if you think we have jerks fishing out here, read this...

[Johnny C]

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tour ... id=3441575

[Tin Can]

That is beyond ridiculous. Anyone who prefishes by following guys around and marking their spots has no class at all.

[Tin Can]

Hey Johnny, been to Tulloch lately? Hook a brotha up with a report!

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

What do these pros expect..When the average angler see them going to a spot and catch fish, they should know there are some fishermen that will use this information for their own benefit..I am not saying I would be one of them, but if I saw one of the big names in an area, I just might investigate that area to see what was there and why fish were to be found there..Now as for hitting that spot while that individuals tourney was still in progress, I personally would not do that, but there are some that would no doubt..Sometimes though, the pros are sure they are being scouted, when in fact it might well be some local fisherman that had found that spot before and they are now waiting for the pro to leave..As old as some of the waters are and as often as they are fished it is highly unlikely the pro has found water that no one else has ever fished..It is a shame that some people do use the bent rod pattern for finding the fish, but there isn't a whole lot you can do to prevent it..

mac

[lionkiller]

Lots of those 'drive-by's on this (Clear) Lake. Some even by 'tournament guys'.

[ash]

Glad you mentioned this stock, I read Pauls statement on an earlier thread and it irked me. Has technology really gotten to the point where our ethics have been compromised? Its complete disregard for our fellow anglers and to ourselves.

I have heard of guys "bent rod and binocular" pre fishing and this was considered shamful. But driving up on someone and smashing a way point while they are fishing is not only discourteous and disrespectful its just plain chicken shizzel and speaks volumes as to where "growing the sport" is leading to.

It would be a damn shame if an 8" hud loaded with 4X 5/0 treble hooks accidently hit these guys in the face.....

[bassenvy]

Drive by way pointing? this is why it should be legal to have a paintball gun on your boat! I've heard of guys trading/selling way points and co-anglers bringing portable gps units,but fly by's?

People have their eyes on the prize and don't want to put their time in out there. What happened to the days of picking a few lures,mapping your route,and finding fish?

[Ringer]

I am sure that that Huddleston would pay better than winning the tournament. With the money where it is in the bigger tournaments it is no surprise that a few dirtbags are crawling out from the rocks. You read more about cheaters now even in smaller tournaments then you watch Martens and Velvik pee on each other so no surprise about a little spot poaching.

[MikeD]

had that happen on day 1 at the delta stren, fishing some rocks in open water in franks that my boater knew about, suddenly this guy is right up on us. we're easily 500' from any visible land in any direction, out in the middle of nowhere and this guy is within 20'. he starts with the "oh can't believe you guys know this spot, I was saving it for the stren" ya right. suddenly I've got jigs splashing the water 10' away from me. I ask him to give us some room, no luck. suddenly from behind us comes "beep beep beep" and as I turn around to see what all the beeping is about I can see that he's hitting keys on the lowrance marking the spot, holding the arrow key down and moving the cursor over and entering it. effer

[Buzzbait]

had that happen on day 1 at the delta stren, fishing some rocks in open water in franks that my boater knew about, suddenly this guy is right up on us. we're easily 500' from any visible land in any direction, out in the middle of nowhere and this guy is within 20'. he starts with the "oh can't believe you guys know this spot, I was saving it for the stren" ya right. suddenly I've got jigs splashing the water 10' away from me. I ask him to give us some room, no luck. suddenly from behind us comes "beep beep beep" and as I turn around to see what all the beeping is about I can see that he's hitting keys on the lowrance marking the spot, holding the arrow key down and moving the cursor over and entering it. effer

HAHA!!! That is some funny sht right there.

I gotta get me self a GPS units so I can start stalkin' me some pros.

[Flippinjigs]

It's happened to me in the track fishing a off shore hole that I have fished for years. Some slacker pulled the same tactics on me. I found some deep holes by drifting the track during low tide when the weeds where there several years ago. I have several areas that I have found. And are marked on my GPS unit.

Now that the weeds are gone these spots are hard to find and take a lot of time to locate. Boats can run up on you without being afraid of getting stuck, And you can hear that beep beep as they go by. It's kind of sorry but what are going to do?

As many people that fish the Track now days it's getting smaller and smaller and it's not hard to comprehend that other people will run across the same fishing areas by chance. But to pull up on another angler and mark his spot says a lot about some people that I would rather not mention here.

Good Fishin

[Quantum_Kid]

I can't believe someone would have the nerve to do something like that. It's absolutely rude.

Luckily I'm not good enough to where people want to steal my spots

Scott Trummer

[Jim Jr 77]

Wow...Nice article....It's very SAD to see anglers go to that extent!!!!

