dreamsteelie

Just to confirm to everyone, the WHI is a go on June 6th, make up 7th. Also, the salmon and trout slam and 1K day (prorated based on participation) will also be occurring the week days prior. Daily weigh-ins will be at the Wilson gas Shack (only). If you missed out on the annual spring LOC, then the salmon and trout slam and 1K day is just the right thing. You can participate in these without competing in the WHI. This will be the 1st event for 2020, followed by the Orleans Open which is the following weekend. That week/weekend will make a GREAT distraction from a lot of the negativity occurring. Spread the word on the the WHI event, salmon and trout slam, 1K day and the Orleans Open (which has a few rule changes also like no observer and a twist to the importance of the steelhead in this event) See ya at the dock

UPDATE: The WHI is still on track for the event, esp now as NY is loosening things up slow Looks like KOTL is out for the possible dual even weekend. (taken from the FB page) Let me start by saying thank you for your patience. It’s been a trying time for all of us planning around the pandemic! As most know us, we want to fish! We want to fish tournaments! We were waiting for good news to happen on Monday the 11th of May from our government but unfortunately didn’t happen. We are not postponing our spring event. We are officially cancelling the event for many reasons combined. This is a decision we took seriously. We looked at pros and cons as well as looking at all the obstacles in order to operate. This is like a weather call, split decision and we understand both sides. It’s a no win situation for any of us running events. We will be back on Labor Day weekend for our fall event and we anticipate a very good event. For those who have entries paid and want to leave entry for fall event, your welcomed to and those who want their money back shoot me a text 9056513327 or email [email protected] and we will put back on your cards Thank you for your understanding. The kotl team

UPDATE: The WHI is pushed back to weekend of June 6-7... The spring King of The lake may also occur during the same weekend. There will be a dual port weigh-in (Canada and Wilson) All of this will depend on what CND restrictions are in place by then??? (more to follow) WHI Any preregistered teams that cannot participate, should email Candie ASAP at: [email protected] The rules are the same (except dates and meeting procedures etc...) and deadline to register will be consistent with the original rules etc... Elise K from Michigan won the Dreamweaver Lures early bird drawing this AM and the drawing was posted on the Fish Hawk Electronics FB page. The 1K day (prorated based on entrants as noted in the rules) and Slam will also happen the week prior to the WHI event. Reminder: No spring LOC this year, but non WHI teams can play in the week long Slam and 1K a day. (Pass that along to fellow anglers) The website will be modified but registrations are open again and will be accepted up to a week before the event (however, the event is limited to the 1st 50 teams still) The rules will change also to reflect the social distancing requirements. Expect virtual captains meeting, FB recorded weigh in, limited gatherings at weigh in and awards etc... However, the point of this message was to serve notice on the date change plus possible merging of the spring KOTL with the WHI weekend! We expect an exciting weekend.

To all registered participants of the 2020 Wilson Harbor Invitational, Deposit Balance Due We have been keeping apprised of the daily changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and wanted to give everyone a few updates in regards to our 2020 tournament. At this time, the event has not been cancelled or postponed. We are pushing the automatic balance due draft date from 05/01/2020 to 05/09/2020 in order to give us a chance to see what happens with the situation over the next few weeks. At that time, we will make a decision on what to do in the best interest of our participants and will inform everyone as quickly as possible. Early Bird Prize Drawing We offered entry into an early bird prize drawing for any team who registered prior to 04/01/2020 and Dreamweaver Lures has offered to pull the winner for us. The winner will be announced but the prize will be held until we make a decision on the tournament. If the tournament is postponed, the winner will have to be able to participate on the new tournament date in order to receive the prize. If the event has to be cancelled for 2020 then the prize will be cancelled as well. Tournament Postponement / Cancellation Once we have made a decision regarding postponing or cancelling the event, we will inform all participants in regards to how the new dates, refunds, tournament entries, etc. will be handled.

