National Striped Bass Association will be holding the Blue Wave-Oklahoma vs. Texas Shootout out of Highport Marina May the third. This will be a 2 fish weigh in per team along with a big fish pot. There will be flyers at Texas Outdoors, Academy stores, The Tackle Box on Texoma, Bass Pro as well as many sporting goods outlets in the DFW area. There is a GUARANTEED 18' Blue Wave boat and Aluminum Loadmaster trailer as first place prize. The Big Fish pot is to be sponsored by Grayline Bait tanks with a 50 gallon tank going to the big fish as well as the money. There will be festivities as well at Highport. We need you Striper Finaddicts to come up and support this event. 150/team with 50 entry to big fish pot. Look for the cable adds and radio adds starting in 2 weeks. I expect fishrmen from all over the US. Come show us what ya got !!!!!

Kinda horned in on the TSA Proctor tournament and fish fry that day, huh, Tony? Maybe you should rethink the date?

I think I see where this NSBA is heading...wants full control of all striper tournaments in Texas. Have at it. I won't be rejoining next season.

Thanks.

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[This message has been edited by redfin (edited 04-04-2003).]

I may try to be a bit less blunt than RedFin since I haven't yet decided to join NSBA, but this is a real problem if the NSBA tourney on Texoma is scheduled in conflict with a TSA Proctor tourney that will likely draw the Lake Whitney bunch???

I'd enter it, but I wanted to compete against more than the same old suspects we have up here on Texoma every day.

I'm already confident I can murder any Okie teams that ventures south. The Whitney gang was the only hope for any competition.

Guess I'll just have to satisfy myself by fishing the TFF Striper tourney on Texoma the weekend before.

Y'all don't forget, TFF striper tournament on Lake Texoma April 26th. East Burns Run down by the dam (where the fish will all be).

You better get your entry sent in to Daniel, to guarantee your launch time. Cause this I'm gonna kick butt on all takers in this tourney.....No brag, just fact!!

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Mike
www.WhiskerKitty.com

February 2003 issue of NSBA magazine had the Texoma tournament scheduled for June 7. The March issue had it scheduled "televised" for May 3.

The TSA sets their tournament schedule prior to the first of the year for the next year, so their May 3 tournament was "set" before the March issue of NSBA came out or even the February issue.

I could care less about me. I'm thinking of Randy Wood, long-time TSA member and in the points running for this region in NSBA and the decision he has to make. I wouldn't hold it against him if he fished the Texoma event. But how many other striper fishermen who belong to both organizations would also like to fish the Texoma event, possibly leaving few people to attend the Proctor TSA event?

My decision is a no brainer. It's fairly obvious NSBA is trying to absorb TSA, therefore I will not fish/attend the NSBA event. Too many tournaments, too many possibilities for conflict....money was not my motive for joining TSA. The central Texas lakes the TSA fishes were.

See you at the TFF Texoma striper tournament April 26th.

[This message has been edited by redfin (edited 04-04-2003).]

I JOINED AT THE MESQUITE SHOW...AND NOW WISH I HAD WAITED TOO. OH WELL, 40 BUCKS GONE...NO BIG DEAL.

TFF ARE FUN EVENTS. TSA ARE FUN YET SEMI COPETITIVE EVENTS AND YOU GET A GREAT LETTER FROM MIKE AND ALL THE GUYS AT TSA, BUT WHEN THIS HAPPENS I HAVE TO SIDE WITH THE LOCAL BOYS...

IF NSBA WANTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS AREA/REGION/ TEXAS...I WOULD ADOPT SOMETHING THAT DOES NOT COUNTER THE TSA EVENTS, BUT GO ALONG WITH WHAT THEY HAVE SET UP. JUST BECAUSE IT HAS THE WORD NATIONAL IN FRONT OF IT, DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE IN CHARGE.

