It's been a tough year to be a shark tourney director,i am battered . I want to thank from the bottom of my heart ALL who put forth so much effort and dedication to the sport and competed in the 2015 Big Hammer Challenge. Thank You to those that supported and encouraged me to run this tournament once again this year. Without the encouragement of people like Stan J Warren this tournament may not of happened this year. Without Stan J Warren we would not of opened up our boundaries to include Georgia,South Carolina and North Carolina this year.I was excited of the new possibilities of the new states producing a major sized Tiger shark to compete against Florida. Because of problems that have come about in this years's BHC I have once again had the opportunity to see how we can improve the tournament . I have to say that the MAJOR PROBLEM is that people don't follow what is going on in this site but instead are looking in facebook which is not the place to get up to date information on the BHC.I let everyone know that they should follow what is being posted on the BHC thread and watch facebook as a secondary source of information but it seems that advise falls on deaf ears. Sometimes I have to adapt the Rules to changes from year to year and it's difficult to post on this site and post on facebook ,and write a Rule change on the BHC website when i don't have control or knowledge of how to modify a website---the whole thing becomes a black cloud that wants to swallow me up.I NEED HELP!!
BELOW THE RECOMMENDATION POSTED ON PAGE 5 OF THE LEADERBOARD BELOW FIRST WKS TABLE -A REMINDER TO FILE "FORMAL COMPLAINTS"
"DISRUPTING THE TOURNAMENT -STARTING TROUBLE-NAME CALLING -BASHING-STARTING RUMORS
I want to remind all anglers fishing the Big Hammer Challenge to please conduct themselves with respect for other tournament anglers,and towards the sport that this tournament represents(land-based shark fishing).We should stride to uphold the sport as we are being watched by many who will have an opinion of us according to how we behave during the 30 days of competition.We would like to inform all fishermen in the BHC that what we monitor what goes on Facebook and other sites and we want to warn anyone who is hell bent on disrupting this tournament for no good reason ;that WE WILL DISQUALIFY ANY PARTICIPANT DEEMED TO BE A NUISANCE OR TROUBLEMAKER. Unfounded claims of cheating or harassing other anglers on Facebook will be dealt with.If you have a legitimate complaint,please call me I am the tournament director and will deal with all allegations of cheating or attempts to cheat. If you have the evidence or proof of cheating PLEASE file a FORMAL COMPLAINT ,it is in the BHC RULES and a Tournament Committee has been set up to deal with this sort of thing.''
The way I feel today I can say that this tournament may never happen again because it takes too much to make happen,it takes too much out of me ,it robs me of valuable time from my wife and children ,it robs time from my various business's,and it opens my eyes to see how ugly humanity can be sometimes.The only way I could ever consider doing this tournament again would be if I had a volunteer full time assistant/referee/director who would help do the job I do of overlooking every single fish that is submitted in the BHC. On my shoulders is the RESPONSIBILITY to be Director,Judge ,Peace Keeper,Mediator and Problem solver---it is no easy task;just ask those who have attempted to put together these online shark tournaments and see how many are still doing what I do. Most have QUIT after only one year,some have survived a few years but none is still at it with the exception of Sharkathon which is run by a GROUP not a single person like I do .
People are mad because early in the tournament I disqualified three fish that were either missing the REQUIRED PICTURES or were being measured incorrectly or the angler was not in the picture at all. Whatever the reason was I can ASSURE YOU THERE IS NO BIAS OR PREJUDICE in my judgements; I take no pride is disqualifying anybody's fish -it is difficult and the backlash from pissed off anglers TALKING SMACK ON FACEBOOK becomes a mountain of crap that snowballs against every good thing I have tried to do for the sport of land-based shark fishing for so many years. It is I who has to OVERLOOK the tournament every single day I have to MONITOR what is being submitted and posted in the Leaderboard ---THE UNSAVORY JOB of having to make decisions on the fly falls on me ,and it's not simple to decide how to Judge a fish that is being submitted with questionable pictures .I simply have to set an example early on in every single BHC there are those that want to gain an advantage with little tricks like stretching the sharks tail or winding the tape measure up and down a sharks body to gain a few inches----the shit gets ugly and this is THE REASON I MAY NEVER DO THE BHC AGAIN.This gets personal when i have people on facebook calling me a cheater,a Rule breaker,unfair.Biased,and many other worst things and to them I say i HAVE DONE THE BEST I CAN BY MYSELF WITHOUT ANY PAY OR ADVANTAGE . If i gain nothing but heart ache from doing this tournament why should I continue to do it? Why don't some of those very same people who are quick to bash me volunteer to assist me ,that would be be a big plus for the tournament ,for the anglers competing and ultimately for the sport because things would run much more smoothly???
