Constructive Criticism

[Thriller]

First of all, I would once again like to express my gratitude to the mod team for this site and this tournament.

OK gang.  There have been a lot of questions and a few complaints about the format of the tournament.  I am sure the mods will be doing a post-mortem after the tournament, but perhaps we can help them along with constructive criticism and suggestions to possibly improve the tourney for next year and beyond.

A number of questions have been asked about having definitive sign up dates.  I'm not sure about the reason for this - presumably it makes things easier to administer...it also helps to build the community by having to be a member before the contest begins so that you can participate - that way someone doesn't just print up a card and join IS after having caught the monster of a lifetime just to collect a prize.

Another hot topic has been species.  I understand there are more categories than last year, so that is an improvement.  Is it the species we catch most frequently that define the species or the number of prizes that the mods can drum up?  If the latter, are there any of us that can help obtain prizes to be able to expand the species list?  Some species that have been under consideration that I can remember are cuttbows / perhaps cutthroat trout, splake, tiger muskies, burbot (same category as walleye, but consistently longer as big fish go), whitefish, cisco / herring, others?  If we want more categories, we either need to get more prizes available or recognize perhaps one or two winners per species.

In a similar vein, are there species that should be dropped?  I don't know muskies very well, but with no entries after a month into the contest, it makes me wonder a bit how much of the IS community targets these fish. 

As far as species goes, we should also be cognizant of geographic distributions of target species.  To the north and west, you run out of crappies / bluegills...perch and pike are relatively universal.  To me it doesn't make sense to include a species if only a small portion of the IS community can fish for it (say if there was something that only existed in the Arctic regions for example) unless they can be reasonably put in with another species to make a category.

Those are a few random thoughts about the tourney.  Again, I commend the mod team for their efforts in putting this together and I hope I am not stepping on any toes in trying to turn some of the complaints / vents / rants into ideas that could be positive for the tourney.

[Bean]

I'm sorry, but Lonewolf, Grumpymoe, and Scott do a lot of work(many many hours) to provide a "FREE" tournament and make it so that there is at least a few fish for each geographic area that people have a chance at entering.  You can't please all the people all of the time. The tourney is what it is(it's FREE, with no money coming from any member) and I think it is great that they have as many catagories as they have.
Just remember, IT'S FREE!!!  Not a penny came from any member to get in this contest.
Sorry if I sound defensive, but I know how much time and effort these guys and others put in to make this happen! If adjustments need to be made for next year's tourney(if there is one), then they will be taken into consideration.  But like I said earlier, you can't please all of the people all of the time. And did I mention, it's a free tourney.

[_FLAG_]

If you were to read the Rules prior to registering for the tourny then you would know what you are getting into.... I feel that this is a great tourny for the members and the mod's do a great job at running it. My .02

[waterbeater]

I know this thread wasn't started to start a complaint column, new ideas are a good thing, but I'm afraid that is how it will turn out.  So before it starts I want to get this in for Lonewolf and others involved in setting this tourney up. Thank you. I have never been in a ice fishing contest before. My work makes it so I have to be here every morning 7 days a week. At least for a few hours. And my location has very limited contests and are quite far away, so I really enjoy chance at getting noticed for my fish, and see others fish also.
Once again I don't want to start flaming or anything I am only stating what comes into my little mind.
As far as the sign up deadline, every contest has a sign in doesn't it. It makes the paper trail a lot shorter.
As far as all the species, they have done a great job getting some great prizes at no cost to us by way of an entry fee, but I'm sure there are limitations as to how many they have and can give away. If you gave 3 or 4 places in every species available, WOW thats a lot.
I don't want to step on any toes, just wanted to say: Great job guys and thank you for all the work and effort you put into it. Please don't take the criticism (even if meant constructive) to heart and say to heck with it and not do it again next year. Everyone enjoy the season.

[reubenpa]

I agree waterbeater.

Gills are a big game fish here so I am glad we have the gill part of it...  We don['t have the Monster lakers and pike in general that the north has, there really isn't much for burbot here, but I don't care....   The mods and Scott have given us an AWESOME selection and I am excited with it and even have an entry or two.  If I win nothing big deal I have lost nothing!!!  If I win smoething then WOW I just invested a post and won some ice fishing stuff!!

