Did anyone catch the article where bass pro, David Dudley, says he uses tournament practice hours to stick bedding bass so no one else can catch them? Then he fishes elsewhere. Good plan? Bad ethics? What do you think?? Food for thought!

Sounds like he has thought of something that no one else has thought of. It might be bad ethics, but it is not in the rule book that he can't do it so hes not cheating. Its not fair for other bass fisherman that have fished the bed and are going to use that during the tournament, but I guess he's just trying to put some of his opponent's early.

I think we should run our sport, the way golfers run their sport. Thay might be axxx off the course, but during play they have to abide by the rules, and manners.

For the money they are fishing for and the money they are putting out.Most pay their own entry fees about 2500.a tounry.its not cheating so go for it.This goes on everywhere David Dudley just had the ba--s to say it on national tv.I fished with him in a bfl,he is a good guy who helps you when ever he can.Good Luck David the rest of the year.

My thoughts immediately are: Do to others as you would have done to you. While sticking fish just to give them lock-jaw may be deemed defensive strategy. Is it in the spirit of good sportsmanship? If your a Pro you should act as a professional at all times. If I'm fishing a tournament on a lake that has an accessible pond only connected by a small channel. Should drop anchor right in the middle to block entry to the pond from competitors? Should I ask a power boating buddy to nonstop buzz a small bay a competitor is fishing to gain an edge for myself? I suspect BASS rules will be written to address this issue that transpired. I was fishing as a non-boater a few years ago at a BASS federation zone event. The boater who pulled my name at day 2 was in second place based on how well he did on day1. On Day 2 he drew starting position 35 with me. Off we went for a 5 mile ride to his honey hole from day 1. Once we arrived another boat was on his spot. The other boater asked my boater if he was on his spot. Answer: YES! What happened next amazed me, the guy gave up the spot to allow my boater to fish his spot. That's what I call sportsmanship!


Bassin Butch

Good posts guys!!
I only know that I would never intentionally do anything that other competitors might feel is deceitful or unsportsmanlike, not for any amount of money or fame. I love the sport too much and as far as I know I have a very good reputation for fair play and honesty. Even if I tried I couldn't sore mouth enough fish to make mjuch difference in any tournament. Keep these boards rollin' guys, spring is coming soon? Johnnie

Is it ‘unsportsmanlike” according to common past practice and unspoken ‘rules’ that have developed over the last 35 years or so of Bass Tournaments?

Yes, unequivocally.

But, is it against the written regulations that B.A.S.S. uses now?

No, and I can’t see how an enforceable rule could be added. How would infraction be defined? How can you know that an angler is violating the rule?

In the years I spent fishing with pro’s the courtesy and sportsmanship I witnessed on a daily basis was incredible. The anecdote about someone moving off another participant’s area was not only common practice, it was expected.

Some of the people I met among those who cast and crank for a living were.......shall we say....unpleasant ... to be around while off the lake.
However, on the water they were courteous and sportsmen - and - women. Well, most were, most of the time.

Unfortunately this is an indication of Tournament fishing coming of age, moving from a ‘fringe’ sport on the National scene to a ‘second-tier’ event.

With ESPN’s acquisition of the B.A.S.S. tourney trail our sport has been moved into an entirely new level of competition. The cash value of a major tourney win has increased dramatically. Add the wide public exposure for a winner and there are those who will spend a lot of time and effort working out ways to stiff the competition in ways that do not break the rules, but sure bend the h*** out of them.

This may not be the first rule-bending occurrence, but it was reported widely. And, sadly, it will absolutely not be the last.

You know, I've even heard of pros that would pay locals to pre-fish for them. Surely THAT is against some rule. Even to the point of having the angler sit on the hotspot until the competitor arrives. I guess money IS the root of all evil. Well , like you guys said, the cost to enter-the potential for fame and fortune- pay back to sponsors etc. might make a select few do things we probably will never have to worry about. Thanks guys. Johnnie

Saw that guy on TV this morning, defending his practices of sticking fish. Called it a good defense. Sure he may have messed up the fishing in that area for a day or so , if that long. Seems to me that practice is for putting together a good offense for the tournament. Once you have that and confidence in your abilities, it comes down to who gets that one BIG bite that makes the difference. I do think that sticking fish, planting fish in coves, hiring others to fish for you during off limits times, dropping trees across channels to block access till you arrive with your Poulan are all unsportsman like. But like a few have said, more money means more deceitful practices. I love to fish. Catching makes it even more enjoyable. But to compromise my ethics as a sportsman would mean to me that I have lost sight of what it's all about. I may be in the minority here, but the only way I am going to get my share of all that prize money is practice, practice and more practice.

I think we’re all in agreement with that statement Herb. If by chance I started fishing at the pro level again I would never use similar tactics. Or any other that skirted sportsmanlike conduct.

Long ago, on one dreary Sunday I came home from fishing a tourney where I’d been quite thoroughly, and publically, thrashed in a tournament. I was not in a good mood, in fact I was downright nasty.

My daughter, who was very young, pre-school, asked me a question that made be pause and consider. “Daddy, why are you so ‘gripey’ after you go fishing?”

I thought about it for a long time. I discovered something about myself, winning had become more important than fishing. And I didn’t like it. That was the last year I seriously fished at that level. If continued participation in competitive angling meant I had to forgo the simple joys of fishing, then I was unwilling to make that sacrifice.
A personal perspective perhaps, but it has worked for me in the thirty some odd years since.



