I must quantify my above post by stating that two wrongs do not make a right. My partner is also an ex-D.C. cop and is now a Federal Agent, so we both suffer from the mental illness known as "contempt of cop". The tourney participants that do not operate their vessels in a sportsmanlike manner, invariably get close-fished by us, followed, etc. My friends boat has a pretty decent CD player in it so that comes in handy as well. It basically turns into a giant ticking contest and volley of threats, until we trump them at the last minute with our credentials. I realize that is not the proper use of police I.D. We have both spoken to the director at the ramp, and both parties are hoping to start over brand new next year. We'll see what happens. But I reserve judgement until then. My stance at this moment is that district 11 or 3 ABA (Ican't remember which) members are pompous *****.

I have seen a lot of pompous***** involved with the ABA , Might be part of the Qualifications , what do you think? Every one has a freedom to enjoy a day on the lake without the rudeness of others.

Hey PutPut,

I've noticed that every single post you've made since joining the board has been an ABA-bash. I'm gathering that you don't like them very much ;D That's a shame. I wish you could have been exposed to the great districts here in NC.

When I met my husband, I had a negative view of tournament bass anglers. Of course his

business very much caters to tournament bass anglers. My views really were not based on

facts. I was sure that all tournament anglers were arrogant, uneducated bubbas with beer a

belly. It took him TWO YEARS to convince me to open my mind, and at least give them,

and his passion a chance. Looking back, I was the one that was arrogant. For the most

part tournament anglers are repectful to others. Of course there are a few bad apples,

but they are found in EVERY group. Now I find myself actually fighting for their right to

participate and enjoy the sport. There are a few circuits that have a bad reputation with

both the public and other tournament anglers. The trail mentioned by other posters does

not have a good reputation in Texas. Maybe, anglers that fish that trail can help by talking

to the tournament directors,etc. But for the most part tournament trails and their anglers

are an important part of the sportfishing industry. Many innovative lures are designed by

tournament anglers, and are available for all anglers. I have found a good number of tournament

anglers that donate time and resources to improving habitat, and we all benefit from that!

Just my 02cents!

I must quantify my above post by stating that two wrongs do not make a right. My partner is also an ex-D.C. cop and is now a Federal Agent, so we both suffer from the mental illness known as "contempt of cop". The tourney participants that do not operate their vessels in a sportsmanlike manner, invariably get close-fished by us, followed, etc. My friends boat has a pretty decent CD player in it so that comes in handy as well. It basically turns into a giant ticking contest and volley of threats, until we trump them at the last minute with our credentials. I realize that is not the proper use of police I.D. We have both spoken to the director at the ramp, and both parties are hoping to start over brand new next year. We'll see what happens. But I reserve judgement until then. My stance at this moment is that district 11 or 3 ABA (Ican't remember which) members are pompous *****.

You are very correct 2 wrongs don't make a right. If it bothers you so much why would you want to play into their hand. BTW flashing your badge is as childish as running by someone on plane while they are fishing.

JMO

I cant resist this one...

I am one of the young bucks mentioned earlier, and I think you will find most of us "younger" guys are much more considerate and reserved when dealing with tourney situations than some of the old "more experienced" fellows in the sport.

I have never been run off my spot by a fellow "young buck", but the 50 somethings are real difficult to get along with at times. The same guys that will be hollaring obscenities across the water at you for being in "their spot" are the same guys that will fish up close enough to smell your...well you get the idea.

I have encountered much more trouble with "pleasure" fisherman while "pleasure" fishing with my son, than from any tourney guy. Also the big boats cause quite a bit more disruption to the lake than do any of the bass boats, not to mention the water lice.

An older guy I fished with showed me how a full unopened can of coke can very effectively disuade water lice from getting too close..hehe

Ive never been in a situation whereas I was the instigater of a prob on the water, I have had stuff thrown at me from people on docks, things thrown at me from people on boats, the law called on me, and been boarded by some less than upstanding personalities, but I have never been at fault.....And I tourney fish like a mad man.

