No Spring Valley MWC next year.

@Waz-

I did not fish the tournament back when there was a waiting list, and I can't say I'm a long time MWC supporter. However, I have fished the tournament several times and for you to say the MWC brought this tournament to it's knees all it's own is a bit narrow minded in my opinion.

The slow death of walleye tournaments has been beat into the ground so many times on here I don't even want to start that discussion. But to sit back and say it was the strictly the MWC's fault maybe we should start blaming them for the high gas prices and unemployment rates also...

Be realistic. Maybe it's not as well run as it was in the past, and maybe the participation numbers are down...but it's not just the MWC and it's not just Spring Valley that are trending this way. It's common in many walleye tournament circuits.

Ok, back to getting the boat ready...time to go fishing.

Originally Posted by WAZ

The MWC over the years managed to turn one of the best walleye events to this. All the time saying how the changes were made for the anglers. If it ain't broke don't fix it. I remember when there was a waiting list on the 1st day of registration with up to 230-240 at Spring Valley. Used to be an affordable weekend angler tournament series. Tried turning it into something it wasn't meant to be. Now you got Ditally Squat.

[walleyedmike]

I'm not blaming the MWC. I do, however, believe that with the advent of the Asian carp, the Illinois River fishery has deteriorated tremendously. With the ever increasing biomass of the Asian carp filtering the food that would ordinarily feed young of the year walleye and sauger, I don't see anything improving in the near future.....

[WAZ]

Last nail in the coffin.....no live bait.
I noticed something different last year when we pulled into Spring Valley. No signs welcoming the anglers. I guess the MWC managed to P-off the hosts also.

Let's blame it on a bush.

[FuzzzyIL]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/outdo...sh-hubbub.html

[Papascott]

Kind of a shame the way that article was written. Calling it a "Bone head Move", kind of harsh imo! I have only fished sv the last 4 years but can honestly say the only ones I hard complaining about no live bait were the local fisherman. I'm sure the bait shops still sold plenty of rapalas to offset the minnow money.

It almost seems like some want the Illinois to be "showcased" by locals only? Talk of a local only tournament? How does a local only tournament help the local economy other than some minnow and the bar at the marina?

[Rich S]

But wait, I thought the artificial only was going to be a game changer at SV lol. I saw this coming last year as did many others.

[FuzzzyIL]

Originally Posted by Rich S

But wait, I thought the artificial only was going to be a game changer at SV lol. I saw this coming last year as did many others.

Totally agree Rich.

"Bone head move" isn't a 'harsh' comment. It's prolly the nicest way to put it.

The MWC made a move that cost it big - Spring Valley was the flagship location for the MWC. They used to have 225 boats with dozens of other teams praying to get it. Now the MWC lost all that enthusiasm. They lost a generation. Those Illinois River guys have a very good thing going - maybe they deserve to keep it for themselves now.

The town managers in SV aren't gonna have any tourney without the Walleye Club boys cooperation.

[WAZ]

Papa Scott, cabelas and bass pro sell most of the baits not the local bait shop. The little guy cannot boost his inventory in hopes that a tournament angler is in short supply of a hot bait. Local anglers and fishing clubs were a large part of the MWC. Working, supporting and fishing these tournament. The two best attended and run tournaments were the Illinois River and Red Wing out of Lake City. Why??? They had the best community and club support and participation. It's a team effort. Everyone must work together. Once one part of the equation feels it's more important than the rest it's over. R.I.P. MWC. Let's go Spring Valley!!

A, "Bone Headed Move" is right. Initially we had looked at doing the MWC Spring Valley, Red Wing and two other MWC events for 2014 in the hopes of qualifying for the 2014 MWC Championship. The "Artificial Only" rule at Spring Valley and Red Wing negated making that commitment for us to do ant MWC events for 2014. We felt and still do the freedom of choice between artificial and live bait should be left to the individual angler or team. We expressed our concerns over this issue to the MWC and the arrogant response was extremely disappointing. Looking at the dismal numbers at the Spring Valley and Red Wing MWC events, apparently we were not the only team that elected to not participate. Instead of growing in 2014 as they needed to do the MWC appears to have regressed by pushing this "Artificial Only" concept. Defend this "Bone Headed Move" all you want, but the numbers speak for themselves and the decision by the SVWC to go it alone appears to support that the MWC erred in putting further restrictive limits on competitive walleye anglers.