Thanks VP for the reply, None of this stuff going on is welcoming but the goal is to try to have it. Whether it's May of early June? Not sure yet but , it's a wait a little longer and see. The PA Fish and Boat just cancelled our small Trout Challenge event this week which is held in April and it didn't feel good being cancelled. We had a format which would allow social distancing, text pic disclaimers, limited weigh-in procedure, etc... all discussed and figured to keep all safe and within guidelines. But they cancelled our permit without consoling us and our "plan" . It was discouraging ! We're all getting enough discouraging news daily so we don't want to add the WHI to that list.... yet.... That decision may not make everyone happy or one they agree with but that's expected. And, we all know fishing or lack of fishing is not the end of the world but people are going anyways and if we add common sense, fish with people (family?) or those who have been practicing safe social distancing practices, the potential risk can be eliminated. Combine that with areas where Covid 19 has not been a problem, such as the south shore of Lake O. Let's see how things roll out in the weeks ahead. Captain Pete

All, Thanks for your patience PT, No decision has been reached to date on any of your questions or concerns and may not be until we see what further happens in NYS and Canada regarding this situation. To cancel now, would be premature, even tho it's not looking good for a May event right now :( However, we will remain optimistic for an improved situation soon. There is plenty of negativity surrounding many of us right now, we hear BAD news every day we wake up. The WHI does not want to add to it by cancelling an event, just yet that many look forward to. Much will depend on ramps, marina closing etc... being closed or remaining closed (in May, June?) Things are changing almost daily, so.....(like the recent: are public ramps closed or open-for sure??) Just had a Zoom meeting with NYDEC, OMNR, PFBC, MDNR and all said launches are open still?? Anglers are saying different, I get pics of ramps closed then someone shows pics of one open? (Al lot may have to do with "local" decisions/jurisdictions. And I don't want to go there on this thread. There are other threads for that but I was just showing an example. There have been discussions of pushing the event back as needed, perhaps to the weekend of the Pro Am? Since it was just cancelled.(Again, more bad news for many of us that look forward to that event) There have been discussions of combining the spring KOTL with the WHI. (all optional and "talk only" for now) This will impact deposits, refunds, deadlines, the early bird drawing, who can or cannot fish etc.. We will try to keep everyone informed and as soon as we have the answer to the rest of your questions and will post them. Kevin is aware of this and this is obviously impacting his business at the marina, restaurant ,etc.. Like MANY of us. God Bless, keep your heads up, be safe, and try to stay positive during a very challenging time for all of us. Captain Pete

SIGH-really Doc.... TBD as of today, Canada and US closing all non essential crossings temporarily. One day at a time Doc. Capt Pete

On line registrations are open for 2020 KOTL. Same basic format as last year and FishUSA is back as the overall sponsor in 2020. http://www.kotl.ca/ Spring registration deadlines-approaching soon. Captain Pete

I will add that there is also an early bird registration which is due by day end April 1st. Early birds have a chance at wining a Dreamweaver Lures package valued at $500 retail.(US value) Or (this is amended) can have their choice for a free entry into the UMS Challenge ($500 value).. Two options to choose from. Good Luck !

The WHI and GLSE would like to very much thank everyone for their input on the changes on the other thread. To see and hear the strong support for salmon was positive and keeping it transparent should show the anglers that your input is important. The other changes were deemed best for the events growth. The goal is to have another very successful event in 2020 with increased participation and a 50 boat field. Also, Non WHI participants can still participate in the 1K a Day as well as the Trout and Salmon Slam. Registration is now open. http://wilsonharborinvitational.com/index.html

