Heard this just now. Now that's some preparation!

Just watched a video to confirm. Big fan of Casey and respect the heck out of the guy, he is a real class act. I trust his judgment that this act is well within the scope of the rules. He is doing everything he can to compete at the highest level- I get that. However, I personally have a problem with this. Not saying I wouldn't do it myself if I was in his position. I guess my issue is that I see it as comparable to hunting over a deer feeder. It is legal, just not for me- I want to find the animal not bait the animal to me. 

 

I have often thought of putting in brush piles at my favorite lake, yet for a tournament of the magnitude of the BassMaster Classic, this one doesn't feel right to me. Interested in what everyone else's thoughts are on this topic. Also, curious if anyone knows where you can read the rules for the Classic?

Just found the peritnentrule- C13 regarding this:

 

Competitors wishing to change fish habitat by placing any object in the tournament waters may do so if such action does not violate state or federal regulations.

 

So well within the rules.

 

 

Well it will either work... Or it won't , time will tell.

Wonder when they were dropped?

I heard that as well - I do not care for it. 

 

Another reason why some anglers really struggle with the MLF format - can't plant "Good Spots" in advance if you don't know where your going to fish.

 

A-Jay

It is well within the rules, even explicitly stated,  so good for him. Everyone else had the same opportunity, if they failed to do it that is their issue not his. 

 

Just makes me wonder how many other times items got planted but they never spoke about doing it.

While it might be legal, in my opinion, it's just not sporting, at all...

It is not sporting. However, I don't know that professional tournament fishermen are sportsmen as much as they are competitors. There is a lot of money here once you add up prize money, sponsorships, endorsement deals.... It is a business just as much as it is a sport. Sport are the small weekend tournamnets staged by local clubs. Wonder how many of those members drop structure at times in the year? The rules say it is legal.... they don't address sporting aesthetics.

Ha I'm not a fan of this. Even if it's within the rules, it's shady. If he were to win I feel like it would almost deserve an asterisk. When it comes down to it I agree with baitmonkey1984, it should be about finding the fish and not bringing them to us. But it's within the rules so......what are you gonna do?

Just because they arw there dosnt mean they will eat

Are the piles public info as far as thier locations?

you guys are all acting like dropping some brush piles around a 56,000 acre lake is going to automatically put you in beast mode come tournament time.  all this does is give him a bunch more waypoints (of which he likely already had tons) to TRY and CATCH a fish.  this shows his own hard work and determination to the best at the biggest time of his career. 

this is far more sporting in my opinion than the guys who solicit hot baits and locations from locals as they are known to do.

It is not sporting. However, I don't know that professional tournament fishermen are sportsmen as much as they are competitors. There is a lot of money here once you add up prize money, sponsorships, endorsement deals.... It is a business just as much as it is a sport. Sport are the small weekend tournamnets staged by local clubs. Wonder how many of those members drop structure at times in the year? The rules say it is legal.... they don't address sporting aesthetics.

Oh I understand the Capitalism. I just wonder about aspects of decisions such as these. A recent one comes to mind.. Banning the "A-Rig"

If it's not about sporting, but rather about money,

Then why ban it? That's my only point here, I think if Ike were to land on those brush piles, it might get really exciting, really quickly, despite the frigid air!

you guys are all acting like dropping some brush piles around a 56,000 acre lake is going to automatically put you in beast mode come tournament time.  all this does is give him a bunch more waypoints (of which he likely already had tons) to TRY and CATCH a fish.  this shows his own hard work and determination to the best at the biggest time of his career. 

this is far more sporting in my opinion than the guys who solicit hot baits and locations from locals as they are known to do.

 

He lives there man - does he do this at every event he fishes ?

 

I'm thinking this has happened before.  Not the end of the world, but I don't expect to see a Bassmaster special after he wins that documents how "Dedicated" the winner was as he planted his fishing spots around the lake.

 

A-Jay

Oh I understand the Capitalism. I just wonder about aspects of decisions such as these. A recent one comes to mind.. Banning the "A-Rig"

If it's not about sporting, but rather about money,

Then why ban it?

 

^^^^^^

 

X2 ~ !

 

Exactly - I was just typing the same thought . . .

 

A-Jay

And here he is  . . . . ."Pre-Fishing"

 

A-Jay

 

 

 

 Do people need permission from the state down there when they throw those trees in the water?   It does seem rather unsporting.  

I dont mind him planting his own but where do you draw the line. If a sponsor sends a team out and plants brush piles then gives   the GPS coordinates of brush piles to the pro , is that legal  ?

Oh and i plant field corn and clover every year and i dont have cows...but i do deer hunt lol

My club puts fish structure in lakes every year...lakes that we have tournaments on...its not a big deal guys

Caseys real advantage is he lives there!

Sporting is having an even playing field, and with the rule explicitly allowing this it is completely fair. Everyone had the same opportunity to do the same thing, they chose not to. I would be concerned if it was not addressed in the rules and he alone did it.

 

The one thing I wonder is how many others have done this and not spoke up about it.

Guys, we are totally overthinking this.

With the kind of money that is on the line here- the OTHER COMPETITORS would have called foul on this long before we even heard about it.

This means-

A ) they're all doing it

B ) they dont care.

I doubt this is the first time this has been done at a tournament. It's legal to drop brushpiles in the lake, so I don't see the issue with it. All of the guys out there were mapping the lake for days, so I'm sure they've all found their own brushpiles in the water. I don't think Casey has a huge advantage

This happens all the time, even at low level tournaments.  I can understand people not liking the idea but this is nothing new and Ashley isn't alone or even out of the ordinary for doing this.   I believe some states require you get a permit or some type of permission before dropping brush piles while others don't.  This happens all the time and generally is a good thing for a fishery.

If it's not an advantage, then why do it? Clearly, Casey is seeking an advantage here. Yes, it's legal, is it sporting? Nope.. No way... Not in my opinion. Just because a thing is legal, doesn't necessarily justify its exploitation. I just maintain a different outlook that's all. I still believe I'm right.

One more point, clearly it's a spectator sport, it's a sport driven by the everyday or weekend fisherman , not the other way around.

Guys, if you've never planted piles, then you have no idea. One out of every 50 piles planted will consistently produce fish. And those piles that he is shown putting out will take awhile before fish live in them unless he dropped some willow or bamboo with it that I didn't see. This is absolutely no different than scanning and finding brushpiles, he just strategically placed these. I guarantee the classic will not be won on those piles. He did not put them out in order to catch all of his fish, he simply did it Hopi one pile will hold fish and he would have one more spot to fish out of his 1000 waypoints. Just because you drop a pile doesn't mean fish will come. Go try it for yourself and see. It's a lot more work than it's worth unless you know what your doing.

Odell Beckham's "greatest catch" wasn't very sporting either considering he was wearing gloves.

 

For those that question the sportiness of this where do you gentleman suggest the rule should be changed to? 

 

If the rule becomes Elite Series anglers are not allowed to plant cover...what would the requirements be if the Elite angler was fishing a Southern Open?  Could they plant cover for that event?  Would they be able to fish that known cover if the Elite series visited that same lake the following year?

 

If the rule is no structure planting allowed at any level, what would the requirements be for FLW pros when they visit a lake as an Elite Series angler where they had previously planted cover?  Even more confusing is what if FLW/BASS both prevent installing man made cover.  Do they prevent anglers from fishing spots they planted when they were 16?