Here is my take and hopefully an end to this truck vs. boat runners post and threads as well as a take on the runners deal/ opinions.

Let me start with the original post and question. Should guys be aloud to use boats for running and what's the difference between using a boat vs. a truck if your going to run. One thing that everyone had in common was the fact that not everyone owns a boat so this would be an unfair advantage and I do agree with this. I also have to agree that allowing boats would make kickboat events to similar to boat events and to a point that's not the direction any of us want to go. You also have to consider the fact that if boats were aloud to be used and at some point tube/ KB events got as big as we all want them to be, what would stop a guy that owns a boat to buy a tube and come out and compete. With large sponsor backing and serious money on the line, we could have even more trouble with boaters wanting to come and try and join us. Its not that we don't want the boaters out there to join us, we just don't want then to join us because now we allow boats to run, that's sending the wrong signal.

The Solution: Bottom line I believe we all agree this is not the direction any of us tubers and kickboaters want to go and I can assure you as long as I am running BNT we will never go there. I also believe SCBBBC will never allow this. This is a dead issue as far as I can tell.

Now on to the touchy subject :) Even though I requested this not get into a running vs. non running thread it took off that way so I feel I should add the topic to my update. This is a topic we can all go back and forth on all year long but there really isn't any point. We all know there is currently a "grey" law enforced that says we cant do this, we all know this . We also know there is little to no enforcement on this as well. Now what everyone keeps going back and forth on is the "legal" part of it. I say this if you are totally against running and there is an event coming up that you want to fish but feel you have no chance to do well in because others will run and you wont, then don't fish it. I do agree 100% that getting running legalized is extremely important to getting tube/ kickboat tournament fishing to the level we would like it to be at. Imagine my dreams of a classic style weigh in at a huge auditorium with trucks pulling the kickboats with tiny trailers and a crazy light show. 200+ anglers come through the auditorium and weigh there fish after the first day and they bring in some good bags. Great show for the sport for sure. Now think of it from the anglers view waking up at super O dark thirty to 200+ lil trailers and trucks scrambling in the dark to find a spot to slide there boat in the water. Now that all the anglers are on the water the tournament begins and 200+ anglers oar with all there might to be at there spot 1st, mean while smacking there competition with oars and bumping into the other. Now you can see some tempers flare and if your just in a tube, forget it. Now imagine yourself fishing with all these guys all day pretty much side by side with no break all day to be by yourself and relax. I know my head would be pounding and don't even think about having a "good" day on the water. You think this would make for a good weigh in show for the fans, not a chance. This doesn't seem like my idea of fun at all and I bet you the sport would die real quick. On another note we all have concerns about our green friends, think about what 200+ anglers would do to an area after fishing it for 8+ hours, they would completely destroy it and who would the people blame. "Them damn kickboaters". I can hear it now, this use to be a good spot until they had one of them tube tournaments here and now look. So my point, like i said in order for this to grow to the level we all want we "have" to be allowed to run.

Now the solution long term: We will be making a team to target this issue and present our case and do everything possible to get permits. We will need some serious backing from BBAC, FLW, B.A.S.S and many, many more. At this time we load up our guns and go to battle. We have already slowing started doing this and hopefully with the help from Rich, Todd, Mitch, Rob, Andy and others we can make this happen.

Short term: For myself on a personal side, if I am fishing an event and allowed to run then I will run if I feel I have to run to do well in the event. As president of BNT I wont allow running because its not legal, yet and I don't want to put others in a position where they think they have to run to do well. BNT and SCBBBC are and will need to continue to work together, threads like this might seem to be negative but they are in fact very positive. Alot of good stuff came out of this thread that I will put in a separate post down the road, don't want to put you to sleep :)


Lake