LIKE MANY OF THE TSA GUYS AND THE TFF GUYS, I DO NOT NEED A TOURNAMENT TO VALIDATE MY FISHING SKILLS, I GO FOR THE FUN AND FELLOWSHIP AND THE LEARNING FROM OTHERS, LIKE I GET FROM TSA. TFF ARE FUN AND FOR THAT, MIKE C.....I WILL BE COMING UP TRYING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF COMPETITION.. BUT MAINLY TO MEET YOU AND SHAKE YOUR HAND... TELL ME IF THERE IS A PLACE TO STAY NEAR BY SO I CAN GET A ROOM PLEASE...

AS OF RIGHT NOW, I WILL NOT FISH THE NSBA EVENTS PERIOD. THAT INCLUDES TOMORROW AT TAWAKONI. I AM BEHIND THE TSA AND MIKE ACOSTA AND HIS BUNCH 100%!

Well I agree.....with the guys on the conflict about the switches..

Varner, guess we can all tell you work for a government entity....You got that political speak down perfect!

Steve, I'll get out and do some checking for rooms this weekend and let you know by Monday. If you got a sleeping bag and a tarp to cover the bed of your truck, you should just consider sleeping out at East Burns Run with the rest of us. I'm going to be cooking Friday night, so you won't need to bring groceries. Do like JDLYL and sleep in your boat.

But, if you want a room, I'll find you one.

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Mike
www.WhiskerKitty.com

And dont forget about the GREAT TFF tourney on the GREAT OCEAN TEXOMA on the GREAT DAY DAY OF APRILL 26 ,2003

Ah, the old series "Victory at Sea" revived one more time....

HAS ANYONE EVER SEE A MORE POLITE, NON CONFRONTATIONAL, EASY TO GET ALONG WITH, QUIET, EASY GOING, MORE AGREEABLE PERSON THAN MIKE C??? EVERY WHERE I READ HIS WRITINGS HE IS ALWAYS SO POLITE AND UNDERSTANDING OF OTHERS. THERE IS ALWAYS 2 SIDES TO EVERY DISCUSSION HIS & HIS.

Meangal makes him toe the line pretty much...plus those grandkids (if mom and dad say 'No', ask grandpa Mike 'cause he'll say 'OK').

TODAY AT THE WIEGH IN WAS THE FIRST I HAD HEARD OF THE DATE CHANGE. I HAVE ALOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS. IM TIRED FROM FISHING AND CAST NETTING FOR TWO DAYS AND WOULD LIKE TO THINK ABOUT MY REACTION TO THIS BEFORE I POST. SEE YA HERE ON MONDAY RANDY WOOD

First, I would like to apologize to the TSA membership for any inconvenience caused by the NSBA Lake Texoma tournament, which was rescheduled to May 3rd, from June 7th, 2003. To show our appreciation and support to the TSA, since that date was your club�s family day, I would like to personally support the TSA youth that participate by providing a trophy for EVERY youth that participates and fishes the TSA Lake Proctor family day tournament. I will coordinate this offer with the TSA president by separate correspondence. Second, any person who has joined the NSBA, and after looking at the whole picture, still does not value your membership with us can contact me directly at (864) 848-4417 or email to SCStriper1@aol.com and I will refund your 2003 membership dues with absolutely no hard feeling from us at all. I understand perfectly that the NSBA may be considered by some as outsiders and with that comes a level of mistrust. I can only hope that those that meet me personally can see who I am, what I stand for, and what I believe in. In time, I believe that we can all become insiders working together to promote the striped bass fishery.

