Catfish Contest Thoughts

[TubeDude]

Methinks you are overthinking this.  Anglers shouldn't have to have a decoder ring just to participate in a fishing contest.  Forget the novice vs expert thing.  We all know that rookies often catch the biggest and most.  And we also know that no matter how much we think we know, the fish can humble us "experts" at times.

Keep the categories as simple as possible...such as trout (all species), panfish (perch, crappies, bluegill, white bass) & "others"...including bass, wipers, walleyes, cats etc.  And make the contest a simple May through September...or October.

That will make it easier for folks to enter and participate...and for the admins to keep it on track. 

Howsomever, the idea of having monthly recognition or awards has merit.

[SkunkedAgain]

Thanks Pat I need someone to calm me down.... I still think the ice challenge format has merit and it's already developed, just need to drop the ice references... I am wondering about the fall spring contests though... They would be quick bursts and may make it so the weekend warriors can compete with the every days a weekend guys... I know that's never going to be completely true because when you can time your trips to the best conditions, you're more likely to do well. Rather than being limited to the weekend days... but like you said the rookies usually get the trophies... Thanks for getting me back or track... Jeff

[TubeDude]

A couple of other possible monthly stimulants might be "picture of the month" and "epic battle of the month" for members who are good at submitting pics and/or stories of how they caught their biggest whatever.

[Cat in the Yak]

I really like all the ideas that are being floated out there. Here are some of my thoughts:
A shorter season might allow more focus rather than tapering off toward the end of the season. Plus, the hunting guys tend to change focus closer to fall.
Monthly recognition is a great idea. It will help incentives active participation, rather than just participating when you happen to land a lunker. I struggled last year to catch anything bigger than 26". This caused me to loose focus on the contest and in turn didn't pay any attention to the forum unless I caught something worth sharing.
A multi-species contest similar to the ice fishing contest will certainly help bring in more participants. I like this format as long as I can still focus on the cats.
I think sponsorships will help incentives participation, but will also help with advertising to bring in more attention. I don't have "connections" but I will certainly bring this up to anyone that I run into that does have connections with suppliers/retailers.

[SkunkedAgain]

I really like all the ideas that are being floated out there. Here are some of my thoughts:
A shorter season might allow more focus rather than tapering off toward the end of the season. Plus, the hunting guys tend to change focus closer to fall.
Monthly recognition is a great idea. It will help incentives active participation, rather than just participating when you happen to land a lunker. I struggled last year to catch anything bigger than 26". This caused me to loose focus on the contest and in turn didn't pay any attention to the forum unless I caught something worth sharing.
A multi-species contest similar to the ice fishing contest will certainly help bring in more participants. I like this format as long as I can still focus on the cats.
I think sponsorships will help incentives participation, but will also help with advertising to bring in more attention. I don't have "connections" but I will certainly bring this up to anyone that I run into that does have connections with suppliers/retailers.

Thanks for your time reviewing and checking things out, appreciate your suggestions as well.. I've had conversations on line, off line, on the phone and text, so I'm not sure where this comment got floated but I'm kind of leaning towards the spring and fall contest, with the same formats, but having two end periods.  So it doesn't drag on so long.  I think 7 or 8 months is too long to keep any kind of interest unless you're one of the top few in striking distance from winning... Then it's a source of continual Ulcers hoping your big one is big enough to stay on top.. I think shorter will be better, but I also realize that we need to have both spring and summer available for the contest, north does best early and the south does great in August... So we need to cover both good bites... Anyway I'm starting to lean to an April to June 15 contest and an August to October 31 contest... Leaving the dog days of summer open for having free time...  Thanks for the reply... Jeff

[Mooseman75]

So I'm fine with starting in April or May and going till September or October. I'm also on the thinking that we should keep it simple and not split up the season. I'm not going to get in the way of doing multi species if that is what people want but i don't forsee me doing much more than cats. I have kids I run around and who knows if I'll have my father so traveling too lakes away far away from me probably isn't going to happen. I may have a guy in my neighborhood that wants to fish which will give me more time on the water but like I said it will be vote cats. I'll try to donate to a monthly drawing which I like that idea and other prizes

[2knots]

Ok I’ll through this out there
Treat the contest as a race season, weekly entries of fish caught, points assigned for 1st through whatever place (number of participants) can be low or high score, monthly winner is determined by points, north vs south by most points at end of season. Eliminate the placard (no idea how this adds anything). A thread is started each week that all entries for that week are entered in ( 1 fish per week), scorer can quickly access the data, thread can be locked at end of week. Maybe change length to just inches.

