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Thread: Fishing comps with big cash prizes

  1. #1
    Ron_Collins
    Guest

    Fishing comps with big cash prizes

    Thanks for the feedback on Jurassic Lake. I've had some personal contact, too, and it's been a mixed bag. One suggestion a phone caller and I came up with was to eliminate some types of fish. They suggested whiting and bream.

    As these are "bread and butter" fish for the average punter and their kids, and the thought was that bream could be replaced with tarwhine and the whiting be restricted to "winter" whiting. And it would be much harder to target and catch a winner of either species.

    The reason this was raised by the caller was because of the fact that there are many other "lake"-like locations which hold permanent resident fish. And in competitions with big prizes and high kudos, the average Joe Blow does not have a snowflake's chance in hell of catching a winner.

    The other factor which also has to be addressed, according to direct feedback I received at the recent Straddie Classic, is the "flying start", where some competitors are "on" their spot hours before official lines down. No one has said such competitors are fishing out of hours, but wouldn't comp sites be lonely places if everyone did the same thing?

    Your thoughts and feedback of any type would again be appreciated.

  2. #2

    Re: Fishing comps with big cash prizes

    Hi Ron, caught a glimpse at the Sept B&B today and went straight to the Jurasic page. Well, I have mixed feelings about the publication of its whereabouts. Too bad really. (That it had to come to this to stop the cheats)

    Cash comps? I personally believe that due to the cheats, organizers will be forced to make them foolproof. If that limits the honest, fairdinkum anglers, so be it. If that causes logistical nightmares during the comp, so be it.

    I love to see justice and justice to me would see the cheats exposed. As this may not be an option after the fact, I believe the next best thing to curtail thier cheating ways is by making it impossible to cheat and thus collect the booty. The booty that would have been set aside for the truly honest and passionate angler.

    Now however, justice needs to be targeted towards the honest angler and he/she needs to be "protected". If this protection means a complete re-vamp of the comp format, it damm well needs to be done.

    I wish the organizers well in this quest and hope they can and will come to a satisfactory outcome favouring the honest anglers and not letting the cheats find more "Chinks in the armour".

    Regards, Randall Gilbert. (Brisbane Bass Masters)

  3. #3

    Re: Fishing comps with big cash prizes

    Hi Ron,
    I've been invovled with running a few different comps for yonks now & I can tell you there is no easy fix to some problems. Accusations on gun jumpers, fence jumpers & out right cheats still occasionally occur, even while the events are in an easily defined lake situation & prizes are either secret weight or randomly drawn. Even comps with no prizes for winners have had accusations & inuendo leveled at competitors & organisers alike. Heck last year I got a larupping for refusing to weigh-in some drongos fish, didn't matter that the species wasn't even in the comp!
    While the big cash & prizes seem to be the draw card to get the gun anglers in, it is also the best way to get average Joe to enter as well. Bums on seats is what it all comes down to, be the comp for fundraising for charity (fish stocking), a simply a money grab or to draw in the tourists to a certain area. There is a social factor invovled as well.
    Even this new wave of lure casting, C&R tournaments style comps with the shotgun starts, mixed teams, single target species & live weigh-ins has had accusations of cheating. eg at Bribie Island.

    If anyone can come up with a formula to absolutely elimentate cheating (& the accusations that follow) & still appeal to the average family fishos then I recon they'll be on a winner.
    Australian Lure & Fly Expo - Australia's largest ever gathering of Aussie lures under one roofwww.lureshow.com.au
    Australian Lure Shop - Get aussie made lures direct from the lure makers at www.australianlureshop.com.au

  4. #4

    Re: Fishing comps with big cash prizes

    ???Good on you for publishing the whereabouts, of this so
    call Jurasic Swamp???, I know where it is and would catch
    me eating anything out of that area, The reason the Species
    coming out of that area are extra large, is probably caused
    by Nuclear Waste, What was the name of those Turtles,
    that TV Show was based on (Ninja Turtles) OR something
    like that.
    In regards to Inforcing Competitions, Why not have a least
    1 Person from any crew competiting, be at a sign in each
    morning, before competition start time, it could be 1hr before
    start time.

  5. #5

    Re: Fishing comps with big cash prizes

    Bloody brilliant Ronnie – tarwhine and winter whiting – you’re a genius!
    That would eliminate the lake caught fish (tarwhine and winter whiting don’t live in lakes) and “level the playing field”.
    As a serious, regular and pissed off competitor – I’d welcome the challenge to target them.
    It would be difficult – but would also be fun.
    All we would have to do then is stop the “flying starts” and the average competitor might feel like they have an even chance.