I mean if ya dont got a game plan...Thats your fault...Dont mess someone els's game plan just cause they aint got the skills the other person has.....

FLAT OUT...ANGLERS that do this have no SKILL thats why.....They dont put in the TIME to find out where a lake can produce fish!!!! Its all about winning now I guese....

People just wanna get paid and they will do what it takes to get that $$$$$....Even if it come to LOW cercumstances like this!!!!!

ITS SAD,SAD,SAD,SAD........

Jim

[Flippinjigs]

I could go on and on about this subject and provide some really good examples, as most well seasoned Bass Tourament anglers can. Here is my most recent.

Day Two of FLW Stren Delta on the Track. Fishing off shore and catching. Two Boats run by (not at the same time) and see the catch. A quick turn around and I have company. The first bonehead is so close that we can't even cast on that side of the boat. Had to tell him and his co-angler what I thought. The second guy had a little more class and kept his distance. But some people will get very aggressive and try to push you out of your spot. No respect.

I wouldn't even consider doing something like that. I come from the old school of bass fishing (late 70's). Where we respected our fellow anglers water. Having a bad lable hanging over your head for that, WOW who would want that (and I will pass it along)? I guess some don't care if they are respected or not. The chance of cash and/or fame, how little it my be, causes people to do things they might not other wise do. Very sad. Just thought you should know!

Good Fishin

[Fred Fullerton]

Had a similar time this past weekend we were fishing a bank a boat passes by and then turns left right in front of us my front partner says to them you are not serious the other boat said yes and at that point I see a bait pass right across the bow of that boat point taken they backed out

[mcsanders]

I can prove that the guys that are marking your spots are not only rude, unsportsman like, chicken s..t and just simply weak, but are also REALLY STUPID........

They don't even know how to turn off the beep on their GPS units when they are marking spots

If you're gonna be a loser at least be a smart loser.

kidding of course

[TomL]

Sucks - kinda makes you want to sit in a crappy spot all day so the losers like that mark crappy spots.

Even happening to BASS Guys! WOW!

[bassindon69]

I know some Org's have a no distant rule and some are 25 yards. Even 25 yards is to close and a joke, I can toss a swimbait well past there boat. I wish they would bring back the 50 yard rule. Then others at least have to stay away a little. To leave it up to us to work it out on the water is BS! We need RULES to keep people in line. Even with rules they get broken but No rule = trouble.
I know I did not like sharing a spot in one of the 100% tourney's last year. Hell we even crossed lines What a joke and a big turn off to me that was for tourney fishing.
Why did the old 50 yard rule go away?
Bring back the 50 yard rule and keep it clean and give everyone back there space to fish. The only guys that will complain about it will be the guys that want to get close to another, right?


Don.

[DanF]

Very interesting thread. For those that spend a fair amount of time on the water, you often recognize other anglers (or their boats). Most "old school" fisherman live by the creed that finding the right fish is the mark of a consistent tournament angler - everyone can pretty much catch them once you know where they are. These "old school" fisherman would not "poach" a spot from another angler.

As far as the Stren incident - those that fish the Delta regularly know the true story. By the way - the beeping on the Lowrance unit may actually be adjusting the zoom so you can zero in on other peat clumps (not "rocks" as Mike calls them) in the local area - not marking waypoints. Mike, you may want to be careful in this forum if you don't have full facts.

[MikeD]

As far as the Stren incident - those that fish the Delta regularly know the true story.

not sure exactly what you are alluding to here, do tell what "the true story" is

By the way - the beeping on the Lowrance unit may actually be adjusting the zoom so you can zero in on other peat clumps (not "rocks" as Mike calls them) in the local area - not marking waypoints. Mike, you may want to be careful in this forum if you don't have full facts.

I agree, that it may be adjusting zoom. But I know what I saw on the sonar under our boat - I know the diff between rocks/humps and grass/veg on the screen - and I've always found it tough to tune the sonar while on the map screen.

Edited to add (now that the first cup of joe is going down): I'm not sure what additional facts I'd want to have - I was in the boat and saw what I saw. It's not like things took place over 50yds away

Is it possible that it was something other than what I took it for? I suppose, I'm open to the idea. I'd love to hear the other anglers justification for his actions. Did he do anything illegal? Nope. While we did have an orange marker buoy out we didn't have an anchor down so he could have tied up next to us without breaking any rule.

In the end, even if you take the 'beeping' Lowrance part of the event out of the story, I'm of the opinion that splashing a jig that close to me in an open water area is pretty piss poor sportsmanship.

[basslayer]

future pro tour still has the 50 yard rule