Niagara Pro Am

[Missdemeanor]

Over the last few days, I have been fighting the urge to post up my experiences with this new Pro Am and how things went down....Lets just say I allowed my emotions to tone down a bit.....

Friday night I went to the Captains meeting to get a first hand explanation of the "official rules". It was explained that the tournament would be hinged on if NOAA had issued a Small Craft Advisory....If they did, we would not be leaving the dock......Wait a minute!!! When I signed our team up on line I didn't see that rule! There were a few more rule changes and then the explanation of the "Trophy box, and Classic Box" format. Another thing mentioned was if the tournament was a no go , then the entry fees would not be refunded and would be applied to next years Pro Am entry . I knew that rule all ready, but I did not know the tournament would be decided by NOAA ( we all know how accurate their forecasts are)......

Saturday morning came and the lake was kind of sporty....we were delayed every two hours for the rest of the day until 3 o'clock when the day was finally cancelled. As the day went on, the Lake layed down flat .....It wouldn't be so bad, but we had to sit and watch the Lake flat as a pancake and several smaller boats launch and leave the harbor......Very very frustrating.

As some tournament officials were walking the dock, I discussed with them the fact that Sunday's forecast was looking just as bad and that there was a real possibility that the tournament would be totally cancelled. With the rule that the prize money would go into escrow for next year, it looking like I was going to be out my $690.00 entry fee. I brought this up to the guy and he said it was what it was and that is how it goes.....

You can imagine how aggravated I was at this point.

Sunday morning came and the wind was just as the forecast said...out of the west ( much rougher than it was Saturday)....We left port to find some nice three footers. Ran to the north fighting some big waves and fished the rest of the day....As far as fishing, it was decent...Lots of steelies but at the end of the day we only weighed 5 fish.....

After the weigh in it was posted that we were in tenth place....Cool.....hey wait a minute the numbers didn't match up....We were in fact not in the money. Yup, I was less than impressed......

I had high hopes for this year....As far as our team performance, I was happy. We boated the ones that counted and I wouldn't have changed a thing that we did. I was not impressed with sitting at the dock on Saturday. Nor was I happy with the weigh in snafu. The thing that all you tournament competitors need to realize is, if there is a Small Craft advisory, you will not be fishing....and If the tournament gets cancelled, you will not be afforded a refund.

Will I return as a competitor in any of the pro ams? Ask me next winter......

[brucehookedup]

Sounds frustrating matt. NOAA should not be a part of tournaments, period. Look at the bouys, send somebody out, etc. You sign a waiver that they are not responsible for what happens once you leave the dock. So why now???? Lawyers, maybe i dont know. That need to square that rule away.

[Silver Fox]

I agree and will be talking with my fellow coordinators on what we will be using to determine safe cinditions for everyone in the Sandy Creek Shootout. I used to be on the side of , if its a small craft warning, its a no go. Not anymore.

Thanks Matty Ice.

[ Post made via Android ]

[motoman]

i feel ur pain, after no phone service and not recieving a call on saturday getting too weigh in too find out it was closed kinda sucked then sunday they didnt roll are money over< they did a draw for the money behind closed doors, they shoulda did that live infront of everyone too see. i"m sure it was fair but it still would of been nice too see the mystery drawing. as for now i'm taking in on the chin and were gonna come back swinging this weekend at the orleans county pro am.

[Silver Fox]

I hope that doesn't happen this weekend! Closed door drawing for the rollover money? Did they do that in the other division too?. Not good.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Iceman]

What are they hiding behind closed doors????????????????????????

[Paul Czarnecki]

What are they hiding behind closed doors????????????????????????

Black helicopters and your tin foil hat, apparently!

[shadster]

Pay No Attention!!!!

[jason]

jonny be glad you didnt get invited to the secret squirrel meeting it was all fun of nuts. or at least they was nuts for doing the drawing behind closed doors.

[stoutner]

Don't get me started.... Oooops. to late you already did.

I fished in the Open division and prior to the event I had a few questions that needed to be answered. I went to http://www.lakeontarioproam.net/ to find contact in fo and there was none to be found. I also was wondering where the Captains meeting was to be held and wanted to know if I needed to attend so I went to this link http://www.lakeontarioproam.net/captains-info/ and found no info at all. I then went to this link http://www.lakeontarioproam.net/niagara/ and found the info for last year. So, with no info on where to go, when to be there, where to weigh in etc I trailered my boat to beautiful Olcott NY for BFF early Friday AM. Decided not to sign up because it was too snotty for my boat.

Friday night around 9PM I received a call from Bill H. from the tournament. seemed like a nice enough guy and informed me that "if a small craft advisory is in place at 5 am the event would be cancelled for al boats all divisions." He said to check channel 16 at 5am for an announcement. Great! I got down to the docks ready to fish and they announce that there is in fact a small raft advisory and that they would send a boat out at 6 am to check things out and would make an announcement at 7 am.

