how many on here fished the setx high school tournament this past weekend? how was your experience this year? me personally it was very unorganized this year and the number of teams is getting way out of hand. the safety of the kids on the water seems to be taking a back seat and it is more about the money. took forever to get boat number on Saturday night.

I heard 550 teams. Almost time for divisions, one would think.

I was up there as well.

I was told Bass Champs got out of there later than planned so that delayed the set up.

I will reserve the remainder of my comments to see what others have to say.

Wow, that is a lot of boats! We decided against the SETX series since it was our schools first year and it was just way too big for us being new. It seems the may have to divide up in to divisions like the THSBA. From my limited experience the THSBA has been great and very well run.

Basschamps probably delayed due to so many teams. You could weigh in until almost 5pm

I really hope the SETX divides it up. But seems to be a good pipeline of kids coming into tournament fishing.

We had 517 boats in this event. We were delayed a bit because we were waiting for BassChamps to depart. BassChamps did a great job of weighing their teams and packed up and were on their way out in a very expeditious manner. They have a great staff and we absolutely appreciate them and their patience as they maneuvered around our crowd to accommodate us as fast as they could.

I would ask the original poster to please let us know what was unorganized so we can work on it and improve. Our weigh in officially started at 2:00 and we had every team weighed and confirmed by 4:19. We took some extra time to thank sponsors and give some extra love to some important people. We were packed up and pulling out of the pavilion at 6:27, after talking for about 15 minutes.

Last year we gave away over $272,000 in scholarship money and prizes largely because of the size of the events. We absolutely understand that fishing a 500 boat event is not for everyone. However, at least 517 teams like it and enjoy the large payback that comes with it. We cannot make everyone happy and when you try, you inevitably fail. We consist of a group of people that volunteer their time, and their money to do this for the kids. It would be very difficult to ask this group to donate another 7 weekends to work another division. We all have full time jobs and families that deserve attention as well. We do want to hear from you and we always welcome comments and questions.

John Salamone

Unorganized?! Really? That has to be the smoothest I've ever seen a tournament run at half that size. I don't think the original poster has any idea what it takes to run an event of this size. I also don't understand how it's size affects the safety of our kids. The kids safety and the integrity of our events are always number one and number two when it comes to making decisions. Always!!! SETX continues to set the bar for the high school fishing series in Texas and the country. The proof is in our numbers. We must be doing something right. As far as the lengthy setup and boat card pick time, that was out of our control. Bass Champs took a little longer than they anticipated to weigh their group in which set everything back some. The setup was the first time we had used all our new equipment. We had a new trailer, stage, weighin line etc. and it all had to be worked out where everything went. Next time instead of knocking us step up and volunteer to help. We'd love to have you.

If cutting 517 teams loose before safe running light is what you consider safety then I apologize.

Help me out... Long time listener, first time caller!!! Doesn't each team have an adult captain? Also I'm pretty sure you can launch from any ramp on Rayburn. So what is the issue with the number of boats? Sounds like ole wacky is toking on the wrong tobaccy!

I understand they all have a captain but when you can launch anywhere you have no control when they get on the water. If the field was smaller you could have a controlled take off at safe light. Would that be safer or not?

Yeah I agree Wacky, Bob Sealy has been doing it all wrong all these years. I would love to see Bob have a controlled takeoff as well. His tournaments have become much to big. If his tournaments were just 240-250 boats, we could all launch at the same time and it would be much easier to win that $100,000 too.

I think it would be great if SETX divided up into 4 divisions with 130-150 boats! That way, all the volunteers would have to give up every weekend from Jan 1 to June 30. I am absolutely sure Bass Champs, Triple T, BASS and FLW would love that as well. I cant wait!

Geesh, go grind your axe somewhere else dude. SETX does an incredible job and I hope they are worried about "the money" because its money that goes into kids pockets. As for safety, I think folks leaving when they want cuts down on the "wide open throttle" guy trying to race down the lake to beat someone to his spot. It also levels the playing field for those kids and captains who do not have 21 foot boats. Lets face it, every single boat having to return to Umphrey with a 25-30 mph wind from the NW would be about the most UNSAFE thing I can think of!

Am I reading this right that Champs and SETX were on Rayburn on the same day?

Sat and Sunday

Wacky, were you at the tournament? If so, then 1 unhappy camper out of 517 isn't a bad ratio in my opinion. SETX isn't going to make everyone happy, neither would any other tournament trail. As for myself, I really like the way SETX runs things. I get to put my boat in the water where I want, get to my spot when I want, and begin fishing at the prescribed time. It's way safer than 200 boats in one cove trying to get out. I agree all boat captains do not share the same experience when it comes to boat or on the water experience, but most do. Most are fathers of the kids or a relative of the kids in their boats. Because of this, they seem to be more safe than if they were by themselves. I also think the volunteers that run SETX do a fabulous job. I can imagine it's not an easy job setting up, tearing down, the preparation it takes to run this thing, and all devote their time to make this a great tournament for all to enjoy. If you think you could do any better, then why don't you volunteer your time to help them? I don't see you assisting in any way, but rather getting on this forum and finding a way to bring negativity to the SETX organization. We've been fishing SETX from its first tournament several years ago and I have never had any problems or issues with SETX. Yes it's large and continues to grow, but that's what makes it the best! What other high school angler can say "I've fished the world's largest High School Fishing circuit"? Only Southeast Texas High School anglers can say that. I'm just glad we have the opportunity to participate.