The Rumble on the River!

[Dave_W]

Laaayddies and gentlemennn. . . .

This thread announces the 2017 Grudge Match, No Cheatn, Bass n Beer, PAFF Susky Shootout Tournament (AKA The Rumble on the River).

Enough was enough - Surfcowboy threw down this week and called 'em out! Smack talk and fish pics have ensued.

The PAFF teams are: Krayfish and Afishinado vs Surfcowboy and Fredrick. Some serious PAFF fly fishin talent! The stakes are high folks: beer on the line and braggin rights on the internet.

Previous discussion can be seen here:Rumble

Stay tuned ladies and gentlemen - rules and more info to follow. Gonna be fun to see how this plays out.

 

[Fredrick]

I can already taste my free beer int:
We need to set a date can you guys do any of the 18th 19th or the 20th.

 

[krayfish2]

Frederick,

I hope you are talking about the free beer surf brings for you to enjoy during the float....... cuz that's all you'll be getting.

I have the float (surf knows this one) but I also have secret take out that will knock off the last 2.5 miles of dead water. I understand that you'd like to get this done ASAP but I'm going to urge patience. If we can stop getting rain for 2 frigging days, conditions will improve. Harrisburg gauge below 3.5' (11,000 - 14,000 cfs) is what we need. The difference in action between 4' and 3.5' is pretty huge. Clarity yesterday was less than 6" in most places.

 

[afishinado]

K-fish is right....the rumble on the river you hear has been a thunderstorm just about every day.

Hopefully the River will finally get down to a decent level, soon.

:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[krayfish2]

Are we doing # of fish caught or total inches caught? I'd also like to lobby for catfish to count as double.

 

[afishinado]

krayfish2 wrote:
Are we doing # of fish caught or total inches caught? I'd also like to lobby for catfish to count as double.

Surf & Fred are rough fish specialists > catties, carp, suckers, chubs, fallfish, snakeheads....

Smallies should only count and we should deduct for each of the rough fish caught.

Found this &#8595 on their Facebook page!

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

I am not a rough fish specialist--that would be Fred. You won't see me trying to land a carp on purpose. Smallies only, and I'd say single biggest fish wins. Otherwise, there are techniques where we could just pull fish after fish and have three-digit totals of 10" fish.

And we should be using the same ramps to put-in and take-out, that way we can just run the single shuttle. Which float are we thinking? I don't see any need to float much more than 4-5 miles on the Susky, with all the water available to fish in that distance.

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

Acceptable beers (all in the can, for drift boat consumption):

Dogfish Head Sea Quench
Fat Tire
New Belgium Juicy Watermelon
Ballast Point Longfin
Ballast Point Wahoo
21st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon
Rivertowne Hala Kaliki
Lancaster Blueberry

 

[Fredrick]

I have a hog trough do any of team sweat water have one ? Anyone have anything against just counting fish over 15" ?

 

[Dave_W]

Tournament rules will be kept simple. Here they are:

- Fly fishing only. Multiple flies can be fished and they can have multiple hooks (no trebles).

-All smallmouth bass caught, regardless of size, will count for ONE POINT. All fish caught will be immediately released. A fish is defined as "caught" if either angler in the boat physically touches the fish.

-Since smallies are the target.... All other fish species caught will count for ONE HALF POINT if they are at least 12" in length.

-Score will be maintained via honor system per boat. I recommend a clipboard or number clicker to keep count.

-Both boats will start at the same time and take out at the same points by a certain end time (Place and times TBD). Two men per boat. No "third rowers" etc allowed.

-Winning team will be determined by TOTAL POINTS earned.

Appeals for changes to the rules will be considered.

 

[Dave_W]

Beer will be decided per consensus of the contestants.

This is highly important.

 

[Dave_W]

So, the key to victory is catching numbers not size. Don't waste time measuring or weighing bass. Bring 'em in, touch 'em, get 'em off the hook quickly. Drink lots of water.

Keep casting, keep catching, keep moving, and keep in mind the other boat has got two of the best fly fishermen in Pennsylvania... who will never quit!