I we ojnly had the contest for fish that accomodated all then we would be fishin for weeds and that is all!!!!!!

My 2 cents!!    Great job all!!!

[MikeThePike]

I think they've done a great job in putting together a tourney that just about everyone has a chance to compete in. If they were to add every species that people target through the ice they'd need to come up with hundreds of prizes and that just doesn't seem possible for a free tournament. Keep in mind most of the prizes are most likely donated, so there needs to be something in it for the companies donating. If more companies donated, they'd want links to their sites under the sponsors above. Who wants to have to scroll through 50 or more sponsors just to read a post?

On the category of muskies, its not that no one targets them. My understanding is that up north they are rarely targeted through the ice which down here in NJ & PA they are hit hard. Truth be told, they are a hard fish to target through the ice, just as they are in open water. There have been a few muskies caught so far this winter from reading various posts, so either they don't plan on entering them because they don't think they can win, or they are waiting for the last minute (like last years tourney)

I had 1 run off so far this year on Lake Hopatcong that was most likely a musky & only targeted them 1 other time this winter due to lack of safe ice. Obviously I'm not going to target 30-40 pound fish on ice thats just barely safe enough to hold my weight as it is.

[PIKEGUY]

Something else to think about.... who pays the shipping on the weekly drawing prizes that we are eligible for? If Scott is doing this then bear in mind that this free tourny isn't free for everyone. Shipping is EXPENSIVE. Thanks Scott and all the Mods. Job well done 

[LoneWolf]

Unfortunately we weren't able to get sponsors for packaging/shipping for this years tourney. Scott, myself and GrumpyMoe have been picking up the tab.



Doug >))))>

[Pike Popper]

I'm sure you will see some muskie entries soon enough 

[Tip-Up]

I think this year's tourney is very well set-up. I wouldn't change a thing (except maybe the on ice picture thing  ).

Thanks again to the mods and organizers.

[fishhead4268]

I think the guys are doing a great job!!!  I will send in a couple bucks to help pay out the shipping for the prizes!!!  I see alot of kids pics in the tourney and that is a really kool thing!!!  When you can get a kid to go fishing instead of hangin at the mall like rats something is being done rite, I thank you & my girl thanx you and my little brother is still trying to catch a fish for the derby so he isnt at the mall on saturday afternoon causing problems!!!  AWSOME JOB!!!!!!!!!  FISH-ON

[vancouvercanuck]

Oh there are SO many things that can be changed to make this tourney better:

First of all I need to start ice fishing with some other people so I can get an entry here! (Grumpymoe are you offering?)

Secondly, you guys REALLY need to slow down on catching those big fish right off the bat and entering them (THRILLER). That way when I catch my puny Walleye I feel good taking a picture of these sorry m*#$ #W)$#* fish, and entering them.

Thirdly, DON"T CHANGE A GOD DARN THING! THIS TOURNEY ROCKS! If you guys were to ask for cash I'm sure The Muddler, Terrygonefishing, Bigredoncie, Billditrite, Heavychevy, BJ, HIMO, TFB, The Warden, Icebot, or Trevor would help out (did i just say that with my outloud voice?)














































































Ok, you could seperate the Burbot from the Walleye  (hehehe)

[Thriller]

Thanks for the comments gang.  Bean, I think you and I are actually pretty much in agreement.  Mostly, I was putting down comments that I have seen either in this forum or in other areas of IS.  If the consensus is that things are good the way they are, then by all means leave the format the same.  I thought that if we could help the organizers out with a few ideas, then that would be a good thing.

So, if no sponsors are covering shipping, perhaps next year do something to the effect of a silver collection - have one U.S. and one Canadian address to send a dollar or two so that we can help with shipping.  Whatever's left over (assuming there is) at the end could perhaps be used in another draw for all participants or maybe put toward paying the bills for running the most excellent IS.

Now I feel guilty about Grump dippng into his own pocket to ship me a mug...especially when we are supposed to go fishing in a couple of weeks...now I feel obligated to buy him a beer or two.... 

VC - all I did was catch 'em and post 'em.  PM me your address and I'll ship you the horseshoe I was wearing that day    (just kidding...no real horseshoe, but lady luck or the walleye gods or something was with me that day).