FORMAL COMPLAINTS or LACK THEREOF
Coming from mostly people who don't have a horse in this race were asking for disqualification of ALL THREE TOP SHARKS(14 ft 1 in,13ft 2 in,13 ft 11/2 in)because of different reasons like tail stretching ,lever drag adjustment and dark pictures ;and to them I say why did you not file a FORMAL COMPLAINT so that it would go to a committee VOTE?? It never seizes to amaze me how people who have never had anywhere near a winning fish in the BHC can start to stir the pot and create problems for a tournament that just produced the 3 BIGGEST SHARKS IN ANY LAND-BASED TOURNAMENT in the history of man? Folks I gotta have tough skin to deal with crap or be out of my mind to do this tournament because the haters are out there like ZOMBIES trying to destroy the good work of those who give of themselves to create something good with no monetary gain or advantage of ANY KIND. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE -CHRISTOPHER BILL,MICKEY KINDLE,ANTHONY MINIO,GLEN GOPLIN,and RICHARD OTTS whom I thought was a friend of mine ?? Have they ever run anything in there lives ,have they ever completely given of themselves like I do for this tournament?? Ask yourselves ,what are the intentions of these people??It has to be to disrupt,to create havoc,to create hate ,to create dis-trust. WHY DID'NT ANY OF YOU WHO FELT SO STRONGLY FILE YOUR COMPLAINT?? I know why because inside of you lives that dark hatred ,that cowardly lack of character that does not allows you to fight for what you believe in, but instead you create dissent when you DAMNED WELL KNOW THAT WHAT WE NEED IF THIS SPORT IS TO SURVIVE IS UNITY.To you all I say shame on you for not wanting IN ANY WAY TO HELP!! SHAME ON YOU FOR TRYING TO DESTROY ONE OF THE LAST REMAINING LAND-BASED SHARK TOURNAMENTS,SHAME ON YOU FOR STIRRING THE POT and offering NO SOLUTIONS,SHAME ON YOU for not caring enough to do something positive, SHAME ON YOU FOR ALLOWING HATRED TO DWELL IN YOUR HEARTS.
GREAT TEAMS THAT WORKED SO HARD SHOULD BE HONORED AND DECORATED
On the other side of all that negativity that took place in the 2015 BHC I am encouraged and thrilled to see so many young Teams and older Teams that worked so hard through so many tough conditions.I am proud to see the likes of Team BaitMunchers a group of young men from the west coast of Florida fishing so hard in so many different platforms-these young men fished the beaches,they fished the bridges,they fished the jetties,they fished and won the Pier Division,,man these guys are the future of this sport. I disqualified one of there sharks because it was Submitted as Jetty fish but there were no shark pics only a fight pic and a short video and they UNDERSTOOD the mistake and improved and kept on fishing without creating problems like Mickey Kindle who caught nothing and talked lots of smack. Teams like Requiem South Carolina with Captain Stan J Warren who I am so proud of for catching THE MOST TOTAL SHARKS but I am heart broken because they posted beyond the Deadline because I set up a time that they were not aware of -MY APOLOGIES TO MY FRIEND STAN-I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME. So many teams that I have to thank here because they put forth so much effort in the face of so many bad conditions.So many individuals so with love in there hearts offered words of kindness when I was feeling battered by so much contraversy--to you all my gratefulness and love.Thanks to all the Teams that fished the BHC for the first time,thanks to all those who did not run and hide but willing to support me through so much criticism . Thank you to Team Comp tack whose Captain Juan Mejia despite battling cancer shows so much character and determination to overcome---YOU ARE A WINNER IN LIFE and TRUE CHAMPION in my eyes. Thanks to Greg Harris for his support,thanks Team Shark Castle and Younggunz,thanks to brand new Team Seawolves with another great men a personal; friend of mine Tony Medina -you have won my admiration SIR. Thanks to little teams who lost members from the onset but continued to fish long and hard.Thanks to Hammer Wranglers who once again prove that they are the Team to beat every single year--YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST MOTIVATED AND ORGANIZED TEAM IN THE BHC YEAR AFTER YEAR-your catches are unparalled .Thanks to Nino Diamandi who puts it all together with the most respectful upstanding and HARDCORE SHARK FISHERMEN on the west coast.Thanks to every single Team that continued to fight despite the barrage of garbage coming from facebook .Thanks to the Teams that represented the SFSC -Teams like Hammer N the Phenoms with Jd Hammer whom I love and would give my left hand for -a man with a heart of gold and a soft toughness that is unlike anyone I have ever known.Thanks to Team Dirty South Shark Hunters for your excellent catches and extreme efforts every single day of the tournament---HEY RAY AND JOE you can be a great shark fishermen without being Dirty from the South ---I know you guys will continue to mature and gain respect and knowledge and one day you will remember me and say "damned Will was a hardass but he taught us a lot about life ".To my Team mates who fished hard Scott,Jonathan,Tyler and Hunter -thank you and thank you all for your support and LOVE . I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AT THE AWARDS PARTY THIS SUNDAY MAY 17 TH.COME ONE COME ALL --THE GOOD ,THE BAD AND THE UGLY -WE DON'T DISCRIMINATE -LET'S SUPPORT THE BEST SHARK TOURNAMENT ON THE PLANET.THANK YOU ALL.
