Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
A couple weeks ago, a client asked how we've been doing in the tournaments this year. When I told him that we don't fish any tournaments he was shocked. "I thought you charter captains fished all the tournaments for extra money!" Obviously the fellow wasn't exactly up to speed on the tournament situation, because if he was he'd know that fishing "every tournament" here in Ocean City is darn-near an impossibility unless you've got a lot of money, a lot of free time, and 2-3 boats of various sizes at your disposal - there's just too many tournaments targeting too many types of fish. Maybe it's because I've got the "boat" part of the equation covered that the "money" and "time" components continue to be elusive and keep me from being a part of the "tournament scene.
Then again, while it might seem almost sacrilegious for me to admit this (being as I've been a director of one of the events for 30 years) I don't fish tournaments anymore because I simply don't enjoy competing against other anglers or being a part of all the hoopla. Not that there's anything wrong with participating in ethical and well-run competitions, in fact I'm glad so many folks don't feel the way I do because that's what keeps our event successful - it's just not for me.
Big fish, little fish, inshore, offshore from the beginning of June until Labor Day, scarcely a week passes that there isn't at least one or two species swimming around with a bounty on their heads and plenty of anglers eager to sign-up for a chance to stand on the winners platform and pose for the cameras with a trophy and an oversized (fake) check that might represent sufficient funds to cover next months car payment or in some cases enough cash to buy a nice home - a VERY nice home!
Of course, like any competition, fishing tournaments have their rules, which for some events are as simple as; "catch the fish and tell us how long it measured or how much it weighed", while other tournaments go into much more detail with guidelines that stipulate what kind of baits may be used, where anglers are allowed to fish, what type of hooks or line must be used. Some even regulate the size of boats and how long a fish can be played before it's either landed or disqualified. Generally speaking, the greater the value of the cash or prizes given out, the more demanding the rules will be.
Of course without rules you've got no event, just a free-for-all to see who can grab the golden ring first (or maybe who's got the best right hook!) so all competitors must be ready for the fact that if they are going to enter a tournament, any tournament, they are going to have to agree to play by whatever rules the tournament committee has set forth. If they say you must use circle hooks then you use circle hooks. If they say no lines or teasers in the water until 8:30 then nothing goes in until 8:30. If they say all anglers must wear blue and pink socks then … well you get my point. When I hear anglers complain about tournament rules, all I can say is, "As long as the rules were set before anyone paid their entry fee and signed up for the competition then no one can really gripe, because if they don't like the rules, then they shouldn't enter the event. It's that simple!"
Naturally, tournament directors must enforce the rules they set forth, otherwise it can severely compromise the legitimacy of the event, not to mention possibly land them in court. Of course, the published rules provided to fishermen before an event cannot take into account every variable that could occur, so many tournaments have their own appointed judges to settle disputes that require some kind of interpretation of the rules. In many cases, the judges are a part of the tournament committee who actually came up with the rules in the first place. So unlike our Supreme Court Justices who must interpret what our country's founding fathers intent was when they penned our Constitution and Bill of Rights, tournament judges typically know exactly what they were trying to accomplish when they formulated each rule.
Competitions of all sorts seem to bring out the best and worst in people and fishing tournaments are certainly no different. In 35 years of being a part of fishing tournaments either as an angler, captain, or director, I’ve seen anglers helping their competition in all sorts of ways from providing fishing information, helping with mechanical breakdowns, rigging tackle, acquiring bait, and sometimes even tipping them off to where the fish are located. The flip-side is that I’ve also seen competitors act like spoiled children when things aren’t going the way they think they should. Cussing, shouting, and throwing “hissy-fits” before crowds of men, women, and children isn’t exactly what most would consider an example of “good sportsmanship.” I once had a fellow who was absolutely livid as he complained to me after our award presentation. According to him, we gave too much recognition to the angler who caught the winning fish and not enough to himself who was a part of the crew and helped rig the baits and run the boat. The sad thing about his complaint was that the angler was his very own 12-year-old son. Like I said, fishing tournaments aren’t much different from most other events. Crowd enough people in the same arena and you’re sure to have a typical cross-section of humanity - the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Anyone who has run a “money” tournament is painfully aware that when it comes to divvying out the cash at the end of the show they better be 100% accurate on who-gets-what or there is going to be hell to pay. When the fishing is over and it’s time for “pay day”, anglers who fished hard and played by the rules can (perhaps rightfully) become quite upset if they think they’re being shortchanged so much as a penny, and woe be it to the tournament directors who make a mistake and assign winnings to the wrong team.
That brings us back to the tournament rules and how they’re enforced. In many big money events these days the rules state that teams which end up in the winners circle must subject themselves to lie detector tests to help prove that they didn’t break any rules when they were on the water and out of public view. This requirement in itself should help to keep a lot of anglers honest. But I surely wouldn’t want to be in the position of a tournament director who has a winning fish caught by someone who ends up failing the polygraph. What do you tell the guy? “Sorry bud, you caught a nice fish and no one is suggesting that that you broke any rules, but that machine over there either doesn’t like you or thinks you’re lying about something so we’re going to have to disqualify you from the event, take your boat, your dog, and ban you from ever fishing again!”
That’s a tough corner that I’m sure no tournament director would want to be in. But then again, “the-rules-are-the-rules” and if it’s written and published what will happen if the machine doesn’t like your answers then I guess that those running the show have an easier way out – though I’d expect they’d still end up in court over the matter.
Moral of this story: Tournament fishing isn't for everyone and there's nothing wrong with that, but if you do enter a tournament make sure you read the rules very carefully and follow those rules precisely, and if you’re a tournament director make sure your rules are clear and cover as many scenarios as you can imagine - and always have a plan to handle the unexpected cases that will surely come along.
Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and Captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
