Joe,
First let me tell that you that I you are doing a great job with the site.
I just seen the tournament, and before I decide what entry form I am going to sign up for I have a question about how the tuna and shark entry will be run. When shark and tuna fishing does the person signed up for the tournamet have to be the only angler to fight the tuna or shark or can the rod be handed off. I know on my boat most of the time when I am fishing for shark or tuna I cant always finish the fight myself due to other jobs needed to be done to safely land the fish. Alot of times I have people on board that dont really have the experience to be able to handle some of these tasks.
Tight Lines
Doug

Who is going to know?

I would and I want to make sure I am playing by tournament rules.

toggytime,
I agree with your concerns. For example, when trolling for tuna it is rare that I am the first one to the rod as I am often driving the boat. The same holds true when it is time to leader a larger fish.

In my opinion it should probably be the boat with larger fish, not just the angler.

JJ please share your thoughts.

Doug this is a really good question, as of right now there is only one entry for shark and tuna (me). I am getting the boat in the water today and will be out today, let think about this some more and I will post back later today or tomorrow.

I have thought long and hard on this question. I have gone over dozens of scenarios and possible solutions trying to answer this question and not create more. Unfortunately I don’t think there is one perfect solution. The intent of this tournament is fun, camaraderie, friendly competition and bragging rights among the members. You cannot prepare for every conceivable scenario, nor can you police every aspect of an open tournament format as this. In keeping with the spirit of this community and yearlong tournament I have come up with what I think is the best possible solution. At this time this is only a suggestion and I would like the input of those who have entered, who intend to enter and who may be on the fence about entering. Depending on the final changes those who have already paid to enter will be able to change their entry type or be entitled to a full refund if they wish to withdraw from the tournament.

I think creating two entry types would best accommodate the membership base as well as facilitate greater participation. I am proposing the creation of two options for registration. One for individuals, geared toward those who many not have a boat and fish from surf, jetty, kayak or shore. And a second for the member who has his own boat. The fees would be different to cover additional anglers that may be present on the boat that is registered in the tournament.

Individual Member Entry: $85
For the surf, jetty, kayak, charter and party boat fisherman. This entry is intended for the member without his or her own boat.

Member Boat Entry: $125
For the boat fisherman. This entry is intended for the member with his or her own boat. This will allow for fish caught by any angler aboard the registered boat to be entered into the tournament.

A Member’s Boat entry also entitles the boat owner/member to fish individually from surf, jetty, kayak, shore, other boat, charter or party boat.

The boat entry is not intended for use by charter boats while for hire. Example, a charter boat registering in the tournament to weigh a fish caught by one of the fares while operating for hire. A charter boat owner/member is allowed to enter for trips when fishing themselves recreationally, when not for hire.

There will still be the optional shark and tuna categories offered at an additional entry fee of $15 each.

ADDITIONAL RULES:
Angler’s name must appear on the weigh slip.

If fishing from surf, jetty or shore you must be within the boundaries of the state of NJ.

If fishing from a private boat, charter or party boat you must leave from and return to a NJ port.

If fishing from a kayak you must launch from and return to the state of NJ.




I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on this and I am trying to make it as fair as possible for all members.

Thank you,
Joe

Jersey Joe,
This seems fair to me. I think you came up with real simple answer to a complicated question. Count me in!

JJ,
As I understand it, my entrance fee is $125 for the boat. What (if any) is the added fee for adding the tuna category?

Joe----I don't like change because it always creates more questions and opinions.A question I have is if I enter as an individual entry ($85.00) can I enter a fish that I caught on a friend's boat .My sugesstion would be leave the tournment alone and start a side tuna/shark (boat only)at $50.00.Joe you are doing a great job but I think you are opening a can of worms.Keep it simple.I also think the higher fee $125.00 will decrease the number of entrants.

dick d.

Dick, yes if entered individually you can fish from anyone’s boat, beach, jetty shore, etc. My main reason for suggesting the boat entry was it had come up that a few guys (maybe more than a few) occasionally take their kids, wife, significant other, etc. with them, not regularly but sometimes. They didn’t necessarily want to enter their child, spouse, etc. for what would be a few trips a year that they may or may not go on, but if there was a boat entry that was a little more and would cover those trips, they would go for that.

Joe--I never thought of it from that angle---ok the change will work for me.

dick d.

JJ
I like the change. It appears that many of the members of this site will benefit from having two divisions, especially those with fly bridges or larger boats where the Captain (If they are the entrant) cannot simply be out on deck to fish at all times.

I like the change. Nice job Joe.

Is scotts bait and tackle going to be a weigh station or are the weigh stations only sponsors?

Joe,
I love the change, I think it will add to the tournament, keep it honest, and give everyone on board something to shoot for. Think about having a kid catch a tournament winning fish it would make there whole year and give them bragging rights for years to come.I look forward to joining and fishing this year. Now I just have to find a way to keep my wife from outfishing me.
Tight Lines
Doug

Joe, I love this rule, I always fish with my boys and end up running the boat. Now we all can have some fun with each other.


Member Boat Entry: $125
For the boat fisherman. This entry is intended for the member with his or her own boat. This will allow for fish caught by any angler aboard the registered boat to be entered into the tournament.

Steve

Joe, I think this is a great change. One question, I have already entered as an individual, I assume that if I send you the difference in the entry fee that I can upgrade my entry from individual to boat.

Rudy

Joe,

I appreciate all the time and effort you are putting into this. However, I am adamantly opposed to having two different types of entry for the following reasons.

