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Posts: 5874
| With all the off season discussions of tourneys, judge boat vs transport vs immediate release, and whether they give back to the resource or merely are a way to make money off the resource, and damage to the resource, etc, etc., I have been thinking of a way to help squash some of the negative debate surrounding this topic.
As a RCL Walleye Tournament angler, I am required to be a member of FLW Outdoors. This costs $25 per year for the standard, and $40/year for the Gold Membership. Not really sure where all the money goes to, but there are a few benefits to belonging. I have listed them here.
An annual subscription to fishing heaven. As an FLW Outdoors member, you will receive eight issues of FLW Outdoors Magazine, a colorful, concisely written publication for the angler in all of us.
Tournament action from Okeechobee to Okoboji. More than $20 million in prizes in all.
Interviews with pro athletes and celebrities who love to fish.
Information on America's hottest bass- and walleye-fishing spots.
Reviews of the latest fishing gear and tackle.
A card that lets you compete.
With your FLW Outdoors membership card, you are eligible to fish in tournaments with total prize money of more than $20 million, including the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League (BFL), Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Tour and the Wal-Mart RCL Walleye League.
My suggestion is that the major Muskie Tournament series(PMTT, WMT, MMT, and Bob M's Super Tourney) require membership in MI in order to participate. This would be easy to implement and verify via your MI Member ID, and there should be less talk about not giving back to the resource. What better way to give back to the resource than through MI?
What do you think?
Edited by Shep 2/27/2004 4:17 PM
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Posts: 440
| Great idea. |
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Posts: 2089
| I like it also. Steve |
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Posts: 136
| Ummm...
The PMTT has a membership fee this year that includes a one year subscription to Musky Hunter and a bunch of discount from sponsors. Also a portion of the membership fee goes directly back into the resource.
Great idea though and as the Tournament Director of the Minnesota Musky Championship Trail we encourage all participants to be a member of MI. We also will be giving a portion of entry fees back ($5.00 per angler per event) to the resource.
I did a quick look at the MMT and PMTT participants from last year and 87% were members. |
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Posts: 136
| As a additional note the PMTT has a $50.00 donation fee per team with it's Mega event on Cass Lake. This will be a additional $7500.00 given back to the resource through a scholarship fund, the DNR and local Musky clubs. Muskies aren't Bass or Walleye's and I think it damn cool to see Musky tournaments taking the lead in getting involved in the resource. Not only do we immediately release fish without transport (At least in MN) but we give back. I checked with the RCL and they give $5000.00 at each event and thier prize fund is 5 times the PMTT. Again great to see that we ARE NOT becoming Bass. Hopefully tournament fishermen will support those tournaments that can find a balance between prize funds and raising funds so we all can continue to enjoy fishing. If it does become Bass like I'm moving to Canada..and a 54" limit. |
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| Great post Steve.
Muskies Inc. isn't the solution either. The $35.00 membership fee goes towards nothing other than that magazine. Don't get me wrong MI does alot of great things but by just being a member you do nothing but cost your chapter money.
Instead we as fishermen should only support the tournaments that do more than promote the prize fund and the anglers. Promoting the fishery and how fragile it is and the care taken with the fish would have much more impact than a membership IMHO.
BS
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Location: Minneapolis, MN | Shep -
I haven't watched his show in a while but Bob M was running a nice plug for MI at the end of every show I watched last season with the MI logo and URL.
Last year the PMTT had a booth with a 8ft tournament banner promoting MI for all the people who competed as well as the spectators. |
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Posts: 3147
| Its a start,,however it wouldnt be giving back to THAT specific resource,,,The MI membership dues go to the international not to the local chapter.. At least in Minnesota alot of the complaint is a give back to the lake where that specific tourney is held,,local MI chapter,DNR district etc. |
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Posts: 5874
| OK, 87% of the PMTT anglers are members. Why not 100%. Think the same percentage holds for the WMT, MMT or any other of the bigger tourneys? And, as Perry has been preaching the past couple years, it is not enough to simply be a member of MI. You need to get involved and help out your local chapter. I've had to curtail my direct involvement( Pond seining, Pewaukee Classic help, Board, Banquet, etc) the past year, but support the fundraisers as much as I can.
