# Navarre Fishing Rodeo- VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!



## Caddy Yakker (May 21, 2011)

Ok since no one else has said it I guess I will. The Navarre Fishing Rodeo really sucked this year! It was the poorest run, disorganized tournament I have ever fished. This was the 3rd yr I fished it and it was nothing like the first two. I have never seen so many heads shaking and people getting pissed at an awards ceremony. 

I caught a 7# spanish on Saturday and was pretty confident it would place so I entered it in the open division. I also weighed a 3.1# spanish on Sunday. Well when they get to spanish division they call out 1st place as a 10.1# spanish and then say my name as 2nd with a 3.1# spanish....so I tell them I had a 7# spanish and they have to stop the awards ceremony. That 10.1# spanish was actually a king! 

So after 30 minutes they come back and start again. They call my name again for 1st place spanish at 3.1#! They still had not entered my fish in their spreadsheet! How can they add up offshore and inshore slams if they don't even have all the fish entered? I don't think my 7# spanish ever did get in the spreadsheet. 

Apparently they handed out several prizes to the wrong people that I know of but I'm sure there were many more mistakes. 

Also they were pretty much advertising you could buy a ticket for open division and another for kayak division on the pff so you could enter fish in both categories. Well they didn't even have a leader board and you have to declare which division you want each fish to be in when you weigh it. How are you supposed to know which one to enter without a leader board?

I think a big problem was no transparency at all. If they had a leader board at least the mistakes could be pointed out before awards are handed out to the wrong people. The lady handling the numbers should not of been appointed that job. I really hope they get their act together if there is a next yr. I know if I was a sponsor I would not want my name any where near that tournament!


----------



## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

My exact reply on your FB post so others can see it in hopes the tournament can go back to being ran by the guys who originally came up with the idea:



> LoL, its gone from an idea started in motion by local anglers to being run by a power tripping paper printer who owes me money (literally I paid $300+ for a service from her company that I never got). I wouldnt expect anything less.


----------



## duckhunter38135 (Nov 27, 2014)

I was thinking the same thing about the leader board. Allows everything to be sanity checked by every person looking at it. 

Took forever as well, we left at 730 after the mysteryr fish announcement and got there at 3 to weigh in. Give away some of the prizes at the captains meeting so It does not take two hours handing out door prizes.


----------



## hxchip (Jul 6, 2009)

Ouch... that kinda makes me glad I didn't rearrange my schedule to go. The PRFA rodeo was much better organized, and the awards/leaderboard were handled perfectly as far as I could tell.


----------



## cody&ryand (Oct 3, 2007)

Don't believe I have ever fished a tournament with no leader board.....


----------



## Emerald Ghost (Mar 11, 2008)

I would encourage you and other participants to contact the organizers of the event and call for a meeting to discuss the challenges encountered and present solutions.
It sounds like it should be a relatively easy fix. 

the squeaky wheel gets the grease.............


----------



## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

were you there during the Capt. meeting. Capt. John asked one simple question. ( the only question asked at the meeting ) the question was this;

if you win the inshore slam, can you still win in the open? the answer was NO... fair enough...

But at the weigh in it was the opposite. like you said they finally fixed the situation but it wasn't until after they started handing out prizes and John said something about it. 


all in all I thought it was a good turn out. By that I mean the folks who participated were all friendly and seemed to enjoy themselves. I had a great 2 days of fishing and caught a lot of fish ; that's what its all about ***

Although if there was some big money on the line --- yah these guys need a larger rule book, a leader board, and tighten up on the Organization as far as weights and divs. 


I laughed when I heard someone caught a 10lb Spanish, first thought lets see that lateral line hahahaha


----------



## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

Who runs this tournament? From my understanding it's not ran by fishermen, or anyone in the industry... I also heard that when the tournament director was approached by a local tackle store to help with the event, they were very firmly told no...

Personally, I think it's hilarious that it failed. You get offered help by someone who knows what the hell they're doing, and you tell them to kick rocks... well, you brought this on your self, Chip.