[SkunkedAgain]

Ok I’ll through this out there
Treat the contest as a race season, weekly entries of fish caught, points assigned for 1st through whatever place (number of participants) can be low or high score, monthly winner is determined by points, north vs south by most points at end of season. Eliminate the placard (no idea how this adds anything). A thread is started each week that all entries for that week are entered in ( 1 fish per week), scorer can quickly access the data, thread can be locked at end of week. Maybe change length to just inches.

Alan, I like the idea if we had the man power to cover that.  I'm afraid it's more than we could keep up with and we would have to have a lot more volume of participants to make it work, but if we get a high volume of people joining in, I think we need to look at this idea... It's a little more big time contest format that would really be fun when we get there... I'm not sure we're ready to make that big of leap at this time, but help me understand it a little better and maybe we are...

Justin, I know you are concerned about the cat contest not having the importance it has in the past and I've talked to a few others that have expressed the same thoughts, so I think we would look at one of the categories being catfish only, so all those that want to focus on cats exclusively could just focus on that category out of the six categories in the contest... And we can see what prizes are donated and if folks want their donation to go to one category, (catfish) then that prize would be awarded there for whatever reason they may specify... Will that work for your concerns?  Thanks everyone for all the great info and thoughts your sharing with me... I hope we can get something that will be fun for all and maybe even get those that have lost interest in the contest to look at it again... Thank you... Jeff

PS Alan, the placard is basically a way of showing the fish is current and not last years fish, I'm not techy enough to know if a picture date code was changed, so this let's us know the fish is current catch and part of the contest... I know they are a pain, can't count how many times the wind blows the placard or the fish flips or what other errors happen with our clumsy method of documenting our catches, but it does work and serves a purpose...  Oh you mentioned going to full inch measures, I was wondering about going the opposite direction and going to quarter inch, if they have a good bump board or accurate method to tell the length, the tape alone is pretty tough to get accurate measures so half inch is about as close as we can get for them.. Just another thought to help distinguish one place from another if you only get one fish per species...

[2knots]

Well this was to do the cats only, multi species is a different animal.

[joatmon]

I’ve got a headache from trying to think of all the options that have been put forth. I am a late bloomer on cat fishing, so have really only participated the last few years. I like the scoring format (although I don’t really understand the north-south scoring) and have never felt I had to focus only on cats for 8 months. As my user name indicates, I like fishing with a variety of tackle, at different locations, for different species. I mostly join the contests to stay focused on fishing. I admit to spending a lot more time icefishing than cat fishing, even with the disparity in season lengths.

I don’t see a reason to break up the cat season. But if that is what is chosen, maybe split into two seasons with no break in between? Maybe March 15-June 30 and July 1-October 15? My luck would have me catching a 34-incher during the “break”.

I did not participate in the grand slam (or whatever it was) a couple summers ago. Too many other things going on. I’m not sure there has to be a contest for everything, but do understand it as a motivator. I don’t think I would pursue a summer fishing format similar to the ice challenge.

I guess I’m already motivated by what BFT is doing with the contests. Question is, what would motivate others to join and/or return? And I’m thinking making it more difficult won’t cut it.

What about some simple head to head challenges? Like this week we are fishing Utah Lake and the biggest cat fish wins? Or for ice fishing, this week we are fishing Strawberry, and longest cutthroat wins? Short and simple. Or do it on a specific day and have a simple get together at the end?

A few thoughts on the subject.

[catchinon]

Wow, so much to think about. I still like the catfish contest as is but the two-season is a good option too. I think that the all-species contest would be a lot of fun. I vote for using the exact same scoreboard we have always used for the ice contest. Which brings up a question: who's going to do all that work? I hate to see any single person worked to death with keeping up on everything. Are we going to have a how-long-it-is contest or just a species-caught one? Another idea from my wife: could we have a number-of-fish-caught aspect for the cat contest? She thought I should get some recognition as I was going out so often and kept keeping track of how many I would have to catch to get a total number of hundreds as my goal. That was bad writing but I hope you get the drift. This is not just about me--I think it would be fun to see what other people have been doing. This brings up another question. How do we keep the contest competitive without going overboard? Can't we just go on trust with what we post? There are many ways to cheat (one could take several pictures of the same big fish and post it 2 or 3 times) so why should a placard be necessary? I don't know the answer; that's why I put it out there.
P.S. I've thought for a long time that we might want to go to quarter-inch measurements in the ice contest, especially for the panfish where there are so many ties.

[Piscophilic]

I like what JOATMON said

[font="Open Sans", sans-serif]I don’t see a reason to break up the cat season. But if that is what is chosen, maybe split into two seasons with no break in between? Maybe March 15-June 30 and July 1-October 15? My luck would have me catching a 34-incher during the “break”.[/font]

I think a spring/fall split might be fun for more folks. 
I also like what MM said about a division just for cats that is run about the same as it is now. That way folks could participate and whatever level and focus they want to and if it is just cats or some other division they could still get some recognition.

