Gimme Shelter Growing Pains

Cheaters usually or I would hope, simply get the karma they so deserve at some point in life. No real need to make the masses pay.

Cheaters usually or I would hope, simply get the karma they so deserve at some point in life. No real need to make the masses pay.

Agreed, and we don't know if it was cheating out of ignorance of the rules, or intentionally blowing off the rules.

Eric as far as fish identification, there was a DFG guy handing out regs and pics of what NOT to keep.
I have been fishing the ocean for some time , but just two years on my kayak. I was shocked to hear how many people didn't know size limits on the radio, we did a little team get together Friday and went over all that and most wrote on our measuring tools the sizes. I have to admit I did catch a fish that I did not know what it was, and was pissed at myself for not knowing, I am CODZILLA damn it, I should know that !!!!!!  I climbed up to my hatch and got the regs out it was a nice copper, and let it go, I just wanted to know what it was. I know a few years back there was a guy on Humboldt Tuna that made release aids, JanZ, I think he moved away, but I am sure someone has one of them, maybe we can copy them and hand them out. As far as changing the scoring, I like the way you have it for CPR, this was my first GS, I hurt my back last year and was unable to attend.  I kept fish, didn't think I would have a chance scoring very high. I would have been happy to be in the top 25, and I got 16th place. Plan for next year CPR Everything big. AS for the speeders, the only one I saw was a small car that roasted the tires out by the fish cleaning station almost hit other cars, scared some little guys that were on their bikes, made me and my wife pee a little and take off up the hill, pretty sure they weren't with us. On the drive in and out I pulled over several times for the locals, like your post way early said, and they always waved a thank you back. I thought with a group this big that WE all did a Damn good job keeping things pretty low key. Even my wife commented after helping Brandi with the shirts, a group this big and everyone is so nice, we were use to sand camping in the dunes with our quads, you want to talk about chaos. People leave trash everywhere destroy property, fights, ect. you don't see that with our group.
GS8 was one of the best times I have had fishing, I think with a little group knowledge the fish ID and size questions will be a thing of the past, but I do agree with others I would rather hear them ask than keep something they shouldn't.
I flipping can't wait until next year, and after seeing all my pics, I think I might have my boys with me too.
Jeff 

I have never run an event
I have never been to GS

I'm surprised the GS event doesn't provide shitters.

I have done a zillion outdoor events in a bunch of different sports.
They all provide shitters above what is offered by the venue.

Case in point, not two weeks ago I rode the motherlode century, which probably had 200 or so riders, they had port o potties at every rest stop, even when local facilities would have sufficed.

Pain in the ass to add I am sure....

Case in point, not two weeks ago I rode the motherlode century, which probably had 200 or so riders, they had port o potties at every rest stop, even when local facilities would have sufficed.

I was involved in event production and promotion for about a dozen years and more often than not, the extra chemies are permit driven rather than frills.

GO's and municipalities would much rather there be an excess of sanitary facilities than having to clean up the waste and resulting negative PR if the crowd exceeds expectations.

Case in point, not two weeks ago I rode the motherlode century, which probably had 200 or so riders, they had port o potties at every rest stop, even when local facilities would have sufficed.

I was involved in event production and promotion for about a dozen years and more often than not, the extra chemies are permit driven rather than frills.

GO's and municipalities would much rather there be an excess of sanitary facilities than having to clean up the waste and resulting negative PR if the crowd exceeds expectations.

Thanks for raising those points, Guys.  I am averse to adding things to my list, but I need to keep hearing what may be reality.

I'm into keeping it simple, but the numbers make it fun too...  Lots of time to think about it.

Next year:  bring your own shitter!   

Cheaters usually or I would hope, simply get the karma they so deserve at some point in life. No real need to make the masses pay.

Thanks for helping me keep the Dark Side from creeping up on me.   

Thanks for helping me keep the Dark Side from creeping up on me.   

Use the Force!

Thanks for helping me keep the Dark Side from creeping up on me.   

Use the Force!

Done.   

the DFG fish counter at the bottom of the ramp didn't even know the simplest way to identify a red color rock fish you can keep: 

if it's rough, it's good enough.
if it's a smooth'n,  let it keep on movin'

everything this year was fantastic, although I do wish prizes extended deeper into the field. When I realized that I wasn't anywhere near the top 10 I didn't even bother checking my fish...

and as I hung out by the picnic tables after the potluck and picked up 50 or 60 bottles and cans and peoples plates with food on them I did think "geeze, I didn't realize we had so many freakin slobs in the club"

but like everyone else has said, Eric you did a fantastic job and I can't wait until next year.

Eric does his part, and more.