I can think of no more sure way to the winners circle. No matter what sport you chose to pursue. (Let’s not get into the long discussions about ‘luck’)

RNE & Herb, thanks for the replies. I'll bet after all this hoopla that the pros will be a little more cautious about their statements and hopefully their game-plan pratices.
I remember a few years back when a pro told the audience and anglers exactly where he was fishing and what he was fishing. Not one competitive angler showed up near his spot. Now THAT was a brilliant plan!!
Another interesting story was the guy that actually sank a Ranger boat to get under a bridge to some backwater area. Gutsy!

I hope that anyone for one minute thinks this is the first time this or something like this has happened. This type thing has been going on since the first BASS event. Hooking fish, Paying locals to prefish, the hiring of professional guides to put anglers on fish, baiting holes, you name it the practice has been going on. Most of the biggest names on the trail have practiced these methods. The difference is David is the first to have the guts admit he is using all the rules to his advantage. If the man had located fish in 20’ of water and hooked them absolutely nothing would have been said. Don’t think David was the only fisherman hooking fish in this tournament. There are quite a few more unsportsman like practices going on than this, Pros backending their co-anglers in my opinion is twice as unsporting as what happened here but nothing is ever said about this practice. Roland Martin called names at this practice but without a doubt he has done things to slant the field in his favor. The new rules BASS has in place now are the direct result of practices of Pros in the past.

MSIVEY, no doubt you are correct. Perhaps now is as good a time as any for BASS to address these practices, tho enforcement will be impossible. I hope some good will come from all this. Thanks, Johnnie

Sorry Johnny,
I Personally know professional guides in AL. that have prefished for pros in BASS. Just read an article about the first BASS masters tournament. Ray Scott told Tom Mann he was sure tom was the best fisherman to sign and sure he would win. He also told about 100 other anglers the same thing.

Pretty good plan by ole ray! Funny, no one's ever told Me that! At least, now when I lose I can assume someone cheated, might make losing less painful.

You know guys I don't like this defensive fishing, but when ever I hear about it I have to think back to Ty Cobb,the mean old sucker who changed the way baseball is played. Can't imagine a hitter sliding into second without his ****es up. Baseball survived, I guess we will to. Good luck Carl.

You know guys I don't like this defensive fishing, but when ever I hear about it I have to think back to Ty Cobb,the mean old sucker who changed the way baseball is played. Can't imagine a hitter sliding into second without his ****es up. Baseball survived, I guess we will to. Good luck Carl.

You're right Carl. There will always be a Ty Cobb or Pete Rose. JC

I agree about Ty Cobb and all his kin.

But, dammit, that doesn’t make it right!

Look, one of the founding principles of competitive fishing was basic sportsmanlike conduct and courtesy. Once the sport slips into the cesspool that almost every other sport has become. Can we say Pro Basketball boys and girls?

It isn’t the same thing we have grown to know and love.

When we turn a blind eye to the loss of that aspect of our chosen particpatory sport we are aiding and abetting those who practice the tactics we are currently decrying.

If enough pressure is put on the Tournament Directors and Governing bodies it can be stopped. Or at least curtailed enough to be an aggravating isolated act by a few. If we complain to our buddies and don’t take it with the people and organizations that sponsor tournaments?

Well then, we might as well get used to it. I, for one do not intend to 'get used to it.'
I can and will bring it up when needed, I have a big mouth, and know how to use it.

One way to stop this would be in the spawn put the lake off limts for 24 hrs. instead of overnight. Another way would be not post the launch times till the afternoon before the tourny.

Reeler

I saw it and read about it. Although no rule is on the books, and you can bet their will eventually be, I think it is pretty crummy to ruin somebody elses pattern on purpose. Why can't I drop cherry bombs on somebody's point? Why can't I rotenone Brendans cove? Let's be serious, this was either a really stupid ploy or just ESPN trying to build some hype like the NASCAR Feuds.

They will pass a rule that prevents this because with the revamping of the schedule and the way the tour will follow the spawn north, they want those big bags because it translates into additional interest and ultimately more dollars from sponsors.

Craig, I think you are right, it's probably more hype than anything else. I think some of the circuits have outgrown themselves and have turned into a circus on water. I have seen these kinds of deception backfire. Once in a tournament I was using a white crankbait and catching fish, another tournament boat came within hollering distance and asked how I was doing. I as always told the truth, doing pretty good witha white crankbait. These guys thought I was only displaying the crankbait to throw them off so they used only black jigs and lost. Later they asked for the truth of what I was using, I had already told them the truth, they just couldn't believe anyone would do that. Too bad for them. But then again, not many folks have white crankbaits.

Johnnie; I feel that concealing the bait you are using may be considered acceptable, I've done it myself. In no way does it compare to what was done in the incident under discussion here.

Though if asked point blank I won't lie about it, just decline to answer. (And I've at least a dozen white cranks in my tourney bags. From 2 to 20 Ft )

Hammering someone else's water is not.

I am forced to admit I've seen these types tactics used for years by a few 'fishermen'. These are the same guys who everyone hates to draw, they front-end you, try to cut you off when it's your four hours, won't share anything at all, but will pick your brain as long as you let them.

They've been around for years, and will continue to pay their fees and fish.

It's hard enough to find a permenant partner to spend eight hours or more sharing a small bass boat on a regular basis.

To be forced by the vagaries of chance to spend the same amount of time with someone who you cannot bear makes for a very long day.

I have made it clear to more than one Tournament Director that if I drew a certain person he could find someone to observe for that boat. I wasn't going to fish with them. A couple have had some national recognition.

I would rather drive home the night before take off than fish in the same boat with a few long time fixtures in the local circuits. Admittedly I've never done it, but have no doubt, I would.


(Has it become obvious how strongly I feel about this?)