Teams.... Yes, no or don't care

[TAH]

For those of you that know me you know that I have worked on my own since I have started fishing with the FLW and AIM circuits. In the past I have tried unsucessfully to work with others, but because of the "trust" factor and the idea that I enjoy competing against the fish and not the other guys (drama), I continued on my own and have been fine and stayed competative while competing. Recently I have considered the idea of teaming up and working on an actual team. And yes splitting everything so to speak.

My question is this, does the "fan" base interpret teams working together as unfair, untrustworthy (cheating), no big deal, you like it, or you prefer to watch the guys and gals fish on their own by themselfs?

This question is not to be interpreted as anything but wanting to see how you as the people watching, see using teams? Is it a plus or negative or even if it should be legal.

The reason why I am writting this is because recently I wrote an article on my website and since then I have received PM's saying they prefer that I stay working on my own and I was surprised by this response to it.

Thanks for your input, and yes, most of us do care what is being said and we do care what most think.

[Hot Runr Guy]

Don,
As a very casual observer of tourney fishing, I would applaud your efforts to remain "independent", as long as it doesn't take away from your real ability to produce positive results for you and your family. Reading between the lines, the rules must currently be written to allow boat to boat conversation, whether by radio, cell phone, text, email, etc. I would imagine that it would be impossible to police it nowadays anyways.

I look at this in a "NASCAR" point of view. Pre-race (pre-fishing) compare notes and tactics, but once the competition starts, it's every boat for themselves.

HRG

[gonecribbin]

I dont see how teaming up could hurt anything... Heck everyone has a local connection at every body of water that will tell you more than a teammate.

What would be considered worse?

1- Sharing info with another angler during pre-fishing
2- Having the local guides in your boat all week

I kinda like hearing about the guys teaming up, as mentioned- kinda like nascar

[ozzy49938]

I would say you almost have to be nuts not to find some guys to team up with. You might have to spend sometime setting everything up. Trust will be the biggest thing to get by. Who can you trust and will they trust you. Everyone has to be on the same page and put forth the same amount of effort.

Not easy things to come up with I'm sure but just the way a team can get on a body of water and fish the **** out of it vs what one guy can do. A team of four can cover four time the spots that is a huge huge advantage. on any body of water.

Never a easy choice good luck.

Ozzy

[Wyn]

How many and who would be on your team? I think most people don't know all the teams anyway. I actually assumed you already were working with someone.

[RyanK1]

The way I see it, you guys are trying to make a living so gather as much information as you can and share notes so you can increase your chances at making money. As long as the people who group up still go out there and compete for themselves. I think its cool seeing how pros work together to find the right bit!

[John Gildersleeve]

Don,
I was the one that talked to you at the launch at Cedar River before the tournament. I have fished both ways, alone and with others as a team. Trust is the most important part of networking. Finding the right teammates that you would work well with takes time in my opinion. This is alot of trial and error. The problem that I have found is that sometimes all the drama involved with teammates can affect your fishing. Then you loose focus on what you signed up for, to fish competitively. The good thing is, if your teams do work well it can also be very successful. An example of this, is back in 2005 I won the points championship for the MN FLW League, in 2006 Bro Brosdahl, who I was teamed up with, won the points championship for the MN FLW League, then in 2007 Chad Nissen, who I was teamed up with, won the points championship for the MN FLW League. So we had some very productive years of fishing as a team. It can be done, but like I said it takes time to find the right guys that you work well with.

If you continue on your own it could be more difficult at times locating fish. On the other hand when you locate fish you could have them to yourself compaired to 3-4 other boats working the same area during the tournament. I think the biggest thing about going alone is that when you do fish well and place high, you can say that you did it! The sense of accomplishment is worth more than any trophy or money that you win in my eyes. Have fun making your descision, either way works. I enjoyed talking to you at the landing. Good luck!

[jigstop]

Why not just make a team that includes all the people fishing the tournament and then split the winnings all equally? I'm joking of course but I feel that having teams in an individual competition defeats the purpose of it being individual.

I think it also makes it harder to get new people into the sport because it is so hard for a new guy to compete when instead of just competing against individuals he's competing against teams. It's a good way for the "good ol boys" to keep the new guys from taking any money out of the sport and instead just have them keep contributing to the old timers winnings.

Originally Posted by jigstop

Why not just make a team that includes all the people fishing the tournament and then split the winnings all equally? I'm joking of course but I feel that having teams in an individual competition defeats the purpose of it being individual.

I think it also makes it harder to get new people into the sport because it is so hard for a new guy to compete when instead of just competing against individuals he's competing against teams. It's a good way for the "good ol boys" to keep the new guys from taking any money out of the sport and instead just have them keep contributing to the old timers winnings.

The presence of teams in individual walleye tournament events ais one of the reasons that things are in such a stagnant funk on the major walleye circuits of today. It has limited growth and IMHO serves only as a compensation for a lack of personal ability by the individual.

[Wyn]

If teams are what put the walleye circuits in a funk then the bass circuits would also be in a funk. The teams just communicate prior to the tourney, not on the water during the tourney. Don, John, or anyone that fishes the majors regularly, what % of guys do you think fly solo right now, what % share some things, and what % share everything including money? Just curious.