Also, with that format we could easily switch back if the larger contest doesn't float.

[Boatloadakids]

I have been in hibernation since late November and have not checked in to see what is happening on the BFT page. Jeff sent me a pm to let me know there was some good discussion going on about the cat contest. (Thanks Jeff)

I've read all of the suggestions and new ideas about the contest and I like most of them. My first thought was that we might be changing a motor when all we really need is a new sparkplug. I prefer a cat contest as opposed to a multi-species contest mostly cuz I fish almost exclusively for cats. I do realize that most normal fishers fish for anything that has fins but expanding the contest and making it too big may make it too big and cumbersome to keep organized. 

I also like the split contest idea but I hate to see July cut out of the middle. I've caught some very good cats during the heat of July. The cats are active in July and many of them still have love on their minds.  It would be a terrible thing for me to finally catch up with that 36+ inch cat and not be able to enter it in the contest. I do realize that catching a personal best fish is rewarding enough in itself. I like the early and late season idea or maybe even three two month contests. It would be good to have more recognition via drawings, photos, or whatever. Maybe a fish-of-the-month prize or fish-of-the-weekend or three-day weekend. If we continue with our youth division, how about an octogenarian prize? Whatever, I'm in and willing to help with prizes.

My best suggestion would be to keep the contest focused on cats and not make it too big to by adding all species. No matter, as long as there is a niche for cats, I'll be there with my crew of g-sons. Catrat (Gus Wilson) is on board and is numbered among the "die hard catter" group. The other two g-sons, the twins, are getting married in May and June so their cat fishin' will be limited as they sort out priorities with their new wives. Then too, they will probably have other "sports" on their minds.

Thanks to Jeff and all the others who have made the contest as fun as it has been. I welcome any changes and I'm ready to fish.

Lynn aka BLK

[gaardvark]

I'd throw my support behind splitting the season. Typically, I do most of my catting in the spring. I didn't participate last year as I was traveling for work a lot and didn't do a lot of fishing, but in years past, by mid season you are either a solid contender, or my interest begins to wane. Those who are able to fish daily or even several days each week will always have an advantage and will likely get back at the top of standings quickly, but I have often felt the contest is over by the end of June anyway. That is just my perspective, your mileage may vary.

I don't necessarily like having a hiatus in the mid season, as that would not allow for any noteworthy catches to be scored, but I do like the Idea of a split season, kind of a reset point. I'm not sure how the enthusiasm for two contests would hold up either though.

My travels are likely to keep me out of state again for significant portions of this year anyway, so I can't guarantee my own participation.

[Boatloadakids]

I'd throw my support behind splitting the season. Typically, I do most of my catting in the spring. I didn't participate last year as I was traveling for work a lot and didn't do a lot of fishing, but in years past, by mid season you are either a solid contender, or my interest begins to wane. Those who are able to fish daily or even several days each week will always have an advantage and will likely get back at the top of standings quickly, but I have often felt the contest is over by the end of June anyway. That is just my perspective, your mileage may vary.

I don't necessarily like having a hiatus in the mid season, as that would not allow for any noteworthy catches to be scored, but I do like the Idea of a split season, kind of a reset point. I'm not sure how the enthusiasm for two contests would hold up either though.

My travels are likely to keep me out of state again for significant portions of this year anyway, so I can't guarantee my own participation.

Gaard-  You make a good point. My situation is the exact opposite of yours, I live with 20 minutes of Lincoln Beach, I'm retired, and I have an "upstanding" wife. My time to fish is only limited by the weather as opposed to those like yourself who have work obligations that must come first. Do I have an advantage in the contest? Probably so unless you factor in fishing skills -- lots of catters out there that I could learn a few things from. Still, how can time on the water be factored into the contest? We all know of the first-timer who hooks into a giant cat on his/her first trip out. I have had seasons past where I fished long and hard all year with only half dozen or so 30+ inch cats. The split season may help make it more "fair" for all. I'm not sure time on the water is something we can control or limit in a contest. I'm fortunate (blessed?) enough to be in the situation I have but I can see where it is unfair to others who may have limited time to fish.

I know.... lets just leave it up to Jeff to solve this problem.

[Piscophilic]

I'd throw my support behind splitting the season. Typically, I do most of my catting in the spring. I didn't participate last year as I was traveling for work a lot and didn't do a lot of fishing, but in years past, by mid season you are either a solid contender, or my interest begins to wane. Those who are able to fish daily or even several days each week will always have an advantage and will likely get back at the top of standings quickly, but I have often felt the contest is over by the end of June anyway. That is just my perspective, your mileage may vary.

I don't necessarily like having a hiatus in the mid season, as that would not allow for any noteworthy catches to be scored, but I do like the Idea of a split season, kind of a reset point. I'm not sure how the enthusiasm for two contests would hold up either though.

