How about Clausen biting Ehrler's line while he had a fish on!!!! Then Ehrler fell in trying to get the fish!!!! I don't know about y'all, but I would have been ready to throw down after that!  > ;D

i dont know how that is not breaking the rules

i mean cutting the line how is that allowed?

i think that has to be planned or scripted.

if not i didnt care for clausen before but i respected his abilities but  now i lost all respect for him

That was bush league.

First Clausen grabbed Ehler's rod out of his hand, which I really think led to Ehler falling in and losing a big fish.

It would be funny if it was 2 buddies fishing for fun, but these guys are competing for big money.

Clausen should have been DQ'd right then, but I think Joe Thomas and the referee were so shocked they didn't know what to do. Sadly they ended up doing nothing.

The worst part was Clausen pretending to feel bad, then not giving Ehler's a chance to fish in the 4th quarter.

Sounds like I missed an interesting episode.

Posts on another site regarding this were, with one or two exceptions, outraged at this behavior.  Many have emailed the UMF website voicing their opinions.  

If you want to voice your opinion, send them an email

info@ultimatematchfishing.com

Yeah, that was pretty bad stuff.  Karma is a %#$@&$.

Good luck in the next round punk.

It did seem to be somewhat set-up, but still.....50 large is 50 large.

Clausen was close to the top of my favorites list. I liked his sense of humor and how he seemed to be all business. With the exception of Swindle last year, he seemed to be well liked by his competitors and got along with them well. Who can get along with Swindle in the same boat that day?

If that wasn't scripted, it was pathetic. If it was scripted, say it really happened way after the match was ultimately over and the edit monster jumped in, I still wouldn't want to be painted with that brush if I was Clausen. Either way my respect level took a little dive.

I'll keep watching the show and I do enjoy it, but there's a lot of things I don't care for rules wise. Turning the boat around to defend is one thing, but when a guy in the back has a fish on, twisting his line around a pole, jerking the boat around causing a guy to run up to the front and underneath you isn't gamesmanship. Not to mention you break a man's line with a fish on the hook and the line is wrapped around something, that's detrimental to the fish. How's that being a good steward of what God has given us?

I also think it should be a mandatory fish in the fourth quarter. Although it would possibly make for boring TV if they just sat in the middle of the lake. I'll admit I don't know how to enforce that fairly.

Like someone above said, two buddies fishing for fun is one thing, the way I make my living is another. I think about how my 5 yr old son would view that. I'm not an advocate of voilence, most scenarios can be resolved peacefully. However, there are times when you must either defend yourself or just flat stand up for what you think is right. If I was Ehrler, I think I would have busted him in the mouth. Maybe Ehrler's reaction makes him a better man than me, that's quite possible! But I think I would have slept better that night.

This wasn't fishing, this was "rasslin".  I even think Joe Thomas had a hard time dealing with it.  I also remember last year when it seemed like everybody had something negative to say about the way the G man was mistreating poor Luke.  Sorta makes you wonder what might have been behind all that, doesn't it?

This wasn't fishing, this was "rasslin". I even think Joe Thomas had a hard time dealing with it. I also remember last year when it seemed like everybody had something negative to say about the way the G man was mistreating poor Luke. Sorta makes you wonder what might have been behind all that, doesn't it?

You may have a point there. I usually enjoy Luke's subtle sarcastic humor, I can be that way at times. It rubs some people the wrong way. They could have very well edited out Luke being a rear knowing Swindle has the rep of a hot head and played it up.

I hope it was scripted, for everyones sake involved.  Otherwise it is just a blackeye to umf and everyone involved.

I ventured over to UMF's site on a whim, didn't even know they had a site. I read UMF's response to yesterdays match. Apparently there were some things we didn't see. The producers, ref, Joe, Luke and Ehrler met for almost an hour. Luke apologized and said he thought Justin had the fish in his hand and he was trying to be funny not malicious. The site also said that Luke offered Justin any fish of his in the livewell and Justin declined. I feel a tad better about Luke after hearing that.

Should it have happened, no. I do think UMF was definitely going for the tabloid style ratings 'cause they certainly sensationalized it. The site said new rules would be enforced due to this outcry. I'm sure this season has been taped in advance and the rule change came into effect because of the huge amounts of e-mail, so it could be next season before we see this change.

Even if they didn't show parts of the meeting on TV, they should have at least alluded to the fact that an amiable resolution was achieved.