So speaking for the tourney fishin young bucks, its not generally us, its generally them and there are generally more of them and they are generally louder!!

I believe a lot of it has to do how one was raised, I usually find that people who act this way, their parents did to.

If I acted like that my daddy would have hit me so hard behind the back of the head it would have shook my grand kids!

It's called sign language you know where one talks with their hands!

So speaking for the tourney fishin young bucks, its not generally us, its generally them and there are generally more of them and they are generally louder!!

I couldn't agree more!

Duke

I fish about 20-25 tournaments a year. I have never had a run in with anbody on the water,EXECPT for two guys riding a jet-ski between me and the shore( about 15feet away). the first time I didn't say anything,but the second time I let them know how I felt about it. I also practice fish alot and have been on the water when there is a big tourny going on and I have never been asked to move off a spot or fished in on. This all started out sounding like someone was crying, and I'll tell you if you fish the Potomac like you say you do , then you need to get over it and enjoy the day fishing.

Here is another opinion. Tournament fisherman will always be a target because they are a very visible group. You can't make statements (that people listen to) about individuals, but you can about an organization or entity. It wouldn't matter one iota if they drove 10 mph and threw $20 bills out the back of the boat. People who have shoreline property think they own the lake (water), and dislike anyone who encroaches upon their perceived rights, regardless of what the law states.

We all could stand and point fingers at the few, but the question is what can we do. I'll say this no one can complain about being crowded or surrounded by bad apples until they've been to the Bouy 10 fishery on the columbia River on Kite Fest weekend.

how can you be anything but excited to bass boats on the lake that you are fishing!  I would probably wet my pants from being so excited!  It is so amazing

I tend to agree with the rest of you. Most tournament fishermen do more to help the fishing enviroment, than harm. As already mentioned, it has to do with the person. You can't judge all, because of a few.

 however, I would like to address the PLEASURE BOATERS. I was fishing a tournament when, by my own stupidity, fishing on the main part of the lake I got pounded by the BIG boats. I'm not complaining about the Wakes they left, But these guys have got to get MORE CLOTHES on their girls! How in the world do you expect me to concentrate on fishing with all of those string bikini's!!! And stop pretending to pick stuff up off of the deck when you pass by!! That is my complaint!                                     Not really just trying to make light of the situation. Bad day of fishing but had a great view!

this reminds me of a survey I conducted in college aspart of a sociology project.

Y'all know 'rubber necking" on the highway at the site of an accident right?

It seems to me that virtually every car has to slow down and stretch their neck to see what's going on.

So when the assignment came up I chose to survey people regarding this habit.

the question was posed in such a way that it was clearly NOT necessary to slow down for safety reasons but just for gawking, like you see on the highway, where there is an accident on the South bound side of the divider and you are traveling north bound.

Anyway. I questioned several hundred people.  Virtually none of them admitted to slowing down unnecessarily merely to "gaze at the incident to satisfy curiosity"

Yet eveytime I pass a car wreck on the other side of the highway virtually everybody stops and gawks.  

We all have negetive experiences with tournament bass fisherman (not all are pro's many are club guys, but a tournament is a tournament).  Each one of us has a story about front boating, crowding, threats, blast offs, huge wakes, and other rude, obnoxious or downright dangerous behavior.

Yet, I have NEVER heard any bass tournament guy admit that he feels like

1.  I'm in a tournament so get off my water

2.  I'll go as fast as I dam well please.

3.  If you can't take my wake get a bigger boat

4.  If your fishing where I wanna fish then you gotta move

5.  a muiltitude of other actions that "give tournaments a bad name"

Mind you, I am not suggesting that any particular torunament guy on this thread  is lying.My conclusion from the survey I conducted in college  is, I believe relevant to this phenomena.

The offenders truly do not believe they are doing anything wrong or offensive.  They see their actions as natural and commonplace.  It is the "other" bad people who are responsible.

