I have to agree with David. This is a GREAT group of guys, and i was recruited by Tommy. I also have to admit, i'm just as guilty as anyone. I make plans to attend and something always happens. But, i don't want to see it go away.
I have to agree with David. This is a GREAT group of guys, and i was recruited by Tommy. I also have to admit, i'm just as guilty as anyone. I make plans to attend and something always happens. But, i don't want to see it go away.
Personally, I hope you guys stay together....I started fishing with the So. AL guys in July and have enjoyed it (no matter how many times Rick and Eddie try to run me out). On two ocassions (upper bear and smith), I have almost jumped in with you guys. I like trying to fish new lakes and have not fished north of the Warrior River (Bankhead...by the way, I am in if you ever go there) in 20 years. Some of us So. AL guys will jump in from time to time and lose some money to you. Trying Guntersville out for the first time this weekend and would look forward to meeting up if you fish there or Pickwick again.
Good luck. We will all be watching and will support your decision. Good fellowship is hard to find and that seems to be the basis of BBC Alabama clubs.
Chad S.
Mt Laurel, AL
I to would hate to see it go away. I have schedule conflicts just like everyone else. My off days switch every 4 months so starting in January I won't be off on Saturdays anymore. I hope this is not the end of it but I understand if it is.
Just sit back. Enjoy someand let's just see what happens over the next little while. I don't know what happened on Smith Lake this past Saturday, but I've yet to hear any results or even whether or not everyone showed up that said they were going to.
The thing that concerns me about this entire thing is that I never saw a vote to change things or a vote to dissolve the group. If I missed it or if it was just discussed elsewhere in private, then that's fine. No one offered suggestions (in public) or really voiced their concerns until last week. The club in it's current format is more than likely done for. But, if I had to guess, I'd say there will be another form of the club that comes out of this that some will really like and be a part of, but others probably will just stay away. So, if anyone has any input they'd like to share, I know their are some people watching this thread that would like to see it.
There will not be a vote for a November Northern AL BBC tournament, but there will be a tournament whether it's officially a BBC tourney or not. I think I know where it will be as it has already been discussed, but there's a possibility the format will be something we have never done before.I had more fun fishing with a group of guys this past Saturday than I've had in a long time. And, it was just a group of guys that got together to fish, kinda like this started a few years ago.
It's not worth it to anyone that is having to arrange things and do the legwork if only 4 boats show up so I completely understand Avery's reasoning for stepping away. 5 or 6 boats and it's a little more fun. 10 or 12 is where this thing should be and I don't see why it can't be every month. Whether you want to fish the TN River or not, if you can look back in the archives you'll see where those lakes are the ones that drew the most boats. The goal for November will be 8 no matter where we fish.People talk about having club tournaments that conflict with the BBC tourneys. Well, the goal is to have these tournaments be the ones that conflict with other things.
Jason Phillips
I would like to see a father son or daughter tournament and a mega bucks format. That would be cool. When I was in a bass club we would have events like that. In my old club we would have tourneys that would consist of one creek @ Wheeler it would be Flint, Limestone and things like. Stuff like that would be cool but either way is fine with me.
AVEeeRY, YOU have there attention now, give them another chance. I started my new member drive today and have a coworker coming to see me tomorrow, i am sure he will join because he wants to learn to fish lakes other than lay and warrior. Have a couple more i can get but it may be after hunting season before one of them joins. I have not fished with you yet but you have my promise if it is not a work issue i will be there. Heck, you even have the south al. boys coming out of the woodwork.
Maybe once a year have a braggin tx between north & south clubs.
I hate to hear this. Avery, you have always done a great job. I have only fished a couple of T's and couple of Rally's. Mostly could not fish more for the same reasons above in other posts. I have also been in a club that dissolved because of too much travel. (work club) Since everybody has an idea, maybe consider a southern TN and Northern AL club together.I am sure some of the southern TN guys I have seen on the board might get involved (once word gets out). There are several more lakes to fish, Tims ford, Normandy, Nickajack(TN river) and others, all within 2 hours of Huntsville-Decatur area. I know some extra licenses are involved but most already have both. Anyway I hope it works out so the Northern club stays.