----------



## ANGELEYES (Oct 9, 2014)

You got it total blind leading blind it is amazing to me that there was no leader board seemed to me that there was a pre determined notion that the prizes were already pre-determined who they were given out too..the scale system sucked and further more it was total mind blowing that there was no provisions for anyone who brought a fish in by boat i had to beach to weigh in??????? Never in my life have i seen so many people who know nothing about fishing or how to run a tournament holding one. The kids awards were also cheesey a $2.00 trophy? Seemed to me that the chamber only wanted to lube juanas pocket by having everyone buy their over priced drinks!!! And the so called tournament was a by product. The blind leading the blind. Helen keller could have done a better job!!!!!! Dont think ill do this one again unless some very big changes are made.. And that sucks beacuse i try to support local events as much as possible.


----------



## ANGELEYES (Oct 9, 2014)

Oh and by the way after awards people were seen walking to cars with multiple yeti boxes?


----------



## Caddy Yakker (May 21, 2011)

The tournament only paid out for 1st and 2nd place with 1st being a yeti hopper ($300) and 2nd being a 30oz yeti tumbler ($40). Seems like 2nd place in my opinion should of been of higher value. Would of been a nice 3rd place. Most tournaments 3rd place at least covers the entry fee and in this case second place didn't evencover your entry fee...


----------



## Reel Sick (May 4, 2009)

Yes there was some confusion but it still turned out all right they made good on everything with no issues if the anglers had patience. I spoke with one of the lady's from the tournament this morning she called me to make sure I had received my prizes for the three categories that I had placed in 1st place Red Snapper, 1st place Flounder, and 2nd Place Inshore Slam. She apologized for the confusion and thanked me for fishing the tournament and asked me if I had any input to make this tournament better. I told her that there needs to be a leader board during the tournament or posted an hour before the awards ceremony so all the errors can be fixed before giving out prizes to the wrong angler. Over all we had fun and they did the right thing at the end of the day to make it right with the fishermen with no fuss. I will fish this tournament again and I believe that they are going to send out emails to get feed back to make this a better tournament for next year. I'm sure the tournament directors will be reading this forum lets try not to bash them to much guys lets just give some good advice to make it better for next year, we need more local tournaments to keep our small fishing community together. Besides there are issues in every tournament a few come to mind but lets try to encourage them to keep making them better every year. I have Daughter on the way and I love seeing the kids weigh in fish and win prizes with huge smiles on their faces, I hope there will still be junior tournaments for when my daughter is old enough to reel in fish so I can see her face light up with excitement. No I am not affiliated with this tournament in any way other than being an angler. 
Tight Lines


----------



## NavarreFishingRodeo (Aug 5, 2015)

Caddy Yakker said:


> Ok since no one else has said it I guess I will. The Navarre Fishing Rodeo really sucked this year! It was the poorest run, disorganized tournament I have ever fished. This was the 3rd yr I fished it and it was nothing like the first two. I have never seen so many heads shaking and people getting pissed at an awards ceremony.
> 
> I caught a 7# spanish on Saturday and was pretty confident it would place so I entered it in the open division. I also weighed a 3.1# spanish on Sunday. Well when they get to spanish division they call out 1st place as a 10.1# spanish and then say my name as 2nd with a 3.1# spanish....so I tell them I had a 7# spanish and they have to stop the awards ceremony. That 10.1# spanish was actually a king!
> 
> ...





ANGELEYES said:


> Oh and by the way after awards people were seen walking to cars with multiple yeti boxes?


The tournament saw a 224% increase in anglers and a 100% increase in fish weighed. The only hiccups can at the end due to a software glitch and a rule clarification/change that happened at the Capt's. meeting. This was straightened out on site and on the spot. 

The same people that ran the previous two events worked this event as well with additional committee members. The only real difference at the tournament itself this year was that we had a different weigh master and this weigh master weighed 100% more fish than the previous two years - and did a great job. 