Jack needs to do more on his end. At the very least more shitters and dumpsters. Hopefully he is on it, and the patio area is the first sign of what's to come.

I just read the first few pages of this thread and I have to say I'm a bit bummed to hear the negativity. We arrived Wednesday morning to beautiful conditions and left Sunday morning with the feeling of complete bliss. I felt from my perspective that all was well. I never went into the public restroom, so I can't speak to that, but the campground restroom/shower was awesome considering the use it got. Sure the floor was a bit muddy, but that's to be expected I think. I showered a few times and never even had to wait. I thought jack and the campground host were great. The new guys running the launch were hella cool too. Smiling and waving each and every time I passed them. A big difference from the past few years IMO. As far as people not knowing the regs, there is NO excuse. It always surprises/annoys the heck out of me. Ask the guy next to you. Don't announce your ignorance over the radio for crying out loud. Radio chatter is lame enough as it is. Remember that we are not the only ones listening.
Eric, you do an amazing job each year. It is my favorite event by far.
Kudos to you.
We can't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch.
I'll have to invest some time to read the rest of this thread

Three things that solve the majority of the issues except for the speeding and the bathrooms:

- "Rough is good" (on the chin while rubbing back to front).  Trust me, you will have no question and will know if it is rough or smooth.
- Write the size/limits on your hawg trough.  Even include the species you don't think you will target, because you just might change your mind on the water (Hali / Salmon).
- Descending a rockfish is SUPER easy without a special device.  Take a jig head 6+ oz, lightly hook the soft skin on the outside of the jaw.  Don't pierce through the entire jaw, just the smallest tag of skin works.  Put the fish over the side and open your bail.  The jig will take the fish down.  I let it get down 40-50 feet minimum or until I feel it fighting, it takes only a few seconds.  Do a sharp jig motion.  The skin tag pops, the fish is equilibrated, go back to fishing.

Instead of a quiz, I bet we could design a small laminated card with the info above (list the size/limit not just tell people to write it down) eye hole punched with a rubber band through the eye so it is easy to attached to something and give it out in the goodie bag. Tell people it is mandatory they have the card on them / on their kayak while on the water during the tourney.  That would cut down on those issues for sure. 

As for everything else, Eric you have the perfect tourney set up.  I wouldn't change it at all.

Jack should not have to add more Porta Potties just to accommodate us for a single weekend. I doubt the campground is that full the other weekends of the year. GS has grown quite a bit over the years. While the campground facilities were sufficient for our group a few years ago, it is struggling with our current number. We chose his campground as our venue, so we should plan GS accordingly. Even if that means lowering the overall number of participants.

I just read the first few pages of this thread and I have to say I'm a bit bummed to hear the negativity. We arrived Wednesday morning to beautiful conditions and left Sunday morning with the feeling of complete bliss. I felt from my perspective that all was well. I never went into the public restroom, so I can't speak to that, but the campground restroom/shower was awesome considering the use it got. Sure the floor was a bit muddy, but that's to be expected I think. I showered a few times and never even had to wait. I thought jack and the campground host were great. The new guys running the launch were hella cool too. Smiling and waving each and every time I passed them. A big difference from the past few years IMO. As far as people not knowing the regs, there is NO excuse. It always surprises/annoys the heck out of me. Ask the guy next to you. Don't announce your ignorance over the radio for crying out loud. Radio chatter is lame enough as it is. Remember that we are not the only ones listening.
Eric, you do an amazing job each year. It is my favorite event by far.
Kudos to you.
We can't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch.
I'll have to invest some time to read the rest of this thread

+1
Eric, you did a helluva job organizing this event as usual. Well done. 
Unfortunately there'll always be something to try and fix. Sometimes you need to just say, "You can't fix stupid."
With Memorial weekend going on, I can only imagine how crazy the campground will be. There'll be all sorts unique people coming out of the hills and I'm sure those shitters are going to take a beating. 

Jack should not have to add more Porta Potties just to accommodate us for a single weekend. I doubt the campground is that full the other weekends of the year. GS has grown quite a bit over the years. While the campground facilities were sufficient for our group a few years ago, it is struggling with our current number. We chose his campground as our venue, so we should plan GS accordingly. Even if that means lowering the overall number of participants.

Not this.  If Jack can't handle the traffic, he should limit it.  It isn't on us.  Its on him.  This is a huge revenue generator for him.  Providing basic services is part of the responsibility that goes with taking our money and operating a campground.  We shouldn't even be entertaining the thought.  If he needs to call B&B and get a couple more cans, he can do that.  If he needs to charge us a couple bucks more to pay for it, he can do that.  If he needs to limit the number of people camping on his property and forgo the extra income, he can do that.

It isn't on us.