What makes a great walleye circuit

[marcnsaugeyes]

For anything to become great it must grow and evolve, changing as time goes on preventing any moss from growing so to speak. Other than the promotion I have yet to figure out why we aren't bigger than the bass circuits across the country. Sponsors line up to promote bass, NASCAR, wrestling X games etc. When it comes to sports we are the extreme. When the bass guys are pulling boats out of the water because it's to rough, we are putting ours in for the hot bite. We go after fish that don't only have teeth but the guts to make us hunt them.
I think we need someone like Jessie Ventura or the "Rock" to MC events. They would treat tournaments like battles, just what the X-generation wants to see. There wouldn't be a couple of camera boats following the top few around, we'd have camera's in all the boats catching the action and projecting it on big screen for the audience to see. Teams would spread out and an old fashion shot gun start would be the norm just to get the adreniline flowing.
The next generation is what we need to attract. They like something with just a little danger in it and that's what walleye tournaments have to offer. Just enter one at lake Erie if you don't believe me. If they take interest it won't be long when new terminology will pop up like "yo pig you want to troll up a couple of babes tonite", or "she was built like a ripstick".
I've been assisting running a circuit for the past five years and we are growing but slowly. One day I'd like to see my face on a box of wheaties just like every other walleye angler. But in order for that to happen we need to continue to grow so I'd like any opinion of what makes your circuit great now and what you think it will take to make walleye tournament circuits climb the charts to become the number one sport in the U.S.A.
Marc Colwell
vice-president of the Western Ohio Walleye Circuit
Editor of the Western Ohio Walleye News

[Eyez]

The only reason that I would ever want to see walleye tournaments become that popular would be so I could quit my job and go fish for a living. For the most part, walleye fishermen I know like to avoid that kind of frilly chaos that surrounds a bass tournament.

The last thing I ever want to hear is Jesse Ventura describing my trolling technique, or hulk hogan threatening the walleyes because "HE'S GONNA RIP THEM UP TODAY, CAUSE HE'S A FISHING MACHIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNEEEEEE!!!"


Honestly, walleye fishermen are a different lot from those good ol boys who made nascar and bass fishing so lucrative. Walleye fishermen are generally quieter, thinkers. A walleye tournament is more akin to a chess match than a car race. Compared to a walleye tournament fisherman on top of his game, a bass tournament fisherman is a no-talent hack carrying a stick of dynamite.

I fish competitively just for that, the competition. Not the fame and fortune. But that's just me.


Dusty

[eyedoktr]

Eyez wrote:
Compared to a walleye tournament fisherman on top of his game, a bass tournament fisherman is a no-talent hack carrying a stick of dynamite.




I love the comparison. Thanks.

[sevenmmm]

No comparison in techniques in catching these different spieces. To catch bass, all you need is a flat hulled boat, half-dozen rods, a few spinner baits, plastics, and cranks.

With walleyes, well lets just say the techniques will take more than a few paragraphs to describe and the strategies and much more complex. So it is very difficult to master. Also, seems like there is more of a 'good old boys' network one must negotiate through in the walleye game.

[marcnsaugeyes]

I guess everyone is missing my point. What I'd like to know is what would you add or change to make a good circuit great. Yes I hope to oneday fish for a living but now I'd be happy with making our circuit better. Looking for those opinions.

[Hugh]

Hey Marc

Listen to what the few reponses are actually saying to you. The old guard wants it to be the way that they have always seen it, and not the flash and gash of the bass circuits. I think that is the way I was reading it anyhow.\

Good and bad things about tournaments, well... lets just say.... after 20yrs. in the game.....Its not so bad today. But I aint typing as much as needs to be said, besides, someone will just pounce anyhow.

Good luck

[Eyez]

I wouldn't say it should be the way it's always been, just that the examples he used to not accurately reflect the direction I think tournament walleye fishing should go.


Dusty

[Short and Sweet]

Keep rules meeting short and sweet or none at all. Give everything the teams need to know in writing after their entry is paid.

Make yourself (The Tourney Director) available for individual questions at a set time and place rather than requiring the presence of everyone to go over the same old stuff!

[Juls_OH]

You have to remember that there are new anglers at every tournament. Not everyone is used to how tournaments are run. The rules meeting helps these anglers to get the instruction, and or, ask questions while they are there. It gives co-anglers a chance to "meet and greet" with some of their favorite pros, whereas they might not have had a chance to talk to them otherwise.

