(Editor's note: In this column, Harold Sharp focuses on B.A.S.S. events but the points he makes can apply to all leagues and circuits which use the point- scoring method.)
The system the leagues use for scoring points toward Angler of the Year (AOY) titles and championship qualification is not fair for all anglers.
The Tie Problem
As everyone knows, the most points are awarded for 1st place, then it drops down one point for 2nd, another for 3rd., etc., for each angler that weighs in a bass. The BASSMASTER Opens and FLW EverStarts are based on 200 points (200 points for 1st, 199 for 2nd, etc.), and the two tours are based on 175 points. Points accumulate for each angler over the tournaments in that trail.
The reason this system is unfair to all anglers is ties. Anglers above the first tie are unaffected. But when there is a tie, all anglers tied at that weight get the same number of points. For example, a tie at 10th place will get both anglers 191 points in the Opens and EverStarts, and 166 points on the tours.
That is the correct way to score points, but the problem is that every angler below the tie loses one point. In other words, 12th place gets 189 points, etc., the problem being that the 11th-place points (190) are dropped. So again, every angler below the tie loses one point -- until there's another tie. Then anglers below that tie lose even more points.
The Solution
The next point below the tie should not be dropped. To ensure that doesn't happen, I believe a better and more fair way to score bass tournaments is total weight.
The leagues now use total pounds and ounces to determine an angler's finish, then convert it to points for each place. But because you only have one point between each place, this is not fair to anglers who catch more bass.
Here's an example. The winner of a tour event has 44-05 (44 pounds, 5 ounces) and receives 175 points. The angler in 2nd place has 39-02 and receives 174 points. The winner had 5-03 more in weight, but is just 1 point ahead. He could have had the same points if he'd only weighed in 39-03, so he lost more than 5 pounds in weight.
Total weight accumulated for each tournament will reward the anglers that weigh- in more.
In points systems, one low score will unfairly penalize an angler. In 1974, B.A.S.S. was using a point system. Bill Dance and Roland Martin fished the same tournaments. Roland won a tournament and weighed-in 30 pound of bass more than Bill, but Bill was the B.A.S.S. AOY because Roland had one low-scoring tournament. After that we changed from points to total-weight scoring.
To make this even better, use a scale that weighs in hundredths of a pound instead of ounces. This will result in fewer ties because with typical scales, the scale will trip to the next ounce as it passes 1/2 ounce.
Still don't believe me? Here's what the BASSMASTER Open point system did to anglers who did and could have qualified for the 2003 BASSMASTERS Classic.
Northern Opens
1. Koby Kreiger -- 567 points -- he lost 2 points at the Hudson River because of a tie, so he should be at 569
2. Lee Bailey Jr. -- 559 points -- he did not lose any points to ties
3. Mike Iaconelli -- 556 points -- he lost 2 points at the Hudson River, and should have had 558
4. Randall Romig -- 555 points -- he lost 1 point at the Hudson, and should have 556
5. Dave Lefebre -- 552 points -- he also lost 2 points at the Hudson, and should've had 554
> Okay so far.
Central Opens
1. Greg Hackney -- 589 points -- no points lost to ties
2. Edwin Evers -- 568 points -- lost 1 point at the Red River -- 569
3. Mike Gough -- 538 points -- lost 8 points at Ouachita -- 546
4. Homer Humphreys -- 531 points -- he lost 11 points at Ouachita and 2 at Rayburn -- 542
5. Chad Morgenthaler -- 530 points -- he lost 2 at Ouachita and 3 at Rayburn -- 535
6. Elton Luce Jr. -- 527 points -- he lost 6 at the Red River and 2 at Rayburn - - 535. That would have tied him for 5th and could have put him in the Classic.
> One maybe. But here's where it gets bad.
Southern Opens
1. Jason Quinn -- 572 points -- he lost 1 point at Lake Murray -- 573
2. Wesley Strader -- 556 points -- he lost 5 points at Lake Martin -- 561
3. Todd Auten -- 545 points -- he lost 6 points at Pickwick -- 551
4. Michael Johnson -- 544 points -- he lost 4 points at Pickwick and 1 point at Murray -- 549
5. Tom Hamlin -- 540 points -- he lost 1 point at Lake Murray -- 541
6. Tim Hoskins -- 537 points -- he lost 1 at Pickwick, 1 at Murray and 5 at Martin -- 544 -- he missed the Classic
7. Boyd Duckett -- 535 points -- he lost 7 at Murray and 1 at Martin -- 543 -- he also won at Pickwick -- he missed the Classic
More
Under the points scenario, if you have a low finish it will affect your year- end standing. The following is a chart again using data from the B.A.S.S. Opens. It shows how they finished in the points and how they would have finished if they had been scored on total pounds.
Northern Opens
1. Koby Kreiger -- 567 points -- 107-03 pounds
2. Lee Bailey Jr. -- 559 -- 96-10
3. Mike Iaconelli -- 556 -- 96-08
4. Randy Romig --555 -- 95-01
5. Dave Lefebre -- 552 -- 93-10
6. Danny Correia -- 549 -- 92-05
7. David Hall -- 543 -- 97-00
8. Joe Thomas -- 537 -- 90-15
9. Chris Daves -- 528 -- 89-10
10. Terry Baksay -- 519 -- 77-11
> Hall won at the Potomac River, then had a low finish of 31st place and missed the Classic. He should have been No. 2.
