PWT Non-Concern of Anglers

[Concerned PWT'r]

It appears that the PWT is watching out for their best interests again. As a PWT Pro fishing the West Side the number of anglers the PWT has allowed to fish is bothering. A full field is 135 and they have allowed up to 140 anglers in the past. They are above 150 approved anglers in some of Western events. The chances for someone fishing only the Western division making the Championship have now been decreased, a bunch. The PWT openly acknowledges that they understand the majority of their fisherman are not full time anglers, my question is do they really??

This not only affects the Western anglers but the 6 timers as well. And I would guess they would follow their same pattern and not return all the money to the anglers. I would encourage all anglers fishing the West to call the PWT, 218.824.2532, and voice your concerns! Since the East is not full maybe they should take another spot for the Championship from there.

Boy how I wish the RCL would open the doors :-(

Concerned Western Fisherman

[Driftr]

Howdy,
If RCL opened it up to all then it wouldn't be RCL.
Lemme see, ummm. How about TTT? Triton - Tracker - Tuffy or maybe the PYW? Princecraft - Yarcraft - Warrior. Ah, I guess I have cabin fever too :-)
Please bring spring-SOON
Driftr

[REELMAN]

I can see the dilemma you face. This sounds like an instance that the NPAA should step in
and help. If you are a member contact them and see what they say. Looking out for the
angler and improving the sport is what they are all about, I think. They sure like to blow their
horns about how they got some law with boat registration changed in South Dakota. This
might give them something else to bring up when someone asks them, "what do you actually
do or have done."

[Scott Fairbairn]

Reelman,

I was the one who was blowing the horn of the NPAA about the law change in South Dakota. I was using it in a long list of what the NPAA is, does, and has accomplished. I am proud of where the NPAA is today, and realize how far we have come, having been a founding member.

If I offended you personally with the post about the NPAA from about a week ago, I apologize, it was not my intent.

I wish you well in your fishing pursuits.

Scott Fairbairn #99

[Huh?]

The FLW lets other (non ranger) boats fish why not RCL?

[curt quesnell]

i remember when 120 was a full field in the pwt. the demand for
places to fish tourneys must be huge since the numbers keep going up .

while i dont quite understand how more entries hurts your chances to qualify for the championship, i am not a tournament
fisherman so it doesnt matter.

here is another route you can pursue with your beef.

if an effort to make sure all voices are heard, the pwt has
an advisory council made up of touring pros and even a representitive from the amature side. im not sure but i think
that daryl christianson is on this council. you could contact
him, and i think you can be sure your complaint is brought up at the right meeting.

i read some swipes being taken at the pwt occasionally and i am
amazed. i have no ties with pwt other than covering tourneys
for the media. this is an amazing group of good, talented people
doing a major league job. yes they are concerned about the pwt,
they'd better be. but also every pro, every amature, every
volunteer, every spectator and every walleye.

while some of the players may not agree and some walleyes die, the effort is there to do the best possible job fairly and equally to all contestant.

they will make necessary decisions that may not be popular to some. (like the one you speak of) but decisions need to be
made.

good luck to you this year. knock down a couple top 20 finishes
and one in the top 10 and we will see you in bismark in september
regardless of how many anglers there are at each event.

spectator
curt quesnell

[Fishngal]

To 'concerned' western fisherman-

First of all, the PWT, as well as any tournament circuit is looking out for their interests, including the interests of all their contestants, no matter if they fish one, three, or six events. These guys take the high road and really evaluate the wellfare of all tournament competitors to make a fair competition.

Second, if you are concerned about the allowed participants in each tournament, then fish other circuits. Or, improve your skills to where you don't have to worry about 80 percent of the field.

Third, no matter if there are 135, a full field, or 200 anglers competing for five spote, the competition will be fierce. But, in the end, the top five spots will go to the Championship. Your objective is not to worry about the other anglers, but to worry about how you will use your skills to the best of your ability to make it into the top five. There's always a winner, there's always someone who comes in last.

Fourth, I believe the PWT does realize that the majority are not 'full time' anglers and the entries and the number of entries shows they are conscious of just that. By encouraging more participants, the competition gets better and the field of anglers becomes stronger. It also encourages anglers who may be intimidated by the 'full time' pros to try their hand at one tournament to build their confidence and apply for more tournaments in the future.

Fifth, the money is returned to the anglers. The PWT bases their payback on a full field of 135 anglers. If they have more, then all tournaments then become 'guarnateed' and the money can be spread around to all the tournaments. Also, if they have extra, they can opt to give a 'special' award at the end of the year, add something special to the Championship, or pour it into the web site, which helps media get information about you for their stories.