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
Stir the pot? I don't want any fish disqualified; if I did I would have made a formal complaint. I simply asked what is the definition of the rules of assisting an angler. What others post and comment has no representation of myself. I have yet to be told what that definition is for these land based tournaments. I indeed tagged you and Josh J for the definitions in each of your tournaments respectively as they are the largest Florida based tournaments. I only ask this question so we have the same playing field for all teams. For example, a few years ago we had a 12 year old angler handling a 9ft1 inch lemon shark and she was unable to adjust the drag at the end of the fight, so we helped her and deemed this as assisted so never entered her fish. Integrity is apart of everything, and rules are in place for a reason. A lot of money or not everyone should abide by the rules at hand or pure anarchy occurs. There are plenty of texts and phone calls you made that crossed the line for a tournament director, but people bite their lips because they are afraid of being disqualified for what little cash they can recoup. If a rule is stretched in one direction for a fish then it should be as well for another, simply that. Decisions are tough, everyone understands that. But to make a decision to dq a fish for whatever reason, then another fish breaks a rule and is told that only the committee can make the decision once a formal complaint and $50 is sent in is not a fair playing field.
Team HUGE Gear Captain
"GET SOME!"
Will thanks again for throwing such a great tournament. I will be there early Sunday with Team Baitmunchers to help y'all setup stuff. If u need help in future BHC's let me know man.
RICHARD OTTS ---WHY DID'NT YOU FILE A FORMAL COMPLAINT BROTHER ,,,WHAT IS THE REASON FOR YOUR RANT ???? WHY THE HELL DID'NT YOU VOLUNTEER TO BE JUDGE/PEACE MAKER/MEDIATOR LIKE ME BROTHER,,,,WHAT ARE YOU SAYING THAT I AM BIASED??? IDONT GIVE A SHIT WHO WINS IT BUT I PERSONALLY WONT DISQULAIFY A FISH BASED ON A TECHNICALITY but if it had a Formal Complaint filed then it would be brought to the committee for a vote--where were you? Richard ??
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
I simply want to know the definition of what "Assisted" is. That is all I asked
Team HUGE Gear Captain
"GET SOME!"
Hats off to Will for throwing a great tournament and putting in all the time and effort to make it happen and also for including the new states for 2015. We signed up with only 2 anglers knowing we wouldn't be able to put in a lot of time this year but we wanted to support the Big Hammer Challenge and help spread the word to other teams up here in NC. If there is a next year we will be back with a full team ready to do it big. Props to all the teams and anglers who caught some incredible sharks and fished hardcore for a month straight.
