result in 6 tournaments a month. The weeknight leagues are alot of fun but I would like to get into some bigger weekend events but because of my work schedule I cant. It would be nice if there were some mid week 8hr events.

[Jig Master]

There's plenty of east side weeknight tourneys..... Frankies, Greenhorn, just to name a couple

well I don't think people consider the Chisago area the east side of the metro. Maybe your compass is broken? NORTH on 35

and I definitely agree with the previous post that traveling to fish tournaments might cost some $$$ but that fishing new lakes is one of the best parts of our sport. How do some people fish the same lake day in and day out??? Boring!

[Chad_Fish]

Just my opinion but with the costs of traveling and entry fees you are just giving your money away by fishing tournaments on lakes your not familiar with. When I want to learn new lakes I certainly dont want to be doing it pre fishing or on tournament day. I try to learn 2 or 3 new lakes per season fishing for fun and only spend money on entry fees when I feel confident I will take home a check.

[Jig Master]

Some people are good enough to go prefish a new lake for the first time and take home a check.

[Chad_Fish]

Jig Master you might get lucky on occasion but not consistently you said it yourself you only finished in the money twice out of five events this past season. I will always put my money on the guy that puts his time in and takes the time to learn the lakes he is fishin over the the guy that shows up an pre fishes for a day or two and stumbles on a couple spots. But hey do as you like all tournaments need them guys who like to donate lol !

[bassfshin24]

Im actually looking to join a club as well. Week night tournments would be awesome. What time do they usually start? I use to fish a few weekend tournments when i lived in SD but i found that i much rather enjoy casual fishing. Im very competitive and if im not doing good in a tournment i get frustrated and thats not the way i like to fish. But i wouldnt mind doing a couple weekend tournments a summer to fish some new lakes.

[RickyBobby]

jig_master(bator),

compass works perfectly but maybe your map reading skills need a little work. Big Carnelian, Bald Eagle, Big Marine are in Washington and Ramsey Counties.

[RickyBobby]

Chad_Fish,

I fish with a group in which 3 of the 5 events are 8-hr weekday events. They're looking for a few additional boats too.

[Raider4ever]

Here's what I do:

01. Find a lake.

02. Launch my boat

03. Not care how many boats are in the water

03. Fish all day for whatever I want to.

Everybody here realizes that you are giving somebody else YOUR MONEY for the opportunity to beat other people at FISHING, right?

[Nick Kuhn]

I like to fish on my own terms as well. Always nice to be able to pick a lake that you think is best suited for the weather that day. That said if there were some free get together type contests, I wouldn't mind a few of those. Maybe a once a month thing that takes everyone out of their game once in a while. I can see it now:

Round 1 - April - Panfish

Round 2 - May - Walleyes

Round 3 - June - Pike

Round 4 - July - Bass

Round 5 - August - Catfish

Round 6 - September - Muskies

[Cecil]

Spoken like someone who doesn't win too much

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you win, they are all giving you money

[Jig Master]

jig_master(bator),

compass works perfectly but maybe your map reading skills need a little work. Big Carnelian, Bald Eagle, Big Marine are in Washington and Ramsey Counties.

No use arguing with an [PoorWordUsage] I guess. Are big marine bald eagle, green, and rush lakes considered east of the cities?

[NTW]

On topic - I like weekend tourneys the best but haven't had the confidence to sign up for any that cost over $50. I have a limit to how much I'll donate So that usually leaves me fishing smaller weeknight ones for a lesser cost. Don't get me wrong though, I enjoy those too! I wanted to join an affiliated club this year but it didn't happen.

A little less on topic - That's cool if you don't like to participate in tourneys, fishing for whatever reason is awesome! But there are many positives about them that you may miss out on by writing them off completely.

I like tourneys, even though I am usually donating, because of how much can be learned and the good people I've met. I got into bass fishing two seasons ago and have forums & tourneys to thank for speeding the learning curve a ton. My confidence and success have grown much quicker than if I were just relying on time on the water.

I've made many new friends and fishing partners. People who make me feel a little more normal when most the people in my life think I am over the top crazy about fishing.

[Burchoid]

There's plenty of east side weeknight tourneys..... Frankies, Greenhorn, just to name a couple

Uhh.... East side? More like north side, chief. There isn't much for tournament waters on the east side of the cities like there are West and South of the cities. I live on the east side and I always wind up driving somewhere else to fish tournaments. I'd have to drive 45-60+ minutes north to fish most of those 'east side' events you mentioned.

Either way, what it boils down to, is that the DNR needs to open Pool 2 to bass tournaments so I don't have to drive so far!! Imagine a Pool 2/Pool 3 bass tournament launching out of Lions Levee... that would be the day.

[Raider4ever]

Spoken like someone who doesn't win too much

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you win, they are all giving you money

No, just someone who's never seen the sense in paying somebody money so I can go onto a lake and fish.

And yes, I realize that I "pay" the DNR, gas station, tackle shop, and any repair shop as needed so I can go fish.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you don't win, you lose money by going fishing with no tangible return?

[Burchoid]

Here's what I do:

01. Find a lake.

02. Launch my boat

03. Not care how many boats are in the water

03. Fish all day for whatever I want to.

Everybody here realizes that you are giving somebody else YOUR MONEY for the opportunity to beat other people at FISHING, right?

Wait, you mean its a COMPETITION? Like a tournament? Why didn't someone tell me until now!?

You're right, some people don't see FISHING as something that should be a competition. Nothing wrong with that. But there's also nothing wrong with someone who's willing to throw down some cash to fish against their peers in a tournament!

You do realize the point is to WIN and take home much more $$ than you put in, right?

[Cecil]

You still fished