Other differences - The previous two years we did not have Capt's bags or Free Tech shirts per entry which alone were worth $40. The Capt's bags were full of goodies including % off at several retail locations, a free subscription to Kayak Angler Magazine, the October issue of Florida Sportsman and more. Never before have we had so many perks for our anglers. The admission fee was more than covered for every angler whether they won a prize or not. 

We also added a new kayak division and two slams and a mystery fish this year. We added 50% more chances to win. Every angler that won - won. 

It is hard to believe this is coming from an angler that has one more than one Yeti prize at this tournament - and at our previous tournaments. Please do not discount all the hard work that went into this by volunteers. This is a fun - family charity tournament to benefit Heroes on the Water and our Marine Park. It is easy to quarterback from the sidelines. Yes - there were a few glitches - but in the end, every person there had a prize, a door prize and more. 

And, we will consider bringing back the leader board. The reason we didn't have one this year was that last year, people were walking up, looking at the leaderboard and walking away. This year we had a chance to win a $100 gift card for every fish that was weighed. Plus - the mystery fish was an average Redfish at 4.3 lbs. If we had a leaderboard, that fish may not have been weighed. 

As far as tournament organizers walking with Yeti's after the tournament, that was to be inventoried for next year's tournament. We still have a few prizes to hand out for those that were not in attendance. Let's keep it positive folks. 

Thank you to all of our anglers and sponsors that made this tournament possible. We will be sending out a survey to this years anglers - for next year and we would appreciate all of your feedback at that time. We are very open to constructive feedback with solutions for problems and will be receiving those via email in the very near future. 

We have already received an offer for a donation of tournament software - which we appreciate because at the numbers we had this year - we really could have used it. 

We are committed to making next year even better and we will. We hope you will join us.


----------



## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

If you've got a weigh "master" who can't tell the difference between a King and Spanish Mackerel, you need to find someone else. Just saying.


----------



## Brad King (Sep 30, 2007)

Tyler Manning and I ran it the 1st year and I thought it was a success!!! Tyler, James Broxson and myself went before multiple boards to ask for the funds for the rodeo and turned charters down to run the Captains meeting and both days of the weigh in. Haven't been contacted about being a part of it since then...

Very sad to hear that something so good for the area is not being run by local fishermen anymore! Hopefully they will get the right people back in the right positions and bring this rodeo back to it's full potential!


----------



## NavarreFishingRodeo (Aug 5, 2015)

Reel Sick said:


> Yes there was some confusion but it still turned out all right they made good on everything with no issues if the anglers had patience. I spoke with one of the lady's from the tournament this morning she called me to make sure I had received my prizes for the three categories that I had placed in 1st place Red Snapper, 1st place Flounder, and 2nd Place Inshore Slam. She apologized for the confusion and thanked me for fishing the tournament and asked me if I had any input to make this tournament better. I told her that there needs to be a leader board during the tournament or posted an hour before the awards ceremony so all the errors can be fixed before giving out prizes to the wrong angler. Over all we had fun and they did the right thing at the end of the day to make it right with the fishermen with no fuss. I will fish this tournament again and I believe that they are going to send out emails to get feed back to make this a better tournament for next year. I'm sure the tournament directors will be reading this forum lets try not to bash them to much guys lets just give some good advice to make it better for next year, we need more local tournaments to keep our small fishing community together. Besides there are issues in every tournament a few come to mind but lets try to encourage them to keep making them better every year. I have Daughter on the way and I love seeing the kids weigh in fish and win prizes with huge smiles on their faces, I hope there will still be junior tournaments for when my daughter is old enough to reel in fish so I can see her face light up with excitement. No I am not affiliated with this tournament in any way other than being an angler.
> Tight Lines


Thank you, Reel Sick. As always, feedback from everyone is much appreciated. Overall, this charity tournament was a big success. It was really an honor for us to spend time out there with all the anglers and their catches. Take a kid fishing day, along with our Jr. Anglers in the tournament, this year was also an absolute blast. While there is some possible room for improvement, I would like to thank all those who did compete this year. We love our local community, the charities, our veterans, and all our anglers. Thank you.


----------



## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

John B. said:


> If you've got a weigh "master" who can't tell the difference between a King and Spanish Mackerel, you need to find someone else. Just saying.