The NSBA has always planned to promote the striped bass fishery in REGION-III with a big nice televised �promotional/marketing� tournament on Texoma that could be used to assist the NSBA and the Texas and Oklahoma Striper Associations. This kind of event requires a facility that is large enough to handle the different needs of the tournament, as well as being camera friendly to make the benefit worth the extra effort and costs the NSBA has to absorb. The Lowes-Highport facility appeared to us to be the type of facility to meet all those needs, and especially one that would make bringing out the whole family a definite possibility. That facility had a very nice high quality environment that we wanted to make available to striped bass fishermen, and one we wanted to capture on TV for others to see and ultimately want to be a part of in the future. It is our belief that this will help promote the entire NSBA partnership. We consider all the participating clubs (TSA, the OSA, etc.), the striped bass fishery, the NSBA sponsors, and the NSBA membership as all partners working together collectively to make a better future for our sport. By calling it a partnership, we expect every partner to participate in the benefits. For example, our partnership with the TSA through our �Sanctioning Agreement� gives all (100%) of the profits collected from tournaments through the tournament sponsors and through entry fees collected for the tournaments we sanction with them, to the TSA. The TSA actually owns these tournaments and we (the NSBA) are simply invited guests. But what are the potential TSA benefits for this partnership, you might ask. Well, the NSBA has agreed to sanction 4-different tournaments with the TSA for 2003. In the Southeastern and Mid Atlantic Regions, some striped bass clubs have raised several thousand dollars in just 1 or 2 tournaments for their own use, as well as doubled their membership in just 2-years of partnering with us. In more examples, many striped bass clubs, by our partnership, have worked with their state biologists to sustain or even increase the numbers of striped bass that are stocked into their local fisheries. As you can imagine, the sky is the limit in these partnerships. So what does the NSBA get in return? Well, we get increased exposure to our sponsors and increased exposure to potential future NSBA members. However, it is up to us to get these new members and to keep them. What benefit do the members get in these partnerships? Well in the upcoming Texoma tournament, the NSBA has used the sponsorship advertising money from Blue Wave, to promote the Blue Wave boats on and around Lake Texoma by guaranteeing one of their boats as the first place prize in a tournament. As such, we are offering an opportunity to striped bass fishermen to win a very nice prize for participating in the event. Obviously, we could have simply took their advertising money and used it to pay for their TV and magazine advertisement with the NSBA. However, in doing that, we feel the various NSBA partnerships would not get the benefit that they get by offering the boat as a first place prize. I bring all this up simply to respond to the following quoted comment. �It's fairly obvious NSBA is trying to absorb TSA�. Nothing could be further from the truth. All we simply want is a positive and prosperous partnership. This �promotional/marketing� tournament on Texoma is there to support and help prosper the TSA as a NSBA partner, not conflict with the TSA. We know that by working together, much more is able to be accomplished and it will happen much quicker. Therefore, we are in this for the long term and want our partners in it with us for the long term.

Now back to the scheduling conflict. It was a simple and honest mistake on our part. A mistake that I will, as NSBA president, take full responsibility of. Here are the facts that led up to that mistake. Unfortunately, in late February, we received a call from the Highport VP of Operations that the date we (he and I) had thought was confirmed had been given to another activity while the Lowes-Highport representatives were at one of the area boat shows. He had confirmed the date to us and wrote in on the calendar while someone else was doing the same thing at the boat show for that same weekend. Obviously, we were disappointed when he called us and we immediately scrambled to try and fall on our feet from this significant blow. Let�s take a quick look at the calendar, which gets very holiday packed during this period. The week after the original (6/7/03) date is Father�s Day weekend, the two weekends before that date are part of the Memorial Day week. Obviously these dates would not be good dates to try and schedule fishing events that we want the family to participate in. The weekend before the new date is a scheduled televised event for a North Carolina �promotional/marketing� tournament, and the weekend after that (5/3/03) date is Mother�s Day weekend. Go much later than the early June period and the weather gets extremely hot. Again, these are dates and conditions that we could not or would not want to schedule family fishing events. The only date that fit the NSBA calendar and the Highport available dates (which, by the way, did not fit my personal calendar), was the May 3rd, 2003 date.