And the beat goes on.............................................

In my opinion it is not fair to catagorize tournament fisherman or anyone else becuase of one or two bad ones.( First of all my club has strict rules against this type of behavior and we have kicked a couple of members out due to this type of irresponsible and dangerous behavior) On the lake I primarliy fish durning the summer months the lake becomes crowed with jet skis, water skiers and pleasurer boaters I have witnessed some them act just as irresponsible as any other fisherman tournament or recreational fisherman. I have a good friend who who works as a dnr ranger on our home lake and me and him was talking about this issue just the other day. On our lake we have a DNR law that states you can not run above idle speed within a 100' of a a boat that is not moving or a dock. he stated that he has more issues with recreational boaters than any tournament fisherman.

 

Jet skiers,ski boats,and pleasure boaters cause me more than my share of boat rage moments.Even though I fish on a public lake and everyone has a right to be there,lots of these people are pretty thoughtless when it comes to other boaters.I was always taught that when you go by a fellow fisherman,you slow WAY down so that you don't ruin his/her fishing spot.Just my 2 cents.

The worst guys on the water are the Malibu Jet Ski boats with teenagers driving them.  They have no idea about the rules because you don't need to be a student driver before getting behind a boat console.

Why isn't there licenses to drive a boat, like a car?

There should be classes all boaters need to take, and it can be like a driver's licence, you can apply and take courses when your 16.  I believe this will cure a lot of the problems we see on the waters now a days.  Simple basic knowledge about boating in a classroom setting would do wonders.

Here goes... I have a 14 ft jonboat and fish alot of big water. My worst experiences have been:

1: the bass fisherman who pulled off plane within 50 feeet of my boat, then stopped to retie within easy castng distance in front of me. He was obviously not a tournament fisherman, had a thirty year old boat, but he ranks #1 in rude. I really thought about ripping a rattltrap through his boat.

2: I'm fishing a point that runs out into the cove about 100 yards. The cove is well over 300 yards wide at that point. So why did that cabin cruiser decide to go up on plane within 100 feet of me?

3:while fishing a bank close to the launch ramp, a small alum. boat comes in under half power. I know he was TRYING to be considerate, but fiberglass rigs have blown by alot closer without throwing half the wake.

4: see #1 this guy really could have gotten shot that day.

The author sounds like a cry baby. If a man is not breaking a law... whats next? If the law is broken then get the law enforcement involved. After reading this guy's beef, you'd think you can go to any lake w/ a tourney and give dozens of tickets daily. I don't think this is the case; maybe with pleasure boaters. You want to complain, lets talk about the drunks water skiing, swimming on the sandbar, or on their Waverunner. I'm sorry if my bass boat wakes you up at 6am while you're still in bed, but I'm not breaking the law and if you can afford that house on the lake, you can afford thicker insulation.

I live on a highway, maybe I should put a sign out for the motorists to keep it down too. They're consideration of me should be sufficient, right? The new technology and pressure of getting to work on time is ruining highway driving...

Duke

I agree 100%

Fishing spirit lost in tournaments

The conversion of a recreational hobby into a competitive sports business has led to unsportsmanlike behavior, crowding of lakes and boat ramps, and noise pollution.

While trying to fish peacefully, friends and I have been repeatedly buzzed and nearly swamped by bass tournament boats screaming by only 30 yards away at 30 to 40 mph.

On the first morning of a long-anticipated vacation at a quiet, little-populated lake in the Adirondacks, I was rudely awakened at 6 a.m. by 19 high-powered bass boats roaring past my cottage at full throttle as they began their tournament.

So much for relaxation.

A friend wanting to fish with his family arrived at Conesus Lake's boat ramp on a tournament day to find it crowded with literally dozens of boats, postponing his launch for hours.

He drove to another lake.