No kidding.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Fisherdad1 (Oct 4, 2007)

Hey guys. The problem with the 10.1 pound spanish was not that the weighmaster messed up identifying the fish. The issue was a data entry problem. They said it at the tourney. It was a 1.01 lb spanish. Misplaced decimal during data entry made it 10.1. Again, a leader board would have helped resolve this issue. Multiple yetis were carried to cars, including my car, because you were allowed to win multiple categories (as you always have been able to do in this rodeo), you just were not supposed to be allowed to win both the slam and the individual fish prises that comprise the slam. They did make that error during awards, and corrected it by giving out another first prize to the correct, adjusted lead fish (did not take the yeti away from the angler that won the slam and was also incorrectly awarded a 1st place fish prize). Handling it that way after discovering the error was their call, and I don't have a problem with it. While it took a while to get there in some cases, I think they worked to try to make things right and i commend them for that.

That being said, (and i am addressing this to the organizers) the rodeo will not grow as you hope if these issues are not addressed. The first post was absolutely correct - a lot of headshaking and grumbling and declarations that they would never fish this tourney again were being made in the audience during the ceremony. In my opinion, damage control needs to include establishing a new proceedure at weigh in and absolutely having a leader board. Also, you said that you had to declare your division either online at ticket purchase or at the captains meeting, but i saw people (with a single ticket) being given the option to declare their division as open or kayak at the weigh in. In my opinion, if you did not declare kayak division prior to fishing, as instructed, then you are defaulted to the open division. 

I want to see the tourney continue to grow and succeed. I HIGHLY recommend the organizers visit the Gulf Breeze rodeos. One in particular (i think it is sertoma??) has a great three tiered system where they check your ticket / their list at the first stop and give you a weigh-in slip for each fish you have to weigh. Your division that you pre-determined can be marked on that weigh-in slip. Next stop is the weighmaster. The scale is visible and you are asked to agree with the weight on the scale and that weight is written on the slip and handed to you. At the final stop you hand the slip to the data entry person. They enter the weight, have you confirm that the weight on the spreadsheet is correct and in the correct fish category. I think you even initial something when you confirm that the weight is entered correctly. Great system with very little room for error and the anglers all feel that everything is above board. 

I would higly recommend moving to a system like this and then working to keep the leader board up as much as you can (people understand that there is a lag time). But definitely having the board set before starting the award ceremony so people can bring up any issues before the awards start. This will be less stressful for everyone involved - especially the organizers.
- Fisherdad1


----------



## need2fish (Oct 2, 2007)

Wow - I been pretty busy and am just now looking at the feedback.

I'll take some of the blame for operational issues since I was on the committee and the tournament is now a Chamber Foundation event (full disclosure I'm a board member/officer of the Foundation - it's a 501 c 3 org). I should've been more active on the committee and forceful on insisting on firmer rule clarifications but I just didn't get involved enough. No excuse. Not sure of the story on the leaderboard - that is a definite complaint that (in my opinion is the top thing to be remedied). Again - lack of involvement/commitment on my part is no excuse. If I was going to be on the committee I should have been more involved - So for that I'm sorry. I'll certainly raise all the issues indicated here in an upcoming meeting to review the event.

That having been said, the immediate results issues were addressed and no one was gyped out of any prizes, so the material complaints seem to be - it should/could have been run better and a leader board is a must have. Sounds like some upset over people getting prizes they might not have deserved or earned - I've never been one to care too much if somebody else got a free deal or lucked out as long as I wasn't shortchanged, but to each his own I guess. Better operations should prevent that.

For those that are interested - the chamber foundation paid for all the permitting costs for the current gulf and sound side ecological and snorkeling reefs at Navarre Beach Park, the 1 x 2 mile offshore reef area that just got permitted and a 6' wide low profile dune walkover with 36' x 36' washdown station on the east end of Navarre Beach County Park. We are also funding part of the walkover construction.


----------



## Medic (Jan 25, 2013)

Add a Pier/Surf division. 

