Pumpkin Lizard

It’s crazy how much water is eligible in this event. They can fish basically from Norfolk, Va to Morehead City. Which is basically the whole coast of NC.

Yup. Everyone is using it to at least augment what they are doing. And there are so many nuances and patterns to identify that it obviously isn’t some sort of cheat code; some are far better than others with it.

My sample size was 20 minutes but in the time I saw him he was working a bass that he was looking right at and was pointing to it with his rod tip. But the whole scopers versus non scopers debate is tiresome and useless

I watched a little this morning. Kyle is on spawners and he was sight fishing.

In the old days before braid to fluoro, ewg hooks and the cheater box they wouldn’t let guys wear shoes while doing a proper log crawl, the sport is dying I tell you. Had zero problems.

I picked the wrong guy from Connecticut for lineup. Although Paul is up there.

If you want depth go with a sink tip streamer line. Sink tips/sinking line are easier to cast than you think. Plus you can use an unweighted fly. I’d rather cast that rig than a floating line with a weighted fly all day long. Also it’s not always about just going deep. It’s about control your depth throughout the retrieve. With a floating line your fly is going to yo yo a bit and in stronger current it’s going to come up. You can also use a really really short leader with sinking line. Mine is seldom longer that 3 feet for bass or trout on a sink tip. It’s heavenly. I usually have two rods rigged for smb fly fishing. Both are 6 weights. One has Rio Gold Floating line and the other has Sink Tip. The floater is for topwater/shallow and sight fishing. The Sink Tip is for every thing else.

This should be a big fish/shallow water power fishing festival.

In all the stuff I listen to and read, the indicators are that BASS is in a wait and see approach this season and there would be a bigger change next season. BASS should cut back on the amount of on air personality and add more cameras.

I am a BASS guy. But trying to watch the Classic was painful. After the 20th time I heard the Dave Mercer highlight “boom shakalaka Gi-Gi-Gi-Giant bass” I **** it off. I think it’s broken. I actually like the two guys who do MLF. They talk about the fishing and keep it light. I almost teared up a little when they talked about Val Kilmer. But yeah credit to them. Plus choosing a venue that is actually fishing well. Novel concept. My problem with MLF is that it will always be a little too LIV Golf for me and it is fueled by Stan Kroenke money who is one of the worst people in sports that I can think of.

There is no jealousy. Just astounded at how many people are literally choosing to come to the wrong conclusion. Luke made a great point about the buzzards.

I wasn’t even responding to you. Innocent until proven guilty is how our justice system works in legal matters. In this case he quit before they could finish the proven part. I would gladly say all of this in face to face discussion and you have yet to make any point that is solid or has any sort of basis in reality or fact. I’m just a fan. And you don’t need any tournament experience to see the level of wrongness and impropriety here. How close to Scott are you? You seem to be putting a bunch of effort defending a guy who is clearly guilty.

First he says: “I texted a buddy” then he says: ”I don’t even know the guy” Then he sends Kentucky Lake waypoints to the guy he doesn’t know. But it turns out those aren’t even Scott’s waypoints. The guy who gave Scott the waypoints somehow becomes alerted to his waypoints being passed around and then presumably that person then blew the whistle.

He took the coward’s way out and quit before they could complete an investigation. That’s all you need to know right there.

You should listen to Luke Dunkin's latest episode. He doesn't hold back. I think he tries to at first. But he clearly thinks Martin is a total fraud. Paraphrasing: "It would be like your employer calling you in for a drug test because they think you are methhead and the next day you show up with your own bottle of pee". And other gems... worth it.

Do Bass Fishermen besides KVD have agents?

Worse. A Used Boat Salesman. They won’t and shouldn’t release anything else. They are the biggest in the business and they will take the high road. After Martin’s highly embarrassing and self incriminating statement on Instagram really nothing else needs to be said. Now if he continues to make an issue of this then maybe they will show their hand, which would be bad for Martin because I suspect that they have a very strong one.

It’s so amazing that you are going to die on this hill. Scott Martin isn’t worth it. With his statement on Instagram he might as well have a billboard up saying “I’M GUILTY”. And of course there is a video. And of course a regular fan doesn’t have it. I guess it’s just Greg’s word and everyone else’s versus your denial. You would think that people being critical of the rules would take a minute to understand them. But I guess that’s too much to ask.

My line up: It feels risky going with Bill Lowen because this would be three great tournaments in a row for him, but he is a river rat. And I could totally see him going up the Chowan or something and power fishing some great catches. It’s never a bad idea to have Johnston. I think Tyler could make hay with his jig skill set here. Paul Mueller, I have yet to pick one of my CT guys. But he is fishy enough to have a great tournament here. Hamner feels like a steal for Bucket E. He’s due for a great week.

Scott knows who it is. Get Ur Fish on knows who it is. BASS knows who it is. Thats not what anonymous is. Should I make a handy job aid or a diagram to map it out for you?

Just because the person or people that filed the protest are unknown to you doesn’t mean they are anonymous. And obviously the whistleblower had sone proof because Scott Martin quit instead of submitted to a polygraph and an investigation. No. You are totally off base. During practice anglers have to eliminate unproductive water. That takes time. Information allows you to do that before you ever hit the water.

Well the actual competitors seem to care a great deal about it and all three major sanctioning bodies do. So I guess it’s probably a bigger deal than you realize.

Sure, enough to see that you are denial. I agree. What's funny is that in his warped head he probably doesn't even see that he is cheating. He should have taken the official polygraph; he would have passed. Having FFS and "Information" aren't even close to being the same thing. Everyone can get FFS and it isn't some magical box that will make fish jump in your boat. But everyone has it, but they don't have equal ability and talent in using it. When you have only 3 days to practice, even a little bit of info can make a big difference. Otherwise the sport would just become an unmitigated arms race of "Pro Staffers" and Guides pre fishing places and you wouldn't have the best anglers winning. Just the best networked.

Putting my faith in YouTube? Where are you getting that from? I referenced a quote from Greg Hackney which you are welcome to go listen to yourself. And it's not on YouTube. Sorry. Hopefully you are just confused and not using some lame straw man argument. I wish I had the video. Greg Hackney and others have seen it and that's credible enough for me.

The rules state that competitors can share information. The rule states that anglers can’t seek information from outside besides publicity available information. You’re attempting to rationalize his cheating. And sorry but it just isn’t going to work.