Fishing is an activity that has as its goals relaxation and the enjoyment of nature. Much of that is lost in the high-speed, competitive, big-dollar bass tournament business.

First of all, lets clear some things up in this story that this guy wrote into this paper.  This does not seem like it was his home.  Since he said, "On the first morning of a long-anticipated vacation at a quiet".

This writer goes on to say that, "19 high-powered bass boats roaring past my cottage" but then in a following sentence he said the ramp was crowded with DOZENS of boats.  I only see 1 dozen in 19.  Does he not realize 19 boats is a small field for a tournament and that the majority of these people that were crowding the ramp were probably people just like him, recreational anglers.  I would like to know what time he got to that ramp, noon, when you can't find a spot at a ramp on any lake in the country probably on a weekend.

To me, this guy was all over the place in his gripe against bass tournament anglers.  To me, when I envision 30 yards.  Thats far enough away for me to feel comfortable when a guy flys by me at around 50-65mph, not the 30-40mph he mentioned.  This guy just has no clue at all about PUBLIC WATERS.

One last thing, he mentioned NOISE POLLUTION.  I wasn't aware of trolling motors running for 90% of a tournament would ever be an issue.  With the big motor on only around 10-15% of a tournament, where is the noise pollution coming from.  Probably all those guys crowding the ramps with the ski boats.

So who does he have this issue with.   THE SKIERS!!!

Goodnight and Goodbye.

Fishing spirit lost in tournaments

The conversion of a recreational hobby into a competitive sports business has led to unsportsmanlike behavior, crowding of lakes and boat ramps, and noise pollution.

While trying to fish peacefully, friends and I have been repeatedly buzzed and nearly swamped by bass tournament boats screaming by only 30 yards away at 30 to 40 mph.

On the first morning of a long-anticipated vacation at a quiet, little-populated lake in the Adirondacks, I was rudely awakened at 6 a.m. by 19 high-powered bass boats roaring past my cottage at full throttle as they began their tournament.

So much for relaxation.

A friend wanting to fish with his family arrived at Conesus Lake's boat ramp on a tournament day to find it crowded with literally dozens of boats, postponing his launch for hours.

He drove to another lake.

Fishing is an activity that has as its goals relaxation and the enjoyment of nature. Much of that is lost in the high-speed, competitive, big-dollar bass tournament business.

First of all, lets clear some things up in this story that this guy wrote into this paper.  This does not seem like it was his home.  Since he said, "On the first morning of a long-anticipated vacation at a quiet".

This writer goes on to say that, "19 high-powered bass boats roaring past my cottage" but then in a following sentence he said the ramp was crowded with DOZENS of boats.  I only see 1 dozen in 19.  Does he not realize 19 boats is a small field for a tournament and that the majority of these people that were crowding the ramp were probably people just like him, recreational anglers.  I would like to know what time he got to that ramp, noon, when you can't find a spot at a ramp on any lake in the country probably on a weekend.

To me, this guy was all over the place in his gripe against bass tournament anglers.  To me, when I envision 30 yards.  Thats far enough away for me to feel comfortable when a guy flys by me at around 50-65mph, not the 30-40mph he mentioned.  This guy just has no clue at all about PUBLIC WATERS.

One last thing, he mentioned NOISE POLLUTION.  I wasn't aware of trolling motors running for 90% of a tournament would ever be an issue.  With the big motor on only around 10-15% of a tournament, where is the noise pollution coming from.  Probably all those guys crowding the ramps with the ski boats.

So who does he have this issue with.   THE SKIERS!!!

Goodnight and Goodbye.

Unfortunately, if this is the kind of perception people have of bass fishing tournaments the part of your comment I bolded suddenly becomes extremely relevent.  These are public waters paid for by public tax dollars.  A tournament organization is using this publicly paid for lake and launch ramp facility for profit.  Tournament anglers are using the same facilities for what could best be described as recreational gambling.  Not a problem if the tournaments are limited in some way to allow for ease of use of all water users but when the numbers of T's begins increasing and they start crowding other users of the waterways out then it's natural that something might have to be done.  