I ll say this some of you think there are those that don't like to fish the Tenn river but your wrong. I my self have enjoyed the river but not all the time. Some of us travel just as far to fish the river as you would to come to another lake. Don't say that I don't like to fish the river, make the comment right. I myself stopped fishing local ts so I could more afford to participate in these bbc ts. I enjoyed the chance to see different lakes and see how other would do on other lakes. Ive met a lot of nice gentle men and Avery you've done a great job.
I'm no genius, but look at it this way. If we have 9 votes, 5 for a river lake and 4 for another (Say Upper Bear), 9 would show up to fish the River lake. But if 5 voted for Upper Bear and 4 for a river lake, only 5 would show up to fish. Maybe that is why attendence is higher at the river lakes. That is not total cooperation from a group. It is just as far for some of us to travel up there as it is for some of you to travel to other places. The group is called the NoAl chapter not the Tennessee river chapter. I think that is the point and the reason we are in the situation we are in.I am not trying to stir the pot or step on any toes, that is just the way it looks to me. I may be totally off base, I don't know. I would just like to keep fishing.
David,
I get what you're saying and others have hinted to that as well, but I have to disagree. If that was the case, then last month when Wheeler won, we would have had 11 boats. Instead, the folks that voted for Wheeler were the only six that showed.
Jason Phillips
just a thought and then I have to get to work , what if we explore a differnt weekend, or say pick say 8 lakes to fish ,cut out months that are not comfortable to fish like feb, august. I noticed the new miss club is haveing 4 ts ,maybe we are trying to get too many in a year, combine with the southern group for the meat and great in oct. I know when the club started there was a schedule, and to me it was nice not to wander where the next one would be . each year they could be new or different lakes added and i'm sure there will be a few that will always have to be considered to fish, like the river lakes
Copied from the orientation and rules page.
What we are about:
Our club exists to provide our members the experience of getting together to have fun and make new friends who enjoy the same passion of bass boating and fishing. Our goal is to fish different lakes in Alabama so we can experience new lakes and how to fish them. The tourney part of our club is NOT the most important part of our club experience but is to provide friendly fishing competition with a small reward and bragging rights. NOTE: If you are looking for a competitive club with big payouts and money is your main concern then this club is not for you.
That is what I based my last post on.
Jason, I am not looking to get in an argument and I see your point. I can only speak for myself. I have only missed one TX since joining and that was Wheeler last month. That is because of a wedding anniversary, not because I was protesting which lake won the vote. I hate that place but would have fished if possible. Now with that said, when was the last non Tennessee lake you fished with us? And how many people can honestly say they will fish lakes they don't really want to from time to time, in order to help attendence at the TXs ? .
The truth is we are divided, not united.
Some are asking for suggestions, mine is simple. Equal amount of river lakes to non river lakes and everyone make an effort to fish each one. It is really that simple.
I don't think anyone intentionally protests a lake not getting chosen. If that's the case then they shouldn't vote. But, if I vote for a lake and it loses and I know I can't travel to the lake that was chosen, then I'll fish what lake I can on that weekend.
I love Smith Lake and used to fish it a lot when I lived in Hartselle, but I do not have a boat right now (it's 3 hours north of me). There were two other non-boaters that voted for Smith that didn't get to fish due to not having a boat. So, why would I throw my hat out there looking for a ride also? I had a friend drive down to my house from Nashville and spend the night with me Friday night so I could take him out on Wilson. If the BBC tourney would have been there, we would have fished it with you guys since I voted for that lake (knowing he wanted to fish Wilson). It didn't win so I fished with him anyway.
Jason Phillips
There are not many non river lakes in North Alabama. TN and Coosa Rivers are most of what makes the North Alabama lakes.
Kenneth
that's true,so this really shouldnt be anything about anything, 12 T'sa year or so more than half will be on the Tenn or coosa for sure, that leaves 5-6 that might be places like smith, upperbear, big bear, heck we have a 2 river systems here, warrior and tenn-tom that has some awesome fishing.
just saying,
fishcraze.com
kicknbass.com<The Shizzle
life\'s to short not to fish!