So, being in the open division and not really having any rules other than weigh in my 3 biggest fish somewhere in Olcott or Wilson by 12:30 I thought....what the heck. Lets go fishing. The rules for the Open were Any port on Lake O start at any time as long as you weighed in by 12:30. My thoughts were this.... I could be fishing out of Rochester or Sodus or even Oak Orchard and not have heard the radio transmission so it must be "legal" for me to go fishing. So, off we went at about 5:30. Got out of port and found waves to be 1 or 2 footers with an occasional larger roller but actually pretty good fishing. Around 6 AM I see this boat go out of port and head 3 or 4 miles offshore. I assumed that was the boat that was "checking things out". The boat did return to port and at 7 am they announced that the small craft advisory was still in effect and another 2 hour delay was in order. I had to laugh as we were out in pretty calm waters just fishing away and having the whole lake to ourselves. A couple more hours pass and we really couldn't find the fish and we didn't go out past 200 FOW. The wind started to pick up and the waves and rollers started to get bigger. We decided to call it a day around 9:30 or so I think. Since we saw the waves and wind pick up we decided to just say screw it and gambled that they would not fish on Saturday. We drove 150 miles home and slept in our own beds that night.

I read Motoman's post and would have been reallllly pissed If I were him. I originally thought about fishing Sodus or Rochester and just driving up with my box of fish. Man would I have been pissed if I wasted my time and gas money.

Sunday went off without a hitch as far as I know but quite honestly the seas were way rougher Sunday than they were on Saturday.

I'm assuming that most of the guys running this event are volunteers. If so, I am not going to be too rough on them other than to say that if you are going to volunteer to do it....do it right. Not half assed like this event was run. A good start would be to add the rules, location of the weigh in, location of the captains meeting, contact info, and tournament committee members contact info on the website. Please tell me if I'm wrong????

Last but not least.... This was the first time I have been to Wilson or Olcott and I must say the ports/marinas, tackle shops, and restaurants we went to were really great. That Newfane town marina was really nicely set up....Much nicer than anything in Sodus and on par with Oswego. We also had a great time meeting some of you guys and talking to some other guys that we only see once or twice a year. I gues the point of the evnt is to spur tourism in Niagara County and to that end I was impressed.

[Fishtails]

I fished in the Open division and prior to the event I had a few questions that needed to be answered. I went to http://www.lakeontarioproam.net/ to find contact in fo and there was none to be found. I also was wondering where the Captains meeting was to be held and wanted to know if I needed to attend so I went to this link http://www.lakeontarioproam.net/captains-info/ and found no info at all. I then went to this link http://www.lakeontarioproam.net/niagara/ and found the info for last year. So, with no info on where to go, when to be there, where to weigh in etc I trailered my boat to beautiful Olcott NY for BFF early Friday AM. Decided not to sign up because it was too snotty for my boat.

The Pro Am's are far from perfect. But in all fairness they are no worse than most tournaments when it comes to your above complaints than just about any other event on the lake. Foe example, I am fishing the Tightlines Shootout in two weeks and I can't find anything on the site about captains meeting time or place. The King of the lake site has seriously lacked updates as well, though Ivan is good about getting back to you if you contact him. Matt is having trouble with the Tightlines right now over a check they say they didn't get....yet already cashed ! It goes on and on....I don't mean to kick anyone in the shin, I'm just pointing out that they are all flawed to a point.

Anyone who fishes tournaments will have their share of misfortune. I remember sitting at the dock in 2010 on day two of the St Catherines spring KOTL looking out at what we felt was fishable water. Our team was in second place, just a couple pounds out of first and we wanted to fish BAD. Same thing though....small craft and day two got called and we had to settle for second. That's tourney fishing fellas. It stinks big time and I hope it gets fixed, but tons of big water & big money saltwater tournaments go with the same small craft advisory policy.... I think what happened this past Saturday is a shame and they need to revisit that policy.

Do you guys think you could do better running a tournament of this magnitude? If they can't meet your expectations, would you prefer they ceased to exist? I couldn't imagine how difficult it is to pull these events off and when they go well (which they usually do), you hear nothing. No praise...no nothing except maybe someone complaining that the results were to slow forthcoming. These guys bust their azz for us and this is the thanks they get? Constructive criticism is one thing, but......

Heaven forbid something goes amiss and look out....the stones start flying.

Just saying....

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. OK, I'm done ....Back to your regularly scheduled bashing...

[ray koziatek]

yea ill bash and i wasnt even there>>> oh boy,oh boy,,,,

Kinda like this wayne the fire link for a ansol system is recomended to be 150 deg you decide to change it to a 170deg for what ever reason where does the blame fall even if your decision had nothing to due with a vent fire ???

If you have a small craft warning you cant override it without assuming full liability..

If some one said (commitie staff) yea head out boys and 1 or more persons drowned or 1 or more boats sunk can you Imagine the headlines..PRO/AM comittie sends out boats in bad storm all commitie members being sued and pro/am shut down forever...

Im just saying like fishass i mean fishtails said them be the rules ya cant blame no one but ma nature

Hmm not much of a rant....

[Missdemeanor]

Rod...

