Hey guys just wanted to here from some of new and aspiring anglers coming into the tourney seen here in DFW.
Looking to here your thoughts on how we can get our attendance up at these events. For those of you that want to fish some but haven't taken the step, what's keeping you? What do you love and not love about these tourneys?
Would you like to see a Pro/Am set up? Some kayak bass fishing 101 classes?
There are a lot of kayak bass fisherman here in DFW and I see no reason it for it not to be as big as the Austin scene has grown to. Love to here from ya fire away

Just my .02 I think we should have more west dfw lakes. I.e. somebody who lives in Weatherford that's just looking to try it out may be more willing to try it on say Benbrook vs. driving over 2 hrs to get to an eastern lake.

I think sticking to smaller lakes that have a pretty good bass population would be helpful as well. Sometimes larger lakes can be intimidating especially if it�s windy.

Agree with above post. I like fishing the smaller lakes. Would also like to see a duo team event.

I think it could be intimidation. They see guys post big fish and read about big wins and think they don't have a chance against them. They know they can catch fish but think they might not be able to win against others and don't want to loose the money. I've seen guys on hear catch a lot bigger fish than I've ever caught and they do it on a consistent basis and I beat them at the tourneys.

Thats one of the reasons for the Mariner Sails Working Mans Tournament. We try to get people out and learn about kayak tourney fishing at no cost. I hope they can see that every dog has his day and will give the bigger events a try.

Driving from Burleson to Lake Grapevine isn't free, not to mention, I'd have to leave at noon to get through the hell hole known as the Mid Cities.

Hey Ninja! As a new and aspiring angler, I can say that I have enjoyed the last year and a half - fishing around a great bunch of north texas kayakers and have learned a bit about bass fishing and kayaking as well. That is what I like best about the tournaments so far. Talking about techniques; what's working (or not) THAT day on THAT lake under THOSE specific conditions; with a large number of friendly fishers both novice and experts is the benefit for me. I get out to fish about once a month and the tournament gatherings have been great way for me to maximize my experience and knowledge gain on each trip. Keep most of them within reasonable driving distance and you keep me hooked. Lure pots, raffles, etc are fun too. Thanks for asking! Y'all come on out and fish I say to ya' !!

I'd like to see it grow as well. I didn't do all that great this season but a lot of that had to do with the time of year we started the tournaments. I like the larger lakes because there are plenty of places we can get away from the crowd (can't do that on smaller bodies of water). If it's windy then look for a spot that is protected from the wind. Big lakes have bigger fish, you just have to hunt them up.

You guys should do some of the NTKBF tournaments this off season and we can do a clinic at the end of the day at weigh in. That or ask the anglers how they caught them and techniques when you are doing the awards. Kind of like a interview with everyone around. Heck, I'll even take a few out and teach them.

The problem for me is alot of the events have been scheduled on my Saturday's that I have to work. Maybe alternating to have some on Saturday and some on Sunday? I also agree that more western lakes need to be thrown in the mix like eagle mountain, worth, and benbrook etc. Alot of these other lakes I never really fish and that also keeps from giving it a go knowing that other guys frequent the lake and know all the good spots already. And sometimes the price is a bit high on some of these tournaments but maybe that's just me becuase Im on such a strict budget. Also I think I will really start getting into trying to fish them more when I finally get into a decent lake worthy kayak and Im not stuck in my little 10ft sit in Ascend that I've been in for 3 years. All the guys in the hobies and Mariner's can run circles around me. Especially in the wind.

I work weekends. kills me I can't join you guys.

I've fished one tournament and loved it. I loved the competition. I'm with Nathan. My budget is VERY strict for one more year. I just don't have enough money to fish them on a regular basis, so maybe I should just win haha.

As an Austinite I'd like to offer my thoughts.

Austin has had tournaments going on for 7-8 years and grew slowly. The last two years have seen an explosion of new people. Have patients, as more people hear about it more will show.

You need people to commit, really commit. I don't know how many times Ive heard how guys from the DFW area flake on tournaments. If you really want the scene to grow, walk the walk. This isnt meant as a call out (I really have nothing to lose or gain here) but if people keep saying they will show. Then a day before the tournament "something comes up" then tournaments will slowly fade from the area.

People want to catch fish. you guys have the power to suggest lakes and dates. After seeing how brutal some of the tournaments were up there this year, maybe move the beginning of your season to march and not January? Our lakes can be terrible too but its hard to gain momentum when no one catches a fish.

I think a rookie division is a must IMO. Not everyone wants a knock down drag out fish off. It does scare away new blood when they think they will be "donors".

In the end tournament fishing appeals to two people. Those who love to compete and those who love the comradery. At least thats the two distinct groups we have in Austin. Find out who is the majority and cater to that group more but dont alienate the other group.

I think DFW has to feel their way around. Dont try to mirror everything Austin does because people may have different overall mindsets on what a tournament should be. Guys down here take fishing seriously. guys will spend literally every free moment prefishing, looking over maps, reading reports, scouting, graphing water, etc. Maybe DFW needs to be more relaxed and low pressured as far as events go. Sometimes here in Austin the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife. That can scare new people away.

Most importantly, grow closer away from the tournament scene. Lots of us down here fish together often. It doesnt matter if Im in a Mariner and he's in a Pescador. We try to bond and help new guys a lot. This in turn helps drive attendance to tournaments. No one likes to be the "outsider" at an event.

Host smaller "bragging rights" low entry tournaments throughout the year. We do the dusk till dawn and thursday nighters. Guys talk strategy, gear, tips, and have a beer. It grws the tournament scene IMO, without us even trying to grow it.

Now maybe Im wrong in all this lol. But its just my opinion. Id love to see you guys grow the scene up there so I can drive up and compete.

Yup... I have to agree with location as a factor. I'm not saying don't rule out the northern and eastern lakes. But add a few west and south like Benbrook, Lake Worth, Weatherford,Eagle Mountain, Marine Creek, Granbury (if it's got enough water to float on) and even Wheeler Branch. Gas costs alot nowdays and if you can expand to other areas where alot of people fish other than the typical ones it probably would help spread the interest

that's my biggest deal breaker

If you're looking to bring in the novices to grow the base, here's a couple of things that I think would help:
-emphasize the warmer weather tournaments. It's tough to get a new kayaker to start fishing tournaments when it's 35 degrees and the 1 guy that catches 1 fish is going to win the pot. Build your base when the conditions are more friendly.
-door prizes and raffles will help. A lot of newbs (like me) aren't real confident with their chances fishing against some of you guys. The door prizes give us a chance to come away with something.
-have some tournaments with shotgun starts instead of road runners. For guys looking to pick up tips by watching the more experienced fishermen, having everyone disappear and then not seeing them again until weigh in is a let down.
-have a novice bracket for people fishing their first season where the cost is very low. I've been trying to get some of my friends to try it out but the combination of cold weather, cost and no chance of winning has been too high of a bar to get them over.

Craig