Also, making the kids wait for door prizes to be handed out instead of awarding them first was not a good idea. 

That and the $3 bait bucket for prizes was kinda lame. 

Next year will be better I'm sure.


----------



## Stressless (Oct 2, 2007)

And there you have it - one committee member stating they can do better and accepting some blame for the errors, that were not even his, and the other ... welllll, the other one spouting and touting 8 of 9 paragraphs of their successes and belittling the grievances identified here... but then they added... "*We are very open to constructive feedback".*

Nuf Said. 



> The tournament saw a 224% ...
> 
> The same people that ran ...
> 
> ...


No leaderboard and separate div listing; no fishy: simple.

Best,
stressless


----------



## Medic (Jan 25, 2013)

I can imagine other entities can put in to run next year's event.


----------



## Caddy Yakker (May 21, 2011)

NavarreFishingRodeo said:


> The tournament saw a 224% increase in anglers and a 100% increase in fish weighed. The only hiccups can at the end due to a software glitch and a rule clarification/change that happened at the Capt's. meeting. This was straightened out on site and on the spot.
> 
> The same people that ran the previous two events worked this event as well with additional committee members. The only real difference at the tournament itself this year was that we had a different weigh master and this weigh master weighed 100% more fish than the previous two years - and did a great job.
> 
> ...





Sorry it took me so long to reply but have been very busy fishing and have not been on a computer and way too much to type on my phone!

First off your 224% increase was probably mostly due to the way the tournament was run the previous 2 yrs. If there was in fact that much of an increase you would think the amount of fish weighed would be much higher considering all the trickery used just to get people to weigh fish at the expense of a quality tournament.

Saying "The same people that ran the previous two events worked this event" is a flat out LIE! To say they did a great job is laughable! But I guess I should expect this coming from someone who works for a newspaper?

Ok everyone knows captain's bag's are NEVER worth the entry fee unless you put full retail value on stuff that was probably donated and most of it nobody even wants....Sorry I don't buy $40 fishing shirts to cover in blood!

Yes you did add a kayak division considering at least half the people that fish the Navarre rodeo are kayakers. I did notice you tricked some of these kayakers into buying two tickets so they could weigh fish in the kayak division and open(has more categories). But once they showed up at the scales with their fish there was no leader board and therefore no way to decide which category to weigh which fish!

Yes I did in fact win 2 yeti products this yr only to have one taken back because you guys messed up! This is the only yr I have ever won a yeti product but I have won other prizes in the past 2! But I wouldn't expect anyone who ran this rodeo to know who won what.

It really shouldn't matter if I won anything or not when it comes to me voicing my opinion on how this tournament was run! In fact I'm sure if I didn't win anything I would probably be thought of as a sore loser.

The fact that you said you will consider bringing back the leader board, considering you said yourself was the BIGGEST COMPLAINT, just shows you don't give a crap what we think!

The mystery fish was the biggest joke of the tournament! The mystery was the rules because they were never explained properly. They were supposed to be explained at the captain's meeting. 

Once the captain's meeting was over I realized this and asked the speaker about the mystery fish. He said it will be any fish you catch while out fishing that you can eat". So I said "like a white trout or croaker"? He said yes. So on Saturday while trying to catch some big baits I got a nice white trout and croaker. So I bring these with me when I weigh my 7# spanish and the "weigh master" says I can't weigh those because they are in the Kids division. So I say to him "so it's not any fish that's already a category in the rodeo" and he says correct! Then I find out the mystery fish is a "medium sized redfish"! What a bad joke!
A mystery weight not fish would have been the smart thing to do like other tournaments...

Since you are so worried about numbers of fish weighed I'll bring this up. 
Sunday when my brother and I brought our fish bag up we had 2 limits of snapper, 2 limits of kings and about 6 or 7 spanish. After weighing my biggest fish I asked if I could weigh my other fish and was told I could only weigh one. Now I look back and know that was BS because those fish were all part of the offshore slam and could not be weighed in both but my other fish should have been weighed in the open! You could of upped your fish weighed % right there with that one fish bag!