In my state, it's pretty much the norm for there to be at least a couple hundred boats fishing tournaments on any given weekend from Apr. through August/Sept. on our major reservoirs.  In the spring especially, that number will increase by twofold.  Ramp parking becomes difficult to find.  Fishing spots become more and more crowded.  Guys fishing T's have one thing on their mind, winning.  Things like courtesy often fall outside the zone they're in.  

Tournament anglers and organizations have to do more than just show up at lakes on weekends and monopolize the resource, they must make efforts to perform public service actions that help the fisheries and make sure those actions are publicized to avoid an even more negative view of their sport. They have to be extremely aware that their actions on the waters can lead to very negative perceptions by those who aren't fishing in a tournament.  Excusing that by using the "well, but look at how rude the waterskiers are or the PWC users are" is a moot point.  T anglers are the ones that will be under the microscope, not the other recreational users of the lake.

 

Legislation to curtail or ban fishing tournaments would be pretty easy to craft.  In my state, a gathering of boaters leaving from a single location requires a regatta permit from the State water patrol.  It wouldn't be too hard to limit T's by merely limiting the number of permits handed out on any given body of water for a weekend.  

This guys letter is how the negative perceptions start.  It's up to tournament anglers and organizations to show they don't tolerate behavior thats anything less than common courtesy shown to non-participants on the water.  Other fisherman and pleasure boaters paid for the lake and facilities the same as everyone else.

i line about 5 min from the lake i fish and im there everyday twice a day . as a shore fisherman i can say i have never had any problen with any anglers in a tournament never caused any problms. now all the visitors that come in for the weeken or there vacation thats the problen. they poulute the watter . with trash , fuel, and just dont care becuz they dont live here. someone need to write something  about them not the guys who care about the lake.

all any fisherman can do is monitor his or her behavior/actions/attitude on any givin tourny. my greatest tourny was when i won with a 5 fish stringer weighing 34.15. that day DURING the tourny, a boat with 2 recreational fisherman saw that i was absolutely crushing them, and they asked what i was throwing. i asked if they were in the tourny, and they said they were not. i then handed them a bag of the soft plastics i was throwing, and told them how to use the bait. 3 hours later, i weighed in and crushed the field to win $975 and both big fish pots. while i was waiting to receive my winnings, both of the fellas that i gave the soft plastics to came up to me with a 12 pack and said thanks. they both stated that they NEVER caught so many big bass in their lives. my point being, KARMA---what goes around comes around. if you are polite/nice/respectful, it will come back to 10 fold.

Very true bocabasser or in your case it came back 12 fold.  I remind my guys at our tournaments every morning we go out to be respectful and curtious to all those on the lake they are here to enjoy it as well.

I've often said that I don't fish tournaments.  I might try it once, but I do not the competitive mentality when it comes to bass fishing.

That being said  pretty much every sport or recreational pastime has been turned into a business venture.

Baseball, football, hockey, golf, etc. are all "games" played by men making fortunes.

On a more local note.  Have you ever been pitching to your son when the bar league softballers come?

What about going bowling on league night.

I fully understand the frustration the original writer presented.  

But this is America.  If there's a way to make a buck someone will find out how.

Ray Scott was a business genius for turning the most boring spectator sport imaginable into the multi million business it has become.  

I can just hear some of the first people he approached.  "your want me to invest in having people watch other people fish???????????

I have run across tournament filled lakes before, I was disouraged but not mad.  I tought to myself, "this sucks, but I should have asked around before coming over here."  The fast is that a lake is public and with public areas comes certain aspects that wont pleae everyone.  I say he needs to get some closer from mommy.  Or maybe a bigger life jacket!

Tournaments do not clog ramps for hours unless they're all drunk which would never happen in North Alabama. Usually the wait at the ramp is caused by someone who don't know what they're doing.