Could the Ottawa Valley support a tournament like this????

[fishmaster]

Now that Bass season is almost over I got to thinking of what I would like to see and do next season. I don't fish Renegade but I do like what they do in their tournaments and there are many other great events but I still think there is room for one more. This is what I would like to see.... a big first payout with a small field that will make it a top notch tourney. This is my idea.
2 Days on the Ottawa River further to the west from Ottawa (Example Petawawa)
$500. entry fee plus $50 big fish per team.
50 team field with the field being cut after day 1 to 25 teams.
Payouts as follows
1st $10000
2nd $3000
3rd $2000
4th $1500
5th to 10th $1000
Big fish payout of $1000 per day with the biggest fish of the 2 days getting an extra $500.
I would also like to see a cutoff date well before the tournament which I think would make people commit and not wait on the weather or fishing conditions. Say have a cut-off date of June 1st for a Mid Aug. or early Sept. tourney date. This is not something that I am in a position to run because I don't have a business or organization to accept entry fees through that would add credit to this event. This is just an idea I came up with while thinking about ways to expand tournaments into the upper Ottawa Valley. There are many great hotels and rental options available for folks who want to spend time pre-fishing and I think it would be great to showcase an area like Petawawa with it's army base and it's many Servicemen and women and there families. I'm not trying to open up a bashing post or run down other tournament organizations I'm just trying to get a feel and if there is a positive response it is something myself or others could use to approach potential sponsors or businesses that might see this as a good investment. Let me know your thoughts and lets see if anoyone has any other ideas that might be even better. If I'm thinking about this stuff alright this fall it's going to make for a reaaaaallllll long winter for me, cabin fever is here already

[JimW]

I'm no expert on tournament logistics or tournament finances or sponsorship but it could work. I would think there would be 50 teams interested, but maybe not?

Petawawa has a good facility for a large tournament and a great area to fish.

When the Ontario Bass Federation had the Provincial Qualifier on the Ottawa at Petawawa a few years ago it was a good tournament, good facilities, lots of water to fish.

Just my thoughts.

JimW

[beachburger]

I think you would get several of the popular names traveling to take a crack at that kind of prize money but I think the price tag would make it tough to get to 50 teams. It might be an event that would need to be built up over time.

I say forget the cut and just make it a 2 day tournament. That would be different that every other open tournament within a couple of hours drive and would keep people in hotels and frequenting the local establishments for two days, not one. Sponsors would like that and if you want big prizes, sponsors are going to be needed. There are lots of ways to entice people to stay two days (a "bottom 25" tournament on Day 2 with a winner-take-all prize for $1000 would be one way).

There was an attempt to revive the old Pembroke tournament for this past season but unfortunately it didn't work out for one reason or another. To the best of my knowledge, the old 2-day Pembroke tournament had a guaranteed first prize from sponsors.

Not sure if there is a "best" time to hold something like this but the OBF qualifier and Renegade tournaments would have the same boats you would want to attract so you would probably have to work around those scheds to some degree. I'm pretty sure the PBMs would not schedule against this because most of us would probably want to fish it.....

My partner and I were big fans of the old 2 day Pembroke tournament and I'm pretty sure we would sign up for something like this. We've spent far more on far dumber things.....

My .02 + HST
Doug

[fishmaster]

Couple of good points there Beachburger, I never thought about the idea of not having a cut which would help keep hotels and such busy for the extra night. As far as the entry being a little steep I don't believe that. I know of quite a few teams in the local area that travel already to fish high entry tourney's around Ontario and the US. I have been hearing for a few years now that the Pembroke 2 day was going to start back up but I don't think it will happen. I hope this topic gets a few more ideas and conversation because you never know who is reading this site and it could end up getting someone with the proper resources interested in running something like this.

[beachburger]

I don't think the $500 is too steep either if the prizes are there and it's a two day tournament. I can think of 20 boats in the Pembroke/Petawawa area that would be candidates to sign up and I'm fairly sure your list of 20 would be pretty close to mine......

But (there's always a but....) when you consider only an handful of those 20 boats will travel to and fish an event like the B1 or the Simcoe Open, I'm not convinced those on the other side of Ottawa (or in Quebec) would travel to the Valley to participate in a similar event for the same reasons many Valley boats don't go down there. And it's those people that the potential sponsors are most interested in.