Will,
I am a member of Team Shark Life, we were so looking forward to being apart of the tourney this year but we feel on some hard financial Times. Let me say this, if help is what you need for future BHC's we would be more than happy to help out. You just tell us what we need to do and we will take it from there. Call anytime 850-375-4299. Thanks, Chris
I Would like to take this opportunity to Thank William Fundora (Will) a good friend of mine for hosting and running the BHC. There is no one more dedicated on Shark Fishing and running the club than Will. Remember People only two years ago he lost his son (Danny) forever missed in a tragic incident and Will still takes his personal time to run the show. I personally knew there would be trouble this year cause MONEY is the EVIL of all MANKIND it makes people turn on friends and family but you have to understand is at the end of our lives we take nothing with us NO MONEY, NO TROPHIE'S nothing at all. So we need to get along with our fellow shark hunters and learn defeat we don't always WIN. Next year if I decide not to fish This Tournament and hope their would be another year for future shark hunters that follow, I would be honor if they would allow me on the committee if I were accepted. I believe only my opinion that to be on a committee you would not be eligible to fish the tournament cause it creates friction. Voting would take place among the committee members and published online with the results with no money involved. I have plenty of ideas I could bring to the club to better the sport I've kept to myself and watched at a distance to see this unfold exactly like I predicted. I personally have contributed like putting Will in contact with Marshall from Chaos Rods and then with Keith Wichmann from Everol Reels I only point him in the right direction and Will takes over and works out the fine prints. So if you Guys and Gals think he is unfair make a call to him or make a formal complaint and then you be the judge.
Hey Will this is Stephen with team Seawolves and I would like to thank you for everything you have done this is my first year entering this month long sharkathon it's been fun it also beats the hell out of you fishing 28 or 29 days of the month and having to get up for work the next day. But again thank you for putting this tournament together and allowing me to see what a shark tournament is all about thank you again.
Let me start by saying that I can only imagine the amount of work that goes into running this tournament, I applaud you for that.
However, I can safely say that it will be the end of BHC for myself personally, and I would not be surprised if the rest of our team ( Requiem ) felt the same way after losing the most sharks category due to a technicality of posting the pictures late.
It's not like the pictures or dates are in question, it's easy enough to check the meta data on the pictures, a 12 hour extension isn't a lot to ask for for someone to get the pictures online.
I am not bad mouthing you personally Will, you run the tourney however you need to run it, it's your tournament after all, I just know for myself and probably everyone else involved on our team, that it has left a very bad taste in our mouths.
From the outside looking in, I have to say I'm sorry to hear that there is any negativity associated with this tournament. I suspect that some may not realize the positive impact this tournament and this site have on people far outside the realm of shark fishermen. I don't know how many people I've shared SFSC reports and BHC catches with. Aside from amazement at the size of the sharks you guys land from beaches and bridges, all are impressed by your conservation efforts.
I just wanted to share that the SFSC has a positive impact outside of the shark fishing community.
Personally, I don't get to fish the traditional waters of the SFSC. However, I read every post your members put up. I've learned a ton from all of you.
Thanks for the effort all of you put into LBSF education and preservation, Bob.
I am one of the newbies to the BHC although not new to shark fishing. Although we spoke privately, I am going to say it again publicly. My team almost didn't participate in this challenge for one reason. Because of the negative comments that certain people were saying. Not that we believed the negativity, but because we didn't want to be involved in the drama. Facebook drama is enough without being a part of drama in a sport we love so much. The only reason our team exists is to bring more awareness to the sport and to educate people about sharks and hopefully show people how awesome it is to catch a shark and release it versus killing it. With that said, we decided to do this tournament because we didn't want rumors to keep us away from being a part of something so great and of history in the making. I am glad I did the tournament so that now when people talk shit, I can put them in their place based on my experience. While doing this tournament we met amazing people. We opened a lot of doors with first time ever sharking permits from the state, had a chance to educate dozens of people on the west coast who assumed that all sharkers do is kill fish for profit, and even had a chance to fish with other teams and help them out while making new friends. Isn't that was this was supposed to be about?? One thing I heard during the BTC was that people were getting butt hurt because others were fishing their spot. Really??? Even during that tournament, it was SFSC members like JD Hammer, Shannon Bustamante, and JD Fagan, who set up next to us and made the experience that much better because they didn't shun us or get all nasty with us when we realized we were all fishing the same beach. Instead, we helped each other with paddling out baits, tail roping sharks, etc.. These guys were awesome. That's what these tournaments should be about. With the BHC, I have witnessed tons of things that I was shocked by. Attitudes for one. But instead of worrying about what others were doing, it made us fish that much harder because the best way to counter the bad is by doing good. We didn't get the "big one" but we did land fish that were a first for us. I got my first hammer and my teammate got his first bull. That came with work. We spent 25 out of the last 30 days on the beach through injuries, the flu, illnesses, etc. No breaks or going home to sleep warm at night. My only regret is that I couldn't be there to witness that 14' or even the 13' hammers being caught. To be able to watch these guys in action and learn from them would have been awesome!
