The trouble with Team Walleye

[4EYESONLY]

To all fellow anglers who fish the team walleye trail this is a sad day. I have been fishing the team walleye trail for three years and now I am fed up. NO MORE I am switching to the WWA for very good reasons.
When I first started Mike Holt was running the show and he was very helpful in answering questions or working around problems while still witholding the rules. Now of course due to changes I stuck with Team Walleye like most because of the amount of teams was greater than that of WWA.
Last year I fish five of the six tourneys for Team Walleye and finished very respectfully in the standings overall. I didn't get invited to the National Tournament because I didn't fish all six. But even though I had way more points than alot of teams they got invited because they fished all six events. Why bother even having a point system. Now this year I have let by gones be by gones and started fishing both trails. I went to the Team Walleye at Bigstone and during the tournament I ran out of gas on that ##### of a monsoon and went in early after getting it taken care of... I was staying at my partners parents place rather close to Watertown and when I put gas in that boat I discovered after bilging out 15 gallons of gas onto the ground that I had a cracked tank. To make a long story short I had no idea how to get a hold of Wayne Stensrud that night so I just left back for home because I had no way of fixing it before the tournament. I looked and looked for Waynes number in the literature I got in the mail and on the web I couldn't find how to get ahold of him. So I got ahold of Carrolton Texas. They wouldn't let me transfer my entry fee nor refund it......you need to do this friday prior to the tourney. I explained the situation and they said I shoule have gotten a hold of Wayne......I said how do you do that for someone who is director in two states and fishes the MWC. Sure I couldn't have waited over night and went to the landing the next morning but I figured I could call that night instead going 100 miles out of my way round trip to tell them.
I have met some great fishermen and people on this trail but no more....its a shame because I know at least a dozen of people that feel the same way. What was a good thing now is one political game to those who hardly witness it first hand......
Anyone with an opinion one way or the other please respond because I would like someone to shed some light from a different perspective...........oh does anyone remember regionals on Winnie last year with the infamous 13lb 28" walleye.......how did they handle that?

[Juls_WI]

LAST EDITED ON May-17-01 AT 04:10PM (CST)[p]Sorry to hear you had a problem finding Wayne's number in time. It's listed right here at Walleye Central on the tournaments page under the USFA. If you only checked on the 2001 schedule page, that was the mistake. It is listed on the 2000 schedule and results page under both South Dakota and Wisconsin. For some reason, none of the tournament director's contact numbers are listed under the 2001 schedules.

Good luck fixing your boat. What a bummer.

Juls

[Another problem you mentioned]

I am just curious as to what you did to clean up the 15 gallons of gas on the ground or if you reported it to anyone. Sorry to hear about your trouble but I was bothered more by the gas you spilled and I'm no tree hugger.

[4EYESONLY]

Well fortunately for me it was at the gas station when it was pumping it out. I am not sure how much I saved but some nice gentleman gave me a couple small gas cans to reclaim what I was losing..... I dissconnected the automatic bilge right away because like you I didn't want it shooting all over the ground. When I got back home I pulled the plug and drained the rest into a tank until I put the new one in. I was also kind enough to put down the absorb all for what was running on the ground
Thanks for your reply

[skinny]

4EYES-
I don't think you are the only one who is fed up with Team Walleye. Look at the number of fishermen this year compared to last in South Dakota. That should give you an idea of what the perception of the circut is here. But, it is my understanding that USFA hasn't made good on last years championship prizes yet, so maybe that has something to do with it.
Good luck on whichever trail you decide to fish.

[4EYESONLY]

Yes that is too bad because I did look on walleye central under the 2001 schedule. I guess I never thought to look at the older ones........I am still miffed that TEXAS couldn't give me that info after the little discussions we did have.......
Thanks for your reply

[4EYESONLY]

Thanks for your reply skinny,
yes I have heard the same about their prizes last year. One thing that I have heard from numerous people is the prizes for the one day event aren't enough. No one really cares about the national tournament because unless we've made some money or had a good year no one wants to go to nationals. Everyone I have talked to so far doesn't plan on attending the championship in the Quad cities. Make our weekends of fishing worth it and then worry about nationals.. We want better payouts!

