King Of The Lake Amateur Division

[TyeeTanic]

get it wet,

Just curious why you scheduled the first event on the same day as steelhead opening on the rivers?
A few of us are swingers! LOL!

[SpoonPullers.com]

[FishAbout]

KOTL has been on that weekend for years.

[buster]

any one heard about a boat length yet

[rbi]

I steelhead November to the End of March.  April is boat time

[get it wet]

After some Time to think about this and trying to reason with this group We have come up with a solution to the questions

We are going to open up the division to whatever size boat BUT will have the weather based on an 18ft boat being safe on windy days.

This raise the questions on eligibility?

****who is an amateur****

This will be laid out in our rules section of our website when our new website is up and running.  Please read as these questions will be asked before you go and fish.

The Main Criteria will be - Not getting paid to fish or guide (no charter boat), Not sponsored (not allowed to have sponsored clothing during weigh-in and show), Not having placed top 5 in any major tournaments around the lake, Once you win 2 events you must move up to the main event.

We are pretty confident in getting 30 teams and this should be a fun event for all to participate.

[Hammer]

Good job Yvan!

[Hammer]

Looking forward to coming back to your tournaments and fishing the overall sounds like some great changes won't be long now

[riggermortis]

Do you consider Rob and Gavins Spring Showdown last year a major tournament or are you talking the well know big $$$ tournaments when you talk about placing in the top 5?

[outkast]

Thanks Yvan. This is going to be great. I'm entering this one for sure.

[TyeeTanic]

Rule change on boat size (with weather criteria) is fair.  I think you hit the nail on the head with that one.

[get it wet]

Major tournament meaning
Tightlines, KOTL, Wilson, N.Y. Pro ams

Not Derbies or anything else. 

The key to this is to increase participation in the main event.  There will never be enough money in this to Sandbag a team.  If we (Our Company ) deem you to be a Pro in any case we will bump you up.   Please, this is to be fun and entertaining along with some great knowledge sharing. 

Im glad we can provide this rule change for those that pushed for it.  I look forward to seeing you guys enter.

Yvan

[OUTTALINEagain]

Yvan
   This could also possible hurt your turn out for the main event!!  Meaning,  possibly some of the smaller teams that have fished the normal KOTL might fish the amature event now instead of the Main  event!!  is there a rule that if a team has already fished in one of your KOTL events in the past couple years than they will have to enter into normal KOTL again and not the amature event???

[get it wet]

no there isn't and if this is the case we just shut it down next yr.

I think this is going to work.  As I said, It is a taste of what tournaments are.  I also had proposed this to the 444 many yrs ago but they went the small boat way and it was a flop.  It was because pros came in and won 3 of 5 yrs.  I think it would be embarrassing in our game to come in as a guy that is known to fish often and is known by his peers to be a good fisherman to sandbag in order to win.  I just dont see it.

Another thing is this tournament is one day 3 fish.  Completely different than what the main event is.  If someone fishes for $600 they get 2 one days plus the chance at the overall. 

I really think this will add participants to the event as a whole.  We will have more observers come aboard and we will grow teams from pleasure to amateur and from amateur to pro over time.

30 teams max. first come first serve $2000 first place.  I think its fair!!

[steve]

your so right about the 444.

it was a laughing stock to see a boat with "pro walleye angler" written on the side win the amateur division.

i don't know about everyone, but anglers still joke about that situation - i believe the "pro" lost a lot of pride on that one.

again - I'm liking all of what you have suggested Ivan!

[get it wet]

Steve, I agree with you.  I don't think anything was won by winning the small boat division and next weekend going to the PWT

Anyways we want guys like you to fish and promote.  We need as many teams as we can and the more we get that are vocal the better it is for all