2012 Grand River Opens

[BassDaggett]

Ideas for next year...

1.  Incease entry fee from $40 to $50 or $60.
2.  Solo fee increase from half entry fee to half entry fee + $10.  This gives solos an incentive to find a partner and introduce more folks to the circuit.  You could split the extra $10 between first place and big bass or put it towards #3 below.
3.  Year end Championship for the Top 10 (Could be a 2 day event or a 9 hour 1 day event ... Grand River Only, Lake Michigan off limits).  Same entry fee with 10% of entry fees for the year in the pot.

All that being said, if you keep it the same and my schedule allows, I'll fish next year.

djd

[Mike S.]

Good ideas. But, not too many people will be up for fee increases. It is already expensive enough to tournament fish. Just with the fluctuation in gas prices, it is a crap shoot.

You have to remember that there are teams that are new, or learning, and may not do so well on a regular basis. These guys are out to learn, have fun, and probably enjoy the competitive aspect of tournament fishing. It may be discouraging to have to cough up more cash to learn. You may lose a good chunk of your competitors due to that. Then nobody is really going to benefit. The field shrinks, the pot shrinks. Just my .02. Heck, that might even be shrinking!

[32eml24]

Is there one tomorrow? Finally in town for once! Wish I could have made more... any other west side tournaments this weekend or next?

[Esox lucius]

Not one this weekend.  Next weekend there is one.

[gr@ssmonkey]

i like it just the way your running it now,laid back and fun ......unless gas goes down to $2.00 an entry increase would be fatal for me

[Braidman]

Thanks for all the suggestions that have been coming in, we really appreciate it.

Every year we always try and tweak what we are doing to increase attendance, this year it seems we might have come up with our best formula so far. By offering individuals a $20 entry we give everyone the opportunity to fish the tournament for a $20 bill , in a year where a lot of circuits have had their attendance drop off, ours has really grown nicely. I know some of you folks would like to fish for more money but, if we have a good turnout and you have a good day you still can make over $400 bucks for a $20 or $40 dollar investment. That's not too shabby! If we decide to do some changes for next season we might add Lake Mac to the schedule, Esox and myself travel a good ways to fish the Grand and Mac is a little closer, the Grand is still our favorite and we would probably only add one or two Mac tournaments. A big thanks to Ken and all the old SPI guys for really spreading the word about our tournaments. Please keep the suggestions coming in we have a lot of time over the winter to think about new ideas. One thing that won't change is 100% Payback! SEE YOU SUNDAY.............7:00am Start Time

[Braidman]

 Results 09/16/12
Total Boats-14
Solo-6
Team-8

1st- Ed/Macy..........11.83lbs.   Nice Bag On a Tough Day
2nd- Jimmy/Kevin....11.18lbs.  Took Every Bait We Had To Catch This Bag
3rd-  Brian/Kurt......10.67lbs.   Nice To See You Guys Cash
   
BB- Jimmy/Kevin......3.80lbs.    I Told Him There Wouldn't be a Fish On That Spot (Oops)

Thanks Everyone!!!!! We Will Have a No Points Open On September 30th Come On Out And Have Some Fun

[Esox lucius]

Here is a summary of the years results.  I have it all on excel if anyone would like a copy. 

Thanks!

[Esox lucius]

We are hosting a tournament this Sunday 9/30/12 on the Grand (144th St. Ramp) from 7:00AM - 2:00PM.

[32eml24]

Keep hostin em til everybodys boat is winterized?

[Braidman]

We'll keep having them as long as folks keep coming out. Looks like we are going to have another good turnout this Sunday, from the guys we talked to earlier this week. The weather looks like it's  going to hold up too. See You Sunday!

[BassDaggett]

I should be there.  Looks like the weather is going to be excellent!

djd

[Braidman]

Results- 09/30/12
6-Boats
4-Team
2-Solo

1st-Ethan/Monty............14.56lbs. Great Job Guys! One of the Nicest Bags All Year..
BB- Ethan/Monty............3.40lbs. They Had Two More Just Like That One!

Great Day, The Fish Were Biting Even With The North East Wind.
******From Here On Out We Will Post On Friday If We Are Going To Have a Tournament. We Will Watch The Weather And If it Looks Nice We'll Have a Tournament, Hopefully We Will Be Able To Fish At Least One More Time Before Calling It a Season*****

Dustin, What Happened ? Didn't See You At Weigh-in.......

[gr@ssmonkey]

aewsome bag guys, had a summer of fun fishing with u guys this summer, the fishing was phenomenal this year at the grand....see u guys at the next "RIVER RUMBLE"...><(())*>------nice job running the tournaments

[BassDaggett]

Left early on Sunday.  Figured 3 fish wasn't going anywhere and had to get my boat ready to sell on Monday.

Should be picking my new boat up in a week or so.

Whens the next T?

[Esox lucius]

We will have a tournament on Sunday October 7th from 7-2 on the Grand.  Same as normal, 144th St. Ramp.  Hope to see you all out there!

[BassDaggett]

Can't be there this weekend.  I'm boatless bank trash until I pick up my new (to me) boat the following weekend.  Good luck to all.  Hope to fish another GR Open before the end of the year, but I'm spending the last week or so of October and the first week of November in Northern Ireland and China.  Would be able to make one on October 28th assuming everything goes well picking up the new rig.

djd

[Crankinsmallies]

What did you buy?

[Braidman]

My 14' jonboat..........

[professionalrookie]

hey, this is tristen. you may see me in the Jon boat fishing these Sunday tournaments. im looking for a partner tomorrow. ill be at the launch in the morning if anyone wants to give me a ride. thanks, everyone for helping me this year get into the tournaments. alot of fun. hope to see you next year.