May 10th 1st place 2500 guaranteed.It is a one day tourney.Entry form can be downloaded on our website laketawakonibassclub.com

Good luck drawing people out for this event. I have not missed one in 10+ years. Will not fish again after last year. Failed polygraph by a person wearing an ankle tracking device and still got paid 1st place.

Could not AGREE with you more!!! Failed it twice might I add...

Really! ? Wow i used to fish these every year. How did that happen?

I agree. I am retired law enforcement and generally agree with the use of the polygraph. However, I also directed tournaments and have learned that some of the polygraph people used are questionable themselves, they over charge, and really are just there for the money. In this case, they have lost all credibility and probably will be an easy target in the future when they went ahead and paid that guy. In the future, the precedent has been set in place and they will have to [pay anybody who failes becuase they now have a court case if they want. If you don't havere the balls to stick with "your" rules, don't put them out!!

I used to look forward to the invitational every year. Loved the two day deal. Now only one day, and you can fail your polygraph and still get paid. I think I'll take my money to another tourny.

You all can tell by my low number of posts on this web site that I do not post many topics. I do feel however as president of the Lake Tawakoni Bass Club I need to respond to the comments that are posted here.

Our bass club has was established in 1965 and we have held the Invitational tournament now for 39 years on Lake Tawakoni.

We hold the invitational tournament as a fund raiser for our club and it truly makes no difference to us who wins it.
As far as the comments made here on this post they are all unfounded. We give a polygraph test for the same reason all other tournaments do. We would never award any prize money to anyone that fails the polygraph test. The company we use to administer the test is Southwest Polygraph Service. The very same company that does Bass Champs as well as many other circuits you guys fish. I don’t know where the rumors started about someone failing the test and still getting paid and it really doesn’t matter.

I would hope as fellow anglers and sportsmen you would be more educated on any posts or comments you make towards another individual or group.

As a club we look forward every year to this tournament because it has always been fun for everyone involved and we would like to keep it that way.

I welcome any direct communication regarding concerns or questions you may have about our tournament or our club.

I'll be there fishing with one of your club members .

I'm glad it's just a one day tourney now...hopefully the turnout will be decent.

Red Eye, according to there rules members may not fish this tournament. Based on last year , I don't think it will matter.

Elmo, A very good friend of mine was one of the winners (not the one with the ankle wrap). Now, how would you like to for me to directly communicate with you?

Bazzman, you are correct no member of our club is allowed to fish the invitational.

I would appreciate it very much if you contacted me directly because you are totally misinformed.

I love fishing this tournament but I am beginning to question the actions taken by the LTBC. I understand that is possible to fail a polygraph when you did nothing wrong. The person may be too excited, nervous, or just uncomfortable.

The problem that I have is, the person in question had another one of he/she family members disqualified for cheating years ago. If the above mentioned comments from Elmo are true than I believe it should have been addressed to all the competitors. I fished the tournament last year and I know that the word among many anglers after the tournament concluded was that the situation was not handled as it should have been. I know for a fact that numerous anglers stated they would not fish again and that is a shame because it is a great tournament. I am not trying to bash the LTBC, I just feel like a few things were swept under the rug that should have been explained.

I would directly contact you but you will not tell me how. In your post you ask for people to directly communicate with you. I then asked how to directly communicate with you. You said for me to contact you directly. Are you running for office? Very confusing.

Send him a private message by clicking on his screen name.

I did not try that because he only has 6 posts. Did'nt think that he would know what a PM was. He has asked to be contacted, I have asked him how to do it.

I also loved fishing this tourny. Always wanted to win it because when you won this one, I think you have bet the best fishermen on Taw. Eason, Edwards, Jayroe., Merriman, Milsap, and many more. I think that I may have only missed 1 or 2 of these tournys in the last 20 years.

LTBC has always put on a great open tournament. Many members work very hard at this event. I just think that the last years event was not handled correctly.

I also liked the 2-day tourny. Can't just get luck with a big one day catch. 2 limits always put you close to the top. There numbers will be down from now on and it won't be from the change from 2 days to one.

What was the reason for going to a 1 day tournament anyway? I was able to make it a nice get away every year, eat both nights at the club, play some horseshoes, etc.... now it's just another tournament.

Who knows? I always wanted a two day event with equal days. 6am-3pm both days rather than 6am-4:30 Saturday and 6am-12pm on Sunday. Sunday is always a scramble to get 5! Plus almost half of the Invitationals have been won by someone coming from behind and winning. I can't tell you how many times I have seen someone weigh a 20-22lb bag on Saturday and then come in with one or two fish on Sunday. Consistency is the name of the game in that derby.....

This will be the last comments I make on here in regards to this subject…

Bazzman, I do know what a PM is and if you would like my personal phone number to contact me then just look on the bottom of our entry form that can be downloaded from our web site, http://www.laketawakonibassclub.com . I can also be contact through the web site. My name is Joe McBeth, I am President of the Lake Tawakoni Bass Club, I have been a member for 17 years, I live in Elmo, Texas. I have nothing to hide from and I am VERY proud of our Bass Club and the great members that we have.