[mooneyes]

I think you will be happy fishing the W.W.A. I did last year and am fishing most of them this year.Any way Steve runs a great tourney and most of the people are more than helpfull.Although I never fished Team walleye and can not say one way or the other on how situations are handled there, I have heard some very good things about it.I hope your boat is up and running and hopefully we will see you on the water.

[Skinny]

4EYES-
I'm not familiar with the number of boats that you had in your tournaments, but when there was a full field here, I don't believe that there was much bad to say about the payout. I also think that everybody was fairly happy with the way the tournaments were run. I just think that until they decide to make things right with last years champions and 2nd place finishers, USFA will not see a lot of support from SD anglers. The last thing I heard was that the winners could not get a motor for the boat that they won. It's pretty tough to row a 17' Ranger in 3 footers on Oahe.
Skinny

[4EYESONLY]

I am not trying to downplay a very good trail(Team Walleye) but in the three years of fishing the minnesota region I have yet to see a full field of 150 boats. Now it is getting close and I think that Team Walleye will probably hit that mark soon but its time to keep them in check to let them know that they aren't the only trail and they can become a casualty of their own politics.
Thanks again.

[Mike McCafferty]

Let's talk about what the facts are. I have nothing against the TEAM Walleye Circuit, and if anybody should, it should be me. I started the South Dakota TEAM Walleye Circuit for the Texas based USFA in 1996, and at our first tournament at Chamberlin we had 79 boats. That was more boats than any TEAM Walleye event ever had up to that time. I had asked Brad Jensen to be Co-Directer that year because he's a class act and a great fisherman. He agreed to help out. In fact, in 1996 I had to travel to Minnesota and conduct that TEAM Walleye circuit's last two tournaments to finish out the schedule there because of some difficulties they experienced during that year. I conducted the
Osakis and two-dayer at Mille Lacs.
Only once after the inaugrial tournament in SD did we draw more boats than our inaugrial tournament in 1996. The reasons were varied, but we had no local control over how things should be run and how you treat people. Mike & Renae Holt (WWA Minnesota now); Steve Poll, (now WWA Executive Director), and Randy Schlueter (2002 WWA Director for North Dakota) all came on board as TEAM walleye Directors in 1997. Mike in Minnesota, Steve in Wisonsin, and Randy in North Dakota. You could not have found a better group of walleye guys for running tournaments in the country. Participation numbers increased in all divisions initially, leveled off, and started to decline slowly. We tried to discuss our thoughts and opions with the USFA, which was the feedback we were getting from our tournament participants, but it was made clear by the USFA They were not interested in what our anglers had to say.
By 1999 all of us had left the TEAM Walleye Circuit in one fashion or another. Steve, Mike & Renae, Randy, and myself had fished against or with each other, and had run tournaments and shared information about many things for a number of years. In regards to tournaments, since we had all left the TEAM Walleye Circuit for a variety of reasons, we all got together and that was the springboard to the birth of the WWA! 'Nuff said.
People, fish both circuits if you want. I can't speak for the rest of the WWA Directors (but judged by their actions and our friendship I believe I can), they feel the same way. We will compete with the TEAM Walleye Circuit We all helped to build and establish. Make no mistake about that. But our philosophy with the WWA focusses around our participating anglers. You will receive a higher payback at our events, but more importantly, you will learn, grow, and become a part of an organization that is in reality a fishing family.

[Rod]

Well, Good luck in the WWA and hope you get many top ten finishes. Oh yea, That won't be hard with 9 boats in the tourney. Good luck Rod

[JKJ]

I been a member of Team Walleye since 96, thier second year. I have never had a single complaint about the circuit. All of the directors have done a fine job. Wayne is no exception.