So, you see, everyone benefits when more people participate. In fact, the RCL gets bashed for qualifying their entries and now you are trying to bash the PWT for allowing more entries than anticipated? What exactly is your point? By having the interest of anglers, whether they fish 'full time' or occassionally in tournaments, it increases the visibility and viability of the tournament scene. Does not everyone who fishes competively want to see the sport grow? One way of justifying special tournaments, or additional leagues, is based on the number of people competing this season. In the end, the best anglers make it to the Championship anyway. If you are working on your techniques and strategies and application, you will be there, no question. If you start worrying about who else is in the field, your concentration will be off and you will not make the Championship. The choice is yours and you are entitled to your opinion, but really assess your gripes when getting ready to sound off about a particular circuit, no matter what their initials are. Good luck fishing this season. I hope to see you in Bismarck!

[PWT'r]

To your first point, you are correct the look out for THEIR interests. I would like to see a vote from those that fish the PWT if we believe they look out for ours.

To your second point, it is much greater than 80% that you have to worry about. With each entry that they accept it goes down. Right now it is about a 1 in 14 chance, or 93% of the anglers that you have to beat.

To your third point, you are correct the competition will be fierce, always has been.

To your fourth point, more people does not represent better competition. I agree with your point to getting into one event, but that is not happening. There are three fisherman fishing one event in the West and they are all past PWT full time Pros.

To your fifth point, I can show the math where they have not returned the additional entry fees to the anglers in the past. So why would we believe they would do it this time? And by the way it is the top 6 anglers from each division. As far as Media, the only media the PWT is concerned with is their own.

So you see the PWT is looking out for the PWT. It is not a bash but more a disagreement on the business techniques. As a fisherman I have to watch out for my business as well. I will take your advice and will work even harder and try to be in Bismark.

I appreciate your veiw points but as you can see disagree with most of them. Thanks for the input.

[Right On]

PWT'r I was just about to answer point by point but you've done it very nicely. I think FishnGal is a little naive in her points (and I'm not so sure she isn't the daughter of a PWT official).

Truth is it will be extremely hard for western pro's to qualify for the championship -- much harder then they understood when they signed up.

Also, the has a history of letting in more anglers and keeping the extra money. I believe that last year they expanded and kept a large share of the increased entry fee money. They paid some back but not all. I doubt that the cost of conducting a tournament increases much from 120 to 140 or from 135 to 155 participants yet last year the PWT kept a large amount at each event. To FishnGal: If the PWT officials are so concerned about acting in the interests of the anglers why wouldn't they pay most of the money back on those extra entries. You even pointed out that increasing the PWT field on the west would help guarantee the purses everywhere. Are we to assume that PWT will be taking from the West to feed the East? Thats worse!

[Sour Grapes]

I suppose the short answer is start your own tournament if you do not like it. Until the RCL completely proves itself or you happen to not own a RCL, the PWT IS THE BEST GAME IN THE SHOW. All I see is money this and money that when the PWT or RCL is mentioned.

As a consumer, your only option is to not purchase their product if you are not pleased with it.

As to the championship, it is a well known fact that the system favors those that fish all tournaments. Until you are able and do that, you will always be at a very large disadvantage.

[Well]

Payout will be on a pro rata basis on a field average of 135 pro and 135 amateur contestants per tournament.


I do not see the word FULL and the word average would seem to imply that western money could go east.

[Cangl]

Fishngal makes a good point, the competition is what it should be all about,either you can our you won't. Obviously some dont care to and the protection of each other through locked in membership is here as present. I see this as a gamble in its self
as to whether the newer establishment, satisfies anybody other then them selves they still have to please the public and sponsors.With all the active walleye anglers in the other organizations looking up to the competing in these events, the PWT with its open format will get alot of attention and should.

[Jeff Wood]

You should realize the the PWT is a business for all but especially the guys in Brainerd...... Would you run a business and not make any money?????? I wouldnt think so.....

You just gave yourself 5 good reasons not to spend your money to compete for those 5 precious spots to make the championship.... So dont spend the money......... I made the choice to spend the money knowing full well the opporunities and the risks..... I have no problem with the PWT people making money thats what they are in this for...... and I will try to make a little from this as well but if I dont, oh well, I just spent 3 weeks of my vacation fishing on 3 very good fisheries, ##### life sucks.....LOL NOT

Good luck on your decisions but quit whining

[James Morris]

I understand your point, but look at it this way, it's just another 15 fishermen to watch me up at the podium (some day).

The problem with your analysis is that your are using statistical tools designed for a homogeneous environment- probability. If the outcome was selected by randomly drawing anglers from the field, I'd be concerned- but the truth is that the toughest competitiors are/were already entered into the competition before they allowed the extra 15 people.

The only reason you'd have to complain is if you can best all of the regular pros on a fairly consistent basis and five of these 15 extra people turn out to be a wallye fishing phenoms and beat everyone, pushing you out of first place and into 6th.

I'm not trying to take shots at you here, just explaining that FROM MY PERSPECTIVE the difference in competition for the top spots will be rather negligible.

Hope your tourney dreams come true-

James Morris
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(Thinks)..."Ranger 620 DVS"...(Smiles)..