Please accept the following information as simply my attempt to show you that this was an unintentional scheduling conflict with the TSA family day on Proctor. I fully realize that this is my personal situation and is of no significant issue to any of you. However, here it is. I have personally planned, administered, and participated in a tournament on Lake Hartwell, SC every year for the past 4-years on the first weekend in May. This tournament is a benefit tournament to support the Alzheimer�s Association in South Carolina. We have helped raise over $40,000 during the past 4-years for this benefit. Additionally, I was part of the team that is the defending champion from last year�s tournament and I would love to be there to help defend that title. To make matters worst, it is also a tournament that the striper club I belong to supports by holding a club �Points� tournament simultaneously in conjunction with the Alzheimer�s Benefit. Because I will not be able to participate with my club�s tournament on May 3rd, I will also fail to qualify for my club�s championship (Fish-off) tournament for the first time since 1990. I am 1 of only 2 members out of over 500 members with this record of qualifying longevity. Obviously, I would have liked to have been able to show the NSBA Board of Directors a justifiable reason not to select May 3rd for the Lake Texoma tournament. And, the TSA family day on Lake Proctor would have been just the excuse I needed. Mike Acosta, his tournament committee, and I, have been working together since late last year to offer the benefits of the NSBA to the Texas fishermen in a mutually benefiting manner through a partnership that works for all participating. We have each shared tournament dates and information with one another during this time. I had the TSA schedule in my old computer and could have brought it back up if I had simply thought that there might have been a potential conflict. There is absolutely no hidden attempt to absorb the TSA or to conflict with their tournaments. I simply failed to look at the schedule of TSA events prior to our NSBA meeting and the decision to reschedule to May 3rd. Again, I accept full and complete responsibility for that error.

Finally, the NSBA system is simply designed to make it easy for families to join and participate without having to travel too far, or too often. We accept the top-10 teams from every division as qualifiers for our Regional Championship tournament. Therefore, a family does not have to leave their home lake to get an invitation to the Regional event. All they have to do is finish in the Top-10 in that division. Additionally, those teams that want a higher level of competition can join the NSBA Team-of-the-Year Competition and we use their Top-4 scores and a small level of participation points to determine the rankings. By using only their Top-4 scores, a team even competing in the NSBA Team-of-the-Year does not have to travel any more than they want to still be eligible. Theoretically, a team can fish only 4-tournaments and the regional championship and the National Championship and be titled the NSBA Team-of-the-Year. Therefore, any argument that there are too many tournaments and too many possibilities for conflict does not appear to be relevant unless I am missing something.
I hope that I have been successful in explaining the NSBA and more about the scheduling conflict. If further information is needed, please feel free to contact me by the numbers I provided in this post. I will post this message a couple different times in an attempt to get the information to all injured and interested parties as fast as possible. I also apologize for the lengthy post.

Warren Turner,
President, National Striped Bass Association

I apologize to everyone on the forum for the comments I made concerning the NSBA/TSA connection and any other references that I might have made or inferred.

I've sent an e-mail of apology to Tony Hughes (NSBA) and Mike Acosta (TSA).

Please accept my apology and make no further comments to the subject.

Thanks and best regards,

Redfin

After reading the response from SCSTRIPER1, I will extend my apology and thanks for trying to work with TSA and members of both organizations.

Sorry, I missed the event in protest of this, but we had a couple of things going on at the house that were last minute. 1. my landscape and irrigation guys were hear most of the day, and my wife was going to look at a horse, then the fence people wanted to come, but failed to show up and only called at 6 to tell me they were on another job and will be here next week. 2. i got a call at 9:30 in the morning from my parents and my 13 year old lab who lived with them and was my hunting dog for 9 great years suffered a stroke and needed to go to the vet and be put down. Sadly, I headed down there for that difficult and emotional task. Had I been on the lake or hunting turkeys in south Texas I would have left and headed home. So, that would have ruined the day for my fishing buddies had I gone and or my hunting buddies who had invited me down south.

I arrived at my folks house and my old lab did not get up, and I knew. So, I cradled him in my arms and headed to the vet for the difficult task. I am glad I was only 30 minutes away rather then two hours at a lake or 5 hours hunting birds.

So, my missing the tourney was not that big of a deal after all.

Thanks.

Steve