# Shotgun Starts ?



## Garbo (Oct 2, 2007)

I fished with some friends in the OutCast inshore Slam. And Congrats to Josh, Dusty and Tim...And a HUGE Weight to post. DANG. 

We as most met Tommy's boat in the Bay and showed our number and floated with the field waiting for the start. When the start time came there were boats for the most part going either east or west, and for our crew it got dangerous very quickly. A Century Bay Boat with twin outboards that got caught up in the confused water from the huge number of boat wakes was determined to get on plane, overtakeand cross our bow. I saw this coming and spoke to our captain, saying to watch the Century, and he kept coming. A few close seconds, and an alert Captain at our helm, spared us a colision. I saw no reaction from the other boat, and it went about it's way as if everything was as it was supposed to be. The health and lives of the Crew on our boat was far more important to me than catchingany of our fish, or all outwinning the tournament. 

I have been in many shotgun starts and seen some hairymoments. My question is: Is it worth it to you to risk so much,to get to your first location 5 minutes or less before the next boat?


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## fisheye48 (Sep 28, 2007)

guess thats what happens when horsepower outruns intelligence


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## James Fink (Oct 2, 2007)

Well, I would guess this would be WAY better off in general discussion...when I got wet I was a bit mad...then horn in my ear for 5 or 6 seconds wasnt much better!oke We need more response to this...that was pretty dang stupid on the other guys part!!!!

edit...*IF* we had been fishing my boat with 3 people and in the same place there WOULD have been an accident. Just due to the way my boat jumps on plane versus the boat we were on...we as well as the guy driving the other boat should be grateful of that!!!


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

> *James Fink (5/17/2009)*Well, I would guess this would be WAY better off in general discussion...when I got wet I was a bit mad...then horn in my ear for 5 or 6 seconds wasnt much better!oke We need more response to this...that was pretty dang stupid on the other guys part!!!!


Hell ride in the truck with him its like 2 miles laying on the horn.


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

i saw that Curtis, yes it was hairy... that century looked like a zara spook zig zagging across the water, couldn't keep the boat in the water at all, too much motor maybe, or not enough experience,

personally, i love shotgun starts, as long as everyone pays attention.... then again, i'm usually on a fast enough boat that we don't really worry about too much traffic.


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## Garbo (Oct 2, 2007)

I kinda like them too. It's a very exciting thing to start the day, thecompetition and your gameplan.I love it too. But respect for the water and other boaters is always a must. 

There is enough inexperience on the waterto deal with, without having to deal with it with each other at the start of a tournament. I would really hate to see something as bad as what could have happened, happen, and certainly not at the start of such a great tournament. 

Common Sense on the water is something we all need to practice, and even moreso in a tightly grouped bunch of boats in a shotgun start of a tournament. 

With that said, Jason did an outstanding job keeping the boat out of troublein yielding to carelessness. And yes, the Horn definately works.


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## Flatspro (Oct 3, 2007)

As the captain of my boat you have to have your head on a swivel!!!!!!! I personally let all the faster boats go at the start, that 24 Century with twins was out of control JR said that when he got to the turning basin he looked more like a 24 foot zara spook (out of the water and walking the dog). Once we got on plane and it was a little harder with 60gal of bait we proceeded to pass all the people that wanted to be heros running in the cleaner water. But back to the question shotgun starts are not bad if you have experienced captains and it only takes one jackass to ruin the day for someone! I do feel that if we took off in order as to how you signed up it would give a little incentive to signing up early before the weather watchers!


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## Garbo (Oct 2, 2007)

> *Flatspro (5/17/2009)*As the captain of my boat you have to have your head on a swivel!!!!!!! I personally let all the faster boats go at the start, that 24 Century with twins was out of control JR said that when he got to the turning basin he looked more like a 24 foot zara spook (out of the water and walking the dog). Once we got on plane and it was a little harder with 60gal of bait we proceeded to pass all the people that wanted to be heros running in the cleaner water. But back to the question shotgun starts are not bad if you have experienced captains and it only takes one jackass to ruin the day for someone! I do feel that if we took off in order as to how you signed up it would give a little incentive to signing up early before the weather watchers!


*Great Thoughts. Great Post. *


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## DreamWeaver21 (Oct 3, 2007)

The only shotgun starts I do are for king tournamnets where everyone is going the same direction (towards the pass). IMO they are far far better than trying to let boats check out one at a time after a certain time. Whenever tournaments try to let boats check out one at a time there is alway a huge cluster boat boats banging around right at the checkout boat with people jumping up to run as soon as they get checked. With the shotgun, we can check out and then spread out to a safe distancefor the start.


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## LATERALINE (Oct 2, 2007)

I freakin love shotgun starts!


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## Garbo (Oct 2, 2007)

Does anyone know the Bay Century with Twin Yamahas? Just Curious?


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## Brant Peacher (Oct 4, 2007)

Shotgun stars can be exciting yes, but they can also be dangerous. I personally prefer drawing numbers as they do in most large redfish and bass tournaments. This insures safety for all anglers participating. I have seen a lot of bad stuff happen over the years in shotgun starts. As the captain of my boat I would rather not have the pressure of a shotgun start. As Chad said, you definitely have to be alert and have your head on a swivel. Don't get me wrong, when I was younger and didn't have the responsability of other anglers aboard my boat I loved shotgun starts!


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## Travis Gill (Oct 6, 2007)

> *John B. (5/17/2009)*ipersonally, i love shotgun starts, as long as everyone pays attention.... then again, i'm usually on a fast enough boat that we don't really worry about too much traffic.


The whole 1 that you've participated in :letspartyoke


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## JoeZ (Sep 30, 2007)

> *Freespool (5/21/2009)*
> 
> 
> > *John B. (5/17/2009)*ipersonally, i love shotgun starts, as long as everyone pays attention.... then again, i'm usually on a fast enough boat that we don't really worry about too much traffic.
> ...




Call it out Travis!:clap


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