Monthly archives: January, 2021

Talking Fishing Chaos

January 3, 2021 1 Comment

So as expected, I’m getting a lot of questions about Fishing Chaos. As mentioned in our last post, there is an update coming to the app, so I’m not going to go over any of the mechanics just yet because things are going to change, and for the better.

But I can go over the main things people are asking about now…

SUBSCRIPTION PLANS

First, you do need a Fishing Chaos account. You can’t fish without one. Simple as that.

Second, you do not need to opt in to either their monthly or annual subscription plan. That said, not doing so would be beneficial to you only if you’re not planning to fish many events this year.

The benefit of buying into their monthly or annual subscription is simple: no tournament fees.

With either plan, you can fish unlimited events without incurring a fee. If you choose the annual subscription for $43.89, you’ll pay no additional fees for the entire year, no matter how many events you fish through Fishing Chaos. If you choose the monthly plan for $3.99, the same applies for that particular month.

The third alternative is to choose neither subscription and simply pay a small fee per event—3.5% of the entry fee, plus $1.50 per ticket (we’ll get into tickets in a minute). So for a $50 entry fee, you’ll pay a $3 fee on top of that.

Obviously the annual plan works for me since I’ll be traveling all around the country fishing KBF events, MAKB events, MYA events, and fishing our new regional trail events (official announcement coming this Sunday, January 3).

So whether you choose a subscription plan or choose to simply pay the additional fee per event really comes down to how many tournaments you plan to fish next year.

Now, some have argued that you’re not really saving anything, the fees taken out of the pot before aren’t going back into your pocket now unless you happen to win. All true, but here’s some perspective:

Last year, $245 of my money went toward fees, not including PayPal fees. If we’d been using Fishing Chaos last year, $201.11 of that money would have stayed in the pot.

So yes, you’re not “saving” that money unless you win, but it is staying with the anglers, which is a win in my book.

TICKETS

Fishing Chaos uses the term “tickets” when registering for events. It’s different from what we’re used to, but it’s simply a different way to describe something we’ve been doing all along: registering for events and buying into optional lunker pools.

I won’t go over the specific process because that may change, but when you register for an event, you will purchase at least one (virtual) ticket. That’s your registration.

There may be other tickets attached to that main ticket. For instance, our events will always have an additional ticket included at no cost. This is for the main lunker pool, which is included in the main entry fee. Our optional lunker pools will be additional tickets that you’ll need to purchase.

Also keep in mind, if you opt out of both subscription plans, every ticket is an additional $1.50. So if you register for one of our events at $50, you’re gonna pay an additional $3 (3.5% plus $1.50 for the ticket). If you then opt into smallmouth and pickerel lunker pools, you’re going to pay $1.50 for each of those, so that $3 fee becomes $6.

And that’s it, really. A little confusing at first, but you’ll get used to it. If you have any questions, let me know.

New Year, New MAKB

January 1, 2021 0 Comment

New year, new MAKB!

With the continuous evolution of the sport, we are evolving as well. I will keep these as brief as possible, but if you intend to fish with us this year, I highly encourage you read everything.

So…

TOURNAMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

After many hours of research and testing, as well as multiple demos, we have decided to use Fishing Chaos as our tournament management system starting this season.

This was not an easy decision to make. We have used TourneyX since our last event of 2016—62 events total between then and now. Dwayne and the app have served us well, but its limitations have also held us back in many regards. We feel that the Fishing Chaos app not only does everything we’ve always wanted an app to do, but also so much more.

So you will need to download the app and create an account on Fishing Chaos.

There is a learning curve, and as we close in on the season we will have a series of posts going over how to use the app. An update to the app is scheduled for February, so we will wait until after that time to post this info.

MEMBERSHIPS

Thus far, MAKB has been an open trail. Starting this year, we are moving to a membership-based platform.

With two divisions now in place, cost to run the trail will double. Some of that cost was offset in previous years through our 50/50 raffles. We tried that once last year through PayPal, but it didn’t quite work, so once again the cost of trophies and such will be an out-of-pocket expense (around $400). I can barely justify that (especially to my wife) for one division, so I definitely can’t justify it for two.

We have come up with three memberships plans—$25, $15, $10—all of which come with certain perks. You can read all about them and join through our club page on Fishing Chaos.

You will not be able to fish any of our tournaments, whether online or live, without being a member.

That said, being a Premium member will not guarantee you a spot at any of our live events, save for the river events which are unlimited because the boundaries allow for it. Due to state restrictions, we are allowed a max of 25 anglers per most events. First come, first serve, which is why registration for all our events goes live at 7 PM the Sunday before.

DIVISIONS

In case you missed the recent Jigs & Bigs podcast, we are heading west! Starting this season, we will have two divisions: East and West. Many of you have been asking for us to expand into different parts of the state, and this is the first step in that direction.

The Eastern Division will cover the same area we’ve always covered, which is the south shore and Cape Cod.

The Western Division is the new division, and it will be run by Shawn Dominik and Nelson da Costa. While we are still working on the trail schedule, there will be seven stops this year, spread out from the central part of the state to the New York border.

You won’t see much overlap of anglers between divisions. As such, each division will have its own separate Angler of the Year race.

TOURNAMENTS

There will be nine Eastern Division events this year, one less than normal, and seven Western Division events. As mentioned above, they will all culminate in the first-ever MAKB Championship.

In addition to those live events, we will be hosting more online events. The Catch ‘Em All Spring Brawl and Fall Brawl have already been scheduled. The Spring Brawl will kick off our season on April 3!

There will be monthly challenges as well. We’re still discussing what those challenges will be, as we fully understand that traditional month-long challenges benefit those anglers who can fish more. We’re looking at ways to level that playing field to make it more competitive for all.

This is where our new tiered memberships come into play, as each one gives you access to certain events.

CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT

One thing we’ve always discussed was having a championship event at the end of each season. We never quite got around to doing that, though.

With the new division, the idea of having a championship became even more enticing. So at the end of the 2021 season, both divisions will come together in Central MA for our first-ever MAKB Championship event!

To qualify, you just need to finish in the top three at any live event. Simple.

More details will follow.

APPROVED MEASURING DEVICE

Starting this year, all anglers fishing MAKB events, both live and online, must use one of the following three Ketch Products boards: the Ketch Karbonate board, the Ketch X board, or the original Ketch board.

As a result of the infamous Flexgate and based on how many anglers used another brand of measuring board in our events last year (I think there were three total), we felt that this was the best choice to not only discourage cheating but also stay in line with the current industry standard.

We are not affiliated with Ketch Products in any way.

That should cover all the big things. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, let us know.