I read their pathetic excuse and I'm not buying it. Of course Ehler refused to accept one of Clausen's fish, BUT HE SHOULDN'T HAVE HAD A SAY IN THE MATTER!

Name one other sport where a referee asks the victim of a foul how the aggressor should be punished.

The point of having a referee is to take these decisions out of the hands of the competitors.

"Aw jeez ref, I guess Kobe didn't mean to foul me. I don't need to take any free throws"

The way the ref and Ehrler made it sound like that fish was a 5+lber. Luke had nothing even close to 5 pounds in the box, biggest maybe 3.5. So that really didn't do anything for me on Luke's part. On another note, when Luke though about giving him a chance to fish the 4th... Luke would have never even let Ehrler bring in a bunch of fish without going and sitting in the middle of the lake. As soon as Ehrler started getting close to Luke's wieght, it would have been over.

here's what the producer had to say...

In response to your emails, the producers of Ultimate Match Fishing wish to offer insight into the match between Brent Ehrler and Luke Clausen. Many of you have written with concerns about sportsmanship and how bass fishing in general is being portrayed in UMF this season. We consider your concerns to be legitimate, and to that end we have made adjustments to the UMF rules for all future matches. But before we spell out those rule changes, here are some facts about the match that unfortunately you, the viewer, did not get to see.

After the incident in question, Joe Thomas, referee Mark Randolph, Luke Clausen, Brent Ehrler and the show's producers met for close to an hour to discuss the incident. Mr. Ehrler and Mr. Clausen both agreed that no animosity was present during the action. Luke Clausen stated, and as was witnessed by everyone there, that he felt that Brent Ehrler had the fish in his hands at the time he bit Brent's line, and it was an unfortunate turn of events that the fish slipped away from Brent. Luke's actions were simply geared toward having a little fun...as his on camera explanation later revealed. Brent Ehrler agreed, and though the circumstances surrounding the event were unfortunate, they were in no way intended to misrepresent what Ultimate Match Fishing is about...entertainment, fun, and action.

Now, here is what you didn't get to see when the cameras were not rolling. Luke Clausen offered Brent the opportunity to take any fish from his live well to replace the bass he lost. Mr. Ehrler refused. The bottom line is that Brent Ehrler realized that Luke Clausen's actions were in no way intended to be anything more than what they were...an attempt at humor that unfortunately went wrong.

However, this event, regardless of the fact that we believe it was intended with a total lack of malice, has made us reconsider the rules of Ultimate Match Fishing. From this point forward, no angler will be allowed to touch the other angler's tackle, gear, or fish in the live well. While we did not, nor do we ever foresee such an event occurring, we do believe that stating such a rule is necessary to maintain the overall feel of the event. And while some of you have called for the disqualification of Luke Clausen, we respectfully disagree based on the clear intent of his actions, and the sincere apology he offered to Mr. Ehrler, the producers, and the viewing audience.

One a final note, we do wish to address the element of sportsmanship in UMF. While we all believe that sportsmanship is an integral part of tournament bass fishing, the structure of Ultimate Match Fishing is very different from other tournament based shows. Ultimate Match Fishing is intended simply to entertain our audience by putting two of the best bass anglers in the world in one boat, on one lake, with a very simple set of rules designed to enhance the experience of both the anglers and the audience. Unfortunately, many of you may view positioning the boat where the angler in back cannot cast to productive water to be unsportsmanlike. Also, many people believe that using the sit down strategy in the 4th quarter is unsportsmanlike. The nature of UMF inherently begs the question of what is sporting and what is good strategy? Some of you have attempted to vilify anglers while others applaud their actions as good, sound judgment. In the end, our goal with Ultimate Match Fishing is to simply entertain our audience and to offer a different perspective on competitive bass fishing. We feel that both Mr. Clausen and Mr. Ehrler deserve applause for their response to the incident in question, and any attempt to make it more than what it actually was is clear futility.

Sincerely,

The Producers of Ultimate Match Fishing

The way the ref and Ehrler made it sound like that fish was a 5+lber. Luke had nothing even close to 5 pounds in the box, biggest maybe 3.5. So that really didn't do anything for me on Luke's part. On another note, when Luke though about giving him a chance to fish the 4th... Luke would have never even let Ehrler bring in a bunch of fish without going and sitting in the middle of the lake. As soon as Ehrler started getting close to Luke's wieght, it would have been over.