1.) I want there to be a level playing field. Having two different types of entries creates an unfair advantage for those who have bigger boats that are capable of taking out more people. How is a person who has a small boat or who normally fishes by himself supposed to compete with someone who has a big boat and who frequently takes a few people out with him? For example it would be very difficult for a lone fisherman to catch the five fluke with the heaviest total weight when he has to compete against every single person who fishes on one particular boat for the entire season.
2.) I enjoy competing against the top anglers on this site on a one to one basis. I don’t want to be beaten because someone else has a bunch of different people fishing for him nor to I want to win any award for any fish that others might catch on my boat. It is different on a weekend tournament where the Captain and a specific number of named individuals on a boat compete against similar boats. With a season long tournament there is plenty of time for all the contestants to catch the fish on their own. To me winning awards as an individual while competing against other individuals makes it far more rewarding and prestigious.
3.) Some of us have friends who regularly fish on our boats with us. There would be no sense in them joining the tournament if the boat they were fishing on was already entered. Friends sometimes fish on each others boats as well. Suppose I am in the tournament and catch a large fish on a friend’s boat and he is also in the tournament. For whom does that fish count? I am sure that I could come up with some other scenarios that would create confusion with the new proposed rules as well.

In conclusion, I strongly urge you to keep the tournament format as it was. However, I can understand why different rules might apply for those who fish for sharks and tuna. Lastly, I agree with the four “additional rules” although I would add that the boats must leave from and return to a New Jersey port within 24 hours.

Paul Haertel

Paul, while I agree with most of what you say, it seems JJ wants to divide the tourney into two totally seperate catagories, so for instance if you catch the biggest striper on a friend's boat and his boat is entered in the tournament, his boat should be entered for that fish and you should be entered for that fish as an individual. If the fish were caught on your boat and you entered for the boat, it should obviously be your boat's fish. If a friend (entered in the tourney) of yours fished on your boat that was entered in the tournament, it should be entered for him (individual angler), and your boat.

On another note, I would say that for shark and tuna, the time from port should be 30-40 hours because many of the tuna, especially yellowfin would be caught either at day break or at night (sharks too).

For most overnight canyon trips, you would leave the dock Friday at 10AM, get there, troll a few hours till just after sunset, chunk all night, go up on the troll again in the morning for a few hours and then reel em' up and head in, which, in the perfect world puts you at around 2PM Saturday back at port. Thats 28 hours If the seas get ugly, or there are significant mechanical issues present, the return time could easily be delayed by 2-8 hours.

Guys,
Obviously we do not all have the same opinions on this matter. Let me start with this is the only tournament I can recall being asked for my input(before the tournament actually started). Jersey Joe has given us all a chance to offer our ideas, and for that I commend him. Now that more people are giving input, it gets more complicated. I am going to enter regardless of what the final ruling is. I always enjoy competing on the water with a decent bunch of local guys with similar interests. Truth be told, in all of the Barnegat Fishin' Hole tournaments I root for the regular members on this site (after myself of course).

I have a 30' boat with two regulars, my 15 year old son and myself. Throughout the season there will be between two and six anglers on board every trip we make. Sometimes the other anglers will be my son's friends from high school, other times it will be my relatives (wife, daughter, father, nieces, etc), and yes at least three or four times a year my buddies that are die-hard fisherman will join us. With all of these different people it would be impractical to have them all pay the roughly $80 each, especially since none of us know when and if any of them will go fishing with us this year. On the other hand, I have no problem with paying the per person fee for my son and I. However, this causes another problem, my son is a minor and technically he is not allowed to compete in a 'money' tournament.

I agree that the guys in the roughly 17' boats are not going to fish the ocean with four to six guys on board, ever. This clearly puts the larger boats at an advantage, especially on not so great weather days. I also want a level playing field, for the 17' boats, the 30' boats and the 42' boats. On the other hand, there is some shallow areas of the Barnegat Bay you will not catch me or the guys with the big boats fishing.

As you can see we all have different ideas of what is best.

I did not intend to beat a dead horse, my son and I responded within a few minutes (not planned).

Haha...good stuff. I actually had 6 people out at the tires this summer in an 18 footer.

Tuna Troller,
I did not interpret it as being two different tournaments. If in fact there are I would gladly enter both as I fish a lot in my boat but even more from the surf and jetties. I guess Joe will have to clarify this.
Also the time limit for a boat leaving and returning to a NJ port can be 24 hrs, 36 hrs, or even 48 hours. I think a time limit needs to be in place though. Otherwise, you could have a boat leave a New Jeresy port, overnight for a few nights up in Montauk or Block Island and then return to a New Jersey port with a monster striper or shark. I just like to see all the loopholes in the rules closed.

I did not interpet it as being two different tournaments--I think that would cut the pay out down to small???.Joe please clarify.

dick d.

No it would be one tournamet, just a different entry fee for individual or boat entry.

This all sounds way to complicated for me to throw in my 2 cents! Good Luck sorting it all out. I'll see whats up in a few weeks.

After much thought and consideration, reviewing comments and going over pros & cons we have decided to go with the dual entry option.

From the feedback of those who have replied to this thread, sent private messages or e-mailed us, there is overwhelmingly more interest and positive feedback for the dual entry than against it. We completely understand if anyone who has already entered the tournament wishes to withdraw and we will issue a full refund if that is what you wish to do. You may also upgrade from individual to boat entry, simply print out the new entry form, fill it out and mail in a check for the difference with the new form.

I will be updating the tournament pages and flyer shortly to reflect this.

JJ,

I like the dual entrant concept, and will be joining the tournament whenever I get my act togather.

So will there be three places for Boat Entries & three places for Beach entries? or is this 1 tournament, only three places for boat and beach combined? Please verify.

No it would be one tournamet, just a different entry fee for individual or boat entry.

Joe I have no idea how you do it. But I will be getting in this being my first year as soon as I get my butt in gear. Thanks for all your effort.