Thanks all for putting up with me.  Perhaps this thread was a poor idea on my behalf...I was just trying to help.  I have learned some stuff though like the muskie stuff MikeThePike posted.

Long live IceShanty!

[big walleye]

Well I have to say hat's off to the guy's that  made this happen. I will not comment as this is free. You guy's did a great job . No need for anyone to complain or whine.  Let's get back to fishing!!!! P.S  Any tournaments going on for the other forums ??  That's what I thought.

[docbas]

I'm not posting to make comments or criticisms except to say, Thanks to all who put this tourney together.  I don't expect to win a prize, but if by some stroke of unnatural luck I do, please let me pay for the shipping.

Again, a hearty thanks to all the big-wigs of the tourney!!!!!!!!!!!!!

docbas

[big walleye]

Docbas that is darn good idea. Count me in as well if I happen to win but the chances  of that happening are 

[TGF]

Oh there are SO many things that can be changed to make this tourney better:

First of all I need to start ice fishing with some other people so I can get an entry here! (Grumpymoe are you offering?)

Secondly, you guys REALLY need to slow down on catching those big fish right off the bat and entering them (THRILLER). That way when I catch my puny Walleye I feel good taking a picture of these sorry m*#$ #W)$#* fish, and entering them.

Thirdly, DON"T CHANGE A GOD DARN THING! THIS TOURNEY ROCKS! If you guys were to ask for cash I'm sure The Muddler, Terrygonefishing, Bigredoncie, Billditrite, Heavychevy, BJ, HIMO, TFB, The Warden, Icebot, or Trevor would help out (did i just say that with my outloud voice?)















































































Ok, you could seperate the Burbot from the Walleye  (hehehe)

Count me in guys. I love this tourney. Thanks for the jigs. Will be trying them out next week. Good work.

[leon]

i didn't enter the tourney this year ,so i'm not to familiar with the way it works but maybe next year you could ask for a 5 or 10 dollar donation for each entry. you could use it to help with more prizes, shipping and any other expense this wonderfull site might have. i would gladdly sent in $10, i'm sure many more would too.
 this tread was a good idea, hopefully more people will share their ideas

 leon

[HeavyChevy]

Hey i noticed my name on a few post what the heck did i do.?

[wkules]

I also agree with docbas, I don't think it is right for the mods to pay for this free tourney. They do enough just moderating this site, not to mention running the tourney. I would be happy to pay shipping charges if I were lucky enough to win anything........ as a matter of fact perhaps for next year they should make that one of the rules and see how many whiners don't enter?? 

[camo_fish]

I'm in for next year, a few bucks, no prob, shipping cost, no prob.
Just let me know I'm in.  8)

[LoveIce]

Its really to bad that some of the guys on this site are spending there own money on this ! 10,000. members and  no MONEY for the derby  If each guy put in $5.00  the prizes would be VERY nice  ;)It really seems that Scott and his helpers are doing  WWWAAAAAY allot with way little.It would make things in my eyes realy nice for them if they had $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

[Hoppes]

The tourney is truely awesome.  To think that I might win something doing what I like to do anyway is icing on the cake.  I appreciate the effort that has gone into Iceshanty's tournament (who doesn't) and look at it as a way to see how others in the country are doing.  I find myself rooting for other Mainers, would be interesting to tally up the final postings by state....  15 from Maine, 12 from PA, 1 from Jersey, you get the idea.  See how each state faired.  No prizes, just bragging rights from each state.  Gentlemen, you really have a good thing going.  I'm all for constructive criticism,  Thriller, don't feel bad about starting this thread, some excellent ideas come from lessons learned, observations. 
Hoppes

[camo_fish]

The tourney is truely awesome.  To think that I might win something doing what I like to do anyway is icing on the cake.  I appreciate the effort that has gone into Iceshanty's tournament (who doesn't) and look at it as a way to see how others in the country are doing.  I find myself rooting for other Mainers, would be interesting to tally up the final postings by state....  15 from Maine, 12 from PA, 1 from Jersey, you get the idea.  See how each state faired.  No prizes, just bragging rights from each state.  Gentlemen, you really have a good thing going.  I'm all for constructive criticism,  Thriller, don't feel bad about starting this thread, some excellent ideas come from lessons learned, observations. 
Hoppes

NOw, now how about the NY'ers, I know there are a few entrys from NY. Not nice to be leaving us or the canadians out.
And I think $5 is the least to be asking for next year. It would diffently help out all fellow shanty'ers. This derby is awesome and I love to see all the awesome fish that people are ice across North American.
 

