Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk AL Fishing Talk Gov. Riley out Laws Fishing Tourneys Next?

After Gov. Rileys illegal Task force stops all the legal Bingo, he will go after all Tourneys in the State. NONE are legal under our Stats Gambling laws.

How do you figure that?

I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic. Fishing is a sport, there is NO WAY it can be stopped. If it was they would have a helluva riot on there hands..lol That's ridiculous!

That makes golf, tennis, volleyball, swimming, and every other kind of tournament illegal as well. It's competition not gambling.

Everything in life is a gamble! Plain and simple!

If it has entry fee, any chance, and money or something of value as the winnings, it is illegal gambling in Alabama. I made this point to a retired Game Warden yesterday and he agreed. There is no exception to the law on that , unless its insurance, stock sales, dog racing , Bingo, and business contracts.

Don't admit it on here, Gov. Riley might send his Task Force to pick you up without a warrant. HA!

That is why our Gambling laws are too board today and unconstitutional.

How much Skill(Luck,Chance) is there in catching a fish. No Ego here Please?

Have you ever heard the old saying "it aint the size of the worm it is how you wiggle it."

Some days you can catch them every cast no matter what you are throwing. It is those days when they are tight lipped when your fishing skill comes into play.

There is a "chance" that you can catch a fish on every cast. However, the more skilled you are in the way that you choose a bait and work a bait can increase the probability that you will catch a fish. Skill does matter.

And it don't in Texas Hold um?? :rolleyes:

Sounds like the way I play a Slot machine or Bingo machine? Probability? Is it over 50% Skill as required to be legal in Alabama as our Supreme Court Justices say?

Yes, competitive tournament fishing is more than 50 percent skill.

Physical skills to stay on the water 8-10 hours in all conditions for 4-7 days straight.

Mental skills to know about the lake, it's features, finding quality fish and then re-finding them if necessary during the event.

Mental skills to accurately choose the right lures, rod and line to be successful

Mental skills to successfully operate a watercraft and know water laws, use a trolling motor to stay in an area without spooking the fish, operate high-tech sonar-GPS systems, and possibly troubleshoot problems with the outboard, trolling motor or boat (and then physically repair them)

Mental skills to process all the data during a practice or tournament day, and then analyze it at night to be able to repeat it and adjust if necessary for multiple days.


Bingo ... drop in a quarter, punch a button and wet your pants if you win some tokens. That's all luck because a monkey can be taught the physical "skills" necessary to do that.


There is no comparison whatsoever.

Good grief what a topic :rolleyes:

Being a professional angler does take skill. There is more to it than gassing the boat up and casting your granpa's zebco 3000 times a day. I can go out on the lake right now and catch a limit of 2 and 3lbers. The pro's know where to go and how to catch the larger fish on a consistent basis. All of that being said, they spend the majority of their time as sales reps, promoting their sponsors. They have to be good at a lot of things to get where they are and stay there. Do you know how hard it is to get a sponsor or sponsors willing to foot the bill for travel, entry fees, boats, lures etc? These guys spend more time promoting and speaking at engagements than they do fishing.

Dont know if any of yall know how much a Big Game Tournament (Bill fish) can pay out but its usually around the $200k mark or higher. I know last time i put my money up it sure felt like I was gambling just a bit.

Just like a raffle is illegal, all tournaments are illegal in Alabama.

It sounds like to me all Tourneyment Promoters need to lobbey for an exception to the gambling law in Alabama. Some do gooder or Riley type might try to make a name for themselves. Get a head of a possible problem.

Raffles require no skill.

Tournaments are legal because they are open to the public.

This is a truly idiotic idea. Like I tell 49er, if you think tournaments are illegal contact the Attorney General.

I won't try to argue the legal part.
Evidently our gambling law is an albatross of confusion.

But when I go fishing, I know what, where, how and why to catch a fish.

I went to one of them "Bingo" casinos one time, and I had no clue what was happening.
Sometimes I'd get 3 of them cartoon characters to line up and win a bunch of points.
Then I would get 5 of the cartoons to line up and win nothing.
I never did find a pattern, but I walked in there with $60.00 and walked out, an hour later, with $63.00

So Outback you showed you had some skill to know When to Quite while you were ahead?Good! The argument is how much there is skill and how much is Chance in fishing??