Also, how would you suggest the pairings be done, if there isn't a rules meeting where everyone is required to attend, and get their partner for the next day?

Juls

[levigeorge]

I agree with Juls - we would have been a "fish out of water" if it hadn't have been for the rules meeting forum at our first tournament. Still need them after our fourth tournament... each place is different, as is each circuit.

As a meeting planner during my day job - I recognize the repetition situation that is faced at every meeting for the veterans. But many are hearing things for the first time - even the veterans. We ask our veterans to be proactive- assisting the Pres and VP (tournament directors) in getting the messages delivered, Keeps them involved and promotes a ton of good will.

And if any of the participants are like our salespeople - they don't read their mail... their attitude is - if it is important, they will tell us. (Which they have us very nicely "trained" ... because we do tell them - we know they don't read all their mail...)

Also remember unless you are actively involved in the planning and implementation of such an event, it is soooo easy to cue in on the negatives - because you are "unattached" to the preplanning decisions as an outside observer.

A marketer once told me he would not critique a piece of literature he wasn't personally involved with during its development. Why?? He had no idea about the history and the internal and external compromises it took to get to the finished brochure. He could only offer his opinion on how he reacted to the piece as a consumer.

I try to recognize the difference when I attend a meeting/tournament/activity that others set-up.

There is always room for improvement in anything - just look to your last outing on the water... what did you forget, broke, misnetted, grumbled about or otherwise just messed up with?? Easy to overlook and excuse the mistakes when you were the planner...

[hgmeyer]

We need to draw a younger generation into our sport. I am looking at a lot of guys pretty long in the tooth and too few really younger faces. Maybe all the major circuits could roll out a cooperative youth circuit... 16 and under as co-anglers... short four hour tournaments with a teaching component. All these big sponsors are so eager to get my dollars... what about when my kids are spending their dollars would it be nice to have a loyal base in place.

[Raybob]

Marc ... here's my twist/thought by reflecting on BASS success --

The BASS "platform" was setup on 3 levels - Local - State - National ...

I joined the Ohio BASS Federation, Indian Lake BassMasters, in 1970 when Ohio only had a handfull of bass clubs and one of our local guys worked his way up to become a fulltime National Pro from Lakeview, Oh ... with the addition of FLW, we all know the bass success story from the early Ray Scott/Forrest Wood days to present...

I don't see the overall organizational tools/skills applied to effectively to promote & build Eye tourneys from the "Roots/local-level" upward to a major pro sport level, but rather a handfull of "competing" major circuits & a great many "competing" mid-level circuits with some new recent additions in nearly a body/dollar war to stay afloat. At least from my perspective from here in Ohio..where are the local clubs that will feed our skill guys/sticks into the mid-level traveling circuits?? Even then the "stick" would be faced with which competing state/mid-level circuit to join...

Also when is the PWT gonna step up to the plate & develope a mid-level feeder League like FLW??

I don't know if I expressed myself in "type" clearly enough to get my thoughts across in this reply...anyway food for thought :)

[Eyez]

I think that's a good idea.

I started fishing tournaments 5 years ago when I was 21. It was near impossible for me to make it happen, short on money, inferior boat, etc. Through sheer will I pulled it off. It shouldn't have to be that hard for someone who wants to fish competitively to get a taste of it.


Dusty

[Skis]

I think the people at the top of each circuit plays a large role in whether a circuit is going to grow. Going to sports shows, fishing demos, the local Cabela's & Scheels-type stores to try and get more people involved in their circuit.

Take the SD area for example. I just figured the numbers. The WWA is averaging 17 teams for its 4 tournaments this year and that includes the Minnesota teams from the 2-day Big Stone Tourney. The GNWC is averaging 35 teams. That's double the teams! Guess what, the payouts and the number of places they pay out is more with the number of teams, which draws more teams (better chance to finish in the money).

I think a big reason is that Bernie has worked his butt off and has been to many different events in South Dakota during the winter promoting the GNWC. He was at the sportsman show in Sioux Falls and talked to a lot of people!