I know I may seem very harsh and it's just a family charity event.

BUT the county gave them $10,000 to put this rodeo on!

Heroes on the Water deserves better and WE deserve better!

I fish a lot of tournaments and rodeos every yr and this was by far the worst ever!

Maybe next yr if you decide to bless us with a leader board I will fish it.

I can only hope someone else takes over since you guys dropped the ball so many times.


----------



## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

Caddy Yakker said:


> Sorry it took me so long to reply but have been very busy fishing and have not been on a computer and way too much to type on my phone!
> 
> First off your 224% increase was probably mostly due to the way the tournament was run the previous 2 yrs. If there was in fact that much of an increase you would think the amount of fish weighed would be much higher considering all the trickery used just to get people to weigh fish at the expense of a quality tournament.
> 
> ...



when you run a tournament with no *** leaderboad... I clearly caught the mystery fish!!! it was a large nosed carpet croaker hahahaha


----------



## Romi White (Sep 28, 2016)

*Comments on Navarre Fishing Rodeo?*

I'm writing a story about the Navarre Fishing Rodeo and would like to get input about how last year's tourney was run. Feel free to reply here or call me 850-503-6242 or email [email protected].

Thanks!


----------



## NavarreFishingRodeo (Aug 5, 2015)

Romi - you know how to get a hold of Mike Sandler. Journalism 101 - go to the source - not a forum. Wannabe much?


----------



## BananaTom (Feb 16, 2008)

SSRC Entertainment unfolds on the PFF


----------



## Romi White (Sep 28, 2016)

NavarreFishingRodeo said:


> Romi - you know how to get a hold of Mike Sandler. Journalism 101 - go to the source - not a forum. Wannabe much?


Already emailed him.


----------



## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

NavarreFishingRodeo said:


> Romi - you know how to get a hold of Mike Sandler. Journalism 101 - go to the source - not a forum. Wannabe much?


So, if you were going to write an article on Hillary, then you would call her up and ask only her for the facts??


----------



## Romi White (Sep 28, 2016)

Feel free to email me your input about how this tournament has been run. 
[email protected]


----------



## Brads (Jun 12, 2016)

Holy shit, now this is some cheap entertainment for sure. 
But being a avid fisherman, and reading all the threads, there definitely has to be a change in leadership next year. Time to pass the torch to the pros!


----------



## johnsonbeachbum (Oct 1, 2007)

Romi White said:


> I'm writing a story about the Navarre Fishing Rodeo and would like to get input about how last year's tourney was run. Feel free to reply here or call me 850-503-6242 or email [email protected].
> 
> Thanks!





NavarreFishingRodeo said:


> Romi - you know how to get a hold of Mike Sandler. Journalism 101 - go to the source - not a forum. Wannabe much?


WOW, I wish I would get a bite that soon after I drop the bait.

A thread that has been dead for a year gets a new posting and 26 minutes later someone connected to the subject matter posts a snarky reply.
I am sure that will have a positive influence for the newspaper article on the up coming tourney for sure.

Congrats!!!


----------



## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

johnsonbeachbum said:


> WOW, I wish I would get a bite that soon after I drop the bait.
> 
> A thread that has been dead for a year gets a new posting and 26 minutes later someone connected to the subject matter posts a snarky reply.
> I am sure that will have a positive influence for the newspaper article on the up coming tourney for sure.
> ...


Hopefully what it does is gives the forum members that started the tournament the rights to run it again and not people who have no clue about fishing and only doing it for the money in their pockets.


----------



## Catchin Hell (Oct 9, 2007)

:watching::beer: Got a feeling this is going to be a 20 pager... Argument has been going strong on FB Concerned Citizens of Navarre.


----------



## TeaSea (Sep 28, 2013)

Entertaining thread. Gives me visions of pitchforks and torches


----------



## Caddy Yakker (May 21, 2011)

TeaSea said:


> Entertaining thread. Gives me visions of pitchforks and torches


They brought this on themselves really. I have personally heard of a local tournament so poorly run that it pissed off this many people 2 years in a row!


----------