Central Opens
1. Greg Hackney-- 589 points -- 96-15 pounds
2. Edwin Evers -- 568 --79-02
3. Mike Gough -- 538 --73-01
4. Homer Humphreys Jr. -- 531 --79-13
5. Chad Morgenthaler -- 530 -- 62-06
6. Elton Luce -- 527 -- 60-15
7. Todd Faircloth -- 523 -- 58-11
8. Wayne Crumpton -- 516 -- 58-05
9. Mark Davis -- 513 -- 63-12
10. Jeff Magee -- 509 -- 69-09
> Humphreys won at the Red River and had low finish of 60 at Ouachita, but was No. 2 in pounds.
> Jeff Magee was No. 2 at the Red River and also had a low finish at Ouachita, but should be in the Classic at No. 5.
Southern Opens
1. Jason Quinn -- 572 points -- 64-06 pounds
2. Wesley Strader -- 556 -- 68-12
3. Todd Auten -- 545 -- 57-05
4. Michael Johnson -- 544 --58-12
5. Tom Hamlin Jr. -- 540 -- 49-10
6. Tim Hoskins -- 537 -- 54-02
7. Boyd Duckett -- 535 -- 62-10
8. Gregory Pugh --532 --46-14
9. Roger Stegall -- 523 -- 48-05
10. Jay Kendrick-- 521 -- 50-02
> Strader should be No. 1 because he weighed 4-06 more than Quinn. They both had 7th and 3rd finishes, but Strader had a 37 where Quinn had a 21. But Quinn had less total weight.
> Duckett won at Pickwick, but had a low finish at Murray (55th). He was 3rd in total weight and missed the Classic.
> Hoskins and Kendrick both had more weight than Hamlin. Hoskins had a 9th, 17th and 40th finishes with 54-02. Hamlin had 9th, 11th and 43rd finished with 49-10 and went to the Classic ahead of Hoskins.
These anglers work hard and spend a lot of money trying to make the Classic. If they weigh-in more bass than the anglers above them, they deserve to go.
Tour Example
The B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year standings after the first two tournaments list Jim Bitter at No. 1 with 327 points and Bernie Schultz at No. 14 with 279 points -- 48 points behind Bitter. Here's how these two anglers finished these two events:
Harris Chain
> Bitter finished 6th and received 170 points
> Schultz finished 70th and got 106 points
>>> Difference of 64 points
Lake Okeechobee
> Schultz finished 3rd and got 173 points
> Bitter finished 19th and got 157 points
>>> Difference of 16 points
The net result is that Bitter is up 48 points over Schultz in two events (64- 16=48).
But rule 15 of the Official B.A.S.S. Rules states: "Tournament standings shall be determined by the pound-and-ounce weight of each competitor's catch during the competition days of the tournament."
With that in mind, let's look at these anglers in terms of pounds and ounces. Since in each event one of these two pros made the cut, for both events, we'll look weights at the end of day 2 when the first cut was made and the accumulated weight was locked in.
Harris Chain
> Bitter -- 14-09 (10th place after day 2)
> Schultz -- 7-01 (70th)
>>> Bitter weighed 7-08 more
Lake Okeechobee
> Schultz -- 37-12 (2nd place)
> Bitter -- 27-06 (19th)
>>> Schultz weighed 10-06 more
Schultz's total weight for the two tournaments is 44-13. Bitter's is 41-15. So Schultz, now at 14th in the B.A.S.S. points, has weighed-in 2-14 more than Bitter, who is 1st in the points. The object of tournament fishing is to weigh- in more than the other anglers. Schultz has weighed-in more bass than anyone, but he is in 14th place. This is not a fair system and should be changed.
Also:
> At the Harris Chain, Schultz finished with 7-01 and 106 points. At Okeechobee, 7-01 would get only 7 points. Bitter had 25-09 at the Harris Chain after 4 days for 170 points, but at Okeechobee 25-09 would have received 148 points.
> If you make the cut and finish lower the next two days, you actually lose points. But if tournaments and AOY races were scored by pounds and ounces, you could not lose weight with a low finish.
Bottom Line
Very few anglers check how the scoring is done. They depend on B.A.S.S. and FLW to do it right. But if everyone all would look at the year-end totals instead of just one tournament, they would see that point scoring is not a good system.
Under a point system, you're only one point ahead of the angler behind you regardless of how many total pounds you weigh in. But the object of a tournament is to weigh-in as many pounds as possible: you can adjust your weight by culling your catch, but you can't adjust your finish on the last day, and you will always be just one point ahead of the next angler.
Again, this system is not fair to all anglers and should be changed. The best way to avoid such mistakes is to weigh-in on scales that weigh in hundredths of a pound, and use total pounds to score anglers.
Tennessee's Harold Sharp was hired by Ray Scott as B.A.S.S.'s original tournament director. He now operates Fishin' Talents, which books pros for speaking engagements at outdoor shows, and also does some consulting.