If the tournament is going to go by NOAA to determine if the tournament is a Go or No go, then they are going to have more days like what happened this past Saturday. Anybody who fishes the lake knows that NOAA and other meteorologists are wrong as many times as they are right.....I understand that it is a CYA thing with insurance, but why do we sign the liability release? So now we have less than reliable sources to dictate the tournament kick off. On top of that, The entry fee will be kept in "Escrow" till next season if the tournament is cancelled....Now that is unacceptable if you ask me...... Ive been in other tournaments that have been cancelled. Every time my entry fee was refunded.

Oh by the way...Oswego guys....How many times a season do you guys have a small craft advisory? Big waves on that end of the lake....always has been and Ive fished there many times to experience it.....

I really like fishing the tournaments.I like the competition and the thrill of Tourney Morning. I like seeing guys I normally wouldn't get to see. I talked to a lot of people dockside on Saturday morning. Unless somethings change, I fear that the participation will fall off more than it has already. I will reserve my final decision regarding next year till the last minute so I can see what improvements have been made.......

[TOP SECRET]

Rod I think people are just venting, hopefully the committee can pull some good ideas out of it all.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Fishtails]

Rod I think people are just venting, hopefully the committee can pull some good ideas out of it all.

I know and I agree Nick. And it's justified, but for some reason we have seen again and again through the years that the venting is taken to a level that becomes (IMO) counterproductive and sheds a negativity upon a series that doesn't deserve it.

Think about it....4 tourneys a year x 2 days each = 8 individual tournament days, right? Compare that to the WHI which is 1 day a year. Just saying it must be hard to get everything right to everyone's liking every time in a series of this magnitude. So that spawns more discussion, as it should. It would just be nice to see a gentlemen's discussion so we don't feed the hate of the Iceman's of this site....know what I mean?

The entry fee will be kept in "Escrow" till next season if the tournament is cancelled....Now that is unacceptable if you ask me...... Ive been in other tournaments that have been cancelled. Every time my entry fee was refunded

I know what you are saying. I'd like to hear the reason for that to. Maybe we can get someone to look into this and get us an answer as to why it's done this way? I know if both days were cancelled and that actually happened there would certainly be a mutiny!!

[stoutner]

Rod I think people are just venting, hopefully the committee can pull some good ideas out of it all.

[ Post made via Android ]

I agree with everything you guys are saying and yes I just wanted to vent a little. I stand by my complaints as I know they are legitimate complaints and some are very easily fixed. I didn't see any of the directors or committee members jump in and answer any of my questions though. Questions like who runs it?, who holds the money?, who makes the decisions?, and who could receive constructive suggestions? I did not say anything at all during the event because I don't think or was the right time or place. And quite honestly I had a pretty good time even though the weather just ruined it to some extent.

I would consider helping with the Sodus event since my boat is there and that is my home port. I can't volunteer though because I have no idea who to volunteer to???? Get my point?

I'm sure the last thing these volunteers want is to hear crap from a guy like me and I'm sorry if I come off that way. I just don't like being in the dark more than anything.

P.S. I have run many golf tournaments and golf leagues as well as served on several boards of directors for non-profits. It IS a thankless job and do understand that you will make 50% happy and the other 50% will be unhappy. It truly is a thankless job.

[Paul Czarnecki]

Wayne, I took your complaints or constructive criticism or venting straight to the Man Himself. Bill Hilts is the Director for Niagara County and he made the decisions on Saturday after recieving input (pro and con) from many sources. He responded via email to your post here but I will not post it without his permission. I will say, after doing my own research, that your "claims" are largely unfounded. There is ample contact info on the website, the entry forms and in the tournament magazine. A better communications network would have alleviated some of the frustration but its not the Tournament's fault if someone had their phone off, had no signal or didn't check their voicemail.

You really should volunteer for the Sodus Tournament. It would shed a lot of light on the very things you're complaining about here. BTW....Chris Kenyon is the Director for Wayne County and is listed as such on the website and in the Tournament Magazine.

Chris Kenyon | Wayne County

Outdoor Recreational Promoter

Wayne County Tourism

9 Pearl Street

Suite 3

Lyons, NY 14489

1-800- 527-6510

[email protected]

[stoutner]

There is ample contact info on the website, the entry forms and in the tournament magazine. A better communications network would have alleviated some of the frustration but its not the Tournament's fault if someone had their phone off, had no signal or didn't check their voicemail.

Paul,

Thanks for the info. I guess my "complaints" had a positive effect which is a good thing. I am 99% sure the contact info was just installed at http://www.lakeontarioproam.net/contact-info/ within the last day or two. It was not there last week or even on Monday as far as I know but I am not 100% sure. The ability to contact these guys with questions is really all I ask. I was totally frustrated last week before the tourney when I could not find any of the contact info.

As an apology...and/or a thank you for getting this corrected I am going to contact Chris Kenyon to see if I can help with the Wayne County event. If I cannot, I will at least have my business donate a prize or a little cash toward the event and try to turn this into a positive.

Wayne Stoutner

[Paul Czarnecki]

Thanks Wayne. You're a class act!