I will have to say that there has been a lot of good and welcomed feedback inc the last post from Outdoor E. That post took some time, effort, thought and is appreciated. You nailed a couple good points=more boats-more hype, good payouts, good for everyone inc. what sponsors like to see. There is discussion about a separate prize for that "odd" specie being brought to the scales for a separate weigh. The "at par" entry was for one sole purpose:to attract Canadian teams to the US to compete, grow the event, and build the pot of $ to payout. They also are spending more dollars to eat, drink, sleep, dock, etc. while here. So, it becomes unattractive to them to travel to the States to fish. Its basically costing them 30% more to play here plus travel. Your point is valid though. Plus everyone in that geographic area gets a little economic boost from our CND friends coming here. US teams upon registration will be unable to attempt to register as a CND team to save $. If they lie on there reg. form they will be warned or possibly be disqualified. **If 10 more CND enter, there's at least $7,000 more to payout. If CND teams beat the US teams, there's a bigger carrot for them (agree). But US teams will also have a larger payout due to increased attendance. Paying CND teams at par also is not going to be an option, even tho it was discussed. The tourney will do it's best to deter cheating, with lie detector tests given as well as some other items that won't be clarified in public. . Observers are still the best deterrent but as you illustrated and as history has shown, still don't guarantee of cheating or the possibility. fishdawg and r5dogs short sweet replies= also all good. Thank you all for posting

Good feedback so far and appreciated except for Tall Tails who had to give his opinion as to why the rules/event changes may be implemented="Tweaked for a few". Not sure who the "few" are but all ears? And actually surprised you want to state that's why a few of these changes were considered. You are 100% wrong. VP stated it well.. Comments about the changes were requested but insinuations about why changes are being sought should be kept to the dark text threads. A reminder Tall.... The event was open originally to Canada with intent to make it an international event with all the hoopla. So, it would be going back to it's origins. The Canadian participation dropped when the event disallowed crossing into CND. It was "alleged" that certain captains pressured Kevin into that, combined with observer issues, who was or was not allowed into CND, and a gray area about the requirement to call in or not when crossing. All combined=a decision to nix Canada. Some liked, some disliked and we moved on. A lot of Canadians disliked. So, since the gray area has been cleared with regard to crossing, no observers, the event is a week later and attendance down overall, it was considered as a good time to reconsider that. The event being a week later, also takes less emphasis on west end CND Kings and where they may be. (Where did Rob T win last year?) The purpose was: go back to the origin and increase attendance/regain some Canadian anglers to make the event bigger. hookmeup pretty much stated the intent with the observer to a "T". Some observers are great and do their job but some (many of us) have had bad experiences where they did not or care to do what they were paid for. That's a simple fact. Options are in the works to use those monies typically paid to observers to fund other measures. None inc. observers are perfect. Sad we even have to deal with it but we do. 8 rods =OK Lakers seem to be the big dislike and the feedback on it is good. They were considered/wanted added to be consistent with the trout and salmon slam, change strategy, add a twist to the event, take some pressure off the salmon (which was why it went to 5 kings and 2 lakers during the week long event). Nothing more, nothing less and certainly not to benefit a few. If the LOC wasn't the same week and folks were not already targeting kings and trout all week, the trout and salmon slam may have been nixed but people are fishing anyways and non WHI anglers are open to fish this and the 1K a day as well. (Those two week long events are not restricted to WHI players)

Good comments so far. To keep it transparent...and note clarifications. As of yesterday: Kevin is also considering opening up the border again due to the observer rule being lifted and the fact that recently (2 years ago???) the boundary crossing (back and forth) gray area was clarified in writing. He feels many Canadian anglers were unintentionally shut out when he said no crossing. But may allow it in 2020. There is a similar thread on SpoonPullers. Re: observer elimination: there are many deterrents that are being planned to help deter the possibility of cheating. We would be tipping the hat to state them here but are very aware and have intentions to put in deterrents. We all know, cheating can occur when observers are on boats. Hidden phones below, sleeping observers, observers who have stated they dont care what we do, observers who dont get asked to look at fish prior to releasing, on and on. They still remain the best deterrent but have drawbacks and still do not guarantee "no cheating" occurred. So, in the interest of attracting more teams, observers probably will be dropped in 2020. Last year, the tourney went very well and was efficient. They take a lot of effort in planning, revising web sites, rules and of course organizing a week long event. All intended rule changes are being done/considered with regard to continue to protect the integrity of the event, while looking at ways to increase participation. NOT so certain individuals can gain an edge. Those behind the scenes suggestions and "dark texts" will be ignored. The new proposed format is consistent with the week long format as well as LOC (to some degree). Feedback from teams interested in the event are desired.

