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Proposed 2013 ABA Schedule
I talked to Larry Williams last night and got the rundown on the proposed 2013 schedule as follows.
WEST:
Mid May -Lake Washington
June - Riffe Lake
August - Silver Lake
EAST:
Late April - Bank lake
June - Tri-Cities
July - Potholes
I'd be curious to hear what everyone thinks about the change from what has become the standard over the last few years and if the schedule makes you more likely to fish ABA or less.
Here's my thoughts:
May Lake Washington: Arguably the biggest weights of the year for lake Wa are brought in in May. Should be a good tournament and draw.
June at Riffe: I've never fished it so I'm a little biased against this one, but from what I understand it fishes pretty small during the spawn, especially for two tournaments. Someone else may be able to weigh in better than I.
August at Silver: I love to see this one back on the schedule. Not sure how it fishes in August but it's a very unique lake unlike any other on the westside as far as tournament bodies of water go.
Banks in April: A couple weeks after the NWB tournament and the water is still cold. No largemouth restriction is nice, but there's probably a reason why. Roosevelt would be a very viable option in my opinion and would offer a killer alternative IMO.
Tri-Cities - happens every year, there are two northwest tournaments on the Columbia this year, the ABA championship and potentially the NWB championship. Would like to see something else.
Potholes in July - Can't argue with that, great time of year there and typically is the biggest ABA draw of the year in WA.
Whats Missing?
Moses Lake - A little biased here again as some of you know, but has brought in the biggest bags of any lake every year. Hard to argue against a lake where it takes 20+lbs to get into the top 3-5 on day one and 22+ to win it.
Lake Sammamish: Glad to see this lake get a break, but as crazy as it is here in the summer, it does present an interesting opportunity.
What would I like to see?
Banks in the summer - a very unique fishery, would be great to see next year.
Moses in may or June: See above...
Roosevelt: underfished, fish are getting bigger, lots of them, facilities suck, but what a fun tournament that would be.
Let's hear what you guys think, both none ABA guys and ABA regulars like Ron, Marc, Don, John McHenry, etc...
Views: 701
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Josh Potter on
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I will probably fish my first ABA tournament ever this year. I have no intention of fishing them all but May wouldn't be May without a trip to Lake Washington. I have always loved coming over there to fish it just because it is so different than anything I am accustomed to.
Other than that I have no opinion because I don't fish ABA and my opinion is irrelevant because of it.
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Permalink Reply by Chad Simon on
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West looks pretty fair! Even though I've only fished Riffe once, it's unique. I heard those fish "usually" spawn pretty late, so it will be interesting to see when in June that tourny is, and how it plays out. Glad to see Silver lake back on the schedule as well. It's definantly a diverse schedule, and will make for a good AOY race! Hopefully all my stars will align, so I can give you clowns a run :) I bet participation in whole will increase for various factors.
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Permalink Reply by Marc Marcantonio on
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Anyone who knows me realizes I like to fish new waters, and even fish tournaments on new water. When Ron and I were partners we even fished all the Oregon ABAs, and did pretty well for not knowing the waters.
During those days the economy was better making travel more affordable and making it easier to risk entry fees. There also weren't as many things competing for my time.
Now is different. I don't get to fish as much as I used to, and it is relatively more expensive, so it is more important for me to fish where and when the fishing is decent. Because of that, I personally do not care for several of the tentative selections, and for the first time since ABA was in Washington I would consider not fishing several.
Riffe Lake would bother me the most, for the very reasons Jordan stated. That lake is awesome for fun fishing and club tournaments, but it fishes too small when money is on the line, so it will not be a pleasant experience. Don't misunderstand me, it will be fair for all (unless you get a bad draw), just not as much fun as I would like to put up the entry fee. Everyone in the money will be in the same area, and the second day will be a waste of time in the fun department.