What is TW suppose to do? They followed the stated rules. How do they know if your boat is busted up? For all they know you were not on any fish and knew you were going to pull a goose egg on T-Day and wanted your mony back. What's the big deal anyway? $115 split between you and a partner. Heck $57.50 bairly fills my gas tank. It's nothing!

Quit whining about the USFA. The WWA will need to make those though decisions down the line too and piss people off. Just wait.

And Mike, are you saying the WWA would have let this guy out of the tourney? What about the guy who won and had to take a smaller check? How would you have kept everyone happy?

[Mike McCafferty]

JKJ,
Good feedback. 4EYESONLY stated he had a major boat problem which prevented him from fishing the Big Stone TEAM Walleye event. Stuff happens. The USFA rules clearly state that in order to transfer an entry fee from one event to another, the Texas office or the State Director of that particular event must be notified on Friday before the Saturday event of the problem. As 4EYESONLY stated, this was not accomplished. 4EYESONLY tried to contact Wayne from where he was staying (Watertown) which is a fair distance from Ortonville. He was unsuccessful. Instead of seeking out Wayne personally at additional expense he choose to do it by phone and internet. That was his decision. JKJ and 4EYESONLY, here's my opinion on the situation. (1) Tournament Directors are busy people, especially the night before a tournament. There are a million last minute details to attend, a ton of paperwork, in addition to promoting the event. It is impractical for a number of reasons to expect the Director to sit by a phone or inform everybody of where they are staying at a particular event. (2) Equipment failure is a part of this business. When it happens, we have to adapt and improvise. 4EYESONLY could have looked at renting or borrowing a boat. A number of teams bring two boats to each event, prefishing separately to increase their knowledge base. It is my experience that anglers are more than willing to help each other when there is a problem. The first year I ran TEAM Walleye in South Dakota in 1996 Jim Gregory and Rick Hentges of Milbank broke the kicker motor off their boat and lost it, as well as cracked their boat hull on day one of the two day final at Gettysburg. They were preparing to head back to Ortonville after the tournament to try and find another boat, and drive back to hopefully be there on day two at launch time to finish the tournament. I caught them before they left and offered them the use of my TP-180 Starcraft for day two. Hey, fisherman are family. 4EYESONLY could have pursued similar avenues. Yes, we fish for money but a boat won't catch any fish. (3) Common sense and knowledge of who the anglers are and their character play a part in such situations. I may or may not know 4EYESONLY. I don't have a clue. There is no reference to who this person actually is. However, I can sympathize with his situation. I once broke four prop blades in a week at an MWC tournament at Little Bay de Noc prefishing in 1995, 2 of which I had to pay through the teeth to replace since Jay from Mercury hadn't arrived yet. If you don't think I didn't consider heading back to South Dakota you'd be mistaken. Unexpected expenses for many anglers fishing any tournament can be quite cruel on our pocket books. The point here is if (a) the team expericencing problems has demonstrated they are fisherman and not catchers (fishing an event no matter how they fair instead of waiting to the last minute to see if they're on fish), that should play a part in any organization's decision. And (b), if a loyal team fails to show for an event (remember this isn't the PWT, MWC, Cabela's, or the RCL) there must be a good reason, and (c) there isn't a tournament circuit in the country who's rules do not give the Tournament Director discretion in ruling on such situations. If you know your anglers well enough, when such a situation occurs you should know something out of the ordinary has happened. And (d). This is the bottom line at where I'm at. 4EYESONLY did not satisfy the outlined criteria (rules) that were clearly stated. At launch time of the tournament the only thing the Tournament Director knew was the team paid but didn't show up. Directors announce to anglers at the rules meeting what the payout will be and participating anglers who do well expect to receive that amount. However, what I'm hearing 4EYESONLY say is the attitude he encountered when explaining his situation; Cold and uncaring.
As a Director I would have stayed with the decision made regarding 4EYESONLY's situation. However, I would have gone out of my way to explain the reasons why. Rules are rules. I would then work with him to ensure a similar situation would never occur. It's called promotion, public relations, and common sense.

