G'Day Steve,

Welcome to our little band of merry folk and a big thank-you for the support you have given the ABA over the years!

Regards,

Graeme.

Graeme,

Thanks for that.

Actually, I remember trying to get the ABA guys to make the Bass Classic 'casting only' in the earlier days.

After a while I gave up and decided it'd be easier to get better at casting for bass.



SM

PS ... for those who don't know, ABT has had a policy to support bass-stocking from our day one in 1999. We used to recruit help to run the comps from the stocking groups and pay these guys in stocking donations! After a while that all got a bit hard and we raised cash from sponsorship to pay full-time tournament staff. Nonetheless, there's a $500 donation from each BASS Pro event we hold (derived from angler entry fees) and a 25% cut of all BASS Electric comp fees that goes direct, in cash, to the lake's group.

In some cases - like the ABA - the BASS Electric organisers (who usually get paid in entry credits) convert this credit to cash to augment the fees. Tony, Rob and all of the ABA guys tend to do this.

I used to keep a to-the-dollar tally of funds donated, but I've been a bit lazy the last few years (since the stocking groups relaxed about the perception that we were making millions from 'their' fish and then the introduction of the SIP) - but I'd estimate around $70,000 had been paid-out by ABT over the years. Maybe more.

You win some.... and you loose some.

There has been a fair bit of traffic on other sites of late about the advent of tournaments, changes to DPI&F policies and the way in which some of these, for want of a better word, commercial activities (tournaments) support the fisheries they profit from.

I know that Tony and I, and I suspect a lot of the other ABA members, are vocal advocates of the support ABT provides not only to the ABA but also to other stocking and recreational fishing groups associated with the dams that events are held on.

Some of you may be aware that insurances for events such as the Clarrie Hall Bass Classic can be crippling for small volunteer based organisations. Steve through the ABT has assisted and supported the ABA in these areas over the last couple of years and apart from the financial benefits, it also provides a piece of mind knowing that all who attend are covered in the event of an unfortunate accident.

There are opinons on both sides of this 'fence'...but just like belly buttons, everyone has their own opinion, so they cant help it if they are wrong by not agreeing with the ABT concept.

I think all the non-believers are simply jealous...jealous that it wasnt them who came up with the idea, promoted it, organised it, and ran it with great success. Whether Steve is making sh!tloads of $$ or just enough to buy milk and bread, who cares! The ABT promotes the sport of Bass fishing and has brought it to a level we never thought we would see here in Aus.

As an added bonus, donations are made to stocking groups (like ourselves) for extra stocking and so on. Some may call this a payoff, some a bribe, I call it good business sence. Keep up the good work Steve and thanks for your assistance throughout the years.