ekbelt

Thanks Mark... I think you know where to find us.

Big Red Classic 2012 August 3-5, 2012 1st Place Pro: $6000.00 / 1st Place AM: $3000.00 Catch 10 / Weigh 5 for both Pro / AM An additional $1000.00 will be awarded to an AM boat who registered and wins 1st in the Pro Division! Women's Tournament Friday August 3rd $50.00 Entry Fee Guaranteed Women’s Payouts: 1st - $1000.00 2nd - $500.00 3rd - $250.00 4th - $100.00 5th - $50.00 Check the website out for rules and signup! www.bigredclassic.com

Nice report Dave... I sure am jealous on all the fishing you've done in the last week.

Back up and running!

From now until the end of August I like to run spinnys and paddles everywhere possible. If you can run them on everything, try it, you will get a lot of hits.

Very nice!

Yes, I need to stop by and fire it up again... Hopefully tommorow on my lunch break!

Thank you for all the input and comments on the future format for the Big Red Classic. Even with a slight majority voting for catch 15 weigh 5, there was concern that the population for this survey might not completely represent the actual Big Red Classic participants. For 2012, the format will remain catch 10 weigh 5 for both (formats) divisions. A detailed survey will be included in the captains bags this year in order to get accurate information to what the Big Red Classic participants would like to see for the future of the event. The Big Red Classic is a 501©3 organization who's goal is to give back to the community and help the DNR with projects they work on in Holland, MI. We actively support two charities: Breast Cancer Awareness and the Holland Boy's and Girl's Club. We also were a key component in the completion of the Holland Fish Cleaning station. The charities and community projects are part of the bigger picture of the Big Red Classic. The Big Red Classic is committed to it's participants and we're open to new ideas, but would like to get an accurate perspective from the people who support us. Thanks, and hope to see you in August!

Nice work Dave!!

Nice work Ben!

Nice!!!

Ya.... enforcing no prefishing is pretty tough, as a committee do we patrol 24/7 from Wed-Fri? Just hard to enforce. Not that I dislke the idea, its just I'm not sure it can be enforced in a realistic way. You're at the honor of the participants, and in this day and age you can't trust them. Have to put rules in place that can be managed efficiently. I have a day job too.

FYI... Our next scheduled meeting is next Wednesday. This thread will be a big topic. I will report back the outcomes after the meeting. Thanks to everyone who has participated, and continues to participate until next Wednesday. Erik

Nice work Jimmy, you should fish the Grand Haven tourny this weekend... sounds like you've got the fish figured out!

I've been working for 'Industry Related' sponsors for 5 years and have worked really hard on it too. In my opinion they get the best return on investment for these tournaments. The sad thing is Great Lakes fishing is seasonal and most of these guys just dont have the money to step up. It's a very short season for them... the majority of the fisherman are out there 3-4 months of the year. Even if they did step up big time they would never get a return on investment to justify the cost. It's such a niche area of fishing it makes it tough. Banks on the other hand have the cash to poney up, which means making an ROI for them is a little different. They just want the most exposure they can get... they don't really care who's at the tournament, its just quantity of people. It's a tough deal!

Last year was catch 10 weigh 5 for both Pro and Am. We left the entry fees the same as they have always been. You can see they payouts on the website from last year-- www.bigredclassic.com and the go to the Leaderboard links. We payout well... The sponsors really help. I think last year overall was a 110% plus payout. Sponsor money always pays the top Pro and Am prize. The entry fees are split 2nd down to what ever we pay down on a sliding scale.

Great feedback, and some great ponits here! I plan on printing this thread out and presenting it to the commitee at our next meeting. I see the poll is close to 50/50, I wouldn't mind hearing some comments from people who voted to keep it at a 10 fish limit, or anyone in favor for the 5 fish weigh in limit.

Nice work!

Fished the Holland Steelheaders Spring Challenge this morning. We ended up doing quite well-- Ended up 13 for 16 which netted us a tie for Big Salmon and 4th place. Started in 100 fow down by Saugatuck and did a S troll in that water all morning. No real pattern to the hits, just slow and steady. Riggers down 55 and 65 with free sliders did pretty good. Wire divers back 220, high divers back 180 and 200. Also had hits on full core, 200 copper, 250 copper, and 300 copper. Best lures were mini silver streaks. Also had 3 fish on spin doctor flys. Mini colors were blueberry muffin, carmel dolphin (that was actually a super slim), uv blue dolphin, monkey puke, and mixed veggies. Great turn out for the tournament, I think there were 42 boats. Great weather too!

I am a committe member for the Big Red Classic and we are looking at increasing the catch count for 2012. Just looking for some data--please fill complete the poll. We are voting on this for our next meeting and would like some feedback! Thanks

Crown or Deka

Fished on a friends boat this morning, we ended up 8 for 10. Started in 120 and did a SW out to about 160. Picked up 5 fish in the first half hour and then worked 4 hrs for the last 3. Early, wire diver out 130 was doing good, as we're dowriggers down 40-50 and high divers at 200. Then it just quit and we picked away. Last three fish came on coppers, 2 on 300 copper and 1 on 200 copper. Marked a lot, just didnt want to bite. Maybe it was the cold front that moved through this morning. Nice morning on the lake!

Nice work Mike! I'm heading out in the morning on a friends boat and will post our results tommorow! I'm itching to get out there.... its been awhile.

$28 bucks on a 90 HP four stroke outboard... 18ft boat. 7 gallons on average.

If you can be on the computer Wednesday and thursday tune in to http://www.bigredclassic.com/radio.htm you can listen the channel 68 live streaming to see where the guys are getting fish.