If anyone fishing or plans on fishing the WHI and has any brief input on a few of the major changes, please submit a brief reply. Tournament organizers are always looking for ways to increase participation, or give events a new twist, or make changes due to comments from the past events. Like the dropping of the observer rule. Could be a good or bad thing but its a hangup for many and adds a body to someone's boat. So, proposing to drop it, may be a liked change and increase participation? Last year's WHI went very well, payout was as good as it can get for the number of participants, weigh in went fast and was very well run. This years biggest proposed changes are: no observer (LD test in lieu of), 8 rods from (6), Canadians fee is at par, so it may increase CND participation?, 7 fish max weigh (all could be kings or a combo of kings BUT 2 lake trout max)in an effort to possibly take some pressure off kings, put some pressure on trout and possibly create a different strategy. (King only guys might prefer a king only format-diverse guys may like an event with a twist similar to many south shore NY events which allow trout) and king-laker box is consistent with the week long trout and salmon slam leading up to the WHI. Also keep in mind, the LOC is also occurring that week and includes those two species as well. Those are the major changes occurring as the teaser video indicated.

Here are a few items regarding the 2020 WHI being held may 16th-make up day 17th Web site will be updated and finalized in 7-10 days and on line registrations taken. The trout and salmon slam will have same format as well as 1K a day. There are a few other changes noted in promo video: If video quality needs improved on your viewer, go to settings at lower right corner of the video and change your settings.

All of us who presented in 2020 would like to recognize these companies for contributing to this year's salmon school. Some contribute annually. Some are new and want to make their companies known, some are well known names already but all deserve recognition both whether they are big or small for helping out. These folks give back to the angling community and deserve some public recognition. 2020 Salmon School Contributors *Goodie Bag Sponsor *Team Dreamweaver *FishUSA *The Reel Shot Fishing and Hunting Company *Pro King Flashers *A-TOM-MIK Flies and Meat Rigs *Great Lakes Angler Magazine *Slide Diver *Michigan Stinger-Stinger Spoons *Torpedo Fishing Products *Wolverine Tackle-Silver Streak Spoons Fish Hawk Electronics SHIMANO Inc. Diabolical Custom Tackle Yakima Bait Company Pautzke Bait Company Atlas Mike’s Bait Pro Troll Fishing Products Jack Rosenswie Company SpoonCrank Box Magnum Metalz L.O.T.S.A (Please consider joining L.O.T.S.A -your membership matters) Please consider supporting our 2020 Salmon School contributors and Thank You

Good luck jimmyi and thanks... We have we can catch almost as many fish with the "right" 6 rods in the right place and doing the right things. A few of the tourneys are only 6 rods and a well worked-tweaked 6 rod program can catch almost or as many as a bigger program. Most of our Mid may to October fish come on the program we discussed. Junk rods work and have their better days but the program we discussed catches 80-90% of our fish once away from that skinny water ! Have a great 2020 fishing season. Captain Pete VQ

All, Very good and meaningful feedback. Thank you again for taking the time to post. 10-4 on vendor comments with discounts and more. Well said. Captain Pete VQ

Tim, Thanks for your feedback from the salmon school. Also, to those that took a moment and messaged us/me on our FB pages. None of us held back on sharing what we thought was important, even tho some may have sounded basic. Sometimes doing basic things right or adding twists to that can make or break a day or add a few more bites to your morning. Usually, if you cant catch fish with 6 rods, the 7th or 8th, wont help much anyways. Everyone had a good opportunity to see what goes on during our day and what our thought processes are !! I appreciate your comments. Captain Pete VQ

Great Question. I would check back at the end of the month or beg. of February. Reg should be open by then. Good to see you're fired up about it! Thanks

RD9, Yes-same as 2019 Thanks

10-4 on not making regular anymore ! I believe you are correct