Hey everyone,
Well, the lakes have been set for the 2002 summer league, which we are now calling L.E.T.S. Go Fishing!!
Leading Edge Tournament Series

These are the lakes that were picked-
Vermilion
Minnewaska
Clearwater
Big Pine
Pokegama ("open" event)

The first 4 are the league events and Pokegama will be the "open" event

I'll be posting the dates soon as soon as we nail down a permit for the Pokegama event.

We will be fishing in a 2 day format this year. Saturday will be noon to sundown, Sunday will be sunrise to 2. We did this to make it worth the drive for most of us.

League fees will be $200, pre-paid, per team, which will cover all events except the open, and will be limited to 15 teams. Fees will go towards a meal for the teams on Saturday night of the events, event pay-outs, overall payouts, an end of the year banquet, trophies, prizes and league expenses.

Open fee will be $100 per team, limited to 30 teams and will be open to anyone.

Scoring will be based on weight this year, converted to points. We will still be having a minimum size, but will be lower than last year.

I will be posting everything in detail soon, but let's start talking about it and fill the league up quick.
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Whoops,
Just wanted to add that this will be a multi-species league. Perch, Sunfish, Crappie, Bass, Walleye, Pike, Muskie and Lake Trout will all be scored.
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GullGuide/ Iam new to the open water series. Is the fee for all the events? Can a team just fish one or two events? If so does the $200.00 dollar fee still apply? Thanks

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MILLE LACS AREA GUIDE SERVICE
651-271-5459 http://fishingminnesota.com/millelacsguide/

D-man,
The $200 is the league fee. We tried doing it on an event-by event basis last year and it seemed a lot of the people who said they were going to participate never showed up. By having a flat fee for all of the events paid in advance, we hope to attract teams that are committed to fishing all of the events. We also dropped the number of events to one event per month. This was done so it was easier to get teams to commit to the league, and by getting this going now, teams should have no problems scheduling for them.
We also have an "open" event on Lake Pokegama for those teams who are unable to get into the league.
If a team member is unable to compete in an event, they will be allowed to have a substitute fish for them as long as one team member, who is registerd as such, is present. Some teams could actually be made up of 4 members and they could alternate between events as long as one of the two "members" is fishing.
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It would be great to fish all the events but i dont know if i can get to them all. Could a guy put in a post to be an alternate prior to any event? Also what Big Pine is it?

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MILLE LACS AREA GUIDE SERVICE
651-271-5459 http://fishingminnesota.com/millelacsguide/

Yes, We hope to get a separate forum going and I'm sure that there will be the need for a sub occasionally.

It will be the Big Pine near Perham
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OK,
The dates have been set-

June 1-2 - Vermilion
July 13-14 - Minnewaska (Glenwood)
August 10-11 - Clearwater (Annandale)
September 7-8 - Big Pine (Perham)

August 24 - Pokegama (Grand Rapids)

The first 4 are league events, the last one will be open to those who are in the league as well as those who are not.

Check back soon for updates, league rules, and information on how to register.
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Fishhead,
Talked to Chris, he said he'd love to fish with you. Shoot me an email and give me your phone #. I'll pass it on so u 2 can talk.
GullGuide@fishingminnesota.com

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I like the idea a lot, but my only problem is I find it VERY difficult to find a partner! I did the solo thing twice last year, and lets just say I won't be doing that again. The only way I can do the "league" is if someone can commit, and my friends cannot seem to commit with their families and all. We have a long time before the open water season, maybe something can be worked out.

CD, I would like to join this year, but here are my two problems. #1 My buddy who I was going to fish with can't make the events, #2 He is the one with the boat, so I need to find a partner with a boat. If you have a boat, I am willing to commit to being a partner. I would be willing to even things up for the use of your boat, gas money, I could drive to a few events,..etc. Let me know if you are interested, please send me an e-mail:
graberc@msoe.edu
ChrisGraber@eaton.com

I know there are quite a few of you out there that want to get involved in the league, but do not have partners that will commit. The best thing to do is just like Grabs did, post it!
Really, you could have 3 or more people on a team and alternate events if one partner can't make it.
I know as of now, we have 5 teams committed for sure. I expect it to fill up rather quickly once I get all the info out, so start thinking about it and organize your teams. The fee is $200 per team, not per person.
I'll be posting more soon, probably early Friday.
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Grabs,

CD has a very nice rig and is a whole lot of fun to fish with. If you get the chance to hook up with him, I would go for it.

Paul

Hey CD, how would you like a Clueless college student for a partner?

I think the tournament would be a lot of fun.
Not sure if I can come up with the $$ however...
GullGuide - How come you didn't include any of the northern lakes like Cass, Winnie, Bemidji or LOW this year?

I am really busy on Mille Lacs June,July and September. If anyone is looking for a team member or a partner, i can fish the clearwater event in August and maybe the open on pokegama. I have partners and other buddies that i could fish with but its hard getting them to commit. I would rather team up with a FM.com member and meet new people. Let me know.. Thanks D-man

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MILLE LACS AREA GUIDE SERVICE
651-271-5459 http://fishingminnesota.com/millelacsguide/

Clueless,

We tried to spread it out a little bit so that it was fair for all, while not using the same lake two years in a row. The pick for the northern lake this year was Vermilion at Guidemans invitation. With the I.C.E. series on Winnie and LOW and fishing both Cass and Leech last summer, the decision was made to pick a couple of different lakes.

Hope you can join us as they are a ton of fun!

Paul