Tidelines Winter 2018

A Message from MSSA President FRANK HOLDEN

I hope 2018 is finding everyone happy and healthy. Now that the holidays are behind us it's time to start thinking about fishing again. Just about every weekend from early January through early April there’s a fishing flea market, fishing Fair, or fishing show going on in somewhere in our great state that's of interest to fisherman and potential MSSA members. Many of our chapters host these events as fundraisers but it's also a great way to stock up on your best and cheapest fishing supplies for 2018 as well as meeting some of your fellow members. All of us love to talk about fishing just as much as fishing itself so get out there. Don’t get the winter blues-get to a fishing show and have a good time at the shows. 2017 wasn't the greatest year for fishing especially to Spring trophy season that's personally my favorite time of year. I won't lie to you and say that I was extremely disappointed in my catches in 2017. It was nobody's fault but Mother Nature that's the trophy fish simply were here and gone before the season even started. Record warm weather in the winter of 2016-2017 doomed us to some really poor trophy fishing. Hopefully that's all behind us now and we can only hope for cold weather lots of snow this winter and some really great fishing come April! On the subject of poor spring time fishing many of you are aware that the 2017 MSSA Spring Tournament had the lowest number of boats entered in MSSA history. This was primarily due to poor weather and poor fishing. It was no doubt the worst weather we've ever had for a three-day tournament. Subsequently the MSSA Spring Tournament revenue was off by over $40,000 in 2017. While we’ve done a few things to try to overcome this loss and have been rather successful at it we still had a tough year financially. We added the Summer Classic tournament, sent out two editions of Tidelines only electronically rather than by mail, and the Board of Directors voted to not pay chapter membership incentive this year. Additionally we have cut of our other cost to the bone. I guess I can be happy to report at this time that we have

almost recovered everything we lost as result of 2017 spring tournament so I like to ask each and every one of you to pay special attention to the 2018 tournament series and please plan to participate as often as possible. A successful 2018 tournament series will to great lengths to get us out of that little financial hole where we still remain. We will have some great tournaments planned for 2018 including the Second Annual Summer Classic just introduced in 2017. Without going into a lot of detail right now rest assured that 2018 series is going to be better and more exciting than ever. Twice in 2017 we found it necessary to cancel a day of fishing in an MSSA Tournament. The first day was the Friday of the Spring Tournament and the other was Sunday of the Fall Tournament. Let me assure you that the decision to cancel a day of tournament fishing is not a decision we take lightly. We are well aware that boats of all sizes are fishing the tournament and some captains are willing to take the risk to fish. However, when gale force winds are predicted MSSA feels it’s the prudent decision to cancel fishing. As all of us well know weather predictions can be wrong. If we cancel for a forecast of gale force winds that doesn’t occur then we “blew it” but rest assured we “blew it” on the side of caution. The captain of a boat is ultimately responsible for the safety of his crew and vessel. MSSA urges every angler participating in a tournament, or for that matter ANYTIME they leave the dock, to always ere on the side of caution. Additionally, we urge everyone to carry all required safety equipment and know how to use it. Don’t forget that a working VHF radio is the only reliable form of communication in times of distress. Many of us, including myself, chose cellphones over VHF radio for fishing reports from our buddies and other casual conversations but in time of crisis the VHF is the way to go. A little preparation goes a long way toward making your fishing trips safe and enjoyable. A deadly situation can happen at any time even

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