I fished the WWA this year at Chamberlain and Steve has a full load and I think not enough support staff underneath him. He still fishes tournaments himself and it takes time off of promotions. That is his choice and I don't condone what he does. But, for the WWA to continue to be a viable circuit in SD, I think some changes may need to happen.

Next year, I hope to fish some of both the WWA and the GNWC.

[Next Step]

If you ask me, they are going to have to change the way they are marketing the whole experience. They started out with "teaching the world to fish and come fish with the best pro's on the planet". That was fine when the sport was new. I think they are missing the boat by not marketing the extreme nature of the sport, the excitement and stories of the tournament in and of itself. The organizers have to recognize that the fans of the sport would love to know this information and there's entertainment and marketing opportunities available with such a slant.

I personally would rather see a show covering these details than another 10 minute segment on how to fish a power grub by the same 10 or 15 guys that usually get all the major airtime. Where's the next generation. You must continue to attract and recruit the most talented young people, and they must feel they have a reasonable chance at success.

They've done a wonderful job of teaching the world to fish. Even the amateurs are generally good to great fisherman. Now what?

[Iagree]

I have felt this way for my 4 years of tournament fishing.

First, I totally agree with the State, Regional, national plan. Make the anglers who are fishing the top circuit earn it. Start with the GNWC, then the Masters, then after you've been successful the PWT/RCL.

Next, why should a professional angler have to pay thousands of $$ to compete? As far as I am concerned, sponsors should be more than willing to cover expenses for there team.

Here is how I would like to see it done at the top level. Each major sponsor should be givin 4 angler options for a team of 4 pros. In other words, company's such as Cabela's, Lund, Crestliner, Ranger, Lindy, Rapala, Shimano, Daiwa, Tracker etc.. could all submit 4 guys in which they would fully sponsor for the season. Some of these companies will cry about the cost, but it's no different than advertising. And with this method, the sponsors will be extra carefull who they pick.

Walleye fishing is backwords in my mind. Most of the time it is the angler begging the companies to be sponsored. And usually the sponsorship is peanuts in the scheme of things. Perhaps a deal on my boat or motor. I think it should be the opposite. And yes, some of the pros do get a lot paid, but 99% of them are struggling through each year as they tote there Ranger 620 (billboard) accross the country.

[Bryan Urblacher]

Sounds like you need a plan to draw both community interest, new fishermen who will compete, and existing tourney fisherman, new to your tourney circuit. Maybe a guest MC per event will help draw. From your message, I am not sure you have identified your target audience and who you are tyring to appeal to. I don't know if Gen-X is that group. They can get real thrills from a $330 board, or re-build a $2500 car and not have to spend $20K or more for boat rig and equipment/tackle. I think fishing is more grass roots than the immediate thrills and self gratification of GenX. My view is if you appeal to GenX, you may alienate your existing base of competitors to a sizeable degree. But if you create a marketing plan to appeal to GenX, try it. You may be on to something. good luck

[hgmeyer]

I have a twenty-two year old son who fishes tournaments with me. He is just now getting over the "pressure" factor (caused by the Ol' man's "perfection" streak and the inner desire to be "good"). He always enjoyed fishing but was uncomfortable with the tournament aspect. He saw the $$$ and felt the pressure. As his confidence has grown he has begun to relax and "get into it". So, that is one aspect that will have to be managed, maybe introduction by way of little local tournaments with small entry fees.

As an aside, he has always taken friends out fishing and most of them enjoy it. But, I think they see the complexity of "hard core" walleye fishing as way over their heads and don't even want to go there.... One of his friends looked through my cankbait boxes and a precision trolling book and announced that "this XXXX is harder than chinese arithmetic". Since it is somewhat true... We need to emphasize the basics as successful ways to fish and introduce those basics in a "little league" format of structured youth tourneys. Something that would be developed by the "big boys" and offered as a packaged program for the format of youth tourneys...

[down to earth]

[b]
Honest members and good rules that only get changed in the winter for starters

[down to earth]

[b]
Honest members and good rules that only get changed in the winter for starters

[marcnsaugeyes]

don't understand the honest member comment. People are only human and some will be honest and some won't. as far as rule changes during the off-season, I never thought about it until you made the comment. We have made changes to try and accomidate the majority of our members in the past, but you got me thinking and I agree. Once things are set it should stay that way until the following year, even if when we think it will help to better promote the circuit. I agree that stability is needed first. Thank you for your post and reminding me of that. Thanks to everyone who has posted so far. Hopefully these will help myself and others who operate walleye circuits make our tournament a much better sucess.

