danthefisherman Posted March 20, 2021 Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 I think the inclusion of video (for the appropriate bait making categories) is a great idea...maybe not as a requirement, but definitely as something that could be considered/preferred in the judging process. Lure making is definitely a form of art, but we make functional art to catch fish otherwise our baits are merely trinkets for our own eyes. Anyone can slap a few hooks on a pretty hunk of wood, but in my opinion the real work comes in all the fine tuning, testing, problem solving, revising, etc. required to get a bait to perform at or above our expectations. There are some entries that are beautiful to behold out of water but could actually be duds in the water. In reverse, there are other entries that are relatively simple but could secretly have an amazing action and fish-catching ability that no one will ever see. A video linked from YouTube or something similar would provide a method to showcase the build in its entirety...from the aesthetics to the action. Making video as a requirement would turn a lot of people off I think as it could easily turn into a video editing contest. Video could instead be used to verify functionality of a design or when deciding between contest winners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted March 20, 2021 Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 Dan - all good points that need consideration. More rules would have to be written, and we all know that a high proportion of competition entrants cannot read. More duplicate entries today! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted March 22, 2021 Report Share Posted March 22, 2021 Well it looks like my hard bait and soft bait won’t be making it. Nothing going right and back to work for 6 long shifts tomorrow Lost part of my airbrush cleaning it so no painting either. The fins on my soft bait also won’t hand pour nicely in and no time to mod the mold I might be able to sneak in the hard bait at the last min Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan V Posted March 28, 2021 Report Share Posted March 28, 2021 I'm supersized at how few entries there are this year. I thought there would be more this year not less with how much time people have had with the lock downs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted March 29, 2021 Report Share Posted March 29, 2021 Oh god, please make March go away. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted March 29, 2021 Report Share Posted March 29, 2021 4 hours ago, Ryan V said: I'm supersized at how few entries there are this year. I thought there would be more this year not less with how much time people have had with the lock downs. I think for many they simply don't worry to much about this stuff and think as whole the lure building community has moved on to other platforms. Would imagine there will be a few more entries before the deadline. If not just increases your odds of winning if you participated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Epp Posted March 29, 2021 Report Share Posted March 29, 2021 Maybe if we all entered multiple lures and multiples pictures of each lure we could hype it up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman03 Posted March 29, 2021 Report Share Posted March 29, 2021 Wait?!? you aren't allowed to do that!!? lol They should have rules or something. Well even if there are less entries (probably more coming), there are some beauties in there! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigmouth Posted March 29, 2021 Report Share Posted March 29, 2021 Maybe divide the competition into two sections, like patents, design and utility. Design is based on the artwork, which describes most of the current entries, and utility, does it work better than the other entries in it’s class. For utility entries, an attached explaination of why and how this is so.?..oh, and I would allow two photos showing different perspectives of the entry.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthefisherman Posted March 30, 2021 Report Share Posted March 30, 2021 @Curt - RI Should we still upload entry files as jpeg images? I uploaded a hard bait entry as a png and it shows up on my end, but I'm wondering if I need to delete and re-enter a jpeg image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted March 30, 2021 Report Share Posted March 30, 2021 @Curt - RI - Next year, assuming you are not so discouraged by all the multi-entries and the PNG files, you need to force the entries through the rules page. I just pretended that I wanted to enter the competition and just signed up to TU. I see 'Lure Contest' just under the main blue bar at the top of the page. I click and the next page shows the bright red link to the contest entry section. 'Lure Contest Info' just puts me back in the same page as I am in now. I don't even need to click on 'RULES'. But, if I did, I see a lot of small print of your basic type rules, but I am too excited to get on with the process and cannot be bothered to read, and so you now have yet another rule transgressor. The RULES page: 1 - get rid of the useless links; I have just come from 'Lure Contest Info' and I am already sitting in the 'Lure Contest Rules' page. 2 - Get rid of 'past winners' links, they are just more distractions. 3 - Get rid of the three lines of fluff; 'Here are the rules.....' 'They are very basic.....' 'so you'll understand.....' These lines add nothing to the rules knowledge and only serve as a distraction. The competitor reads these useless lines and gets the opinion that the rules are very simple and not worth reading. 4 - the actual rules texts are full of fluff requiring effort and time to read. Rules 1, 2 & 3 are so long winded and the least important rules, most competitors will not get to No4 were the 'meat' starts. 5 - Lead off with the deal-breaker rules: A - ONE ENTRY PER CATEGORY ONLY, multiple entries WILL be disqualified. B - ONE PHOTO PER ENTRY, multiple photos WILL be disqualified. C - JPEG IMAGES ONLY, other image formats WILL be disqualified. 6 - after the deal-breaker rules, list the rest in order of importance. Keep the texts short and minimalist, example - 'MEMBERS ONLY, join here (link)'. As an impatient competitor, I do not want to spend more than ten seconds on this page and STILL receive the important information. If the deal-breaker CAPS text is LARGE and red, then this aim will be accomplished. Again, FORCE the competitors through the rules page, this should not be an avoidable option. As the rules stand this and previous years, it was inevitable that you were going to get foul entries. You could also apply the same techniques to the site rules that every new member skips past and that we then have to explain the gallery function to. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt - NC Posted April 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 The 2021 Coolest Lure Contest is now closed. I will be going through and eliminating any duplicates, entries that need to be deleted, etc. We will be judging during the next two weeks. I will post here with updates as needed. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan V Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thank you for running it Curt! I really enjoy the contest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbilly voodoo Posted April 1, 2021 Report Share Posted April 1, 2021 Another thanks for the contest even though most of my planned entries failed to go as planned so only one entry this year Making lots of firewood lately with prototypes that just don’t do it for me On a positive note I got a new airbrush and got some good results reworking an older design. Seems my so so spy bait makes a nice glider/jerk by changing my resin recipe and removing props lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