Well think of it this way. The 5# fish would have dug into Luke's lead by 5#'s. Luke giving Brent a 3.5# fish would have been a 7# swing. Brent already had the best fish of the day in the well. Just to give it a weight I'll say 4#. Luke only wound up with 11.61? I may be wrong on that total, but that's what I was thinking it was. Take away 3.5 and he's around 8#. Add 3.5 to Brent and he's at 7.5. Luke could have felt like he had to fish the 4th.

Of course if Luke did actually know for sure he had the lead, even after giving up a fish, I completely agree with your 2nd assessment. He'd have been in less than optimal fishing conditions. Luke fishing the 4th and actually giving Brent a chance would have went a good ways for me, i.e. not sitting him in the middle of the lake.

Last year they kept a running tally as each caught a fish. They don't do that this year. I never knew whether that was an estimate or an after the fact add on to the TV screen. I also don't know if the anglers are privy to that info. I don't even know if they have scales on the boat or they just go by feel. I've never seen them weigh one on TV. If it's only by feel and that's all they know, I'm sure Luke couldn't go "feel" Brents fish in the live well. He could have been unsure and forced to fish the 4th. I have seen some matches, either this or last year, where it looks like they try to get it in the well ASAP so the other guy has no feel for his total weight.

i thought it was bush league. and no way do i feel like luke's apology was real. he said he thought the fish was already lipped or grabbed...when luke grabbed the line he couldn't feel the fish pulling on the line??? i already didn't really like him, and now i can't stand him.

but my real problem with it is that it wasn't against the rules???????????????

you can't cast to his side of the boat.....but you can come over and take his rod from him and cut him off? sounds kind of dumb to me. i was always under the impression that you could not do anything to affect the other angler from his side of the boat. if you were driving you could turn the boat while he was landing a fish, or "nost job" him, or anything else from your own side of the boat. but never could you come to his side and bother him.

but oh well i didn't create the show or the write the rules...but i definitely think they need some revision.

i always considered pro bass fisherman to be gentlemen and pro fishing to be a gentlemenly sport, no cheating and stuff like that. i mean there is strategy and all involved but i consider what he did cheating

Clausen knew what he was doing... :

I liked Clausen.  I'm very disappointed though.  I thought for sure when he decided to not fish the 4th he was just going to DQ himself.  Lost respect for him that he didn't.  In my mind offering a fish in his livewell in noway makes up for what happened.  What if the fish Ehler had was 71/2 lbs.  I think Clausen probably was just messing around and didn't mean to bite the line off, or thought he had the fish.  However, when he grabbed his rod theres noway he thought he had the fish.  He was probably just messing around, but should of accepted the consequence like a man and DQ'd himself.

It was a shock to see    Had it on the DVR and had to rewind a couple of times to see again. It was a shady move but there were no rules broken as he fell in and was not pushed. Even if Ehrler didn't fall in he had no chance against Clausen as was evident in the earlier quarters. The show is chessy at best so what can you expect. Just my opinion.  :-/

It was a shock to see Had it on the DVR and had to rewind a couple of times to see again. It was a shady move but there were no rules broken as he fell in and was not pushed. Even if Ehrler didn't fall in he had no chance against Clausen as was evident in the earlier quarters. The show is chessy at best so what can you expect. Just my opinion. :-/

I like the show... Just not the way it's run... It comes on in 30 minutes....  ;D

Well I don't think Luke meant anything by his actions.  It did look like he was joking around.  But jokes can have consequences.  If my son is throwing rocks and he accidently breaks a window, he is still liable for the consequences.  Not so with Luke.  He was joking around and there was no consequence to his actions.  

It appears from the UMF response, they believe we take the show too serious.  I wonder what they would think if we stop watching it.

I can't imagine why a pro fisherman would want that reputation. If I was a sponser of Clausen's that would be the end. I wouldn't want my product associated with that kind of character. Bad taste. I have a feeling that action will come back to haunt Clausen. Talk about sowing bad seed.

I can't imagine why a pro fisherman would want that reputation. If I was a sponser of Clausen's that would be the end. I wouldn't want my product associated with that kind of character. Bad taste. I have a feeling that action will come back to haunt Clausen. Talk about sowing bad seed.

Well, it already did. He got DQ'ed in the Semis in his rematch against Duckett for making a cast with 6 fish in the well.