Silver Lake is one of my favorite lakes to fish, so it meets my "fun" criteria, but not in August. That is probably the worst possible month to fish there, and the results will not be good. I would rather go fun fishing on Lake Sammamish in August and probably will. An excellent alternative would be the lower Columbia River in August, but not sure how popular this would be with other participants.
I love the Columbia River and would fish it no matter what month; but June is about the worst month also for that river in my opinion unless you want to run up to the Reach. August or April/May would be so much better.
The other choices all make sense.
Now more than ever, if tournament fishing is not FUN, it is not affordable, so if I were trying to build a circuit and increase participation, I would pick water and dates that have high catch rates for most participants. I would avoid any fishery that "fishes small" since the majority of anglers will not have fun, and will no longer support the circuit.
Others probably feel different than I do, but that is my opinion.
ciao,
Marc Marcantonio -
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Permalink Reply by Jordan Doucet on
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Marc,
I agree with you. In reviewing the schedule with my partner last night, this is the first year where we said "Huh, well maybe we'll have enough to qualify for travelers unless something really goes our way..."
Mr. Simon, don't be fooled - you still have no shot...
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Permalink Reply by Mike Bess on
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Your opinions are irrelevant for many reasons.
Josh Potter said:I will probably fish my first ABA tournament ever this year. I have no intention of fishing them all but May wouldn't be May without a trip to Lake Washington. I have always loved coming over there to fish it just because it is so different than anything I am accustomed to.
Other than that I have no opinion because I don't fish ABA and my opinion is irrelevant because of it.
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I think Riffe will be fine. We had a club tourny there last year in mid June "Pre-Spawn. I refused to fish the Kosmos community hole. This was my first time on the water, and other than the floating debris, I had a pretty good time. Caught fish all over the lake! One of the guys in the top 3 didn't fish the Kosmos flat either. We had a tourny first week in June on Whatcom this year, and the fishing was incredible!!! Dad, and I caught like 30 fish without firing up the big motor. We also had a club tourny in late June on Alder, and Brian Merlini won with 10 largies for 35lbs. The first day of that tourny was the hardest steady rain I'd ever fished in. I like any of those options for a mid to late June "wild card" tourny! I for one am glad to not see Sammamish on the schedule. It seems like you either get it, or you don't there! Obviously I don't, and that lake needs a rest!
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Permalink Reply by John McHenry on
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I second Jordan's opinion on Roosevelt. It's right there and Spring Canyon has sufficient facilities. Will fish much better than Banks. Larry could probably count on more westside participation if he made that move.
Riffe does fish a bit small, but for the turnouts we've had, I don't think too small. There's more water than just Cosmos.
I agree with Marc on Silver. It will generally be tough with likely few limits.
I really want to see that Banks in April move to Roosevelt.
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The late April Banks tournaments used to have the best turnouts. However, Roosevelt is finally puting out some good fish these days. The federation is having a late April tourny on Roosevelt this year. I know this is a lake a lot of us have never fished, or just recently started fishing.
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Permalink Reply by Joel Alinen on
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What other tourneys are on schedule for the federation?
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Late June-Washington
Late August-Riffe
Joel Alinen said:What other tourneys are on schedule for the federation?
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Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on
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August Silver Lake you got to be POOPING me! What a crap whole of a lake combine that with the heat of the summer, I think this is and will be a dissappointing one, Travelers here I come! Honestly though I would have like to seen if you wanted to keep those lakes, switch Riffe and Silver it would improve the schedule by atleast 25% now take Silver off the Schedule keep the start of the year in March April on Sammamish and fish the remaining schedule intact I would think it would improve the schedule 75%. I hate Silver Lake which is ironic since I love fishing green. I think Riffe is one of the most underfished underrated reservoirs in our state, I think no matter the time of year ABA has a tournament on here it will impress a bunch of guys.
As far as Jordans comments on it fishing small, what the hell, ABA never gets over 27 boats on this side so I don't think crowding will be a problem. I would say Silver it would be a larger problem.
My vote either change silver or take it off the schedule entirely.
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When do you think the schedule will be decided?
ciao,
Marc
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