MAFF Friends,
I have been gone from MA for a year now, and wanted to share in reflection what I think is great about MAFF. I recently posted some pics about a new form of competitive fishing, but I would not have got there without starting at MAFF.
1. I learned other folks are as crazy about fishing as me. For a while I thought I was the only person that thought about fishing every day, planned my weekends, vacations and days off around fishing. I learned that other 'crazies' existed in the world.
2. You can learn a lot; equipment, baits, tackle, places to fish and techniques. if you tried to learn all by experience yourself, you'd grow old trying.
3. Great way to start competing. I was nervous as s**t that first time I fished a MAFF cartopper, didn't want to embarrass myself getting boat in the water or looking the fool, and that was before the fishing even started.
3. Learn how to compete. The cartoppers events taught me to plan a trip, plan my baits, check the conditions and to be a better fisherman. To me, fishing is taking a complex set of variables and trying to figure them out faster than the next guy.
4. Compete on different water conditions. Don't just go down the bank casting at the next object. The cartoppers teach you how to fish different conditions; offshore humps, lots of grass (Agawam !!), herring lakes and do you move around or sit on a spot. Pay attention every time to what the winners have tied on at the end of the day.
5. Make some great fishing friends. I got to fish and learn from a number of folks; Shawn, Karl, Roger, Evan and Ken. and then I got my butt kicked by Rich, Chuck and Halo and gift horse teams consistently. But I watched and learned how they did it.
6. MAFF fishermen are good! Having now been around and in the back-of-the-boat with guys that fish FLW and Bass Elites, the only difference I see between the consistent top-guys at MAFF, and the pros, are that the pros will pre-fish a lake for 3 to 4 days for 15 hours each day prior. If the top MAFF guys did the same pre-fish, they'd catch them just like the pros.
Appreciate what you have, its a unique forum. Keep up the good info sharing and tourneys, and the online-personalities and comments are really not what MAFF is about, so just ignore the fray.
The best for me was when folks actually remembered my name when I would show up for an event!
I have been gone from MA for a year now, and wanted to share in reflection what I think is great about MAFF. I recently posted some pics about a new form of competitive fishing, but I would not have got there without starting at MAFF.
1. I learned other folks are as crazy about fishing as me. For a while I thought I was the only person that thought about fishing every day, planned my weekends, vacations and days off around fishing. I learned that other 'crazies' existed in the world.
2. You can learn a lot; equipment, baits, tackle, places to fish and techniques. if you tried to learn all by experience yourself, you'd grow old trying.
3. Great way to start competing. I was nervous as s**t that first time I fished a MAFF cartopper, didn't want to embarrass myself getting boat in the water or looking the fool, and that was before the fishing even started.
3. Learn how to compete. The cartoppers events taught me to plan a trip, plan my baits, check the conditions and to be a better fisherman. To me, fishing is taking a complex set of variables and trying to figure them out faster than the next guy.
4. Compete on different water conditions. Don't just go down the bank casting at the next object. The cartoppers teach you how to fish different conditions; offshore humps, lots of grass (Agawam !!), herring lakes and do you move around or sit on a spot. Pay attention every time to what the winners have tied on at the end of the day.
5. Make some great fishing friends. I got to fish and learn from a number of folks; Shawn, Karl, Roger, Evan and Ken. and then I got my butt kicked by Rich, Chuck and Halo and gift horse teams consistently. But I watched and learned how they did it.
6. MAFF fishermen are good! Having now been around and in the back-of-the-boat with guys that fish FLW and Bass Elites, the only difference I see between the consistent top-guys at MAFF, and the pros, are that the pros will pre-fish a lake for 3 to 4 days for 15 hours each day prior. If the top MAFF guys did the same pre-fish, they'd catch them just like the pros.
Appreciate what you have, its a unique forum. Keep up the good info sharing and tourneys, and the online-personalities and comments are really not what MAFF is about, so just ignore the fray.
The best for me was when folks actually remembered my name when I would show up for an event!
! You're a stand up guy! 
great post 