[Thriller]

Let's see...there are 363 replies to the sign up thread, so $5 a head would make $1815.  That might be more than necessary to cover shippng    Honestly though, Grump mailed me the mug I won (even though we are supposed to go fishing together soon) and it was $5.45 to mail within Canada.  This year, there are 10 weekly drawings with 3 prizes each...assuming $5 each to ship would be $150.  I'm a bit shaky on all the other prizes, but we have something like 10 categories with 1st-3rd in each and some additional random prizes among the trophy fish.  So lets say that doubles the prizes (actually a bit more), but that gets us a bit over $300...so a dollar each would roughly cover shipping give or take a few dollars.  At $5 each, that would leave about $1500 left over, assuming that the same number of entrants come out in the future (sorry to say that a few folks might be too cheap to pay that)...does that get used for additional prizes, donated to pay for IS hosting, etc.?

I'm not sure the mods would want to get into the extra administration of entry fees...add in potential legal issues and different jurisdictions and it would get confusing in a hurry, not to mention a real nightmare.  Perhaps the prize winners could be asked to pay for shipping (COD) or a donation pot could be set up.

At any rate, putting money into it would make it more difficult and perhaps additional volunteers would be needed to run the tourney.  Another alternative might be trying to find a company to sponsor the shipping (Mailboxes etc., FedEx, UPS...or maybe someone associated with fishing like Gander Mountain or Cabela's...it isn't a huge amount as the math above shows).

Anyway, I have to get going...good fishing.

[LoveIce]

HELLO pay-pal could handl the money 

[Iceshanty]

Thanks for all the ideas, it will all be considered for next years tourney. This tourney started out as a small idea Doug (LoneWolf) had a couple years ago to have some fun, get more pictures posted and see what others are catching over the ice season. It has grown a bunch since then,  Doug has done a great job putting this all together and running a smooth tourney, its a huge job now. Thanks Doug! This year with the big expansion of categories Grump offered to help along with Trapperdirk, Bobberstop, Bussman and many others helped with testing the entry system.

We did manage to scrape up a little help for the prize shipping! This site and tourney is a labor of love for all of us, so don't worry about the shipping and please enjoy whats left of the tourney!

Good luck to everyone!


-Scott

[camo_fish]

Thanks for all the ideas, it will all be considered for next years tourney. This tourney started out as a small idea Doug (LoneWolf) had a couple years ago to have some fun, get more pistures posted and see what others are catching over the ice season. It has grown a bunch since then,  Doug has done a great job putting this all together and running a smooth tourney, its a huge job now. Thanks Doug! This year with the big expansion of categories Grump offered to help along with Trapperdirk, Bobberstop, Bussman and many others helped with testing the entry system.

We did manage to scrape up a little help for the prize shipping! This site and tourney is a labor of love for all of us, so don't worry about the shipping and please enjoy whats left of the tourney!

Good luck to everyone!


-Scott

[FISHFACE_55]

I THINK THE TOURNAMENT IS AWESOME AND BEING FROM ALL PARTS OF THE COUNTRY IS REALLY SPECIAL. SEEING ALL THE POSTS AND PICTURES FROM DIFFERENT AREAS IS WONDERFUL. WHAT YOU CAN ALSO DO NEXT YEAR IS, TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TOURNAMENT YOU HAVE TO PURCHASE AN ICE SHANTY CARD AND SIGN UP BEFORE THE DEADLINE. JUST A THOUGHT,  AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND EFFORT IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED. 

[Cargo]

I would be glad to put money into the pot. If you separate Burbot from eyes not the same thing not even close.  Also put crappies with perch they run neck and neck in length. put Musky with Northerns. Separate Smallmouth with Largemouth. You guys do a great job with this site Congratulations on a great tourney.  Also the easiest thing to ship is paper gift certificates to Cabela's, Bass Pro.