I just think that it would be a good thing to require of your tourney anglers, and hopefully they would be more than just members. Besides, it might actually benefit the tourneys by drawing more entrants. You get some of these tourney guys up in front of their chapter decribing their experiences in the tourneys, it might trigger some others to give it a go.
Is there any tourney site that does not have a local chapter? What kind of message could we send to that area's muskie anglers if all tourney entrants were MI members. Every tourney angler that comes in contact with a local angler could be a great ambassador for MI. Might even help in some locations where feelings towards Muskie Tourneys are negative, if you could brag that MI membership is 100% in your field of entrants. Great that moneies are going back from the tourney itself. Good to hear. Just wondering about any negative aspects of requiring MI membership. Anybody out there not a member, that would not fish a tourney if it was required?
Tim W, Tom M. We've heard from Steve Cady and his MMT. What say you!? |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | If the PMTT and WMT would be owned by and run by MI, then I can see them having a membership requirement for tourney eligibility. I think it's like saying you have to belong to the zooalogical society to visit the zoo.
The FLW and Genmar basically own the RCL. Besides the membership requirement, they also make you fish out of a Genmar boat and payout better for fishing a Yamaha motor. To me the RCL is'nt fishing for the sport, it's fishing for the advertising money. Ranger, Crestline and Lund owners only please, then when the tournys are over, Genmar can list all their victories.
If MI wanted to start thier own tourny trail, I'd be 100% for them having a membership requirement to fish it, then you'd know that all the participants are "on board" with MI philosophy and beliefs. |
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Posts: 136
| Shep,
I find it very doubtful Tim will see this he hardly knows how to turn his computer on much less spell things. Send him an email to: [email protected] or [email protected] and then post his response.
Then again he could suprise me and have his wife type something up for him on here.
(By the way that is written with sarcasm and a smile on my face.)
S- |
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Posts: 5874
| I understand what the RCL/Genmar do, and why. Not suggesting that MI create their own trail. Not at all. What I'm trying to say, is this would be better than FLW having their requirement to fish the RCL. I think the anglers would get more out of it, than those that fish the RCL. And I'm quite sure the fish would get more out of it, too! Again, maybe not directly, but there is no disputing the benefits from being a member of MI, and the benefits to MI of having more members.
Come to think of it, I will have to look at the Pewaukee Classic rules to see if we even require membership in MI. If not, I will find out why. And propose it to the board.
BTW, Oh Shady one, walleyes are NOT bass!
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Posts: 136
| yeah they taste a whole lot better.
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Posts: 921
| I agree with Gander Mt Guide. Let me also preface this by saying I am a member of MI and probably always will be...
But to force a tournament angler to join MI to be able to fish does not make any sense to me.
I can see becoming a "member" of the PMTT like they have done. Or if Cady required you to "join" the MMCT by becoming a member, I can see that. That way these tournament promoters can take that "membership fee" and donate it back to the resource if they wanted.
Just because they would be forced to join MI means nothing. All they are doing is paying $30 for a magazine. MI gets nothing directly out of it ... unless the new member gets involved.
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Posts: 929
Location: Rhinelander. | one must remember that most anglers that fish musky tournaments belong to a muskie club. These clubs do alot for the fishery allready. Many fund raisers for stocking and other projects that help everyone. Many of the tournaments are put on by fishing clubs that use the money made for stocking and other projects. Its not just a thing where tournament anglers take and take.
Pfeiff |
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Posts: 5874
| I didn't acuse tourney anglers of only taking. As far as making sense, well, I guess if the requirement for fishing these tourneys was you have to be a member of MI, then you are either a member, or you don't fish the tourney. Pretty simple. And so what if some of the anglers already belong to another club. That doesn't preclude them from being a member of another, does it? I'd go so far as to say alot of the anglers belong to several organizations. DU, PF, WFT, WU, etc, etc.
As far as the $30 fee not meaning anything, I disagree. While the magazine used to cost more, I believe they have the cost down now, and advertisers are now picking up alot of that cost. There are strength in numbers, and numbers is what MI is trying to get. I think it is understood that not everybody that is a member, is involved. But, if a person is not a member, the chance for him to be involved in MI is zilch.
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