    Dave ><>

  6. #6

    Re: Fishing comps with big cash prizes

    Ron

    I have fished few comps and not caught anything worth weighing in. I am not in a fishing club aand don't socialise or fish with other than a good mate or family.

    Consequently, at weigh-ins, I am an unknown and an outsider to what is apparently a clique. I have often heard of stories of the winning fish being fattened in a home tank and, of secret squirrel fishing spots. I tried to ignore the comments and hoped they were just sour grapes on the part of losers. However, correspondence on this site, over the last couple of days (and conversations on the live chat board) lead me to believe there is some credence in what I have heard.

    My question (finally) is this: If I heard all these rumours and innuendo, surely the organisers must have and, on hearing, ignored or turned a blind eye?

    I don't believe in coincidence. Especially those such as a "stranger" being drawn from a crowd to draw the major lucky prize at a comp and, "well, blow me down", draws his own ticket!!!!!!!!!!!

    Yep, please line up to take my money for more of these "competitions". The queue starts over there

  7. #7
    SHANE
    Guest

    Re: Fishing comps with big cash prizes

    STADDIES A HARD ONE TO CONTROL THE FLYING START
    APART FROM MAKING THE START TIMES LATER AND MAKING COMPETITORS SIGN OUT AT THE START OF EVERY WEIGH IN TIME IT WOULD TAKE ALOT OF MANNING AND YES THE BLOKES THAT LIKE TO TRAVEL THE BIG DISTANCES WOULD SUFFER BUT IT WOULD MAKE YOU THINK IS THAT SPOT REALLY WORTH THE LOST FISHING TIME

    EVERY YEAR AT KIRKLEIGH I GET UP AT LEAST ONE TO TWO HOURS EARLY BEFORE START TIME TO LOAD THE BOAT AND HAVE A COFFEE AND SIT ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CAMP GROUNDS AND WATCH A SMALL FEW THAT JUMP THE GUN EVERY YEAR TRY TO SNEEK OUT THAT BIT BEFORE ANY ONE ELSE IN THE DARK WITH NO LIGHTS GOING TRYING NOT TO BE SEEN OR HEARD (YEH TWO STOKE AT FOUR IN THE MORNING )AND DRAG THE ARSE THE LEG AND PROP OFF THERE BOAT ON THE CABLE WHICH IS ACROSS THE INLET ITS GOOD FOR A LAUGH

    IS ALL THIS CHEATING WORTH IT IN THE LONG RUN??? ??? ???

  8. #8

    Re: Fishing comps with big cash prizes

    Hi,

    I don't think it really matters what competition you run there will always be people tossing up the word "cheat" be that sour grapes or what ever. Big Cash and or big valued prices for the winner/s i dare say will always attract an element to step outside the rules etc to win.

    Changing the species and start times may help but will not stop it. I personlly hope it does as there is no place for cheats in any competition.

    Cheats ruin events for the honest anglers and makes it hard on organisers to sort the situation out and to maintain the level of sponsorships to please competitors.

    I know our competition has a start and finish time and winners only get a trophy and all prizes are by random draw. We went this way as a result of feedback from competitors over a few years and is now how we run the event and is welcomed by competitors.

    I don't know the answer but maybe book out time is one approach and also a reduced fishing area. Of course if a person is caught cheating then the full weight of the law should be brought to bare on that person/s and made public, as has happened in other events. May get a few thinking before they opt to cheat.

    I will say something MUST be done as the reputation of events will suffer in the long run.



  9. #9

    Re: Fishing comps with big cash prizes

    I've only fished a few comps and cheating hasn't for me even entered my head.I couldn't sit a trophy on the mantle that I had to cheat to win and look at it for the rest of my time and pretend to be proud.What's the point in being a winner to everyone else just to prove to yourself what a loser you really are.Maybe only having officials at designated boat ramps(as many as needed) and handing out a red flag with a number(or whatever) to pin to the boats for easy id as they enter the water at around midday on a crap tide instead of an early morning /evening start might slow down jumpstarters and any latecomers pick up they're banners/flags at the comp basecamp and leave whenever. As for chaos at the boat ramps have officials in boats at the boat ramps to ensure no-one is speeding straight out off the boat ramp or instant disqaulification.Pay in advance/bring reciept/recieve number/enter water/wait for starters gun or light/leave.Just an idea and might be a crazy idea but what can you do?

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