The best team WILL win. int:

 

[Dave_W]

At this point, a date, time, and location will need to be agreed upon. The WW jam is August 25th-27th. A different date should probably be considered.

Feel free to discuss this via PM or by post in this thread.

 

[krayfish2]

I've already submitted location by PM to surf. I think this will be fast and furious catching if we let the water get to 3.5' on Harrisburg gauge.

Tom.....your boat or mine? PS. No motors permitted. Old school rowing only.

I don't really own any bass rod, line or flies. God help you two if I out fish either of you with my trout gear. Lol. And......wild bass only. Any stocked bass are -1 point. If unsure, snap a pic and post it for review on the forum. LMAO

 

[Fredrick]

I say double points for LMB Musky/Pike and walleye . And point deductions for any fish caught on trout gear . I' mean don't you live right off the river geeeeze.

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

Dave--I don't like the idea of simply counting fish like that. The techniques that result in the greatest numbers of fish often are different from those that result in the largest fish. Bigger fish should be rewarded. So, maybe 1 point for every smallmouth over 10", 2 points for smallmouth between 12-14", 3 points for smallmouth between 15-17", 4 points for smallmouth between 18-19", and 5 points for smallies greater than 20". There is no reason why a 7" smallie should be awarded the same value as a 20" fish.

And I see no reason to count any other fish, I don't care how big the chubs are. I mean, catfish maybe, but the bonus about them is that they can be kept and fried.

And I see no reason why we couldn't (or shouldn't) bring along a 3rd rower or observer, if you will. I think with a third, we could put the fish on the measuring tape, take a quick photo, and have the fish back in the drink in under a minute. The Third can also manage the clip board and fish some when one of the principals is rowing (though the fish cannot count towards the total). Having a third to take photos and row some when necessary will make it run a lot smoother. Both boats are big enough for a third, and neither Tom nor Fred is experienced enough rowing a drift boat in rocky water for Andy and me to have any meaningful time up front. I'm not signing up to just row old Fred around to fish against Afish while Andy rows him around. I'm probably the most experienced smallie fisherman on my boat, as Tom probably is on his, and with me rowing and him not, that's going to give his team an advantage they shouldn't need.

So:

1) Scoring system based on length for smallies only; and
2) A third rower/observer to take the measurements and photos and to mark the clipboard.

And if Fred catches a musky, walleye, carp, bowfin, or snakehead, I am legally obliged to slap him in the grill with it, a la Jackass. You can score that however you want, but I'd recommend a 0-10 Olympic-style metric.

 

[krayfish2]

How about this twist as I think it help minimize the measuring BS. All bass count as one point, bass 18" & 19" count as 3 points and fish measuring 20" or larger count as 5 points.

As for a 3rd row observer, where are we finding that [d]fool[/d] volunteer? My nephew would go but he'll snatch every fish he can with his spin gear and that would only hurt our teams numbers. On top of that, I'm old and lazy. Don't want to cart around an extra 200 pounds in the dingy.

If cats are extra, I'm pretty confident we can put one or more in the net. Seems I've found 2-3 honey holes for them where we've consistently caught them on crankbaits. I know they'll eat a fly. The question is how do you land a 20# flathead in fast water on fly gear.

 

[tomgamber]

1 point deduction every time Fred gongs one off the side of the boat and yells, "COUNTS"!

 

[Dave_W]

SurfCowboyXX wrote:
Bigger fish should be rewarded. So, maybe 1 point for every smallmouth over 10", 2 points for smallmouth between 12-14", 3 points for smallmouth between 15-17", 4 points for smallmouth between 18-19", and 5 points for smallies greater than 20". There is no reason why a 7" smallie should be awarded the same value as a 20" fish.

Fair 'nuff - makes sense.

 

[Dave_W]

krayfish2 wrote:
How about this twist as I think it help minimize the measuring BS. All bass count as one point, bass 18" & 19" count as 3 points and fish measuring 20" or larger count as 5 points.

I agree this would be better if we're going with a point scale for bass. Much less counting and measuring... but very big fish get more points. Should keep the scoring as simple as possible.

Measurement will be from tip of jawline to furthest tail tip.