Layedback

Why is there no longer a REAL small boat twt in ANY kingfish tournaments? I get it that most tournaments are sponsored by boat manufacturers and outboard manufacturers who want to sell bigger and more expensive products. I get that. To me the logic is a** backwards. When small boat twts are single or twin power we boats up to 26 feet, a large group of REAL small boaters have nothing to look forward to. Every tournament there's way more than a handful of 23 and unders with average horsepower of 200.

WHY IS THERE NO TWT for REAL SMALL BOATERS? Years ago there was 21 and under. Then it's 23 and under. Now it's 26 and or any power under 300. Real small boaters have been excluded and I don't see how this benefits tournaments, sponsors, outboard manufacturers, or boat manufacturers. The message seems clear:buy 25 foot boat twin 150 minimum or we don't want you in our sport.I don't get it.
I think making the sport more accessible will increase interest.If anyone can explain to me the exclusion of a true small boat twt, im all ears.
Everybody doesn't/can't jump in from the get go with a 25 ft contender with twin 150.
The guy with a 21 ft boat 200 Yamaha and a 60 gal. Live well has nothing t to enter anymore. That's the entry point and I thinks these sponsors are sending a negative message to their customers. If I was yamaha, id jump as fast as I could to support any tournament that was only for small boaters or at least had a REAL small boat twt.Shoot, have a super small boat tw t. 23 and under no horse power over 250.Remember yamaha, you do sell those horsepowers. Offer something to that group of your customers.

How many would like to see a REAL small boat twt?

ndeason1

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N2theblue

Easiest would just to have single engine, but people will still find ways to stretch the limits of the rules. Just part of it.

dholder1201

I agree for sure, we fish the kingfish cup in a 21ft sea hunt with a 150hp Yamaha I’m sure we’re one of the smallest boats out there but we give it all we got. Rough seas are definitely a challenge as well as mobility. We put all our eggs in one basket when we choose where to fish, if one spot doesn’t work out it burns up a lot of our fishing time moving somewhere else. And if I’m not mistaken the Rumble is the only tournament of the four that even has a single engine TWT. The competition is tough for the small boat guys, but it sure does make catching a hog daddy on tournament day that much better.

KingRanch

I don’t know if they are purposely excluding small boats or just trying to make the twt fatter. Less twt means spreading that money over fewer pots.

Disclaimer I’m fine with how most tournaments have it set up but if I was going to start a new tournament I think I would set it up as follows

open class
unlimited no restrictions

small boat
under 30’ loa (not waterline)

single engine
under 27’ loa and a single engine


i think where things got crazy was the 23’ waterline small boat class and how onslow bay, yellowfin, mckee etc figured out how to have “big” small boats but still meet the small boat waterline requirement. Face it back in the day a 36’ yellowfin was rolling with trip 250s totaling 750 hp. Now you have a 27’ onslow bay rolling with 700 hp.

We are normally fishing my 2796 with 500 HP but on occasions with fish a sea hunt 225 with 200 hp. Sure there is a big difference between the 2 as my 2796 is big for its size and rides like a tank. The sea hunt is standard for its size and pretty light. They run and fish completely different.

I would wager a guess that the reason most tournaments don’t do a true small boat is they are grouping that into the single engine category which for most applications works pretty good. And I’m not sure splitting that twt would be a good move for most tournaments. Just have the single engine that will include almost all real small boats and make that twt pot bigger rather than dividing it into 2 twts.

4/0

Small boat days are gone the way I see it. If you are fishing a 21-23 with a say 200 on it 100 - 130 gallons of fuel.

The other one are running 37's and up with 1400 on the back and carrying 1000 gallons of fuel running at 75+. There is an advantage there.

The weather is always the same somehow. Advantage to the big boys there.

Kingfish cup is built around this. Big boats, big money, big entry fees , big pot, go big or go "home". Not for the "small boat".

When you see a small boat entry at 300 horse or less that says it all to me.

I never fished a lot of them, but I do see the fun in doing it. I believe now that odds are stacked against the "small boat" now more than ever though.

Fuel is cheap right now.

KingRanch

Yea I agree there are a handful of small boats in the kingfish cup but those guys know how to fish and push the limits of those boats each and every tournament. And also those are the guys that kingfish cup or not are ponying up big bucks in every twt.

Small boats are at a disadvantage for sure but I think in the fall the disadvantage gets minimized a bit with most everyone fishing the beach. And of course the weather is crap for 9/10 tournaments it just never fails.

Overall it it boils down to 8/9-10 boats in the smaller boat class aren’t going to enter across the board in the twt and the boats that are entering across the board are typically 27’+ Obviously exceptions to every rule but typically speaking.

AB1620

It's simple. King Ranch has it right. Just do a Single Engine TWT. Keep the small boat but add a Single Engine TWT. That would probably add 8-10 boats to every tournament as long as the weather is nice. If you are going to keep it at 23 and under then don't use water line. Several boat manufacturers ruined the idea of calling it "23 and under" a few years ago.

Layedback

"Keep the small boat and add a single engine tw t" shows that the point is missed.A25 or 26 boat is What isd being called a small boat and is laughable. That ignores the many 18-23 footers and I'm sure cuts down on many folks entering. Many folks. There's high roller and super high roller. There's whale and super whale. Still don't understand the problem with having a true small boat twt. 23 and under and a 250 hp limit. A million small boaters would feel they had a reason to sign up.Don't see why its a bad thing. Ya can't deny that many of the small boats sitting on trailers would be signing up if there was a tw t for them. Not so much a complaint but rather I just don't understand why we have 30-60 real small boats going for a tw t that's always won by a twin engine or high hp single engine 25 ft boat.
Don't see how adding a cash 123 paying spots 23 and under tw t would keep folks from entering.I think way more would sign up. These tournaments are so much fun and if I was yamaha, id want to include every size boat/ hp I could.
As far as just doing a single engine, well, a 27 ft boat with a 350 or a 425.... I mean what's the point in that? That's like the 300 hp rule. Why have it? What's the diff in twin 150 or 300.?

Small boat should be a tw t for SMALL BOATS not 25 ft with 300 or twin 150

Point is a slew of folks would enter that no longer do because of the small boat description. Its a joke