This has been one heck of a debate but I'm not sure we're making much headway. I'd like to take the opportunity to try and explain my point of view.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kerry201Pro »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Well I personally think you have a couple different problems working against this format right now. And without out a change it is going to lack turnout...... </TD></TR></TABLE>
Please don't just say "we need a change". What changes do you think we ought to make? What exactly would you like to see done differently? Is it a change in format or a change in personnel?
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kerry201Pro »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.....Several dont like fishing on the TN river which is cool. But if you take a consensus and look at the lakes that were consistantly voted for in the past with good turnouts you can see there are a top five or 6, and the same in the Southern group......</TD></TR></TABLE>
I think we've have a better turn out for the Tennessee River lakes for a reason. We've had a number of members that will fish no matter what lake is selected and several that will only fish Tennessee River lakes. If there are five votes for Lake "X" and six votes for Wheeler, that pretty much means that nearly everyone who voted will fish Wheeler. On the other hand, if there are six votes for Lake "X" and five votes for Wheeler, only the members that actually voted for Lake "X" are likely to show up. I don't think that's exactly fair, but that's the reality of it.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kerry201Pro »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> .....A change is needed, so I think before someone QUICKLY sugggests disolving the group someone needs to search for a way to encourage turnout and participation. Just because some choose not to fish Smith is NO reason to suggest shutting it down......</TD></TR></TABLE>
Again, I ask, what changes??? How can we encourage participation??? And, for the record, this wasn't a spur of the moment decision on my part. It has, in fact, been discussed openly at the last two or three tournaments that I've attended. True, it may not have been discussed at the September tournament at Wheeler but that's been the only tournament that I've missed in the last 2+ years. And had it not been for our youngest daughter's wedding, I promise you I would've been there, too.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kerry386Pro »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> This I think is happening for a couple of reasons.
1) The members in North Bama may be spready a little thinner and creating a wider area of lakes too choose from.
2) Fuel prices have been hurting
3) there are allot of trails and clubs and wildcats in this area. I know that hurts quite a bit for a fact......</TD></TR></TABLE>
All of these are valid points. I'm not sure that the NoAl Chapter is spread out quite as much as the SoAl Chapter, but good points none the less.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kerry386Pro »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...I know myself, 1st and 3rd weekends are general visitation for divorced parents. Now thats not a issue to anyone else. But that takes me out of every month if fished on a 3rd weekend. I know some suggested maybe we vote on a weekend, heck I dont know......</TD></TR></TABLE>
Again, a very valid point. In the beginning, we voted on what weekend as well as which lake we wanted to fish. A number of people requested that we fish on the same weekend of every month to avoid scheduling conflicts as much as possible. We put it to a vote and, for whatever reason, the third weekend of the month was selected. We can always start a poll to change the weekend if that's a concern.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kerry386Pro »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">..... Maybe some tweaking or enhancement might revive it..........</TD></TR></TABLE>
Again, what kind of tweaking and/or enhancement would you recommend?
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sopper609 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">....Another hold back is i see no female anglers in your group as i fish with my better half and don't know how she would be received with the guys, some fish to get away from them for a few hours.....</TD></TR></TABLE>
It's true that we don't have any "regulars" that are female but I've fished with my daughter several times as has Todd Baldwin and it was no problem at all. Perhaps encouraging our spouses, children, and/or grandchildren to participate might be something to look at. (Of course, I suppose there are those of us who fish to actually get away from their spouses!!)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1niceStratos »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">......Instead of anyone coming up with a good idea to fix things (myself included), we're just dropping the entire 'division'......</TD></TR></TABLE>
Again, what do you recommend? What changes would you like to see implemented?
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Shoofly »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">....I belive if we combined again to the way it was we would have the same problem we had that made us split the first time. The NoAl staying up there and the SoAl staying down here.......</TD></TR></TABLE>
Unfortunately, that's pretty much the same problem we've had internally in the NoAl Chapter and I'm not sure I know how to fix it.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fishcraze »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.....maybe we can take a vote. vote of weather or not to have a northern section and on what day is best.... </TD></TR></TABLE>
Very good suggestions. I'll start a poll for whether to continue a NoAl Chapter and on which weekend.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by buzzn »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...We (suthern boys) have had light turn outs before but never considered disbanding. Our fearless leader Jason hatched (we first thought he had lost his marbles) (we still think he "ain't ALL there") what we call our "Meet and Greet tx" two years ago and it has been successful for recruiting. This last M&G tx had 15 boats and netted some new folks.
