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

Clueless....

Some of the reasoning behind choosing the lakes was: 1. big enough 2. vary from year to year 3. many species of fish 4. try to avoid the slot lakes.....

We fished on Cass last year so we decided not to fish on it again. We discussed Winnie, but then you have to deal with slots. Although they are not as restrictive as Mille Lacs, they still make it difficult to deal with in a league or tournament. Bemidji would be something to consider for the following year.

All the lakes you mentioned are excellent lakes and did receive some form of consideration. One other thing we considered when choosing lakes was avoiding some of the well known lakes. It's always nice to try new water.

This year we also made the events once a month instead of twice. With fewer events, there won't be as many geographic locations represented.

Maybe you'll find a partner that frequents some of these lakes. $100 per member over 4 events = $25 per event per person. The cost isn't that bad, but you do have to consider other expenses like bait and gas. Consider it a $25 dollar investment. It'd probably be a better $25 dollar investment than in the stock market right now. You'd be investing in the chance to win money and bragging rights, the opportunity to have a good time and make new friends and fishing connections, as well as the chance to learn from many novice to advanced anglers.

Who knows, by the end of the season you may be considered the not-so-cluelessfisherman...

Grabs,
Thanks for the reply and offer, but I am going to wait awhile and ask some more friends (give it one last try!) before putting it in stone. There is a lot of time before I can even think about the soft water season. I am thinking February-March I will be able to pay dues and develop a plan of action.

CD, sounds good. If anyone wants a committed partner, please let me know. I am very interested in these events. But like I stated previously, I don't have a boat.

Chris

Good to here all the excitement about the summer league. Yes, it is a long way off and there is always a need for alternates or subs. As gullguide said, the idea is to get 15 teams that are committed to fishing all the events. I would also recommend that if you get a team together and are serious about fishing the events get your registration in with your money. We are limiting these events to 15 teams and I believe there were 5 teams represented at the meeting. I believe with the success the league had last year and of course the good times shared by all, that the available slots will fill up quickly. I look forward to another fun summer and hopefully meeting some new teams.ScottS

Holy moly! For some reason I saw the 30 teams part for the open tourney and I figured all of the events were limited to 30 teams. I didn't know it was limited to only 15 teams for the majority of the events. I better get moving because that could really fill fast!

I also just realized that the Vermilion tourney is the same weekend as a big walleye tourney I fish in Bemidji, so I have to work out more details with my partner for that event. I never thought I would be planning for all this stuff in early December!

Hey all,
I'm sitting here at college typing this because my intrnret at hone is FUBAR. they installed some new box in my area and it has everyones service on the fritz, so if I seem dead, I'm not
It is good to hear that this is taking off this year. So far we have abou 8 teams comitted, so yes, it will fill up fast. I'm taking the first 15 to get me a check.
I'll see some of you on Mille Lacs next weekend.
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p.s.
The spell checker does not work here...hehehehe
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To all:
I would like to be an alternate with one or more teams. I fished 4 events last summer, 3 of those as an alternate in someone else's boat. I can fish in your boat or bring my big-water rig. I am especially interested in the Vermillion event.

Bob O/ iam looking to get hooked up with someone for the Clearwater event. I have fished the lake for 15 years. Let me know if you get a team together and need a sub.

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

D-man,
I would love to fish Clearwater with you if we can fill out a team for the other events.

Friends, is there a team to fish the Minnewasta and Big Pine events, with one of the pair able to fish with me on Vermilion?

Gullguide,
If Grabs and I were a team and fished together on Vermilion, it appears that the rules would allow him to fish Minnewasta and Big Pine with someone else. Does that have to be the same person?

[This message has been edited by Bob O (edited 12-08-2001).]

Bob,

The answer to your question is no. In other word, Two guys form a team and register as such, then the rules state that one of them needs to be present and they can fish with an alternate. Gullguide can confrm this when he gets back online. He has some IP issues right now

Paul

BobO,
Sounds like between you and a few others, you could get a team together. All your team needs is at least one of the two "members" to be at an event.
I can see a number of teams set up this way, in fact my team might end up doing this as well.
We did not discuss this at the meeting, but since we did not set anything in stone regarding subs, theoretically one guy could sign up with one partner yet have a different partner for each event.

As of last count, we have 9 teams verbally committed, but it will be the first 15 to get their league fees in. I'll have the registration forms, where to send it and the rules out shortly, as soon as I can get on the forum from home. If we start running into a ton of teams wanting to get in, we moight consider expanding the league by a few boats, but I would be hesitant to go over 20 teams.

I'm really looking forward to the 2 day format. It will give teams a better chance of placing being able to have 2 days to find the fish.

email me if you have any questions or comments at-
GullGuide@fishingminnesota.com
At least my email still works!!
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[This message has been edited by GullGuide (edited 12-11-2001).]

GullGuide,

I think you can sign me up. This looks much better than last years. Unfortunately, I know nothing about Big Vermillion. Hopefully someone will help some of us out!!!!

I do have questions about how you plan to weigh fish. Is it total weight for each species? Then given a point value?
Are we going to have check ins? Or is it a weigh in at the end of the day?

Thanks

Hammer em,

Gullguides iternet connection is fubar.

For L.E.T.S. The scoring system will be very similar to this years I.C.E. series. Last year we all ways had a one hour break for Lunch and a mid day weigh-in and plan on doing the same this year. This allows you to weigh your catch earlier, thus ensuring a better release survival rate. Also some form of communication is necessary to certify larger fish. The last thing we want is for someone to be dragging a "trophy" sized fish around in there livewell.

Lastly, The best part of last years, and I'm sure this years series, was the willingness of all involved to educate and help each other. I'm sure that if you ask anyone that was involved last year they would agree. I would encourage any of you that have thought about fishing in these events, but are a little apprehensive, to form a team and get involved. A great time is guaranteed for all

I'll be posting all of the rules and weight systems up soon. It's finals week!! So, I'm kind of busy. I'd say Monday at the latest.
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Now with all the rules out and things beginning to form,....who still needs a partner? I would rather not be an alternate because I really would like to fish all the events, and this is early enough warning that I can schedule for these events. So how about it? Who needs a partner? Like I said before I don't have a boat, but I am willing to make things work out evenly.

E-mail me if you wanna form a partnership,...I live in Hopkins in case that helps.

Looking forward to hearing from someone.

graberc@msoe.edu
ChrisGraber@eaton.com

I can't beleive I did not see this post earlier! I will talk to my neighbor and see if he would be interested in fishing it with me. One concern I have is how are muskies going to be adressed, it would make me sick to think that somone is gong to keep a muskie in the livewell until weigh-in.

Cory frantzick
RE/MAX Associates Plus
Timberlane Homes
(612)801-0809
1-800-568-5818 ext 202

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Visit us on the web at www.Athomeonthelake.com

Cory,

Under the rules you will see that a cell phone and/or marine radio is required. Part of the reason for this, is so that you can call another team to "certify" your catch allowing for immediate release.

Pau

Shoot, I forgot to mention that on-the-water verification is allowed. All you need to do is find another team and have them verify your catch. Every team will be provided a list of other teams cell#'s so contact can be made.
Hope this answers your question.
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