[marcnsaugeyes]

don't understand the honest member comment. People are only human and some will be honest and some won't. as far as rule changes during the off-season, I never thought about it until you made the comment. We have made changes to try and accomidate the majority of our members in the past, but you got me thinking and I agree. Once things are set it should stay that way until the following year, even if when we think it will help to better promote the circuit. I agree that stability is needed first. Thank you for your post and reminding me of that. Thanks to everyone who has posted so far. Hopefully these will help myself and others who operate walleye circuits make our tournament a much better sucess.

[doubleheader]

In my opinion, and in no order of priority:

1. A hard working organized Director/Promoter, an extrovert, dedicated to his circuit or club; one who connects with the members, volunteers, media, and sponsoring organizations.
2. A standard set of rules- as previously stated, revised only in the off-season, but reviewed prior to each tournament. The rules can't be taken lightly. The Director is sending the wrong message if he/she skips over the rules. The threat of cheaters getting caught is important to get across.
3. Facilities, food and beverages, and events for those in attendance.
4. Great sponsors, volunteers, and supporters.
5. A healthy competitive spirit between competitors. If you lose,congratulate the winners. If you win, be gracious. Regardless, have some fun- life's short, it's only fishing.
6. Tradition- Each event should have unique tradition, with at least one major event each year.
7. Within reason, the more the merrier. A field of at least 50 is nice, 100 is better depending on the locale.

[doubleheader]

In my opinion, and in no order of priority:

1. A hard working organized Director/Promoter, an extrovert, dedicated to his circuit or club; one who connects with the members, volunteers, media, and sponsoring organizations.
2. A standard set of rules- as previously stated, revised only in the off-season, but reviewed prior to each tournament. The rules can't be taken lightly. The Director is sending the wrong message if he/she skips over the rules. The threat of cheaters getting caught is important to get across.
3. Facilities, food and beverages, and events for those in attendance.
4. Great sponsors, volunteers, and supporters.
5. A healthy competitive spirit between competitors. If you lose,congratulate the winners. If you win, be gracious. Regardless, have some fun- life's short, it's only fishing.
6. Tradition- Each event should have unique tradition, with at least one major event each year.
7. Within reason, the more the merrier. A field of at least 50 is nice, 100 is better depending on the locale.

[Fuzzy]

1. walleye market is smaller than bass market
2. bass angling is more active and exciting visually - hence makes for better TV sequences - trolling 9 colors of lead core or vertical jigging in waves is fun for us but bad for TV

[Fuzzy]

1. walleye market is smaller than bass market
2. bass angling is more active and exciting visually - hence makes for better TV sequences - trolling 9 colors of lead core or vertical jigging in waves is fun for us but bad for TV

[cgkuntz]

I think this is a some what of a silly question. Or should I say statement. I beleive one reason the Bass circuit is so well publisized is that the camera crew can follow them. Now you take a walleye tournament her in North Dakota or SD. (Sakakawea, Devils lake, or Mobridge SD.) We don't have the lugurey of fishing in 1 ft waives, or when the weather is stable, cold fronts, highs, lows, rain, etc. I would challenge any camera crew to follow me for 6 days and stay with me in the rain, wind (5 to 8 foot waive) and this is just prefishing, loosing 20 plus crank baits in and hour or so. Just looking for the allusive walleye. You are basically riding the waives (like a wild horse on the praire), and at the end of the day you lick your wounds, study your map for the next day and do it all over agian, till you think you have a pattern. Then tournament day a cold front comes in and you sit back and relook the situation and come up with a new battle plan. This may not make a lot of sense to other fisherman, other than walleye fisherman. SO WHAT I THINK IT BOILS DOWN TO IS THE CAMERA CREWS WOULD RATHER FOLLOW A BASS TOURNAMET THAN A UPPER CENTRAL WALLEYE CIRUIT, BECAUSE THEY CAN'T TAKE THE WAIVE. BUT I DO INVITE THEM OUT WITH ME TO FOLLOW A WALLEYE TOURNAMENT FISHERMAN. BRING YOUR WET WEATHER GEAR. HA