As I have said you are making comments that you personally know nothing about. I was tournament director last year and I assure you no one failed the polygraph exam. Not only do we test first place we also randomly tested two other teams in the top ten. If you like contact Don Marsh with Southwest Polygraph Services.

Birdman, your comments about the winning angler’s family member failing the polygraph at a previous tournament had nothing to do with last year. That was 15 years ago (and he wasn’t paid). That would be like condemning you to jail if one of your family members robbed a bank. We did not feel as a club that there was anything to address at the tournament. Funny, there were no protests or comments made to any tournament judges the day of the tournament by any other team that fished.

As far as the reason we changed this year to a one day format was from feedback from anglers just like you that have fished the invitational for many years. Due to rising fuel costs many people are looking to one day tournaments. I know some people enjoy the two day format and obviously some people want a one day format. I guess as the saying goes we can’t please everyone. However, if you will look on our web site, http://www.laketawakonibassclub.com, you will see that all the same events will take place that we have all enjoyed through the years.
List of Events
Friday May 9th 5:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. Early registration and free stew dinner
Saturday May 10th 4:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. final registration of all Tournament teams.
Saturday morning May 10th – FREE Kid’s Fishing Derby 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Saturday during the day – Bingo, cake walks and other fun events!!
Saturday 2:30 p.m. – weigh in opens
During weigh in we will be giving away the raffle prizes!!!
Awards ceremony and BBQ dinner immediately following weigh-in
Camping is still available at the Club Lease on a first come first served basis

We truly want everyone to come out and enjoy this event. If you choose not to fish we understand. This tournament has been a 38 year tradition. This year will be 39. And I guarantee you WE WILL have our Invitational for another 40 or 50 years.

Nuff Said

Elmo,
Are the officer's of Tawakoni bass club present or is it just the contestant, and the test man. Years ago I took my first test at your Tourney and it was me and him.If you witness the test right then and there it might remove all dought.

I don't think condemning your tournament fisherman is the way to handle the situation Joe. Obviously there was a problem or this wouldn't have come up. Your not going to draw anglers to fish this event if you continue to handle situations the way your handling this one. I had considered fishing it this year, but promise I won't be now.

Nuff Said

Rest assured...these posts will keep plenty of anglers away. With the fuel costs and other tournaments around, the fishermen will look elsewhere. I really don't like the fact that the polygraph is given inside a van, where everybody can look or walk around. the outside noise can alter the reactions of the person being tested. It needs to be an enclosed, quiet situation.
Again, all this talk, be it positive or rumors, has altered my choices. It will take awhile for this to go away. An ankle bracelet is an indicator of some sort of issue to start with. Was that questioned before the test??

THE LAKE TAWAKONI SPORTSMAN'S ASSN. WILL BE HAVING OUR ANNUAL SANDBASS TOURNAMENT JUNE 7 AT THE STATE PARK...1000.00 1ST PLACE,600.OO 2ND PLACE,,,400.00 3RD PLACE (BASED ON 100 ENTRIES) THE MONEY RAISED WILL BE USED ON THE LAKE IN A WAY ALL OF US CAN ENJOY.....THE FIRST TOURNAMENT WE HAD OUR 1ST PLACE GUY COULD NOT PASS THE POLYGRAPH...HE AND HIS PARTNER WERE POOLING THEIR FISH ...WE GAVE IT TO HIM TWICE.....HE WAS D..Qed....for failing the test.......ALL YOU BASS FISHERMAN ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO COME OUT AND JOIN US....AND BRING THE KIDDOS....Greg Clark

ttt.

Say guys,I also am a member of LTBC and at the time of last years Invitational was on the BOD.I'm sorry all of you feel this way.I wish you would contact joe he is a very straight forward guy and if you PM me I will give you his direct phone #.As of the failed polygraph,there was never any mention of this to anyone on the BOD that I ever was aware of.As far as the polygrapher he is the same man that does all the other Tournament trails we have always used them and have never had no issues in the past.i personally dont know why the man had a ankle bracelet on and really never seen it being a issue.I'm not trying to be a smart A## or nothing just trying to help everyone answer any questions and comments.I hope you decide to come out and enjoy the tourney if not I apolgize for anything that might have offended or upset you all.Feel free to PM me and I will respond when possible.
Thank you for you past support and hope to see and talk to you soon
Ken starling
LTBC

Since the disclaimer "this will be my last post on this" I do not think that I will get an answer to this question. Did Jamie fail the test? Why did YOU tell a member of the second place team "stay close the first man failed the polygraph"? Why was Skipper {the other member of the first place team} called to take the test?
I will call you if I can find your number for these answers, but I think that you should answer them here also.

You know what Bazzman and all the others.I will try my best to find out and I will let you know. I did post a response and pm'd you.I will talk to some of the other members and fishermen and find out.I personally do not know if Jamie failed or not, but I will try my best to find for you and it will not just be by asking Joe.And as far as the statement of "why did YOU".I did not, now maybe someone else did,but I did not.I sent you a pm with my #'s and I would appreciate the same from you.I am being truly respectful to your comments so dont go lashing out at me.I havent done nothing to you.But I will do my best to relay those answers to you as soon as possible.
Thanks
Ken
LTBC