[AT&T]

4eyesonly If you really wanted to call Wayne all you had to do
was call the information operator for his number!!

AT&T

[4EYESONLY]

Just a quick note but the Mille Lacs tourney had 81 teams......

[4EYESONLY]

For your info Wayne was sitting at the doc when I came limping into the scale. I told him that I ran out of gas and thought I was an idiot for doing so. Although I figured something more was wrong considering I have a 57 gallon fuel tank in my boat and I put in gas earlier that day. Now when I find out that I have a problem and can't get ahold of the director whos fault is that..............surely not mine when theres no way of getting that info when you are on the road..........thanks for your reply.....

[4EYESONLY]

Did that...................doesn't do any good when no one is around to give you a cell before he arrives back home the next week..............thanks for your reply.......I did everything possible to avoid a conflict......

[4EYESONLY]

I completely respect your explanation, and I fully appreciate your feedback.......now if anybody cares its not hard to figure out who I am or need it matter. I respect every fisherman out there and learn everytime I go fishing. People can say what they want about how we weren't on fish and couldn't stand to goose egg..... well wrong again because I have fished these tournaments blind with no sonars, in pouring wind and rain, and when the fishing completely shutdown. I caught fish and I have blanked. More often did worse than alot of teams. I don't care about that or even the fact that I may of may not have caught fish in the tourney..........the fact is that this is a trail that was based on a "WORKING MANS TOURNAMENT" which was explained that it is to relate to people who don't have alot of money or time to spend fishing but like the competion. It shows alot when you go to these tournaments and the majority of these boats are 20+ thousand dollar boats........kind of missing the point when you say to go rent a boat or have it fixed over night. You say lots of people bring two boats to prefish....##### I have to scrounge like ##### to pay for the one I have got and with the crowd I hang with normally I am crazy because I am the only one with a boat and spends a large portion of my earning financing what I live for ............fishing.
Now it doesn't bother me to be last in a tourney or to blank fishing......it bothers me when people get political and greedy about a heritage that is suppose to be fun and competitive.........you want politics or think you have got all the answers............go fish the PWT........this is a general statement not directed at anyone in particular to set the standard straight............this reply is indeed to acknowledge the fact I didn't appreciate the way I was spoken to or how my situation was handled........

[Mike McCafferty]

4eyes,

I don't know who you are but I would like to wet a line with you sometime. I understand your situation and sympathize with you. We all work hard for our money, and win or lose, in regards to fishing tournaments we would atleast like to be able to compete with working equipment. My answer to your initial posting was not intended to insult you nor was it intended to make you upset. The intent was to provide you with my opinion on the situation, which you asked anybody to relay to you. Any organization has rules they need to adhere to. Hopefully, they are fully conveyed to their participating members. You got caught between a rock and a hard place, and I don't know any anglers who haven't. Stuff breaks and things happen which further validate the legitimacy of Murphey's Law. As anglers we are some of the most resourceful, innovative, and creative people in the world. We do what it takes to compete and catch fish and I wouldn't want it any other way. All I was trying to do in my reply was to point out options that were available to you in that situation. I've been in similar situations a time or two myself and they're darn right frustrating! Like Gunnery Sargeant Highway said in "Heartbreak Ridge" you adapt and improvise when that happens. Fisherman are the KINGS at Improvising and adapting. I hope you keep fishing tournaments. Best of luck and e-mail me so we can get together and go fishing!

[TJ]

EYES:

#####! You were lucky that thing didn't BLOW UP when the automatic bilge kicked on. Sparks and gas don't mix well.

Good luck getting your boat fixed and a refund from USFA.

TJ