I know many people have done other tournaments before and how many of you can say that you got the personal one on one contact from other founders like you have received from Will? I know I haven't. Yet, Will was there to answer every text message I sent, to answer questions clarifying rules, and made it a point to reach out to me when he saw me struggling to figure out how to post pics. He even went as far as to message us to congratulate us on a catch and encourage us to keep going. That in itself deserves respect. As a female sharker, I take ALOT of shit from the guys in this sport so it is encouraging to finally be treated as a sharker and not as a "female doing a man's sport." THIS ISN'T THE END OF THE BHC! WHY?? Because I truly believe Will, that you love what you do and you love the sport. But it should be the end of the bullshit. Even if it means having to start not allowing certain people to fish it.
For those who can't respect the sport. Go Home! If you feel the need to tilt the measuring stick, stretch the tail, insult others, or lie about a catch, then maybe this isn't the sport for you. At the end of the day it doesn't make Will look bad and it doesn't make the sport look bad, it only makes the cheater and bullshit starters look bad. Haters only hate what is a reflection of what they wish they could be. There were a lot of people fishing this tournament and there could only be one winner. Congratulate them for a job well done and stop trying to steal their spotlight with bullshit. Rant over!
Move over boys!
Let a girl show you how to catch a shark!
___________________________________________________________________
2015 BTC 2nd place Largest Shark-female angler
2015 BHC 1st place Largest Shark-female angler
2015 BHC 3rd place Most Sharks
I had a great time Will, and team REEL ISSUES has your back no matter what. Were just a bunch of knuckle dragging jarheads havin fun and this tournament and your selflessness made our time fishing that more exciting and exhausting. We salute you will!!
Will, You had better buck up and keep this tournament going. I watched hard from the sidelines, looking at each shark about 3xs. I enjoy watching this tournament from the side-lines. So much work from the anglers, and the results of this year were off the charts. I'm hoping you will have this tournament for another seven years or so at least. I'm hoping people will step up to the plate and help out.
Why the next seven years?? Because when I retire my 20/0 Everol, 18/0 Everol, ATD 130, and Duel 12/0W will be fishing that tournament to compete for the biggest monsters out there in FL. In my opinion there is nothing better than to be in a competition fighting for the biggest shark against the best land based shark fishing anglers on the planet. I enjoyed being in the black tip challenge in the hunt for the biggest shark. Point blank, your tournament may be one of the very few left which targets the giants of the deep; and I want to be apart of it when I know I am on equal ground with all you for those Giant Hammers; I also want to be able to be able to put the time on the sand. When that combination presents itself, and it will I am in. Until then I will wait with tactical patience. Its not about winning the tournament, its about having fun in a tournament while giving it your all. However you have to give it due diligence and for me that is a big part of it. For me no other category would matter other then the biggest shark category.
When we lost what could have been if it lived the top qualifying shark for the BTC we were bummed however still got a respectable 4th place in the tournament with a decent 8.5 Tiger. But the tournament was a bigger picture for our team then just winning. When we saw a 14 or 15 foot jaw dropping hammer swim by our position it awed me. I just watched my dream catch swim by in awe. Looked like a mini Submarine. In NC we just don't see that type of thing. Sometimes things happen in a tournament that are outside of our control but its how we take them in stride and what we learn from them at the end of the day that makes us better anglers.
Keep this tournament going strong man. Your doing a great job. Remember you can't please everyone. I doubt Team Requiem will bail cause Stan is a good guy and has a super competitive team. Let those who want to go; go peacefully. Just because a team bails dosn't mean there has to be hard feelings or that there not a bunch of good guys sometimes people have to part ways and simply do so agreeing to disagree. There will be many teams who will be fishing your tournament next year for the 2016 Hammer Head Challenge; the tournament will be self correcting as the tournament develops throughout the years. I have respect for so many in this tournament who fought it out to the end. Great Job all. Will; Bottom Line Keep on Keeping on. We know one thing great anglers are not quitters no matter what regardless of the circumstances because of the love for the sport. So keep on keeping on man.
William thank you for the tourney.
"2017 Team little rock
Never test the depth of the water with both feet"
I DO NOT SWIM IN THE OCEAN
GO BIG OR GO HOME