My travels are likely to keep me out of state again for significant portions of this year anyway, so I can't guarantee my own participation.

Gaard-  You make a good point. My situation is the exact opposite of yours, I live with 20 minutes of Lincoln Beach, I'm retired, and I have an "upstanding" wife. My time to fish is only limited by the weather as opposed to those like yourself who have work obligations that must come first. Do I have an advantage in the contest? Probably so unless you factor in fishing skills -- lots of catters out there that I could learn a few things from. Still, how can time on the water be factored into the contest? We all know of the first-timer who hooks into a giant cat on his/her first trip out. I have had seasons past where I fished long and hard all year with only half dozen or so 30+ inch cats. The split season may help make it more "fair" for all. I'm not sure time on the water is something we can control or limit in a contest. I'm fortunate (blessed?) enough to be in the situation I have but I can see where it is unfair to others who may have limited time to fish.

I know.... lets just leave it up to Jeff to solve this problem.

[font="Open Sans", sans-serif]My time to fish is only limited by the weather ...[/font]

When I grow up I want to be like BLK

[Ahi1953]

April start is good for me this year. I've been getting some radiation treatments that really kick my butt. last treatment will be March 20 so I'll have time to recoup and be ready. As for the length of the contest or splitting into spring / fall event , no mater to me I fish the bear river from thaw to first snow flake anyway. Monthly drawing might help in getting more interest and a holding it. especially for the youth division. I know a lot of years my grand sons say they want to participate but after a few skunk trips they're done thinking they don't have a chance. With the drawing even a 20 inch fish gets their name into the pot.
Anyways like always I just go with the flow so what ever you all come up with I'm in.

[SkunkedAgain]

Ok I’ll through this out there
Treat the contest as a race season, weekly entries of fish caught, points assigned for 1st through whatever place (number of participants) can be low or high score, monthly winner is determined by points, north vs south by most points at end of season. Eliminate the placard (no idea how this adds anything). A thread is started each week that all entries for that week are entered in ( 1 fish per week), scorer can quickly access the data, thread can be locked at end of week. Maybe change length to just inches.

Alan, I like the idea if we had the man power to cover that.  I'm afraid it's more than we could keep up with and we would have to have a lot more volume of participants to make it work, but if we get a high volume of people joining in, I think we need to look at this idea... It's a little more big time contest format that would really be fun when we get there... I'm not sure we're ready to make that big of leap at this time, but help me understand it a little better and maybe we are...

Justin, I know you are concerned about the cat contest not having the importance it has in the past and I've talked to a few others that have expressed the same thoughts, so I think we would look at one of the categories being catfish only, so all those that want to focus on cats exclusively could just focus on that category out of the six categories in the contest... And we can see what prizes are donated and if folks want their donation to go to one category, (catfish) then that prize would be awarded there for whatever reason they may specify... Will that work for your concerns?  Thanks everyone for all the great info and thoughts your sharing with me... I hope we can get something that will be fun for all and maybe even get those that have lost interest in the contest to look at it again... Thank you... Jeff

PS Alan, the placard is basically a way of showing the fish is current and not last years fish, I'm not techy enough to know if a picture date code was changed, so this let's us know the fish is current catch and part of the contest... I know they are a pain, can't count how many times the wind blows the placard or the fish flips or what other errors happen with our clumsy method of documenting our catches, but it does work and serves a purpose...  Oh you mentioned going to full inch measures, I was wondering about going the opposite direction and going to quarter inch, if they have a good bump board or accurate method to tell the length, the tape alone is pretty tough to get accurate measures so half inch is about as close as we can get for them.. Just another thought to help distinguish one place from another if you only get one fish per species...

Alan, the race fits much better into the cat only mode thanks for explaining that...  Jeff

---

Okay maybe it's just the score keepers that like a break in the middle... I can see I'm over ruled on the the July off deal, but it seems most are in favor of breaking into two contests... I'm still watching comments and towards next weekend I'll start putting something together, probably won't make everyone happy, but hopefully it will end up fun... Thanks so much everyone for your time and comments, I know it's not easy to read all the posts and add your thoughts, but it sure helps me... Thank you... Jeff

[hook_sets]

Another suggestion is having more invites to members to come along fishing with you.  The experienced catdisherman can help the inexperience/beginner with their tricks and tips.  This will help with attaching a face to a user name on BFT.

[sharksugar101]

I didn't contribute much to the contest last year but I like the contest the way it is. Keep it somewhat simple and not too much work for the person scoring it. Maybe require bump boards and measure to the 1/4 inch to keep the standings a little spread out. Imo
Hopefully I'll get out more to chase cats this year and donate a few prizes and meet some new faces.
Thanks for keeping this contest going.