Eddie's BBC card thing has worked also....we talk up the BBC club as we go around to other lakes and events. We always try to make everybody welcome when they do attend.....</TD></TR></TABLE>
All very, very good points. Perhaps these are some of the type things we should be emulating.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by buzzn »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.....I really wish you would go until the Spring and see what that era holds before making a final decision. If there is not a prescribed number of boats in a given month then just don't fish that month. The Spring could hold great promise......</TD></TR></TABLE>
If everyone is in agreement, I think this is probably a reasonable course of action.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TeamTar »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">....Some of us travel just as far to fish the river as you would to come to another lake....</TD></TR></TABLE>
Point well taken......
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TeamTar »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.....what if we explore a differnt weekend, or say pick say 8 lakes to fish ,cut out months that are not comfortable to fish like feb, august......</TD></TR></TABLE>
How would we decide which lakes to fish and which months? I think a vote on which weekend to fish is in order but I, for one, would like to see it remain the same weekend of every month.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bonzter »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Copied from the orientation and rules page.
What we are about:
Our club exists to provide our members the experience of getting together to have fun and make new friends who enjoy the same passion of bass boating and fishing. Our goal is to fish different lakes in Alabama so we can experience new lakes and how to fish them. The tourney part of our club is NOT the most important part of our club experience but is to provide friendly fishing competition with a small reward and bragging rights. NOTE: If you are looking for a competitive club with big payouts and money is your main concern then this club is not for you.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Sometimes I think we need to step back and think about this a little more often.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bonzter »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.....Some are asking for suggestions, mine is simple. Equal amount of river lakes to non river lakes and everyone make an effort to fish each one. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I agree wholeheartedly. But how do we encourage that type of reciprocity?
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fishcraze »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">.....12 T'sa year or so more than half will be on the Tenn or coosa for sure, that leaves 5-6 that might be places like smith, upperbear, big bear, heck we have a 2 river systems here, warrior and tenn-tom that has some awesome fishing. </TD></TR></TABLE>
The sad thing that Danny's post brings to light is that we're basically bickering about Tennessee River lakes versus non-Tennessee River lakes and we've never even fished a Warrior or Tenn-Tom lake.
So there we go, guys. I've tried to do the best that I can for the past couple of years but unfortunately it doesn't seem to have been enough. Participation has decreased to just three or four "regulars" and it seems like bickering has become the norm. If everyone's willing to put their differences aside, pick up the pieces and make a go of it, I'm all for it. If anyone thinks that a change in moderator/TD is in order, rest assured that I'm more than willing to step aside and offer support in any way that I can.
Good post Avery
Copied from the orientation and rules page.
What we are about:
Our club exists to provide our members the experience of getting together to have fun and make new friends who enjoy the same passion of bass boating and fishing. Our goal is to fish different lakes in Alabama so we can experience new lakes and how to fish them. The tourney part of our club is NOT the most important part of our club experience but is to provide friendly fishing competition with a small reward and bragging rights. NOTE: If you are looking for a competitive club with big payouts and money is your main concern then this club is not for you.
POINT WELL MADE
We do try to have a good time down South. Even talk about how, were and what to catch fish( Rick's 12" purple/ pink pokie/ dotted space bug with a yellow tailer)
loosen up Yanks and enjoy the get togethers
12 lbs 9 oz caught on 4/28/1975 Lake Eufaula
Avery, I have read every post over and over trying to see where the problem is and not one of them points a finger at you, All i've seen is that they thanked you for doing what you have done and done it well. Need a new moderator-don't think so. Since i have not fished with you guys i am not going to vote on any thing but i would like the chance to fish with the north alabama group, any weekend i don't have to work. The fact you came back to fix this say's a lot about you.
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