I think the initial challenge would be get boats from the Ottawa area and beyond up to the Valley on the same day around the Renegade sched, FLWs in Northern New York, OBF, club classics, etc.

Might have to do a Sun/Mon tourney on a long weekend. A big $ tournament would probably get some boats out of the Aug long weekend SEBO on Muskrat.

Just thinking out loud......

Doug

[petawawarace]

Marty,

What about a bass and walleye tournament. It works really well in Deep River, and there are alot of local guys who fish walleye that probly won't enter if it is just bass. I think if you could start up a big tournament you could draw from Northbay and further too. I think that a summer tournament would work best as to spread it out a bit...but like they said try and find an off weekend for other tournaments. And I don't think I would put a 50 team limit on it. I don't see any advantage to letting less teams in.

Jeff

[fishmaster]

Jeff,
I agree that Deep River's tournament with the Bass and Walleye option works well but I myself don't think we need another Bass/Walleye combo in the area. As far as letting more than 50 teams I'll tell you my reasoning for that number. Weigh-ins with 50 or more teams can make for a big wait and it is alot of work to get that many teams through efficiently and organized. As you know 50 teams in the Deep River tournament can be difficult especially if it is at all windy or busy at the marina. If this tourney were to run in July or August the Petawawa marina is very busy and it would be terribly crowded. Another reason I chose the 50 team number is I think if the event were held on a weekend that Renegade wasn't running I think it would fill, and I think it would make people commit in a timely fashion. I tried to turn this post into a poll but I can't seem to figure it out. I looked up some dates and this is when it could be a go, July 23,24 , Aug.13,14 and Aug.27,28. I think the last date in Aug might conflict with the OBF and if so I would say not to have it as an option. If anyone is really interested could you post here or PM me. If you PM me could you send your email so if something can be done to make it happen I can have a list of contacts to show.

[mont0073]

I am from the area and as long as it didn't fall on the same day as another tournament close by you would get 50 teams no problem.

[beachburger]

In 2010 this is what was scheduled by the area clubs for the dates you mentioned.

July 24 - PBM Kamaniskeg (33 boats)
July 25 - Empty
Aug.14 - PBM Golden Lake (23 boats)
Aug 15 - Valley Bass
Aug.28,29 - OBF

I am pretty sure the OBF is at the same time again this year and I am under the impression that the dates and location will be known sometime in Dec. The PBMers will be setting their sched in Dec or Jan. I don't know when Valley Bass sets their sched but you know some of the members and can find that out easily enough.

There will be a PBM meeting on Dec 14 (I'll be updating the website soon) if you wanted to bounce your idea off others.

Doug

[Thrasher]

I too think it's a great idea. As said, I can think iof 20+ local teams (Ottawa Valley/quebec area) that would be into it... Probably many of the usuals that Burger would be talking about, but if it didn't conflict with other tourneys, had payouts like that, a good venue and didn't have to deal with as much red tape as the old Pembroke tourney, I can't see why it wouldn't fly. The Bass vs Bass/Walleye is a debate. I personally feel that some of the local folk would be OK with it being both, but many of the guys from the bigger city and area, IMHO, like the Bass only. It'd be interesting to hear some feedback from others as to which would be more likely to draw a crowd, or if it would even matter at all!?

[painter]

I would say wait a few weeks. The OBFN will be anouncing the location of the OBFN Qualifier, Petawawa is one of the likely locations being considered. I fished that one a few years back and it was an AWESOME 2 day tournament, right on the same body of water you are proposing.

If it's on the Ottawa for 2011, I'll be there for sure.

T

[Matt_Stothers]

Any new info on this? It's definately something I would love to see and I'm sure the 50 team limit would be full in no time. Other then the issue of the weigh in, I'm pretty confident there would be no trouble getting 100+ teams interested in a two day event on a great body of water.

As Marty and lots of others on here know, the single day Deep River tournament fills the 50 team capacity almost instantly. With a few more guys interested in giving a helping hand and perhaps having a second weigh in station you could allow for more teams.

I know of other tournaments in the area that use two or more calibrated scales and likely by the second day the feild would be cut down to a point where only one weigh in station would be needed. Just something else to consider.

Matt

[beachburger]

The 2011 OBF Qualifier will be held Aug 27 and 28 on the Ottawa River, Petawawa. The Petawawa Bassmasters will be the host.